The St. Louis Republic. [volume], March 17, 1901, Magazine Section, Image 48

About The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919

Image provided by: State Historical Society of Missouri; Columbia, MO

                
THE REPUBLIC: SUNDAY. MARCH 17. 1901.
THE PIRATES OF COTTONWOOD CHEEK.
Romance of the
LouisianilkT. 9
Purchase lw
M hi
I X E.
s
5
How Culbert
WRITTEN TOR THE SUNDAT RErUBUC.
Captain KIdd himself was no -more daring
and no moie murderous than were tho lead
ers of those various hands of pirates wITo
infested the Mississippi River In tho latter
j ears of the Kighteenth Century.
That was before civilization had dona
more than send her advance guards into this
region; but not until after that advance
guard had established a rich trade between
Its stations. For what is there that pirates
may prey upon if thcro be no conimerco?
Your pirate, whether on sea or river, has no
use for those legions In which there are no
goods that may peel: market and. In the
seeking, expose themselves to peril and their
custodians to death.
There was almost a chain of pirates ex
tending from a few miles below St. Louis
to a few miles above Cairo In the early
eighties of tho Eighteenth Century. Their
existence was bnel from the time when
tho commercial trade between St. Louis and
New Orleans grow- Important enough to war
rant the expenditure of a robber band's
time and attention upon It to the other time,
not lar distant, when it grew too great to
be successfully and safely Interfered with
rBut In those feu- years an enormous amount
of goods was btolen and bcoies of lives were
sacrificed.
And this story has to tell of the blow
which was virtually the destruction of the
Mississippi Itiver pirate Industry.
The Start of the Barge
Of M. Beausoliel.
It was three years after the great Hood
"annee des grands eaux." the Frenchmen
of Louisiana called it which occurred in
June, 17S1. In the spring of 1TS7 M. Francis
Beausoliel started from New Orleans with
a richly laden barge, expecting to Sell his
cargo to the citizens of St. Louis and reap
a great harvest of llvres.
His barge was fitted out as luxuriously as
possible, and the crew that manned It com
prised a score of men. There were oar
locks and huge oars for rowing; there were
windlasses for the ropes which, fastened to
trees along the shore, might give help when
the current was too strong for the oarsmen
to overcome: and thcro was one big white
sail, square-cut, which might be used when
tho wind was in the right direction.
The departure of the barge late in March.
17ST. was an important event in tho local
history of Mew Orleans; for it was a large
bargoand the most richly freighted one that
had ever started up the nig river, m. ccau
sollel had all his fortune in the venture:
His cash had gone to purchase tho boat:
his lnnds had bought the goods; a dozen
slaves had bought the provisions.
It was a momentous enierpnso mr .u.
Beausoliel and an historic one for ew
Orleans. So it was no wonder that M. Beau-
illel was anxious: and no wonaer tnai wnen
tho barge began Its trip, with the first
niinnu nf flnviicht one March morning, the
low river front of New Orleans was lined
with villagers, who waved their hands and
hats and kerchiefs and shouted "bon voy
age." A Thousand-Mile Trip
Rowing Against the Current.
The trip for a thousand miles was prosaic
Now- and then a favorable wind wouid fill
out the big, 6quare-cut sail and send tho
heavy barge plowing stolidly against tho
nwift-flowing current; but for the most part
It was a steady battle of oars and ropes
galnst the current and the wind.
But there wero intervals of rough feast
ing and rougher song. 'With tho fall of dark
ness each day the-barge was dragged toward
the shore and tied up; for It was a tortuous
and unmarked path that was being followed,
with snags protruding their ugly heads
upward from many hidden sandbars and
huge tree trunks riding madly upon the
waters with the force of battering rams.
M. Beausoliel could not risk his precious
Will Celebrate Her Ninety
Second Birthday oi April 1.
