Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1870-07-10
RICHARDSON AND CLARK.
A Sad, Strange, Evsntfal History.

A Sad, StraRgs, Eventual History.
A correspondent of the st. Louis
Republican tells of two persons,
formerly citizens of Memphis,
Henry Z. Clark and r. V Richardson,
who began the Mississippi River
railway from this city many years
ago. Richardson had courage and
a share of ability and became noted
guerilla in Western Tennessee while
Clark was master of the swamps of
Southeastern Missouri. After the
war Richardson traversed Europe
and with one Everett, who figured
for a time in this city, conceived a
magnificent scheme of immigration
and direct trade. When this failed
and Everett migrated, Richardson
went to Missouri TO join his old part
ner, Clark, in wild land operations.
The correspondent of the Republican
says:
In 1855 Dunklin county owned
about 300, 900 acres OF swamp lands
lands fit for cultivation mOstly-lands
swamp in name merely. OF these
lands one Henry Z. Clark secured
about $4,000 acres to build plank
road from town known as Ciarkton
to Point Pleasant, before the War-a
distance of about twenty miles. / do
not know what this road was at that
indefinite and blessed time known as
'befOre the war; but l do know that
now the aforesaid road in the lam
guage Of a distinguished citizen of
Howard cOunty-Colonel Phelan-is
dangerous to life.' At any rate, the
farmers of Dunklin now come to
Cape GiTardeau, one hundred miles,
to get to the river rather than cross
that sO-called road. Since Dunklin
county il a high ridge extending from
below St. Luke to HOrnersville-a dis
tauce of about eighty miles-and en-
compassed on three sides by wide,
low and slOshy places, impossible
during a portion of the year, and
which are covered by huge and mag
nificent forests of cypress, walnut, |
oak and poplar, the County Court of
the county before the war thought |
il would be well to secure a second
road across the swamp 10 GayOsO, !
the county seat of PemiscOt, ana for
that purpose gave a patent for 10000 |
acres, to enable the contractors and |
company to build the road. Now, |
what do your readers guess happened? |
Henry Z. Clark got the title to the |
land from the company, and sold it, |
together with his other land, to New
York merchant for hardware, etc,
and says he got swindled by the New |
York sharper, and now so il is, this |
second road is wholly unbuilt, not |
even the trees cut out or a survey !
made. In 1867 the Cairo and Fulton |
railroad got grant Of 100000 acres af
the swamp land to build a railroad. |
The railroad was built to the Niger |
wool swamp Then the war came, |
the railroad building stopped, the !
company busted and the county is |
now trying to get back the land"
Clark and Richardson built endless
levees in Arkansas and Mississi ppi |
prior to 1860, and most of our readers /
have heard of the assassination of |
Richardson. He was killed, like /
General Hindman, when sitting by /
the freight, by some unknown mis-
creant, who shot him from without /
the building he occupied. For this
crime, committed last January, two
men, Frank Clark and John II, |
Skaggs, have been indicted, and the
trial of one of the parties, John
Skaggs, occupied most of the last
week. The evidence is wholly cir
but seems to be cOnclu-
sive. General Richardson was Treas
urer of the plank road at ClarktOn,
lived in Tennessee, was a prominent
citizen of that State, had been a Gen
eral in the Confederate army, had
Travelled much in Europe, and was a
refined and polished gentleman. 1t
seems that he wa controlling
the road in a manner not sat
to Sksggs and Frank
Clark, who were interested also in
it, and they determined to put him
out of the way. The proof showed
that Skaggs had offered to hire another
man to do the killing-that he was
around the premises the night the
murder was cOmmitted-that after
the firing he was seen running to his
store with a gun-the wadding found
on the porch Of the house where
Richardson was shot was picked up,
and the shot gun found at Skaggs'
house, one barrel of which had been
recently discharged, upon being un-
loaded was found to match exactly
with the wadding found on the porch.
The defense has not introduced any
witnesses thus far. The chances are
in favor of a conviction.