Douglass Little was the father of Judge Lucius P.
Little, of Owensboro,
who served as circuit judge from 1880 to 1893 in the Fourth District, and who has for many years been one of the
prominent lawyers of Western Kentucky and who has long been regarded as one of the highest authorities on the State's history.
He is the author of "Ben Hardin His Times and Contemporaries,"
and has in preparation "Old Stories of Green River
and Its People."
John G. Gooch was one of Rumsey's most interesting
characters. He was a saddler by trade, and up to 1850, when he represented
the county in the Legislature, spent much of his time
in his shop, working at his trade and studying good books. He was one of
the best-read men in the county, and was a devout and
active churchman. When occasion arose where an orator was required to
represent the citizens of this section of the Green
River country, they invariably chose John G. Gooch. After he became a
member of the State Legislature he began the study of law, and
a few years later moved to Palestine, Texas, where he became a prominent
lawyer.
John Vickers, who represented Muhlenberg in the
Legislature in 1848, lived three miles south of Rumsey, near Sacramento,
now in McLean County. Although Sacramento was not
incorporated and officially named until March 1, 1860, a store, it is
said, had been opened there before 1835. One version has it that John Vickers, a
"Forty-niner," returned from California about 1850, and was the
first to propose the name Sacramento for the
settlement at the cross-roads. In 1870 Sacramento's population was about
200, and in 1912 about 450.
John Bender, a German by birth and also a
"Forty-niner," lived at Sacramento in 1850 and later died there. He was a
very intelligent and substantial citizen. He was a son-in-law of John Vickers.
Honorable William B. Noe, the banker, who has as a lawyer long been
at the head of the Calhoun bar, married the daughter
of Mr. Bender.
Among the old citizens of Rumsey in the '40s were
Charles M. Baber, hotel-keeper and magistrate; William A. Eaves and
Leander Mitchell, superintendents of the lock and dam;
Woodford Mitchell and Henry Williams, merchants; John Robbins, wool
manufacturer; John A. Murray, grocer, and Ephraim Baker, a justice.
Richard H. Collins, in his "History of Kentucky"
published in 1874, and in the reprints that follow, acknowledges his
indebtedness for information regarding Muhlenberg County to "Joseph Ricketts and J.
H. Pearson (who made a most beautiful map), of Muhlenburg county."
In 1874 Joseph Rieketts was fifty-six years of age
and had lived in Greenville for more than a quarter of a century. He was
one of the bestknown lawyers in the Green River country. Collins'
acknowledgment to "J. H. Pearson," and his reference to "a most beautiful
map," is in all probability a mistake, and was
intended to apply to some other county in Kentucky. At any rate, of the
many persons I consulted in Muhlenberg--the Pearsons and others--none recall
a man named J. H. Pearson, nor do any recall seeing a map that
might have been made by either Pearson or Ricketts.
Furthermore, in a search among the maps once owned by Collins, I failed to
find one of Muhlenberg County. A map of the county,
made years ago and showing some of the geographical details, even if
somewhat inaccurate, would be worth preserving. As
far as I have been able to ascertain, no such map, either in the form of a
printed sheet or a pen-and-ink sketch, exists.2
During the eourse of what follows in this chapter I
quote all that Collins published under the head of Muhlenberg County in
the edition printed in 1874, except the brief sketches of Generals Muhlenberg
and Buell. To his statements I add a number of my own, and
thus, in a way, extend his history down to our times.
Richard H. Collins, in 1874, on Muhlenberg County,
Quoted and Extended.
Muhlenburg county--the 34th in order of
formation--was established in 1798, out of parts of Logan and Christian,
and named in honor of General Peter Muhlenberg. Its original territory is still
intact, except the small northern portion taken in 1854 to help form
MeLean county. It is situated in the southwestern middle
portion of the state, and is bounded N. and N. E. by McLean and Ohio
counties, from which it is separated by Green river; E. by
Butler county, Big Muddy river being the dividing line; S. E. by Logan; S.
by Todd and Christian; and W. by Hopkins county, the dividing line being
Pond river. The surface of the county is generally rolling, part of it
broken; the northern portion is good farming land,
and all the county is fine grass land, and well timbered. The principal
products are tobacco, corn, hay, and wool. Cattle and hogs are sold in large
numbers to drovers. But the great wealth of the county is coal and
iron.
What is here referred to as Big Muddy River has for
many years been known as Mud River. Although Muhlenberg is no longer "well
timbered," much timber is still standing. Very large
trees are now rare, and the few giants that still survive will in all
probability soon be cut down and worked into lumber. However, much uncleared
"cut-over" land, with its secondary timber and "second growth," is
still to be found in the county. Reforestation and
forest planting have not yet been attempted.
The table of statisties of Kentucky, compiled by
Collins from official reports, shows that during the year 1870 Muhlenberg
produced 2,594,930 pounds of tobacco, 2,095 tons of hay,
484,580 bushels of corn, and 32,676 bushels of wheat. In 1870 there were
8,254 hogs (over six months old), 3,162 horses, 1,041
mules, and 5,166 cattle in the county. The valuation of taxable property
was then $2,462,757; in 1846 it was $1,298,019, and in 1912 it
was $4,365,446. The number of acres of land in 1870 is given by Collins as
253,543.
Practically every farmer in the county raises
tobacco. The annual yield since 1870 has always exceeded two and a half
million pounds. Farmers now pay more attention to the raising
of hay than heretofore. The corn crop is usually sufficient for the local
demand. Muhlenberg has never produced enough wheat to
supply the local demand for flour. Hogs and cattle are still extensively
raised, but the number has not increased in
proportion to the number of farms.
The Elizabethtown & Paducah Railroad, now known
as the Illinois Central Railroad, was finished in 1871, and therefore had
been in operation only a few years when Collins published his
sketch. A time-table, published in 1873, shows the following stations
along this line in the county: Green River, Nelson Creek,
Owensboro Junction, Greenville, and Gordon Station (Depoy). The Owensboro
& Russellville Railroad, now a branch of the Louisville
& Nashville, was built from Owensboro to Central City in 1872, and ten
years later was extended to Russellville. The Madisonville, Hartford
& Eastern Railroad was finished in 1910. The Kentucky Midland was
begun in 1910. It is built as far as the new town of
Midland, and will, it is said, soon connect Central City with
Madisonville.
Collins publishes data relative to seven of the towns
that were in the county in 1874--Greenville, South Carrollton,
Skilesville, Stroud City, Bremen, Paradise, and Airdrie:
Greenville, the county seat, on the Elizabethtown and
Paducah railroad, 135 miles from Louisville, 120 from Frankfort, and 35
from Hopkinsville, contains, besides the usual public
buildings, 5 churches (Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian (Southern),
Cumberland Presbyterian, and African), and 6 ministers, 12 lawyers, 4
physicians, 3 academies, 13 stores, 13 mechanics' shops, 3 hotels, 1
mill, 4 tobacco factories, 1 tannery; population in
1870, 557, and in 1873 estimated at 1,000; established in 1812, and named
after Gen. Nathanael Greene.
Greenville, although started in the spring of 1799
and serving from its beginning as the county seat, was through an
oversight not officially "established" by the Legislature until thirteen years
later, when it and seven other towns in the State, that had existed for a
number of years, were "established" by an act passed
January 6, 1812. Collins gives 120 miles as the distance from Frankfort to
Greenville. This is doubtless a typographical error,
and was intended to read 210 miles.
Two opinions are now held regarding the origin of the
name Greenville. On the one hand is the story that Mrs. Tabitha A. R.
Campbell was so impressed with the expanse of green
treetops, then extending in every direction from the hill selected for the
location of the county seat, that she proposed the name Greenville, which was
accepted. This version was supported by Mrs. Lucy Wing Yost, Judge Charles Eaves, and a few others who were well versed in the
early traditions of the town. On the other hand there are oral and
printed statements that the place was so called in
honor of General Nathaniel Greene. After General Muhlenberg's name had
been adopted for the county, the admirers of General
Greene (so the story is told) endorsed the name of General Muhlenberg's
friend and co-worker for the name of the county seat. At any rate, it is
generally conceded that Greenville was so called in honor of General
Greene.3
Greenville is the oldest town in Muhlenberg. It has
always been regarded as the main meeting and trading place for the people
"out in the county." After the adoption of the State
Constitution of 1891, Greenville, in November, 1892, elected its first
mayor. The following have served as mayors of Greenville: William A. Wickliffe,
1893-1896; Doctor J. G. Bohannon, two terms, 1897-1904; and J. W.
Lam, who began his first term on January 1, 1905, and
is now serving his second term.
South Carrollton, on W. bank of Green river, and on
the Owenshoro and Russellville railroad, 10 miles from Greenville; has 8
stores, 3 churches, 4 physicians, 2 mills, 3 tobacco
factories, 3 taverns, 7 mechanics' shops; population in 1870, 240, and
increasing steadily; incorporated in 1846.