Mrs. Nancy Palmer. Who Came io Missouri in 1830 and Has Been
a Republic Reader for 60 Years, Is Still Enjoying Life.
ftvltlTTEN FOR THE SUNDAY REFDBLia
On ADrll 1 Mrs. Nancy it. raimer wiu
celebrate her ninety-second birthday. She
has been twice widowed, has survived seven
brothers and sisters, three sons and numer
ous grandchildren, has recovered from the
physical Injury and nervous shock occa
sioned by being thrown from a buggy which
was in collision with a street car, and is still
enjoying life with as light a heart and as
bright a face as though she were but 60.
It Is only within the past two years that
Mrs. Palmer has become physically en
feebled. She Is not an Invalid even now
not by any means; but only In the brightest
and balmiest weather does she venture out
with her daughter, Mrs. Virginia Shaffer of
No. 728 North Newstaad avenue, for a drive.
Now and then she attends services at tho
Delmar Avenue Baptist Church, of which
she Is a devout member, and of whose pas
tor, the Reverend Doctor J. T. M. Johnson,
she is a great admirer and firm friend.
"I could so to church fust as-well as amti
15!rTMcyTiaihief, vfhd
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and His Crew Fell Victims to the Ingenuity
boat and its more preclouB cargo when night
had hidden the dangers from view; and so
the brawny crew would draw close to shore
and, with work forgotten for the time that
raust elapse before the first rays of the
morrow's sun should signal the beginning
of another day of toll, would spend their
hours bellowing songs that had been learned
in Franco and swearing rough oaths the
while they told of marvelous adventures
and drank deeply of strung red wine and
golden brandy.
The hills of Natchez, the sheer bluffs of
Memphis, the swamps of the St Francis
basin and the wide mouth of tho Ohio had
been passed at last, and the time until the
end of tho Journey was being computed in
days instead of In months, as at the start,
or in weeks, us had Iken the manner later
on.
Passing the Ohio and Beginning
the Last of the Jouruev.
It was well Into May when the barge had
passed the Ohio and begun the last stage of
the long trip. All the chill was out of the
night air, and the sun beat down hot and
straight during the long days. The water
glistened In moonlight and dazzled In sun
light. The closely wooded shores were dark
ly green, and. day and night, big-throated
xrogs Deuow-ea a chorus w fclcn was taken up
j.? uvim uuu uuu &nu orcnesiruiea oy
droning insects. At Ions, long intervals
there came the sharp report of a rifle; now
and then a red face would peer curiously
from between the trees on either bank.
And all through the day there was the
rattle of oarlock, the curses of men tug
ging at ropes, and, when the wind was fair,
the clanking of yardurm and mast. At
night there was the halt, and then louder
songs and more thrilling stories and deeper
curses and longer drafts of wine.
One hundred and thirty-five mile" below
St. Louis, on the Missouri side of the river,
there was a break in the solid wooded
border of the shore. Here a sluggish creek,
that began its course some twenty miles to
the southwest and wound its slow way be
tween low banks that were broken In many
places by other sluggish streams, poured
its reeble strength into the Mississippi. One
hundred and fourteen ytars ago this creek
had no name; twenty years later it was
called Cottonwood Creek. Its mouth was a
few miles below Grand Tower, and ten
miles above it was a wooded island that
was half a sandbar. This Island, likewis?.
had no name In ITS"; a few years later it
was called Beausoliel's Island. Now it is
washed away or has become a part of
the mainland, one cannot learn which.
Culbert's IMrates Lay
Plans to Attack.
In May, 17S7, the creek was the head
quarters of tho most dangerous and daring
band of pirates that ever Infested the Mis
sissippi. An Englishman, named James
Culbert, was the leader; his first lieutenant
was Joseph Magilbray, who called himself
a Welshman. The party itself was com
posed of as precious a lot of renegade
Frenchmen. Spaniards, Americans, Indiana
and negroes as ever remained unhung.
Every man of them was a daredevil, who
hesitated not at any kind of plunder or
murder so long as there was the promise
of 10 llvres In the Job.
