Overland, From West Point, Georgia, through North Louisiana
to Arkansas
Chapter VII
On the 8th of
December, 1843, with wife and four children, I left my old
Georgia home for the State of Arkansas. There had been a
continued and unusual amount of rain, the streams were much
swollen and the roads were almost impassible. On this account,
when we reached Eutaw in Green County, Ala., we stopped four
months. This place had lately been made the county site,
consequently it was fall of life and activity in the way of
improvements. The surrounding lands were rich, and mostly owned
by wealthy planters. We utilized our time and skill while in
this place. The first of May, 1844, I was en route to the West.
B.P. Robinson, who left Georgia with us, had stopped over at
Greensborough, the late county site of Green. He left
Greensborough the day before we left Eutaw, it having been
agreed that we should meet at a certain place, but in this we
failed, and I moved on. But Robinson overtook me at Pearl River,
in Mississippi. At Jackson we took the road to Rodney, having
learned we could not get through the Mississippi bottom opposite
Vicksburg. Crossing the river we traveled down the west bank to
Waterproof.
Then we left
the river, turning northwest to Green's bayou. And this was our
first day west of the great river. In Alabama and in Mississippi
we had seen large bodies of rich land and magnificent farms
stretched out as far as the eye could reach, around splendid
mansions. My thoughts would go back to Morgan County, Ga., where
I was born and partly raised, and to Troup County which I had so
lately left, and the contrast was wonderful. We found a great
deal of poor land though, both in Alabama and Mississippi; but
when we beheld the land west of the Mississippi we found the
soil far beyond anything we had ever imagined. We could but
think of that granary of the world, the land of the Nile, in
Egypt.
We had some
trouble in crossing Green's Bayou, for it was full. Getting side
by side two dry cypress logs, we made a raft, and fortunately,
being in the days when corded bedsteads were in vogue, we tied
our bed cords to the trees on either bank and thereby drew our
raft across. We carried a wagon at each trip, then carried over
the women and children and last swam our stock over. We were of
course delayed here some time, in the midst of immense
canebrakes, cypress and other swamp growth. The noises of this
howling wilderness at night were peculiar and to us horrible.
Believing we had crossed the most difficult stream on our way to
Sicily Island, we resumed our journey in good spirits, but were
soon and sadly disappointed. We came to the Tensas River, where
the Choctaw enters it, at Kirke's Ferry, and was told and saw
that there was no chance of pursuing our way to Sicily Island by
land, for from the ferry to the island nearly everything was
under water. We pitched our camp on the edge of a canebrake near
the banks of the river, and fed our stock on cane.
There were
but few settlers near our camp, which made it rather lonely, and
as the river was rising very fast, we also felt a little
uncomfortable, for retreat was impossible. Apprehensive that our
camping place might be entirely submerged, we determined to
build a proper raft, and try to make our way down the Tensas.
Robinson had three sons nearly grown, a lad of a boy, a negro
man and woman. I had one negro woman. We determined to utilize
all our force in building our raft, had determined on plan and
size, and were about to commence work, when as fortune would
have it, up came a little stern wheel boat, propelled by
horsepower, Hailing this boat she came to land, and it was not
long before we made a trade with the proprietor to take us
around to Harrisonburg, on the Ouachita River, but as the boat
was on her up trip, we had to remain in our disagreeable camp
two or three days, and daring this time we took to pieces our
hack and wagons.
On the return
of the boat we got our families aboard, then our teams, and so
placed our wagons as to prevent our stock from falling
overboard. Our horse steamboat moved down stream slowly, and on
reaching Waterproof, greatly to our annoyance, remained there
some time. We could only be patient, however, and abide our
boats time. At last up the Ouachita, we went creeping along,
taking three days to make a trip of seventy miles. We landed at
Harrisonburg in the night, but desiring to leave that boat, we
went to work and got everything ashore and had our wagons
together ready for an early move the next day. Harrisonburg was
a small place and looked rather ancient boasted of two or three
business houses with small stocks of goods. Turning our way
north we found the country very poor, but having plenty of fine
pine timber; occasionally would be passed a body of good land,
and now and then a settlement on the road we traveled.
We began to
feel discouraged, to think we had left behind the Eden of
America. When we reached Jackson Parish, we found a little more
promising country, more settlements, and the people had plenty
of all the essentials. Watermelons were abundant and free.
Pushing on through, we reached and crossed D'Arbonne near the
junction of Corni Bayou. On reaching Farmerville, then a new
place and improving rapidly, we rested a while. Leaving
Farmerville with a good impression of its people, we pursued our
journey through Union Parish to Union County, Arkansas, and
stopped at a place which afterwards became known as Lisbon.
After crossing the D'Arbonne, we found the lands generally to be
of a deep sandy soil, well watered, with an abundance of pine
timber. A peculiarity of this region I noticed, was a swamp
growth all over the hills, and this was a new chapter to me.
Emigration was pouring into this hill country from all the
Southern States.
A few of the
old settlers, Hoosiers, some called them, who had been here for
years and who had made hunting their main business, still
remained on their old homes. They were generous and kind, though
rude in their way, but felt grieved at seeing the forest, in
which they had spent so many happy days, so ruthlessly cut down.
Most of the emigrants of that day were men of some means, with
growing families. Union County tilled rapidly with a class of
men, take them all in all, that could not be surpassed in those
sentiments that go to make up a reliable and trusty people.
About the time Eldorado was laid off into lots, 1845, I settled
down about two miles from it, but remained only one year. The
improvement of town and country that year was wonderful, and for
years the agricultural yield was great. But in a few years the
lands washed badly and began to fail when they should have been
in their prime.
We left Union
County the last of December, 1845, and went to Deshee County. We
got to our new home in the early part of January, 1846. Deshse
is a river county, and Napoleon, situated at or near the mouth
of the Arkansas River, was and yet may be the county site. I
spent the year in that part of the country lying between the
Barthalomew and Saline Rivers. In 1847 I had to move, but it was
only to another place in the same region. Being in the saddle
most of the time, I traveled over large portions of the country,
but mostly in the Arkansas River sections. From Pine Bluff to
the Arkansas Post the lands were very rich, and a number of
large farms were being worked there. A few farms only were back
from the river. At the close of the year, I moved to Drew
County, settling down in the parsonage, where I remained during
1848 and 1949. Having to change my location, I moved to a small
town not far from Monticello, known as Rough and Ready. At the
close of 1850, I was broken down in health, and with a dependent
and expensive family of seven children to raise and educate.
Having visited Claiborne Parish, I decided to make that my home.
Leaving Pine Bluff in the latter part of December, I arrived in
Claiborne in April, 1857, having been delayed by business on the
way. There was then a heavy tide of emigration pouring in.
I have never
seen more energy displayed than was displayed by these
newcomers. Thousands of acres were yearly cut down and brought
into cultivation. As to intelligence and morality, this
community was comparable with any. There were many men of
sterling and superior worth here. The soil of the parish, her
prodigality of forests, were unsurpassed by any upland parish in
the state or county in south Arkansas. From 1850 to 1861, the
accumulation of property in the parish was immense, churches
were established everywhere; schools in every neighborhood;
prosperity blessed the land and the people were just and happy.
But the war cloud came down in 1861, and the present and
promising future vanished in the turmoil and devastation of
marching and contending armies.
Claiborne Parish History
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