South Carrollton was incorporated by an act approved
February 23, 1849, and not in the year 1846, as stated by Collins. The
town, however, was begun about the year 1838, and laid out
by John Fentress on what was known as the "Randolph old farm," on which a
tanyard had been operated for many years, near what
is now known as the "Public Spring." Among the early citizens of South
Carrollton were Bryant Bennett, Edmund M. Blacklock,
James Carbon, Doctor Bryant Davis, John Fentress, Edmund Finch, N. B.
Howard, S. Howell, Doctor A. M. Jackson, John
Kittinger, Henderson Lovelace, Lewis McCown. Charles Morehead. sr., John
Randolph, J. Edmunds Reno, and H. D. Rothrock.4Doctor
J. T. Woodburn, 1912
South Carrollton's first hotel was "White Hall" and
its second "Our House" or "The Lovelace Tavern," both of which were in
their day among the best-known places in the county. General
Crittenden's army, as stated elsewhere in this history, was encamped in
and near the town during the last half of January, 1862.
It had a college for many years. Notwithstanding the fact that South
Carrollton has the transportation facilities offered by a river and a
railroad, the town has slowly decreased in business and population during
the past twenty-five years.
Skilesville, on S. bank of Green river, at lock and
dam No. 3, 16 miles E. of Greenville, has 2 stores and a mill; population
about 100; named after Jas. R. Skiles, who introduced the
first steamboat upon Green river, and spent a fortune in promoting the
navigation of the river.
Skilesville was not incorporated until March 8, 1876,
although the town had existed for more than forty years previous to that
time. Methodist Episcopal Church, Central City By an act
approved December 21, 1837, an election precinct was "established at the
house of Richard Simons in the town of Skilesville in
Muhlenberg county." A map of the town drawn by Jacob Luce was recorded in
1844 (Record Book No. 11, page 650). The Skilesville
post-office was established, abandoned, and re?stablished a number of
times. Since 1907 the people of this neighborhood have
received their mail at Rochester or Knightsburg. James Rumsey Skiles was a
citizen of Warren County. Judge Lucius P. Little, in
his forthcoming history of the Green River country, will publish a sketch
of the career of this early promoter of Green River
navigation. Lock and Dam No. 3, or the Rochester Skilesville lock and dam,
was opened in 1838.St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Central City, erected
1912
Stroud City, at the crossing of the O. & R. and
E. & P. railroads, 35 miles from Owensboro, is growing fast.Central
City's first post-office (about 1871), as it appears to-day
Stroud City, or Owensboro Junction, later became
Central City. Before the days of the railroad the well-known Morehead's
Horse Mili stood on the site laid out for the new town. "An act to establish
and incorporate the town of Stroud City" was approved April 19,
1873. Legislative acts regarding the regulation of
the town were passed March 17, 1876, and April 24, 1880. By an act
approved February 11, 1882, the name was changed to Central City. The building used
as the town's first post-office is still standing. On August 7,
1871, George G. Shaver was appointed the first
postmaster of what was then known as Owensboro Junction. He was succeeded
on August 21, 1872, by Willis Kittinger, who served for
a few years. In March, 1913, Congress appropriated $7,500 for the purchase
of a site for a Federal building in Central City, which
the Government contemplates erecting within a few years. The Sandusky
House, opened about 1878 and run by Captain William H. H.
Sandusky, was for more than twenty-five years one of the best-known hotels
in Kentucky along the line of the Illinois Central
Railroad. Among other churches in Central City is St. Joseph's Church,
which was erected in 1912 and is the only Roman Catholic church
in the county. This congregation's first building was built in 1886, when
Reverend M. F. Melody, then stationed at Leitchfield,
was the priest-in-charge. Central City's first mayor was elected in
November, 1892. The following have served as mayor of Central
City: Doctor J. L. McDowell, 1893-1896; Doctor M. P. Creel, 1897-1900;
Doctor W. R. McDowell, 1901-1904; W. D. McElhinny,
1905-1909; and Doctor J. T. Woodburn, who has served since January 1,
1910.5Broad Street, Central City
Central City is the largest town in Muhlenberg. Since
1903 it has been the only place in the county where the sale of
intoxicants is permitted. Relative to the early history of Central City the
Muhlenberg Argus, on September 20, 1906, said:
Central City was begun about 1870, when what is now
the Illinois Central Railroad was being built. Coal mining followed
shortly after. The farm owned by John Stroud, including the one adjoining, it
which he bought from Charles S. Morehead and the farm owned by
Joseph Settle, compose the principal part of the
present (1906) site of Central City. Morehead ran a horse-mill for many
years, and although it disappeared nearly forty years ago a few of the old
citizens occasionally refer to the town as "Morehead's Horse Mill." In
1876 there were a few houses along the Greenville and
South Carrollton dirt road, and in fact until about 1888 the principal
business part of town was along that road, then and now known
as Water Street. The old house where the first post-office was kept is
still standing on the Greenville Road. Jonathan and Willis
Kittinger kept a post-office and store in this building in the early '70s.
One night, robbers broke in and hauled the entire stock
away, but who they were has not been learned to this day.
Bremen, 14 miles from Greenville, has 2 stores and 2
tobacco factories; population about 75; incorporated in 1869.H. D.
Rothrock, 1870
Bremen post-office was originally established about
1825, in a residence on the Greenville and Rumsey Road near the McLean
County line. About 1860 it was moved to Andrew
Bennett's store and blacksmith shop, where the town of Bremen now stands;
what was sometimes called Bennettsville became known as
Bremen.
It was pioneer Peter Shaver who, in honor of his
father's birthplace, Bremen, Germany, and in honor of the German-American
pioneers of Muhlenberg, secured this appropriate name
for a place in the county. As stated elsewhere, although the German-American pioneers of Muhlenberg are to-day represented by
many descendants, all traces of the German language, manners, and customs disappeared a few generations ago, not only
from the Bremen country--which was for many years called the "Dutch Settlement"--but also from other sections in which pioneers
of German descent had settled.
The Black Lake country lies east and northeast of
Bremen. The soil of the so-called Black Lake swamps is regarded by many as
the richest in the county, and its reclamation by
drainage is now being considered by the citizens of Bremen and the Black
Lake country. When this has been accomplished and the
cypress and other swampland trees have been cleared away, then, as Harry
M. Dean, of Greenville (who spent his boyhood in the
Black Lake country), expresses it in his beautiful poem, "The Cypress
Trees," this soil "that's black and deep" will be in condition "that men may sow
and reap." The poem referred to was first printed in the Greenville
Record on December 7, 1911, and has since been
reprinted in many papers.
The Cypress Trees.
We sentinel the lone waste places Of swamps that are
low and dim; Line on line for the conflict, Tall and silent and grim. In
the dawn of that far-off morning We stood in serried
lines-- The trees all clustered together, And next to us stood the pines.
But great was the Master's cunning-- A wisdom no man may know; So He sends the pines
to the uplands, While we to the swamps must go.
Mystic and brooding and silent, Huddled together we
stand; Pickets in reedy marshes, Guards of this lone, low land. Dark are
the aisles of our forests, Tangled with briars and vines;
Few there be who can know us, Few who can read our signs. The lone owl
broods in our branches, The brown snakes come and go,
And still we whisper a secret No man shall ever know.
Tall and mystic and brooding, Waiting the long years
through; Men drive us away from the swampland, But we come to the
swampland anew. For here we're master builders,
Lifting the soil from the slime; Holding the drifts in decaying, Bringing
the earth to its prime. Turning the low waste spaces To soil that's black and
deep, Until we are cleared from our places That men may sow and
reap.
Harry M. Dean.
Paradise, on Green river, 10 miles above (S. E. of)
South Carrollton, in N. E. part of county; population about 300; has 4
stores and 2 tobacco factories; incorporated in 1856.
Paradise was not incorporated until March 10, 1856,
which was more than half a century after the town had been settled. For a
few years after the Mexican War it was sometimes referred
to as Monterey. A deed recorded in 1854 incidentally states that Paradise
then had an area of thirteen acres. A plat drawn in
1871 shows an increase to twenty-six and one fourth acres. Although a few
acres have been added to its limits, the population has
slowly decreased since 1875. Its location and age make Paradise one of the
most undisturbed and interesting villages along Green
River.Black Lake and Cypress Trees, Near Bremen
Airdrie, on Green river, 17 miles from Greenville;
population about 200, largely engaged in mining coal; incorporated in
1858.
Airdrie sprang into existence in 1854, and was on the
point of being abandoned by many of the original citizens when, on
February 17, 1858, the town was incorporated. Except during a
few years, the people of Airdrie received their mail at Paradise. The old
furnace, built in 1855, long ago became a picturesque
ruin, and the house occupied for many years by General Buell was burned to
the ground in 1907. A history of Airdrie is given in
the chapter on "Paradise Country and Old Airdrie."
now the third largest town in the county, was not in
ex?? 1874, Collins published the above-quoted data on the towns. About
1882, or about the time the Owensboro & Russell??