As Beausolell's barge nearcd the mouth of
Cottonwood Creek one of Culbert's men saw
it. Preparations were made for an attoik,
but a strong breeze sent tlu neavy bo-it
swiftly north, and it was soon hid Lehind
Grand Tower.
Culbert sworo impotently for an .rri,r;
then he and his band Tiegan a desperate
march up the river swimming creeks. .ad
lng through marshes, clambering over fall
en logs bent upon heading off the barge,
and ever pushing forward with the energy
that the hunter displays when there is
game to be killed. I
body," declares Mrs. Palmer, with great
posltlvencss, "if I were only a little better
able to walk. I could sit through the serv
ices without the slightest inconvenience, and
could enjoy, the sermon, too."
The greatest regret Mrs. Palmer has Is
that defective vision, developed In recent
years, prevents her from reading. Until a
short while ago she was a great reader of
newspapers, and especially of The Republic,
having becomo a subscriber to this newspa
per sixty years ago. .Through it she has
gained a wonderfully wide range of infor
mation, and has kept In closo touch with the
news of not only the city and State, but of
the nation and the whole world. Now. being
unable to do her own reading, she has it
dona for her; and the most pleasant hours
of htr day are those during which she lis
tens to the soft voice of her youngest
daughter, Mrs. Shaffer, reading aloud the
day's news.
Oh, I can in tl pictures," corrected
snnrails-ladz whe It was suggested
wu7 celefcrate ner 92ncT
April 1.
The second day out they caught sight
the barge again. The wind had died down,
and the crew was pulling heartily at the
oars. A hundred miles, and they would be
at the end of their up Journey. There
should bo a rest that night, and In four days
more, or five at the most, St. Louis would
be reached.
Five miles up the river was the island
which later came to be known as Beauso
lell's Island. It waa plainly In sight of the
crew, and Beausolell determined to tie up
there for the night. The robbers guessed as
much; and when the barge reached the
Island and the crew carried the lines to the
shore and made them fast to three trunks
Culbert was opposite, on the mainland,
gathering his forces for the stroke.
Casotte's Gay Dance to
the Music of His Laugh.
Darkness brought the crew upon deck. A
waning moon split the blackness of the
eastern sky, but gave scarcely more light
than did tho glow of the busy pipes be
tween the lips of the lounging men. The
singing and the story-telling and the drink
ing began quietly enough; but ere long
there was a roar of voices that drowned
even the chorus that filled the forests on
mainland and Island.
Out of the small cabin room of M. Beau-
History relates that within the space of
three minutes Casotte pitched fourteen
of the pirates Into the river.
solell came a yiung man. He was small of
stature and slight of build; but there was
tho strength of a Kiant and the agility or
a panther In the limbs of that small body.
His face was light brown in color; his
kinked hair further proclaimed him a ne
gro. He wns Casotte, slavo and body servant
of M. Beausolell, and cook for the barge
crew.
"Come. Casotte," called n youth near the
bow. "Cornel Dancel See I Blng!"
And he began to roll out a rollicking song
in which hH comrades Joined.
Casotte threw back his head and laughed.
that It was unfortunate that she could no
longer enjoy that feature of modern Jour
nalism. "If they are well printed, and there
is not too much black about them. I can
mako them out nicely. But I can't read tho
small type." '
Th'o period In this latter sentence was a
patient aid reigned little laugh.
Mrs. Palmer tells of the December,
seventy-one years ago, when she came with
her parents. Captain and Mrs. Jo Garrett,
In wagons from Henry County, Virginia, to
the great West. Six weeks was consumed
in the trip, which now requires but a day
and a half. The family settled near St.
Charles, but in St. Louis County. A year
later Colonel Daniel Martin, her sweetheart
back in the Old Dominion, came to claim
her as his bride. She went with him to
Warren County, Missouri, where they re
sided until his death in 1S44.
