, 1859-11-25
JACK ROBINSON,
The Terror Of the Mississippi


or an the desperados who have infested tht
Southern States from the earliest days Of pio
neer life to tho present peaceful time, not onG
has acquired greater reputation for reckless
daring and fiendish brutality than the outlaw o.
the Yazoo river, and the terror Of the Mississippi
Jack Robinson, or Bloody Jack" as be wa
universally known. The pirates Of BaFatarlA
who for years supplied unprincipled merchants
and traders with stolen and smuggled goods in
defiance of the government, until Jackson up
rooted them; the gangs Of highwaymen, under
Murrill, and others, who threw whole towns into
CONSERVATION; the mysterious hatboat pilots,
whose only existence was seen in the ritied and
blood-stain fatboats, found floating, tenant
less, down the Mississippi; the blacklegs, who
gambled or assassinated for living, IS was most
convenient at the moment; and the professional
duelists, who accomplished their aims, and
shielded themselves from justice under Pervef.
ted code Of honor-All, in their day, intimidated
striking such terror into the hearts Of all classes
as the cold-blooded cut-thrOat, "Bloody Jack. "
When the human mind is turned into the ma
ture Of tiger, the transformation Is generally
effected by the powerful beverage Of ayarice or
revenge, or Is the sudden work Of tornado oi
ungOvernable passions; but, though all these
bestial traits were possessed by Bloody Jack"
in highly cultivated degree, he seemed " be
capable Of committing his most GerociOus crimes
without being prompted by any Of these motives,
his only bias appearing 10 be an inherent, hcrd-
ish delight in witnessing human agony
How can il be possibley" hear . reader,
who has been reared, perhaps, amid the Sc
curity Of . law abiding community, exclaim,
" that such q monstrosty would be allowed 10
breathe the air Of heaven . day-an hour--a
nomentI" Reflect, gentle reader, that at the
date Of the following narrative, the neigh
borhoOd Of the Yazo0 river was still almost an
unbrOken wilderness, the settlers being located
widely apart that each man vindicated law aud
justice with his own strong arm or ready knife,
and upon his own opinion Of what the statutes
probably called for; and remember that Bloody
Jack" was in the habit Of neither walking into
jails nor Of committing his murders in the midst
Of an armed multitude. More than once com
pany Of exasperated planters seized their rifles
and mounted horse, to capture the bloodthirsty
demon, but the willy swamper was safe IN some
mOrAss retreat, the approach to which he only
knew.
We have spoken Of " Bloody Jssk" as . swami
per, and lest there be some reader who may not
understand the term, we viii briefly explain.
This peculiarly southwestern character, with an
axe on one shoulder and rife on the other, be-
takes himself TO some lonely spot Of wilderness
near the bank Of the lower Mississippi or one Of
It's tributaries, and constructing rude cabin Of
logs, settles down to life Of complete solitude
Of utter isolation from every comfort every en-
dearment Of humanity-and patiently or dog
gcdy tolls for years in anticipation Of an event
ful gain which Is ever in hazard. While sup
porting himself with his rife alone, living with
more than an Indians simplicity and rudeF than
beggar's life, he peFsistently tolls with his own
axe amid the forest Of gigantic trees, day after
day, week after week and year afer year, until
an overflow occurs Then comes the eventful
time which Is 10 decide the success or the failure
Of his years Of labor and privation. II be sue
ceeds In collecting the immense logs In . body,
attaching them securely In one rah and floating
them out into the current Of the river, I'll his
exertions are rewarded with success. He floats
Il down into some saWmill and there turns The
timber into hard cash, the amount Of which Is
commensurate to his industry and the time he
has been employed in telling trees. The RATS
are worth from few hundred dollars to three or
even four thousand dollars. Tkon the happy
swamper with his distended cash bags hies 70
tonous life throws him into the widest excesses
Of dissipation, and at last, penniless Is before,
he returns 10 his dreary cabin, soured in temper,
while the solitude induces brOoding over the
past which soon renders him Ct for any act Of
brutality and crime Or We viii take the other
case the river overnows It's banks in Q single
night and ere he can save them the logs are
swept down by resistless current to be picked
up by cruising skiifs lar down the river or car
ried out into the vast expanse Of the Gulf Yet
again, the river may rise sufficiently high to
drift them back into swampo or scatter them out
into the stream. Tho swampers bright hopes
n the results Of all his long years Of labor are
together swept away. lie manages to live, the
Lord knows how, when the water Is up, and
hunting and fishing are both destroyed, and then,
when the flood subsidies, the ring Of his axe
against the sturdy ash Is heard the same as ever,
and again the sharp crack Of his rife resounds
throughout the forest-the swampef is once
more making the long and arduous adventure.
This, Of course, Is the life Of the common
swamper-this accomplishment Of labor unaided
BY capital-but when the latter power Is brought
into operation, you zee ten, twenty, or even
thirty men hired promptly on high water, and
the prudently saving swamper secures his logs
and builds q Fait without danger Of failure.
They hire, too, Q man, or Q couple Of men, per-
manently, paying then k4if wages, the balance
due only on sale Of raft; and the consequence
is that they often float down timber to the value
Of two, three, and occasionally four thousand
dollars Of the latter class Of men was Bloody
Jack"-not that he was prudent Of his money
and accumulated capital, for when In city,
after selling raft-he always disguised himself
on such Occasions-he would indulge in madder
debaucheTies than any; but when be found it
necessary 10 pay his hands, he started forth
through the woods, and aller . week or two
would return with the amount in his pocket.
and sometimes smother murder on his blood
stained soul. His haunt was always selected in
the widest and swAmpiest Of spots, and his
hands outlaws Ike himself he could only rely
upon. A man Of iron constitution and Of giant
strength, as apt In the use Of weapons a he
was Of his own limbs, full Of overWeening self.
confidence, and possessed Of . reckless disre-
gard Of danger which many, and the majority,
perhaps Of the world, call courage. no wonder