??is buit, Frank M. Rice began a store near what is now the ??formed the
nucleus of a village which for a few years was ??le. On February 21, 1888, the
place was incorporated by legislature and its name changed to Drakesboro, in honor ??e, who lived in that neighborhood for many
years and died ??se still standing near the town known as the Bill
Drake ??ong other first-comers in this region was
Bryant Cundiff. ??town had a population of about two hundred. During the
years it has increased to about twelve hundred. Much of
progress is due to the work and influence of such men as ??, who in 1888
opened the Black Diamond Mine in the new since been at the
head of its affairs; William W. Bridges, connected with the Black Diamond
Mining Company since ??s organization; Doctor
Jefferson D. Cundiff, who has lost ??to contribute to the town's medical,
educational, and com?? and B. Frank Green, who as cashier of the Citizens
Bank financial interests of the citizens of the town and the
Drakes??
?? towns commented on by Collins, all had
post-offices in 1874 ??le and Airdrie. There were eleven post-offices in
the county The other six were: Earles, which was maintained in the residence until
about 1860, when the office was moved two ??the store of Thomas C. Summers, where it was continued ??name of Earles until
1910, when, after rural free delivery was established, the post-office was abandoned; Laurel Bluff, ??ted on the Greenville
Road about two miles from Dunmor ??post-office was abolished when Home Valley was established, ??ley was later changed to
Albritton and is now known as ??er and Nelson Station post-offices,
which were then where ??Painstown, which was about
two miles east of Nelson Staton, which was a small mining town on Green
River about five ??radise.
??well to add that about the middle of the last
century there ??e in the Harpe's Hill country known as Unity, one at the
??ary place called Ellwood or McNary's, one at Clark's Ferry River Mills, and
one on Clifty Creek east of Cisney, near the ??ent, called Sulphur
Springs. During 1884, and a few years ??er, a
post-office was maintained in the Bethel Church neigh?? Greenville and
Rumsey Road, called Bertram, and one near ??called Paceton.
??County now has thirty-four post-offices, eight star
mail ??r rural free delivery routes. The star routes run: from Weir
??eight miles; from Haley's Mill, Christian County, via Bancroft ??eighteen miles;
from Cisney to Yost. seven miles; from ??tler County, via Knightsburg and Ennis to Yost, nine and a half miles; from Wells to
Yost, six and a fourth miles; from Penrod, via Gus, to Huntsville,
Butler County, ten miles; from Beech Creek to
Browder, two miles; and from Rochester, via boat to Paradise and Rockport,
fifteen miles. There are three star routes from Dunmor into
Butler and Todd counties. The rural free delivery routes run: No. 1,
Greenville, Greenville to Earles, returning via Harpe's Hill, established in
1910, was the first in the county; No. 1, Central City, Central City to
Gishton and Bethel Church, returning via Cherry Hill
Church; No. 1, Bremen, extending from Bremen northeast into McLean County,
returning via Millport; No. 2, Bremen, Bremen to
Gishton and Earles, returning via Isaac's Creek and Briar Creek.
Most of the first-comers received their mail at
Greenville, Worthington, or Lewisburg, or at "Hunt Settlement" or some of
the other settlements.
Post-Offices in Muhlenberg County. In 1830, 1840,
1850, 1860, 1874, 1884, and 1912.
1830. Bremen. Greenville. Lewisburgh. McNarys. Mill
Port. Worthington.
1840. Bremen. Greenville. Lewisburgh. McNarys.
Rumsey. Skilesville. Worthington.
1850. Bremen. Ellwood. Greenville. Rumsey. South
Carrollton. Unity. Worthington.
=======
Skilesville was not incorporated until March 8, 1876,
although the town had existed for more than forty years previous to that
time. Methodist Episcopal Church, Central City By an act
approved December 21, 1837, an election precinct was "established at the
house of Richard Simons in the town of Skilesville in
Muhlenberg county." A map of the town drawn by Jacob Luce was recorded in
1844 (Record Book No. 11, page 650). The Skilesville
post-office was established, abandoned, and re?stablished a number of
times. Since 1907 the people of this neighborhood have
received their mail at Rochester or Knightsburg. James Rumsey Skiles was a
citizen of Warren County. Judge Lucius P. Little, in
his forthcoming history of the Green River country, will publish a sketch
of the career of this early promoter of Green River
navigation. Lock and Dam No. 3, or the Rochester Skilesville lock and dam,
was opened in 1838.St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Central City, erected
1912
Stroud City, at the crossing of the O. & R. and
E. & P. railroads, 35 miles from Owensboro, is growing fast.Central
City's first post-office (about 1871), as it appears to-day
Stroud City, or Owensboro Junction, later became
Central City. Before the days of the railroad the well-known Morehead's
Horse Mili stood on the site laid out for the new town. "An act to establish
and incorporate the town of Stroud City" was approved April 19,
1873. Legislative acts regarding the regulation of
the town were passed March 17, 1876, and April 24, 1880. By an act
approved February 11, 1882, the name was changed to Central City. The building used
as the town's first post-office is still standing. On August 7,
1871, George G. Shaver was appointed the first
postmaster of what was then known as Owensboro Junction. He was succeeded
on August 21, 1872, by Willis Kittinger, who served for
a few years. In March, 1913, Congress appropriated $7,500 for the purchase
of a site for a Federal building in Central City, which
the Government contemplates erecting within a few years. The Sandusky
House, opened about 1878 and run by Captain William H. H.
Sandusky, was for more than twenty-five years one of the best-known hotels
in Kentucky along the line of the Illinois Central
Railroad. Among other churches in Central City is St. Joseph's Church,
which was erected in 1912 and is the only Roman Catholic church
in the county. This congregation's first building was built in 1886, when
Reverend M. F. Melody, then stationed at Leitchfield,
was the priest-in-charge. Central City's first mayor was elected in
November, 1892. The following have served as mayor of Central
City: Doctor J. L. McDowell, 1893-1896; Doctor M. P. Creel, 1897-1900;
Doctor W. R. McDowell, 1901-1904; W. D. McElhinny,
1905-1909; and Doctor J. T. Woodburn, who has served since January 1,
1910.5Broad Street, Central City
Central City is the largest town in Muhlenberg. Since
1903 it has been the only place in the county where the sale of
intoxicants is permitted. Relative to the early history of Central City the
Muhlenberg Argus, on September 20, 1906, said:
Central City was begun about 1870, when what is now
the Illinois Central Railroad was being built. Coal mining followed
shortly after. The farm owned by John Stroud, including the one adjoining, it
which he bought from Charles S. Morehead and the farm owned by
Joseph Settle, compose the principal part of the
present (1906) site of Central City. Morehead ran a horse-mill for many
years, and although it disappeared nearly forty years ago a few of the old
citizens occasionally refer to the town as "Morehead's Horse Mill." In
1876 there were a few houses along the Greenville and
South Carrollton dirt road, and in fact until about 1888 the principal
business part of town was along that road, then and now known
as Water Street. The old house where the first post-office was kept is
still standing on the Greenville Road. Jonathan and Willis
Kittinger kept a post-office and store in this building in the early '70s.
One night, robbers broke in and hauled the entire stock
away, but who they were has not been learned to this day.
Bremen, 14 miles from Greenville, has 2 stores and 2
tobacco factories; population about 75; incorporated in 1869.H. D.
Rothrock, 1870
Bremen post-office was originally established about
1825, in a residence on the Greenville and Rumsey Road near the McLean
County line. About 1860 it was moved to Andrew
Bennett's store and blacksmith shop, where the town of Bremen now stands;
what was sometimes called Bennettsville became known as
Bremen.
It was pioneer Peter Shaver who, in honor of his
father's birthplace, Bremen, Germany, and in honor of the German-American
pioneers of Muhlenberg, secured this appropriate name
for a place in the county. As stated elsewhere, although the German-American pioneers of Muhlenberg are to-day represented by
many descendants, all traces of the German language, manners, and customs disappeared a few generations ago, not only
from the Bremen country--which was for many years called the "Dutch Settlement"--but also from other sections in which pioneers
of German descent had settled.
The Black Lake country lies east and northeast of
Bremen. The soil of the so-called Black Lake swamps is regarded by many as
the richest in the county, and its reclamation by
drainage is now being considered by the citizens of Bremen and the Black
Lake country. When this has been accomplished and the
cypress and other swampland trees have been cleared away, then, as Harry
M. Dean, of Greenville (who spent his boyhood in the
Black Lake country), expresses it in his beautiful poem, "The Cypress
Trees," this soil "that's black and deep" will be in condition "that men may sow
and reap." The poem referred to was first printed in the Greenville
Record on December 7, 1911, and has since been
reprinted in many papers.
The Cypress Trees.
We sentinel the lone waste places Of swamps that are
low and dim; Line on line for the conflict, Tall and silent and grim. In
the dawn of that far-off morning We stood in serried
lines-- The trees all clustered together, And next to us stood the pines.
But great was the Master's cunning-- A wisdom no man may know; So He sends the pines
to the uplands, While we to the swamps must go.
Mystic and brooding and silent, Huddled together we
stand; Pickets in reedy marshes, Guards of this lone, low land. Dark are
the aisles of our forests, Tangled with briars and vines;
Few there be who can know us, Few who can read our signs. The lone owl
broods in our branches, The brown snakes come and go,
And still we whisper a secret No man shall ever know.