The widow came to St. Louis then that
she might better educate her three sons
and two daughters. Her house was on
Market street near Fifth. After seven
years of widowhood she married William
Palmer, who was a neighbor of her parents.
and lived with him near St. Charles until
his death in 1SS3. Then she came to St.
Louis, and has since made her home with
her two daughters. Mrs. J. H. Kennedy of
Clinton. Mo., anil Mrs. Virginia Shaffer of
St. Louis.
Last spring Mrs. Palmer and Mrs. Shaf
fer were driving near D-elmar avenuo and
King's highway when their buggy was
struck and overturned by a street car.
Both women were thrown out and severely
injured. Mrs. Palmer's wrist was broken
and sho and her daughter sustained deep
scalp wounds. It was feared that Mrs.
Palmer would not recover from the shock.
but she rallied bravely.
Mrs. Palmer counts as one of her best
friends, the famous Colonel D. P. Dyer,
whom she has known since he wns a very
young man. She and Colonel Dyer have
had many political arguments, for Mrs.
Palmer Is a stanch Democrat, while she
calls Colonel Dyer "a black Republican."
Mrs. Palmer's other good friend. Doctor
Johnson, promises her a great reception
when she completes her century of life on
April 1. 1909, but she insists that she "does
not want to live to grow old," and 100
years, she contends. Is quite old.
Mrs. Palmer has thirteen grandchildren,
and fifteen great-grandchildren, most of
whom live in St. Louis and Missouri. One
of her granddaughters, Mrs. Nancy Sears,
daughter of Mrs. Shaffer and the wife of
Fred Sears, formerly of St. Louis, now
lives in St Paul.
WESTWARD COURSE OF
CIVILIZATION'S MARCH.
To th Editor ef The Sunday Republic.
I suggest as a feature of the World's
Fair a panoramic display showing the
westward progress of civilization, which
has now almost completed the circuit of
the globe.
Start In the Far East with China, show
ing the Temple of Heaven, or the Temple
of Confucius; India, with the Taj Mahal,
the finest building extant: Babylon, or
Nineveh, the Temple of Bclus, or the
Hanging Gardens; Egypt, the Pyramids,
which could be used as observation tow
ersr Greece, the Parthenon, Acropolis and
Stadium. In which Olympian games could
be given; Rome. St. Peter's and the Coli
seum; Spain, the Alhambra; France, tho
Louvre," and -perhaps the storming of tha
Bastile; England, Westminster Abbey,
Balmoral Castle, London Bridge; the Span
ish' American countries, typical buildings:
Mexico, a facsimile of the volcano Po
pocatapetl; United States, exact counter
parts of the different State capitals.
If Forest Park Is selected as the site the
River des Peres could be used to represent
- me juississippi niver, ana on It could 08
ahown everything of Importance Do Soto
'discovering the Mississippi, and other hls
1 torical incidents; tho Eads jetties, the Eads
1 Bridge, scenery, engineering possibilities.
ucn as portaDie jetties, dredging, overflow
reservoirs, eic we couia snow wnat was
done in Egypt with the River Nile how
they took care of Its overflow waters, or
we might reproduce the Euphrates.
JUL A. MARTIN.
No. 713 Bayard avenue, St. Louis.
amd Muscle of Laughing Casotte the Year
oflt was a peculiar laugh loud, strong and
penetrating, but wholly musical,
"No, No, monsieur. Casotto could not
dance to thatl Seel"
He mado a few grotesque movements in
time to the song that was being shouted.
"That Is what it would be like should I
dance to your music! Seel This Is how I
would dance."
His head was thrown back again, and the
peculiar laugh burst forth. But this time
it was a different laugh, for all that it was
tho same one.
It was a dance tune, rippling and rolling
tn perfect time for the steps that the ne
gro's feet began now to take.
The bargemen sprang from their Beats
and crowded themselves In a circle around
Casotte. Some began to beat time with
their open palms.
