The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1860-02-02
A TRAGIC REMINISCENCC.
BY ELLIS AMNOSETTE


At the close of the Creek War, when
the treaty Of peace threw open Georgia,
Alabama aud Mississippi to emigrants,
the tide that set in from the other States
was, considering the difficulties to be
overcome, aud the dangers to be encoun.
tered from still half hostile foe, mos,
astonlshingly great.
These enlsrants, like all who pioneer
the way to new States, were motley
crew Occasionally there mi yht be found
a man OF good family with numurous
slaves, who, lured by the fertility Of the
virgin soil, transported his household
goods to these great wilds, but more fire.
qucntly of the farming community it was
the humble possessors of one or two ne
groes, o, the brawny athletes, who water
ed the fields they titled with tie sweat
from their own brows, who took the
road for "Gcorgy, Alabamy, Or the Mas
sissippi.'
These, however, were unfortunately
not the prcponlcrating element among
the incoming settlers. That numerous
class who come under the comprehen
sive head of "adventurcrs" composed
the majority. Refugees from the sen,
tence Of the lar, men banned from soci
al intercourse, speculaters, gamblers, cut
Threats and Williams Of every variety, were
tho most numerous inhabitants of the vii
lagos which sprung up wherever Land
Offices or Indian agencies were establish
cd w the Government.
nr ~ ,hn locaIitics RI which thew
thron-rd, nowhere did they muster in
larger force than in :he northern coun-
ties of the now foIrishius State of Mis-
sissippi.
AS matter Of course. among such an
assemtage of Ishmaeites, bloody duels,
stree: fights, and murders were of daily
occurrence, and in the tangled web Of
their intercourse tragedies were frequen-
tly enacted more wholesale in their des-
truction of hcma life than any ever put
Oh histr.on boards.
was then young NJ. D.. who, fol-
lowing the adventurous bent Of my ma
ture, had wandered thus far from evil
za,ion, and finally located in village in
the fertile valley Of the Yallabusha, then
a "boundless Co ntiguity Of shade" but
now far spreading series of magnificent
plan ations familiar with the rusl, of the
iron horse, aud made neighbor even to
this great metropolis by the mystic cur
rent of the telegraph wire.
Here occurrences came under my OBJ.
servation, some SO appalling, and some SO
thrilling, that they have never been eras
ed from the tablets Of memory.
After having been there sufficient
length of time to become familiar with
the general reputation and position, both
social and political, of every one in the
place, found that the person of most
popularity was man by the name of
Louis Percival. Strange as it may seem
at the first glance, the man who swayod
and controlled almost with autocratic
power this turbulent settlement was slight
pale, and physically weak, though the
fact is not without numerous precedents
in cases where act, intelligence, unscru-
pulous conscience, and courage that
never quailed before man or devil, has
been found combined in one person
Why such an inividual ever made his
way to such place, it was puzzing to
surm'se Dress, manners, conversation
and style Of life, all bctokencd him to
have once moved among the elegances
and rehnements Of the most polished so.
ciety. A person of SO plausible and in.
sinuating manners had never seen.
though in the beginning Of our acouain. !.
tancc had for him feeling Of distrust
which amounted almost to dislike. Th::.
may possibly have :Tisen from the fact
thai, floating on the wings of rumor,
came vague story Of q deserted wife
who, broken. hearted, sleeps in self
saught grave In = distant State; bu,
whether it had truth for its foundation
none knew, and none would have daret
hint or question him to whom it was at
tachcd. Ifa retrospective glance eyel
wrapt his soul in gloom, it hung no CLIQUE
upon his brow; if remorse ever gnawcd
its ravages were not external, for NOR
smooth and smiling face aud apparent,
more oquablc temper is seldom me
with
Asa matter Of course. in q place s
small, the residents were all known t
each other, aud an arrival was noted as