Tall and mystic and brooding, Waiting the long years
through; Men drive us away from the swampland, But we come to the
swampland anew. For here we're master builders,
Lifting the soil from the slime; Holding the drifts in decaying, Bringing
the earth to its prime. Turning the low waste spaces To soil that's black and
deep, Until we are cleared from our places That men may sow and
reap.
Harry M. Dean.
Paradise, on Green river, 10 miles above (S. E. of)
South Carrollton, in N. E. part of county; population about 300; has 4
stores and 2 tobacco factories; incorporated in 1856.
Paradise was not incorporated until March 10, 1856,
which was more than half a century after the town had been settled. For a
few years after the Mexican War it was sometimes referred
to as Monterey. A deed recorded in 1854 incidentally states that Paradise
then had an area of thirteen acres. A plat drawn in
1871 shows an increase to twenty-six and one fourth acres. Although a few
acres have been added to its limits, the population has
slowly decreased since 1875. Its location and age make Paradise one of the
most undisturbed and interesting villages along Green
River.Black Lake and Cypress Trees, Near Bremen
Airdrie, on Green river, 17 miles from Greenville;
population about 200, largely engaged in mining coal; incorporated in
1858.
Airdrie sprang into existence in 1854, and was on the
point of being abandoned by many of the original citizens when, on
February 17, 1858, the town was incorporated. Except during a
few years, the people of Airdrie received their mail at Paradise. The old
furnace, built in 1855, long ago became a picturesque
ruin, and the house occupied for many years by General Buell was burned to
the ground in 1907. A history of Airdrie is given in
the chapter on "Paradise Country and Old Airdrie."
now the third largest town in the county, was not in
ex?? 1874, Collins published the above-quoted data on the towns. About
1882, or about the time the Owensboro & Russell??
??is buit, Frank M. Rice began a store near what is now the ??formed the
nucleus of a village which for a few years was ??le. On February 21, 1888, the
place was incorporated by legislature and its name changed to Drakesboro, in honor ??e, who lived in that neighborhood for many
years and died ??se still standing near the town known as the Bill
Drake ??ong other first-comers in this region was
Bryant Cundiff. ??town had a population of about two hundred. During the
years it has increased to about twelve hundred. Much of
progress is due to the work and influence of such men as ??, who in 1888
opened the Black Diamond Mine in the new since been at the
head of its affairs; William W. Bridges, connected with the Black Diamond
Mining Company since ??s organization; Doctor
Jefferson D. Cundiff, who has lost ??to contribute to the town's medical,
educational, and com?? and B. Frank Green, who as cashier of the Citizens
Bank financial interests of the citizens of the town and the
Drakes??
?? towns commented on by Collins, all had
post-offices in 1874 ??le and Airdrie. There were eleven post-offices in
the county The other six were: Earles, which was maintained in the residence until
about 1860, when the office was moved two ??the store of Thomas C. Summers, where it was continued ??name of Earles until
1910, when, after rural free delivery was established, the post-office was abandoned; Laurel Bluff, ??ted on the Greenville
Road about two miles from Dunmor ??post-office was abolished when Home Valley was established, ??ley was later changed to
Albritton and is now known as ??er and Nelson Station post-offices,
which were then where ??Painstown, which was about
two miles east of Nelson Staton, which was a small mining town on Green
River about five ??radise.
??well to add that about the middle of the last
century there ??e in the Harpe's Hill country known as Unity, one at the
??ary place called Ellwood or McNary's, one at Clark's Ferry River Mills, and
one on Clifty Creek east of Cisney, near the ??ent, called Sulphur
Springs. During 1884, and a few years ??er, a
post-office was maintained in the Bethel Church neigh?? Greenville and
Rumsey Road, called Bertram, and one near ??called Paceton.
??County now has thirty-four post-offices, eight star
mail ??r rural free delivery routes. The star routes run: from Weir
??eight miles; from Haley's Mill, Christian County, via Bancroft ??eighteen miles;
from Cisney to Yost. seven miles; from ??tler County, via Knightsburg and Ennis to Yost, nine and a half miles; from Wells to
Yost, six and a fourth miles; from Penrod, via Gus, to Huntsville,
Butler County, ten miles; from Beech Creek to
Browder, two miles; and from Rochester, via boat to Paradise and Rockport,
fifteen miles. There are three star routes from Dunmor into
Butler and Todd counties. The rural free delivery routes run: No. 1,
Greenville, Greenville to Earles, returning via Harpe's Hill, established in
1910, was the first in the county; No. 1, Central City, Central City to
Gishton and Bethel Church, returning via Cherry Hill
Church; No. 1, Bremen, extending from Bremen northeast into McLean County,
returning via Millport; No. 2, Bremen, Bremen to
Gishton and Earles, returning via Isaac's Creek and Briar Creek.
Most of the first-comers received their mail at
Greenville, Worthington, or Lewisburg, or at "Hunt Settlement" or some of
the other settlements.
Post-Offices in Muhlenberg County. In 1830, 1840,
1850, 1860, 1874, 1884, and 1912.
1830. Bremen. Greenville. Lewisburgh. McNarys. Mill
Port. Worthington.
1840. Bremen. Greenville. Lewisburgh. McNarys.
Rumsey. Skilesville. Worthington.
1850. Bremen. Ellwood. Greenville. Rumsey. South
Carrollton. Unity. Worthington.
1860. Earles. Ellwood. Greenville. Laurel Bluff. Lead
Hill. Model Mills. Pond River Mills. South Carrollton. Sulphur Springs.
Paradise.
1874. Bremen. Earles. Greenville. Laurel Bluff.
Mercer Station. Nelson. Owensboro Junction. Painstown. Paradise.
Riverside. South Carrollton.
1884. Albrittain. Bertram. Bevier. Central City.
Dunmor. Earles. Greenville. McNary. Mercer Station. Nelson. Paceton.
Paradise. Ricedale. South Carrollton. Yost.
1912. Bancroft. Beech Creek. Bevier. Bremen. Browder.
Brucken. Central City. Cisney. Cleaton. Depoy. Drakesboro. Dunmor.
Ennis. Gishton. Graham. Greenville. Gus. Hillside.
Knightsburg. Luzerne. McNary. Martwick. Mercer. Midland. Millport.
Moorman. Nelson. Paradise. Penrod. Powderly. South Carrollton. Weir. Wells. Yost.
Population of Towns in Muhlenberg County, as Given by
the Census Reports from 1870 to 1910.
Town 1910 1900 1890 1880 1870
Central City 2,545 1,348 1,144
Greenville 1,604 1,051 968 866 557
Drakesboro 1,126 228
South Carrollton 365 452 525 493 240
Bremen 254 180
Dunmor 138 77 82
Paradise 91 107 137
Rosewood 89 82
Penrod 68 80 72
Skilesville 53 87 85Main Street, Drakesboro
Population of Muhlenberg County, as Given by the
Census Reports from 1800 to 1910.
Year White Free Colored Slaves Total
1800 1,313 5 125 1,443
1810 3,698 3 480 4,181
1820 4,302 2 675 4,979
1830 4,327 15 998 5,340
1840 5,755 13 1,196 6,964
====
Noman in Western Kentucky stands higher as a citizen,
lawyer, or student of literature and history than does Judge Lucius P.
Little. In "Ben Hardin, His Times and Contemporaries,"
published in 1887, he wrote one of the best contributions ever printed
bearing on the history of Kentucky from 1784 to 1852. He now has in course
of preparation "Old Stories of Green River and Its People," which will
appear during 1914. I have read the manuscript, and
am confident that this book will take rank as one of the best written and
most valuable histories of any of those concerning any
section of the State. Judge Little was born in Calhoun February 15, 1838.
He was graduated from the Law Department of Cumberland
University, Lebanon, Tennessee, in 1857, and in 1868 moved to Owensboro,
where he has since resided and where he has long
stood at the head of his fellow lawyers. From 1880 to 1893 he served as
circuit judge. He is a member of the Investigators' Club
(Owensboro's literary and historical club) and the Kentucky State
Historical Society. The following sketch was written by Judge Little in 1912,
especially for this history.
"Riding the Circuit."
The custom of the old-time lawyers in Kentucky of
"riding the circuit" was almost coeval with the admission of the State
into the Federal Union, and continued to the end of the
fifties. After the Civil War ended, the increase of the local bar in
numbers and in reputation as practitioners caused the custom gradually to decline.
While the custom was in vogue, on the Sunday before
the beginning of a term of court the presiding judge, usually accompanied
by the prosecuting attorney and a retinue of lawyers
more or less numerous, mounted on horseback, might be seen entering the
county town, destined for the principal tavern, not unlike
an unarmed troop of cavalry. This might fitly be termed the "grand entry,"
and following it there quickly gathered about the inn a
respectable number of the principal citizens, to greet the distinguished
guests. After the first arrivals others followed, in parties
of twos or threes or one by one. By nightfall the leading tavern was taxed
to its utmost capacity.
The following morning, the first day of the term, the
courthouse bell was rung vigorously at eight o'clock, and shortly
thereafter the high sheriff proclaimed at the front door to the listening world
the thrilling shibboleth, usual on such occasions: "O yez! O yez! The
Circuit Court for Muhlenberg County is now in
session! Let all persons having business therein draw near and be heard!