Culbert's Band .Toius
Casotte's Audience.
No one turned from the laughing dancer; 7ffM W&K(f
not even when a score of heads were thrust Irffi He Jvu(mv
above the edges of the barge's deck, and a vJo 3 uv
score of swarthy bodies were lifted upward YAWy E 'jy5?Y
by twoscore of hardy hands. WMj IS ' VAai(X
The first of tho Invaders to spring aboard ly 3 r)$&wyi
.was Culbert tall, heavy and powerful. His By 'TOwZWMmITO
moccaslned feet made no noise that rose gyyy(yy 35 'ySiO
fr """ "1 m ""SJBjSBBSPlai HT"'SLrrZ
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON TELLS HOW
HE CAME "UP FROM SLAVERY."
WRITTEN FOR THE SUNDAY REPURMC.
Booker T. Washington has written the
story of his life. The book Is called "Up
From Slaery. An Autobiography." Com
ing just at this time It seems almost nn
answer to the harsh criticism of tho negro
race which has been embodied In William
Hannibal Thomas's "The American Ne
gro." Mr. Thomas Is a negro, but not a
Southern negro, and ho did not become ac
quainted with tho conditions of negro life
in the South until 1S71, when ho went to
South Carolina in the interests of negro
education. He takes tho pesslmlst'3 view
of the progress of his, race. To him tho
negro Is deplorably bad.
On tho other hand. Booker T. Washing
ton is an optimist. He writes particular
ly of his own struggles, and the two books
are dissimilar in purpose. Mr. Thomas ad
mits that Mr. Washington's work at Tus
kegee Is admirable, but he agrees with the
latter In condemning the majority of the
negro clergymen and teachers. There are
other points or agreement. Both are of
the opinion that a mistake was made In
granting the franchise to the negro. They
unite in thinking that It Is In the knowledge
and practice of agriculture and a country
life that tho negro's best hope lies.
Booker Washington is proud of his record,
as he tells it In his life story. Ho shows
much gratitude to all who have aldoii him
He says that he Is proud of his race and
hns never wished to belong to any other.
When a ragged, dirty little boy of 12 Wash
ington made his Journey on foot from his
iume in vest Virginia to Hampton Insti
tute. Arriving at Richmond without money
he slept under a wooden sidewalk for many
nights, while he earned enough money
during the day around tho wharves to car
ry him on to Hampton. Not many years
afterwards a great reception was tendered
to him in this same city of Richmond.
Such contrasting Incidents are numerous In
his life.
From the day when a little slave, Booker
carried his young mistress's books to the
schoolhouse door, and so caught-a glimpse
of the children studying within, he longed
to go to school. Ho was a good-sized youth
when the opportunity came, but he had
learned, by solitary study, all that a Web
ster's spelling book could teach him, and
even mastered the making of the number
18"
mui-u was uiways stamped on the
barrels
m mo sait rurnace where ha
after the emanclDatlon. wi .r,.
worked.
trance examination at Hampton was an
order to sweep a recitation-room, a task
""ltu "" was so eager to ao to perfection
that he swept the room three times and
dusted it four times before he was satis
fled, says a reviewer in the New Tork
Times. Ono can imagine the joy In his
faco when the teacher told him that ha
seemed worth admitting arid n)ni.).i.
appointed him Janitor, thus enabling him to
jr-.u uis uuara enureiy Dy work. His tu
ition was paid by some kindly friend of
the institute, his clothing generally cam
out of gift barrels from the North, and
his books were borrowed from his mates.
THE IlfFLUEJfOE OF
THE TOOTUUKTJSH.