God save the Commonwealth and this Honorable Court!" (This old preliminary
formula has fallen into disuse, and unfortunately a neglected Deity
has not always saved the Common wealth from the
enemies of law and order or protected the eminent judges who have presided
over its courts.)
On entering the court room, all seats inside the bar
are largely found already occupied by the unprivileged classes. The
sheriff, however, gives the peremptory order that all persons
not lawyers and officers of court are requested to retire from the bar,
which mandate is quickly obeyed. Persons summoned as jurors
and others (ready to be summoned) seek seats in easy earshot of any
call of their names. Parties, witnesses, and mere
lookers-on soon fill all remaining seats.
The judge has already taken what in legal parlance is
"the bench," but which in reality is an easy chair behind a desk, which to
the unsophistieated is strikingly like a pulpit. The
clerk, sheriff, and jailer betake themseives to their respective posts and
to the discharge of their several functions. At last the
honorable court is opened in due form, and those having business therein
draw near and (as opportunity offers) proceed to make
themselves heard.
The particular term of court now to be mentioned
occurred in the year 1859, when Honorable Thomas C. Dabney was judge of
the district and Ed Campbell prosecuting attorney. The
resident attorneys at that time were Charles Eaves, Jonathan Short, Joseph
Ricketts, John Chapeze, B. E. Pittman, Edward R.
Weir, sr., and Mortimer D. Hay. At the head of this roll, by extent of
practice, long experience, and profound learning, easily stood
Charles Eaves, then in the full vigor of manhood. The youngest member,
familiarly called "Mort" Hay, was tall and slender,
with a quick and bright mind, already giving assurance of the talents and
ability for which he was subsequently distinguished in a career terminated by
an untimely death. The visiting lawyers that term were Honorable
B. L. D. Guffy, of Morgantown, who was later to
occupy a seat on the Court of Appeals bench; Washington Ewing, of
Russellville, sprung of a family distinguished for its talents; H. G. Petree,
Samuel Kennedy, and Francis Bristow, from Elkton--and sometimes
came also the latter's son Benjamin, physically
strong and burly and of striking appearance, but not so widely
distinguished then as to cause the subsequent inquiry, "Is there not good presidential
timber produced in Elkton?" From the Daviess County bar answered
John H. McHenry, sr., and William Anthony, both names
very familiar in the region at that day. McLean County was also
represented by two young lawyers who, having some business in court that
term, were in attendance. One of these was the late William T.
Owen, afterward for two terms circuit judge of his
district. Each of these had secured two of Culver's best rigs for the
trip--not, as it may be well to explain, that they necessarily required two separate
conveyances for the thirty miles from Calhoun to Greenville, but
because each had had the good fortune to secure as
comrade for the journey two of the prettiest girls of that town. It is
recalled that, on the bright day they fared forth, the two young gentlemen were
arrayed in the height of the fashion of that time, but so clad that
they would be a sight to the beholders in these later
days. Picture them! Long hair, silk hats, swallow-tail coats, low-cut
vests, close-fitting trousers, and low-quarter shoes, with
white hose! Neither in that day nor at any time since, in Kentucky, has
there ever been any discount on a pretty girl because of her raiment, but on
this day these were charmingly gowned.
The weather was faultless, and the long, hot lanes
were fewer than now. For the most part the road on either side was
bordered by woodland, the scenery and fragrance of which would beggar the
language that might attempt to describe it. It is better to forget the
exquisite pleasure of such bright days in the dim
light of the somberer and quieter ones that came later. The road, at one
point, wound by a clearing where the timber had been cut
away and the brush placed in piles for burning later. There an incident
occurred worthy of note. A blacksnake, technically known as a
"racer," six to seven feet in length, was discovered in the road by Owen,
who was in advance. His fair companion expressed some
girlish alarm, whereupon with becoming gallantry he leaped from the buggy
and with whip in hand lashed the "racer" as he fled out
through the clearing. After a chase of seventy-five yards the snake hid
himself in a brush-pile, and Owen, exhilarated by the exercise, started to
return. The snake, encouraged by the retreat of his pursuer, came
forth, and with head erect nearly two feet made a good
second on the return, although the young man did his best. Turning on the
snake again and hitting him whenever in reach, the race out
through the clearing was repeated, and the snake again sought refuge and
again chased his pursuer. This performance was kept
up without variation until four or five heats had been run. Meantime his
traveling companion--secure from danger in the buggy--and
the occupants of the other vehicle, had laughed and wept and laughed
again. But Owen got excessively warm and was fairly outwinded, while the
"racer" showed a discouraging degree of "bottom." By finally
crawling into his buggy backwards, meanwhile
demonstrating with his whip, he managed to terminate the unequal contest.
Docet hic fabula if a beau wishes to show his mettle before the fair, he should
beware of contests with "racers."
In the soft twilight of the day the journey ended.
Having left their traveling companions with expectant friends, the
attorneys found lodging at Captain Bob Russell's somewhat overcrowded hotel. The
landlord was a large, portly man of fine presence, quite as dignified as any of his distinguished guests, with all of whom he
maintained an easy familiarity. He carried a stout walking-cane as
he mingled with his lodgers, discharging the duties
of hospitality. His colloquial abilities were above the common, and he was
not at loss whatever the topie. His stores of incident and
anecdote were inexhaustible, and he gave his friends little opportunity
for considering whether the accommodations of the house
might not be amended in certain directions. He had honorably served his
country in war and in peace in former years, and was
still a valuable man in that quarter to the political party with which he
affiliated.
The hotel building stood near the courthouse. It was
a low, two-storied affair, with a few bed-chambers and these in the second
story, but each large enough for three or four beds,
and each bed was designed to accommodate two persons. The writer recalls
that when he awoke at about four o'clock the first
morning of his stay in Greenville, he beheld a large, fleshy, elderly man
engaged in shaving a large area of fleshy face as with closed eyes he sat ponderously in
a chair. (This was before the era of safety razors.)
"Mr. McHenry, how can you shave without a mirror?"
inquired the freshly awakened young lawyer.
"I am not in the habit of using a mirror, and can
shave just as readily without one," was the answer.
It was fortunate in his case, as our room in this
respect was unfurnished, and the single candle in the bedroom shedding a
radiance somewhat uncertain. It was also a provident
arrangement of nature that morning that all the occupants of our chamber
did not care to arise and dress at the same time; that operation was
performed in detachments. The limited floor space forbade any other
course. There was no ceiling or plaster beneath, and because
of this the landlord was enabled with his cane to knock on our floor from
time to time, as a warning that breakfast was about ready.
All embarrassments were happily overcome, the morning meal dispatched,
and the gentlemen of the bar were ready in due time
for the opening of court.
One of the important cases to be tried was that of
Arch Rutherford, charged with the murder of a man named Stark, in Todd
County. After being indicted in Todd the defendant had
procured a change of venue to Muhlenberg. The evidence in the case was
circumstantial, and while the circumstances had been
comparatively few they had been sufficient to lead to the conclusion on
the part of the public generally-that the accused was the
guilty man, and that his motive had been robbery. A twenty-dollar bill
which had been paid to Stark the day before the murder (which
had occurred at night) was marked. It was found in possession of
Rutherford and identified by the man who had paid it to Stark. The accused
owned and was accustomed to ride a horse which, in motion, made a
peculiar noise known as "rattling of the sheath." It
was in proof at the trial that a horse making this peculiar noise was
heard, on the night of the murder, to pass through the town of Elkton from
Rutherford's residence, going in the direction of the place where Stark
resided, and also that a short time afterward the
horse was heard returning going toward defendant's residence. It was also
made to appear that, in passing and repassing through town,
the horse had been ridden in a gallop, and that next day he showed signs
of having been recently hard ridden.
Honorable Francis Bristow was chief counsel for the
accused. Mr. Campbell conducted the prosecution. The jury that tried the
case returned a verdict of guilty, and sentence of death
was pronounced. An appeal was prosecuted, and the judgment was reversed in
the Court of Appeals and the case remanded for a
new trial. While awaiting another trial the prisoner escaped from jail and
was never afterward apprehended. Tradition has it that he fled
to Texas, and during a long residence in that State accumulated
considerable property and that he died there, but the date of his death is
unknown.
At the same term there was also pending a case
against S. P. Love, charged with killing Wesley M. Little at South
Carrollton on August 16, 1857. The circumstances of the killing were that Love
and Little, both residing in South Carrollton, became embroiled in a
personal difficulty growing out of polities. Little
kept a hotel in the town and was an active local politician. In a public
speech he had denounced a statement made by Love as untrue. Early one Sunday
morning, shortly afterward, Little, while standing alone in front of
his hotel, was instantly killed by a shot in the
back, fired by some one in concealment in the second story of a house
across the street. Love was arrested and indicted for murder. At the autumn
term of 1859 the case was tried, but the jury failed to agree. It was
afterward continued from term to term until the
outbreak of the Civil War. Love, meantime, joined the Federal army and
during the war underwent final trial, which resulted in his acquittal.