Primitive enough, probably, the accom
modations were at Hampton In those days,
but it seemed Ilka paradise to a boy who
had never sat at a table to eat -his meals,
slept on a bed between two sheets, or. en
joyed the pleasures of a bathtub and a.
toothbrush. Tha latter Instrument evi
dently made a deep Impression on his youth
ful mind, for he says mora than once that
Its civilizing Influence Is enormous, and
that if a pupil In his school voluntarily
buys a new brush when the first ono Is
worn out he always counts on that boy
amounting to something In tha future. Ho
has. Indeed, Inculcated the use of the tooth
brush so forcibly among his pupils that, as
he remarks, very often a new applicant
comes to Tuskegee with no other wardroba,
Tuskcgee Normal and Agricultural Insti
tute has been built up under the direction
above the laugh of the dancer and the
rhythmical clap of brawny hands. Ho
stepped straight toward the closely drawn
circle; behind him came his men. Each held
a pistol, each carried a long, glittering
knife In his belt.
Culbert's heavy hand fell on tho shoulder
of one of the spectators, and Culbert's pis
tol barrel struck him sharply on the side of
the face.
The man gave a cry of pain and alarm.
WJMM
end according to the Ideas of Booker T.
Washington. He went to Tuskegee on the
Invitation of two gentlemen of tho town
and began work with thirty pupils In a
tumble-down shanty with tho colored Meth
odist Church as nn annex. Very soon ho
obtained money enough to purchase an old
abandoned plantation In tho neighborhood.
THE IIAIIDEST TASK
IN SCHOOL.
Mr. Washington admits that tha hardest
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And Culbert's pistol sent a bullet crashing
through his brain.
There was a wild scramble, but It was In
vain.
rour or tne oargemen were ueaa;
ine outers, couna nana ana toot, wero lying
helpless upon
the dec. With them was
1L BcsusolcU
head.
a. nkwilng gash In. his fore-
Casotte alone was untouched. He stood
silently where be had been dancing.
"Come, pitch 'em into the hold," cried
Culbert
And the bound men were kicked and
rolled and dragged along the deck to on
open hatch, and tumbled roughly through
It, one upon the other.
Culbert turned to Casotte.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
In reply Casotte began to laugh his pecu
liar dance song, and his light feet began
again their dance.
"Pool nigger, scared out of his wits,"
grunted Culbert, giving Casotte a kick that
sent him across tho deck.
Casotte's Joy Because
He Was Hid of a Master.
And still Casotte continued to laugh.
"What are you laughing at? you fooll"
shouted Culbert.
"I laugh because I am free! I was a slave
you have made me free! See! I dance! See!
I sing!" k
And around and around be moved, his
arms waving gayly, his open mouth shout
ing forth its laughing melody.
"I have belong" to M. Beausolell," shout
ed the negro. "I cook for the dogs the
beasts. He beats me. Now you have got
him tied. You will let me beat him. Then
jou cut his throat."
"Say you are the cook7" Interrupted
Culbert.
"I'm. monsieur; I cook for the beasts
the dogs you have put In the kennel 1",
And his laugh was a low, broad, far
reaching guffaw.
"What's your name?" asked Culbert.
"Casotte." answered the negro.
"Well. Casotte, stop your infernal laush
and get mo a rousing supper here in half
an hour."
The negro began to shout again. He
doubled himself together like a Jackknife.
swaed from side to side, and fell to the
floor In a p.iroxysm of mirth.
"What's the matter now, you fool!"
Fhouted Culbert, kicking him again. "Get up
from there aril get my supper."
"Yes. ma.-.sleur. But I must laugh for onco
I more. See! There is good food! And I laugh
to think that you will eat it you and your
brave men, monsieur le Generall
He broke into another fit of laughter, and
danced his way toward tho cooking-room
of the barge.
Casotte's Feast for Pirates
and the Beginning of the End.
Casotte cooked away, and laughed as he
cooked. In half an hour he had set before
the hungry pirates such a feast as they
had not tasted in all their wild lives. And
with it he gave them wine rare old wine
that the rich merchant Moxant of New Or
leans was sending to the stepson of his
dead partner, Pierre Laclede Llguest.
Culbert drank as though the wlna were
water. Then he called for more, and Ca
sotte rolled a cask of brandy upon the deck.
Cultert burst in the head with his mighty
fist ilnd summoned his men to drink. They
took the fiery liquid Into their throats by
I the cupful, growing, first, boisterous, then
j maudlin, and at last falling about the deck
l:: iirunKen s-tupor.
Culbert alone kept his head. He continued
to drink and roared volumes of curses at
his men who could not stand the liquor, and
whilo doing this he was stamping his way
task he has encountered In his school, aaldo
from procuring enough money to run it,
has been tho convincing of his students
that It is a good thing for them to learn
these trades. Most of them have come to
the school with the idea that by educating
themselves they can for tha futura avoid
all manual labor. It is a ruda shock for a
man (for most of the students are grown
men and women) with such an idea to ba
put to making bricks or digging a cellar, or
for a woman who has coma with tha ex
pectation of studying; Latin and literature)
to be put to laundry work or tha vin
of mattresses, as an incident to her edu
cation. The students object and tha pa
rents object, hut still they coma to Tuske
gee In ever-Increasing number and go out
I
Dix Ba.tea.ux."
about the deck, now and then halting tl
I kick tho rlb3 of a sleeping pirate.
I At last ho rolled his drunken way toward
1 tne hatch, with much deliberation ha load-
eu ais pistol, neja it at the opening of th
hatch and fired upon the moss of helpless
icon piled together in the hold.
There was a dying scream la answer.
Culbert laughed thickly.
The Death. Struggle, and
the Passing of Culbert.
The next Instant hl3 throat was between
the fingers of Casotte.
The pirate leader struggled with the pow
er of an ox. His thick fingers gripped the
negro's slender wrists, and hl3 heavy arms
strained with a force that would have
broken tho bones of a lion.
Slowly the slender fingers of the negro
were drawn apart. But as they yielded they
tore skin and flesh from Culbert's throat.
The pirate screamed with pain and partly
relaxed his hold upon Casotte's wrists. In
stantly they slipped from his grasp, and
his own wrists were caught as In a vise.
It was a grip that would not yield. There
was the cracking of tenso muscles as Cul
bert's arm3 were forced downward until
they were straight, drawn backward.pressed
closer together behind him and forced,
steadily upward up up until there cam
a sudden twist, the sound of a breaking
bone, and a piercing howl that was half a
curse and half a cry for mercy.
Casotte quickly released his hold upon
the pirate's wrists, threw his arms about
his body, lifted him. still screaming and,
cursing and pleading, clear of the floor, ran
lightly to the edge of the deck and pitched
him Into the treacherous, muddy current.
What could tho pirate leader do, with a.
broken arm. and a torn throat against the
might of the Mississippi? Nothing, except to
cry out in fear, and go down with his cry
unended.
I
The Return to New Orleans and
"l'Annee des Dix Bateaux."
Casotte hurriedly released the bargemen
and together they attacked the still sleeping"
pirates. History states that within tho
space of three minutes Casotte pitched four
teen of the pirates Into the river; that ha
beat them back or shot them as they at
tempted to climb upon the barge. It is
possible that history 13 wrong as to the
time consumed by Casotte In that work;
but certain it is that he and the members of
the crew threw every one of the pirates Into
the river. Some got ashore, but most of
them drowned or were killed when they;
sought to clamber upon the barge.
M. Beausoliel seems to have been faint -hearted,
for Instead of continuing his jour
ney to St. Louis, barely 100 miles away, ha
turned the bow of his barge downstream
and made hosts to New Orleans. There ha
reported his experience with the pirates; and ,
Governor General JVIiro ordered that In fu
ture trading barges should go In fleets.
In the following spring ten keel boat
started together up the river. Each waa !
armed with a swivel gun, and the purpose '
of their commanders was to capture or kill
the pirates If they could be found. '
But they were never found. On the banks
of Cottonwood Creek a cabin, some cases '
of guns and the wrecks of half a dozen
barges were discovered; but there were no
pirates, and from that day to this there has; "
not been a well-organized, progressiva band
of river pirate' t that neighborhood.