Over half a century has gone by since the term of
court herein referred to. More pages have been written in American history
in that interval than in all the preceding years since
Columbus first laid longing eyes on the palm trees of the West Indian
island. In very truth old times have passed away, and behold all things are become
new.
To one who saw Greenville and its people then, there
are many things he would miss if he looked for them now. The portly and
dignified landlord of Russell's Tavern has long slept
in the silent grave. The small, old-fashioned courthouse has been
supplanted by a stately edifice, the architectural graces of which entitle it
to be called the Temple of Justice. The gentle Dabney has long since
ceased to preside there, but has without fear
answered the call of another Judge. Campbell, the prosecutor, is no longer
a terror to evildoers, but has received the reward due a just man, and has
claimed his right to be heard by that merciful Advocate who pleads
for us all. Charles Eaves, when he left this world,
took from it a store of legal knowledge possessed but rarely by any lawyer
of his day and generation. The amiable, kind-hearted Guffy went through life
doing his duty, dispensing good cheer among his friends, and finally meekly bowed his head to the fate that awaits us all. Owen,
after marrying the pretty girl who had laughed so merrily at him in
his contest with the "racer," rounded out an
honorable career, and at its end he and she sleep well the last long
sleep. Indeed, all the names here mentioned have long been numbered with the silent
hosts who now rest in eternal peace.
=====
Pioneer James Weir, of Greenville, made a number of
trips from Lewisburg, or Kincheloe's Bluff, to New Orleans in the early
days. The date of the first was about six years after he
settled in Muhlenberg, when he was about twenty-seven years old, and as
far as known it is the only one of which he ever wrote a
description. The original manuseript is still in existence, and for a copy
of it I am indebted to Judge Lucius P. Little, of Owensboro, who will publish
the story in his forthcoming book on "Old Stories of Green River
and Its People."
Journal, by James Weir, 1803.
I arrived at Natchez on the 9th March. It is a
beautiful little town situated on a high bluff rising from the river by a
gradual ascent, & a fertile & level country seems to make off from the town. From
the eligibility of this place I think it is found to be the center of
trade for the Western Country. There are about 500 dwellings in
this place. They are mostly Americans from South Carolina & Georgia.
There is a number of large stores there. Goods are sold
about the same price with Nashville. I suppose from what I have seen that
Natchez is, or the inhabitants of the town are, as much given
to luxury & dissipation as any place in America. There is great
abundance of cotton in the vicinity of Natchez. That is their staple commodity.
There were 5 sea-vessels (schooners or brigs) lying there waiting for
loading. It is thought that in time shipping will
come there in great numbers as it will not take them more than 5-6 days,
if so long, to come up from Orleans if the wind is moderately in their favour. I
left the Natchez on the 12th for the New Orleans and on the morning
of the 13th I arrived at Loftier Heights just as the
soldiers were firing the morning gun. Loftier Heights is a place of
defense occupied by the troops of the United States under the command of Gen.
Wilkinson. The garrison is in good order and the troops look well.
This place is 45 miles below Natchez on the line
between the Spaniards & Americans. The river is from there to the
Orleans very good and we sailed night and day. From the Heights to the Atchafalaya is
15 miles. This is a place that boatmen dread as it has been
said that boats were sucked out there and were not
able to return but were taken into lakes that empty into the sea, though I
found no difficulty in it, nor do I believe that it is so
dangerous as has been represented. From this to Point Copee is 25 miles.
At Point Copee the French are settled on both sides
in one continuous village which yields a beautiful prospect. From Point
Copee to Baton Rouge is 35 miles. Here is the principal
Spanish garrison that is kept on the river & here did I experience
some of their tyranical laws.
I arrived there in the evening and went to the
Commandant & got my passport signed. He sent down to my boat &
bought a ham of bacon. I thought from this example I might sell on without
hesitation. I continued to sell till the next day at 12 o'clock when I was
taken by a guard of Spanish Regulars who told me that
I must go into confinement together with all my crew, save one to take
care of the boat for selling without permission. I desired
to see the Commandant for I hated the thought of going into a calaboose,
but all in vain.
We were hurried into a nasty prison amongst a number
of Spanish transgressors who were almost naked. I then began to think of
Baron Trenk in the jail of Magdaburg & that it
might perhaps be my lot to be there without cause, possibly for months or
years as our liberation or confinement depended wholy on the will of a
capricious tyrant. I walked through this nasty prison very uneasy still
looking through the iron grates and ruminating on my
sad misfortune. I sat down at length on the straw & began to console
myself that I was not the first that had been in confinement
unjustly & that I was not alone as I had one of my company with me, a
Mr. Hobbs who was merely a passenger in my boat. After we
had been there about half an hour the interpreter came & told us we
must come out & go before the Commandant. We went out
cheerfully expecting to be liberated knowing ourselves to be innocent.
We were brought before the Commandant who sat in his
judgment hall. He demanded of me why I had sold bacon &c without
permission from him. I told him that I did not know
that it was necessary, and if I had transgressed against his laws it was
through ignorance I being a stranger in their land & also
that he was the first to purchase from me himself and that he did not tell
me that it was necessary to have a permit & therefore I thought it
ungenerous of him to put me into confinement. He took offense at this mode
of expression and ordered us both back to
confinement. The interpreter began to intercede for us but all in vain.
Then Mr. Hobbs, who was with me, began to plead that he was only a passenger
& that he ought to be set at liberty. The commandant agreed he should
be liberated but I was sent back to confinement. I
directed Hobbs to stay by my boat & not to leave the place till he saw
the result. He said he would stay by me if it was for 6 months & use every
exertion to get me out. He went to the boat & I to my prison with a
heavy heart.
The poor dejected Spaniards that were my companions
in this solitary place began to eye me with attention & one of them
got up and made signs for me to sit down on his blankets. I
sat down and mused to myself. I had no company for I could not understand
them. While I sat thus in dejection & had no
hopes of coming out shortly there came a messenger to the door & asked
me what I had to advance in my behalf respecting the affair for
which I was confined. I told him I had nothing more to say than what I had
already told the Commandant, his master, & that
he might tell him that if he did confine me here without a cause I would
see the Governor at the New Orleans who would certainly see
justice done & perhaps by his removal from office. In about 10 minutes
the messenger returned & told me I was to be set at
liberty. The iron bolts were again turned & I was once more set at
liberty.
When I returned to the boat the crew was overjoyed to
see me once more. We then pushed off our boat & set out for the
Orleans, resolving to stay at that unfortunate place no
longer. From Baton Rouge to Orleans, 180 miles, nothing more particular
occurred on our voyage. We sailed night & day as in this part of the river
there are no sawyers. When we came within 100 miles of Orleans the
river is levied on both sides to keep the water from
over flowing the settlements. Here you are presented with beautiful
prospects on the levy on both sides of which are houses, large & beautiful
farms, orange groves, sugar cane & sugar houses all the way to the
New Orleans. When we came in sight the masts of the
vessels that lay in harbour appeared like a forest of old trees. We got in
amongst them with some difficulty and landed just
above the Gate.
I arrived at the New Orleans on the 23d of March 1803
a handsome city much larger & better situated than I did expect. There
is a number of wealthy American merchants residing there
& they carry on business largely; houses that may be relied upon
either to deposit property with or to do business by
consignment. Orleans is not a place of defence. Their garrisons and forts
are out of repair. They have about 400 Spanish Regulars. They are a poor looking
starved like crew. I am persuaded that 100 Kentucky men could take the place if it was the will of Government for I suppose that
one third of the inhabitants of the Orleans are Americans in possession of the place.
New Orleans is situated low. The country falls off
from it. About 3 miles back it is so swampy that no person can settle on
it. It is a fine place for fish & oysters in the lake that lies about 3
miles back from the city. New Orleans is a very rich place and a great
place for doing business & would be a great acquisition
to the United States if they were in possession of it. The French &
Spaniards living there are for the most part very much of gentlemen & more to be
relied on than many of our American citizens that are settled there.
Some of them that I became acquainted with treated me
with the greatest civility & freindship.1
I set out from the Orleans for Philadelphia on the
6th of April on board the schooner Roby, Capt. Martain, Master (a very
worthy and respectable man, a Quaker. We had a fair wind down the river to the
mouth viz 105 miles. Just before we came to the Balize or mouth of the river we struck a sander & stuck fast for 3 days.
On the evening of the 4th we carried out our anchor & used every
exertion by all hands & draw her off, yet
nevertheless, I felt not satisfied, for I thought it was ominous of bad
success. We had to wait till the next morning for a pilot to take us out the mouth of
the river as the channel is very narrow and often changes so that it is
impossible for any person to come out or in without a
pilot who examines the channel every day & sets up stakes on each side
next morning early.
The pilot came to us & the winds blew fair &
we went out (together with seven other vessels) into the main ocean. Then
it was that I began to feel sea sick in good earnest. The waves rolled high and
the water looked green & loathsome as the hated Styx, (spoken of
by the heathen poets.) We had 14 passengers on board.
They were all sick save one. There was nothing to be heard but vomiting
and cries of the sick. I bore it patiently knowing
the sickness was not unto death & hoping that in a few days the worst
would be over, but I continued sick almost throughout my whole
journey. I had no appetite to eat & all kinds of victuals to me were
loathsome till I arrived in the Delaware. We had a fair wind
for 4 days after we left the Balize which blew us on rapidly. We sailed a
south course till we came in sight of the Havannah. We then changed our course
to E. N. E. The winds were contrary almost continually. We made no progress but were rather beaten back. Thus we were beat
about in most horrid tempests, sometimes in sight of the Florida
shore & sometimes in sight of the Land of Cuba
& it was with difficulty that we could keep off the rocks & sands.
The crew was in the utmost consternation & wished themselves on shore in any
part. The Captain nevertheless preserved a calm and unshaken mind,
bid us be of good cheer, that when adverse fortune
had spent herself, we would have better winds & that he hoped to land
us all safe at Philadelphia yet.
On the evening of the 4th of May one of the
passengers a young man from Monongehala of the name of William Kelly
jumped over board and drowned himself without any known cause (except the
apparent danger of our voyage & seasickness of which he had
greatly suffered.) He was noticed to sit pensive all
that day till evening when he pulled off his shirt & immediately
jumped overboard. We called to him and threw him a rope but he would not receive it,
but swam immediately from the vessel. We turned the vessel about in order to take him up but it was impracticable as the wind
blew very high. We could see him swimming for the space of 20 minutes, when he jumped up almost out of the water and cryed out
twice very loud & sunk down & we saw him no more.
Great was the solemnity that pervaded through the
whole crew. All seemed to regret the loss by so sudden death of so fine a
young man who had so lately been our most jovial companion.
We also seemed to conjecture that it did presage the destruction of all
the crew & vessel. I went to bed but slept very
little. I still fancied I could see poor Kelly jump out of the water &
cry out for help.
The next morning there blew up a mighty storm with
much thunder and dreadful flashes of lightning that rolled along the
skies. The waves became most dreadful such as we had never seen before. They
often ran over our vessel and came into the cabin windows till
it was knee deep on the floor. Then it was that I
began to think that we must certainly perish. However, through the skill
of our captain & sailors & the mercy of God we were
preserved to encounter a more eminent danger. Cruel & adverse fortune
seemed never too weary to persecute us. The winds subsided & the clouds blew
away & bright Phebus began to emerge from the deep & seemed
to promise us a pleasant day. But how short was this
interval of pleasant calm. It was like the prosperity of the wicked but of
short duration.
We were calmly reclining ourselves on our beds
talking over the dangers we had so recently escaped when it was cried out
on deck "a waterspout! a waterspout! & it is coming
towards us." We all ran up on deck when we perceived it not far distant
from us & progressing on towards us. (Now a waterspout is a thing much feared
by sea men. It is a body of water drawn up out of the sea into
the clouds and then falls down with wonderful
velocity and if it strikes a vessel it commonly sinks it.) I found our
captain (who had hitherto appeared unmoved in all danger) began to appear much
alarmed and the form of his visage was changed and all the sailors
began to be in utmost confusion. The captain ordered
all the passengers below. They mostly went down, but I resolved to stay on
deck & see the event. The captain tried to make
sail to get out of the way of it but it was all in vain. For then it
seemed as though it would go before us. Then we struck sail thinking to fall back &
let it pass on before us yet all our exertions seemed in vain. For
though our vessel occupied but a small part of the
wide extended ocean & this unhappy phenomenon was I suppose 2 miles
off when we saw it first yet it came directly and
immediately to us as though directed by a supernatural power for our
certain destruction.
Now this horrid scene begins to approach, the air is
darkened, it roars like one continual peal of thunder. The captain cried
out, "It is done! we are all lost!" The stoniest hearted sailors began to cry
out "death, certain death! Lord have mercy on us!" The passengers
began to flock up from below. Horror & paleness
overspread each countenance & all crying out for mercy. I stood near
to the cabin door & held by a rope expecting every moment to launch into the
unknown regions of eternity. It came up & struck the stern of our
vessel with a dreadful shock. She wheeled round with
a great force & sunk down into the sea till the water came up to our
shoulders on the mail deck when I never expected to see her
rise again. It tore away our main sail & our top sail & our flying
jib & the greater part of our rigging & drew them up into the air as in a
whirlwind so that we saw them no more. It took the hat off the mate's head
together with a number of other articles off the
deck. After having shattered us most intolerably it passed by our vessel
which rose out of the water. We tried the pump & found that the hull of
our vessel was yet sound to the inexpressable joy of the captain and all
the crew. It was some time before we recovered from
the shock we received. When it struck the vessel it was like the shock of
thunder when near, or electrel fire. Indeed it was 3
days before some of the crew was well. Now all hands are employed in
clearing away the shattered rigging & in trying to erect a
small sail for we had no canvas on board & we had to sew together the
ruins of the old in the evening. We raised two small sails tho of little
consequence & tried to stand our course. Tho' the winds were yet
contrary we kept in the Gulf Stream which beat us on to the
North.
On the 26th & 27th the winds blew fair. On the
28th the wind shifted to the North & beat us back 2 degrees. We are
now in the latitude of Charlestown & in sight of the Capes. The passengers
prayed the captain to land them there for they began to despair of
ever getting round to Philadelphia but he refused. So
we beat on in great distress & confusion as our water was nearly
exhausted & our ship in miserable repair, however the wind changed more
favorably & on the 8th day of May we arrived in the Cape of
Philadelphia & on the 9th we got a pilot & proceeded up the
Delaware river (viz 120 miles to Philadelphia). We had a fair wind up the
river & sailed up very pleasantly. A more beautiful prospect I never saw
than in passing up the river. On either side is one continuous village
with the most beautiful houses, meadows & orchards
that yielded a most delightful prospect & a sweet & salutary
perfume as the orchards & flowers were now in their bloom. I forgot all my
difficulties, my seasickness left me and I felt uninterrupted felicity
from the charming prospects. Vessels continually passing
& repassing us with the same winds and towns arising on every side
& ships coming in from all parts of the world. We spoke vessels in the
river, some from the East & West Indies, from England, France &
Spain & from all parts of the United States. On
the 12th we arrived in Philadelphia, truly a large and elegant city most
pleasantly situated. The people are remarkably plain & very civil. A great
many of the inhabitants of this city are Quakers, mostly merchants
and very attentive to business.
On the 23d I set out from Philadelphia for Pittsburg.
On the 24th I arrived at Lancaster a beautiful inland town, I suppose
superior to any in the United States. I stayed there 3 days, then set out for
Pittsburg. On my way I passed through several handsome little towns. The country is well settled by industrious citizens. They
have fine orchards meadows & barns, & houses tho they charge
travelers very high. On the 13th of June I arrived at
Pittsburg a handsome little town in the forks of the Monongahala &
Allegheny rivers. It is the place where most of the Western
merchants embark with their merchandise to come down the river which
causes money to be very plenty there. I stayed there 4 days
to wait till the wagons came in with my goods. I purchased a boat, put in
my goods & set off down the river. We passed by some
handsome little towns on the way. I think it will be one day a continuous
village on the banks of the Ohio from Pittsburg to the New
Orleans. The river was very low. I floated night & day yet I was 4
weeks & 4 days from Pittsburg to the Redbanks, where I arrived on the 4th day of
July, being one day more than 5 months from the time I set out
from Lewisburg to the New Orleans.
C, Two Local Stories by Edward R. Weir, Sr.
Edward R. Weir, sr., of Greenville, son of pioneer
James Weir, was the author of a number of short stories. Only two are
still preserved, and they are here briefly outlined.
"A Visit to the Faith Doctor" was published in the
November, 1836, issue of The Western Magazine of Cincinnati. When it first
appeared in print it was the subject of much lively
discussion in the Green River country, and especially in Muhlenberg
County. Although the story caused Mr. Weir to lose a few
votes, he nevertheless gained many others, when in 1841 he ran for the
Legislature, to which he was elected by a large
majority. The first half of the tale is a somewhat one-sided discussion of
faith cures, in which the author quotes from the old Greek scribes and many of
the writers of his own day. The last half is the account of an
experience he had in visiting a "faith doctor" near
"a little town on Green River," all of which is followed by a short
argument on faith cures in general. The whole subject is treated ironically and by no
means seriously. Nevertheless it was evidently written with a view
of trying to prove what he considered "the absurdity
of belief in faith doctors."
"A Deer Hunt" was published in the Knickerbocker
Magazine of March, 1839, under the heading of "Random Sketches by a
Kentuckian--E. R. W." In the same number of the
magazine appears an article by Washington Irving and a poem by Oliver
Wendell Holmes. Mr. Weir begins his story with a few remarks
on the great forests around Greenville, which I have omitted.
A Visit to the Faith Doctor.
Many of the ancient writers held the belief of
supernatural power being given to man, and that there were some who could
cure as well as give diseases by prayer, exorcisms, laying on
of hands, etc. ...