The ten boats proceeded to St. Louis; and
eo great a sensation did their arrival occa
sion that the year 17SS has gone Into history
as "l'annee des dix bateaux," or, as w
would say, "the year of tho ten boats."
equipped, not only with good mental train
ing; but with a special knowledgo about
soma ono trade that will make them, of usa
to any community.
MOST TRUSTWORTirr OF COLORED
HEX TRAINED IX SLAVERT.
Among those who have aided him at Tus
kegee Mr. Washington mentions an ex
slave as ona upon whom, ha has always
depended for advice and guidance, and ha
ays that, since the man has never been to
school a day In his life, ho attributes) his
unusual power of mind to tha training
given Ms .hands In tho process of master
ing well three trades In tho days of his
slavery. Ho also gives it as his opinion
that in five out of ten oases the most
trustworthy colored man in any Southern
community to-day wUl ba found to ba ona
who learned a trade while a slave.
Hs says little or nothing; of the negro'
social or political standing', evidently think-
jlng that those things will come in dus
'time, and when the negroes themselves
have learned them. In a. speech delivered!
hefore . congressional committee in Wash
ington tn 1S9S to secure Government help
for the Atlanta, Exposition, Mr. Washington
emphasized the fact that while the negro
should not ha deprived by unfair means of
the franchise, political agitation would not
save him, and that hack of the ballot hs
most have property; Industry, skill, econo
my, intelligence, and character, and tha
no race without these elements could per
manently succeed.
A chapter which the anther devotes to
his methods 'of raising' money is full of
rood humor and good sense, and It reveals
In a marked manner the mfperlor and en
dearing traits of Booker T. Washington's
character. A man who receives thousands
of dollars in trust from such men as Colli
9. Huntington. Andrew Carnegie, Morris
K Jesup, end others ilka them, must be a
person of most convincing worth. Mr.
Washington says that all he has ever had
to do In collecting' money was to give peo
ple of wealth an opportunity to helt, and;
that ha has nowhere met such a, One spirit
f generosity' as in Boston.
XJkewise, it is far too early to do any
guessing as to the partioular attractions
that would ba given at those two houses in
tha event that they ba kept open all tha
rear. Of course, they would be flrst-classt
txxt thai is an that can ba said of them just
now,
At Chicago there were many theatrical
Tentures that never got beyond the con
Vtiuullv stage! a larger host never got any
further than the promoters. All visitors to
that bis; fair remember the huge monument
to the failure of Steel Mackays plan to
bnHd a glgantlo amphitheater in which tha
sports of ancient Greece were to be repro
duced. A mint of money was sunk in tha
Ventura, and ittll it was never carried
through, tha constructive period. The build
ing was never finished, and the shows were
Tor givan.
believe I am safe in predicting that'soma
great scenio production will be the theatrical
amusement feature of the St. Louts World's
Fair, It will ba something after the ordai
f "Ben Hur" probably not "Ben Hur" lt
elf, bat something on the gigantic scalo ol
that wonderfully produced play. It will b
given in a place that Is especially suited to
such performances, with an enormous stage,
and a vast number of supernumeraries; with
magnificent scenery, and 'with a finish that
will rival any actual pageant of ancient oi
ftnodani times.
I am not prophesying now: out x win dare
to' suggest the possibility of soma great
Louisiana Purchase speotacle being shown.
It may be operatic, or dramatic, or both!
but certainly It will have much wealth of
scenery and hugs armies of people. There Is
certainly enough material in Louisiana Pur
chase history to give foundation for such s
work; and perhaps somebody will choose
tha light incident, evolve the right story,
and ba successful 'enough to get it into tha
hands of the right manager for presentation
to tho public along with the mammoth cele
bration in honor of the greatest Interna-
tlonal deal in real estate that was aver coo
animated.
41
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