Steele says in the Tatler, "It is not to be imagined
how far the violence of our own desires will carry us toward our own
deceit in the pursuit of what we wish for." Imagination is a powerful emotion,
and it has been satisfactorily proven that it will not only effect cures
of "ineurable diseases," but will frequently
produce death. Witness the case of the Jew in France, who on a very dark
night passed safely over a bridge which consisted of a single log, whilst below
him was an abyss of several hundred feet. On the next morning he
was shown the fearful danger he had escaped, and so
great was his emotion that he fell dead. Another is a case of a person
whose fear of the plague was so great that when he entered
a room where a plague-striken man was, he instantly expired. Again, where
a criminal was bled to death without bleeding a drop of
blood.
[Mr. Weir then proceeds to tell about a visit made by
two ladies and himself to the Faith Doctor's farm. One of the ladies was
afflicted with an inflamed eye, and had decided, as a
last resort, to call on this wonderful man. Their party of three left
Greenville "one warm day in August," and after an interesting ride, during which they
paused long enough to partake of an excellent dinner, they arrived at
the "Doctor's domicile." Tradition says this house
was in Ohio County, near Livermore.]
It was a one-story log house with two rooms, and did
not differ in any respect from those that we had passed during the day,
save that a number of benches were ranged in front of the
door. ...
We dismounted and walked in. There was no person in
the room, and we had time to look around the place into which we had thus
introduced ourselves. But there was nothing to mark
that we were in the dwellingplace of the wonderful man. I looked around
for the books, the musty records of ancient knowledge, over
which he might have pored and from which he might have gathered the power
he was reputed to possess. But in vain we looked for
these. No huge ironbound tome met our gaze. Everything was most
provokingly plain, nothing mysterious, nothing which we might not find in
any common farmer's cabin.
The neat little bed which stood in one corner of the
room was like all other beds. The old-fashioned clock, enclosed in a still
more antiquated case, ticked on like any other clock. From
a furtive glance which I cast into a cupboard I found that the Doctor and
his family did eat, for it was well stored with cold
meats and cold pies.
Before I had time to extend my discoveries any
farther his daughter came into the room. She was quite a pretty girl, but
unfortunately for the poetry of the thing, she forgot to slip on her
stockings. Shoes without stockings, you know, do not look well. We
enquired for the Doctor. He was "in the meadow at work." We looked in that
direction and beheld him astride of a haystack, which he appeared
to be "topping off." A messenger was dispatched
for him, and we prepared for the interesting interview.
From the house we had a full view of the meadow, and
before it was possible for the little boy, whom we had sent, to reach him
where he was, we saw him slide from the stack, snatch
up his hat and start for the house at about half mast. Then thought I, "he
has an intuitive sense that he is wanted," but the
next moment "the woeful want of dignity" struck me more forcibly. The
cause of his haste was soon explained: there was a rush among the green corn;
then a bark, and a squeal, and forth rushed a gang of hogs, closely followed by Towser and Ponto, while just behind came the
Doctor, encouraging his dogs by name, who soon succeeded in clearing the field from intruders.
His first salutation, when he saw me, was, "These
nasty critters--people will leave the gate open, and they destroy all my
truck!"
[The callers apologized for their negligence, after
which the consultation began.]
Five minutes sufficed. He merely asked her name,
which eye was affected, and how long it had been so. He took down her
answers in writing and told her that the optic nerve, which
we all knew before, was affected. I was very anxious to close the scene.
So, hurrying the lady to her horse, I returned to bid the
Doctor farewell. ... We were told he accepts no compensation for his
service--that he asks no pay; but he is not averse to his family receiving
presents. Nevertheless I asked him if he would make any charge for what
he had promised to try to do, to which he answered:
"Yes, I charge you this: next time you come, shut the gate."
[Upon her return home the patient was confined to her
room with a fever and headache. However, she rapidly recovered, and
regained the full use of her eye, and the faith doctor
had in her another enthusiastic convert.]
From the slight conversation I had with the Doctor,
and from what he has said to others, I gather that his plan of operation
is by prayer, and that his creed is founded upon that
passage of Scripture, "Verily, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard
seed," etc. By his neighbors he is said to be a truly pious and estimable man, and
that he possesses some intelligence. From this I would humbly beg
leave to differ: I think him a very ignorant man, who
may probably have succeeded in forcing upon himself the belief that his
prayers "avail much."
[The article concludes with the argument that if
prayers and petitions can result in such wonders through this Faith
Doctor, whom he declares "arrogant and impudent," how much more effective would be
the result, and reverential the act, if the afflicted, instead of
"laying his case before this pretender," would "pray
to God and not to man."]
A Deer Hunt.
A bright, frosty morning in November, 1838, tempted
me to visit this forest hunting-ground. ... On this occasion I was
followed by a fine-looking hound, which had been presented to me, a few days
before, by a fellow-sportsman. I was anxious to test his qualities,
and knowing that a mean dog will often hunt well with
a good one, I tied up my eager and well-trained Bravo and was attended by
the stranger dog alone.
[After a brisk canter of half an hour (which is very
interestingly described) the sportsman sighted a deer, the object of his
hunt. One version of the tradition has it that Mr. Weir first
saw this stag on the hill three miles east of Greenville, which since the
publication of this story has been called "Buck Knob."]
On the very summit of the ridge, full one hundred and
fifty yards distant, every limb standing out in bold relief against the
clear blue sky, the stag paused and looked proudly down upon us. After a
moment of indecision I raised my rifle and sent the whizzing lead
upon its errand. A single bound and the antlered
monarch was hidden from my view.
[The chase continued for several hours, and led the
hunter many miles from the starting-point, until finally he had a second
shot at the animal.]
Again I poured forth the "leaden messenger of death,"
and meteorlike he flashed by us. One bound and the noble animal lay
prostrate within fifty feet of where I stood. Leaping
from my horse and placing one knee upon the stag's shoulder and a hand
upon his antlers, I
drew my hunting knife. But scarcely had the keen point touched his neck,
when with a sudden bound he threw me from his body, and my knife was hurled from my hand. In hunter's parlance, I had
"only creased him." I at once saw my danger; but it was too late.
With one bound he was upon me, wounding and almost
disabling me with his sharp feet and horns. I seized him by his widespread
antlers and sought to regain possession of my knife,
but in vain; each new struggle drew me farther from it. Cherokee (my
horse). frightened at this unusual scene, had madly fled to
the top of the ridge, where he stood looking down upon the combat,
trembling and quivering in every limb.
The ridge road I had taken had placed us far in
advance of the hound whose bay I could now hear. The struggles of the
furious animal had become dreadful, and every moment I could feel his sharp hoofs
cutting deep into my flesh; and yet I relinquished not my hold.
The struggle had brought us near a deep ditch, washed
by the heavy fall rains, and into this I endeavored to force my adversary;
but my strength was unequal to the effort. When we
approached the very brink he leaped over the drain; I relinquished my hold
and rolled in, hoping thus to escape him. But he returned to the attack, and
throwing himself upon me, inflicted numerous severe cuts upon my
face and breast before I could again seize him.
Locking my arms around his antlers, I drew his head close to my breast,
and was thus, by a great effort, enabled to prevent his doing
me any serious injury. But I felt that this could not last long; every
muscle and fibre of my frame was called into action and human nature could not
long bear up under such exertion. Faltering a silent prayer to
Heaven, I prepared to meet my fate.
At the moment of despair I heard the faint bayings of
the hound. The stag, too, heard the sound, and springing from the ditch,
drew me with him. His efforts were now redoubled and I
could scarcely cling to him. Yet that blessed sound came nearer and
nearer! O how wildly beat my heart, as I saw the hound emerge
from the ravine and spring forward, with short quick bark, as his eyes
rested on his game. I released my hold of the stag, who
turned upon this new enemy. Exhausted and unable to rise, I still cheered
the dog, that dastard-like fled before the infuriated animal,
who, seemingly despising such an enemy, again threw himself upon me. Again
did I succeed in throwing my arms around his antlers, but
not until he had inflicted several deep and dangerous wounds upon my head
and face, cutting to the very bone.
Blinded by the flowing blood, exhausted and
despairing, I cursed the coward dog, who stood near, baying furiously, yet
refusing to seize his game. O how I prayed for Bravo! The thoughts of death
were bitter. To die thus, in the wild forest, alone, with none to help!
Thoughts of home and friends coursed like lightning
through my brain. That moment of desperation, when hope itself had fled,
deep and clear, over the neighboring hill, came the bay of
my gallant Bravo! I should have known his voice among a thousand! I pealed
forth, in one faint shout, "On, Bravo! on!" The next
moment, with tigerlike bounds, the noble dog came leaping down the
declivity, scattering the dried autumnal leaves like a whirlwind in its path.
"No pause he knew," but fixing his fangs in the stag's throat, at once
commenced the struggle.
I fell back completely exhausted. Blinded with blood,
I only knew that a terrific struggle was going on. In a few moments all
was still, and I felt the warm breath of my faithful dog as he licked my
wounds. Clearing my eyes from gore, I saw my late adversary dead at
my feet; and Bravo, "my own Bravo," as the heroine of
a modern novel would say, standing over me. He yet bore around his neck a
fragment of the rope with which I had tied him. He
had gnawed it in two, and following his master through all his wanderings,
arrived in time to rescue him from a horrible death.
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