Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1872-01-25
Egypt-Iiow Southern Illinois
Came 10 be Thus styled.
Judge Duff contributes to the Shawner
town (Ill.l Gasette the following sketch

Judge Duff contributes to the Shawner-
town (Ill.) Gazette the following sketch
Doubtless there are many of the ear
ly settlers OF the State who remember the
remarkable winter of IS30-31, familiarly
known to them as the winter of the ''deep
snow" (this WIS recently alluded to In
the GazeHe,) when tie snow fell through
out the northern border counties of the
| State to the depth of three feet. The
winter being the longest and severest ever
known in Illinois, thus causing an unusu-
al heavy draft upon the supply of corn
prod duced by the farmers upen the central
frontier counties, most OF whom were new
comers of only one. two or three years
residence in the State, but this severe aud
long winter was followed bys remarkably
late and backward spring, severe frosts be-
ing frequent until the middle of May, 80
that there was little or 10 corn planted in
the State in the year 1881, north of Jci-
ferson county, until in June: this late
spring was also followed by a heavy and
killing frost on the plight of September,
! 1881, which did considerable damage to
the late crops throughout the State, but
so completely ruined all the corn north of
the thirty-eighth latitude that it was
wholely worthless except for wintering
cattle. Hence the year 1882 was the
great 81 corn famine III the early history
of Illinois; all the prairie countries-in
fact, the entire State north Of the thirty
eighth latitude-had not produced sound
corn enough the year before to plant their
farms in 1882, therefore, all their corn for
every purpose had to be brought from
other region. Corn was shipped by the
| Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and sup
piled to the adjoining counties at s. per
| bushel, where it had sold in 1881 st ten
cents per bushel. Tie counties i'll the OK
treme south part of the State, commenc-
ing with Jefferson and the counties east
and west Of it on the same latitude, and
including all the counties lying south of
them, owing to the peculiar friable and
sandy character of the soil, their southern
latitude snd the absence of large prairies
were comparatively free from the effect of
the late spring and early frosts of 1881,
their corn crops being unusually good.
So that while corn in the central northern
frontier counties, which were then Shelby,
Macon. Montgomery, &c, could only lie
had in limited quantities at So and 81
per bushel, it could be bought in the low
er counties at 2jc., per bushel the result
was that from the 18th of April to the
last of June, 1882, there was not less
than 900 wagon leads Of corn taken
from the counties of Jefferson, Hamilton,
Franklin (hen including williamson
Galatin (then including Saline johnson,
and other southern counties INTO the cOun-
ties of Clinton, Fayette, Montgomery,
Macon, Shelby. and other counties in that
region. This corn was brought up by
such farmers of these counties as had
teams sufficient to haul it, and transported
in wagons. These corn-buyers generally
travelled in companies of from three to
six or eight wagons together, and as they
bought out the corn in one county 50 to
cause the price to advance to forty or fifty
cents per bushel the next caravan or com
pany would travel still further south. to
where the corn was still cheap, until many
of them penetrated johnson and other
counties bordering on the Ohio River.
These good people, after travelling such
4 distance, finding corn SO plenty and to
be had for their money. and being familiar
as the event shows, with the Bible story OF
the ten SONS of Jacob going down to Egypt
for their corn. they originated this face
tious answer to those who interrogated
them as to their destination: I've are
going to Egypt for corn" or "we have
heard there was corn in Egypt. and have
come to buy for ourselves and little ones"
(for at that date corn bread was the staff
of life in Illinois, This was the true or
igin of the term, and the cause of South
ern Illinois being called Egypt. / know
whereof | speak In the spring of 1882.
I resided upon public road passing
through one of the counties [ have men
toned. / saw more than a hundred wa
gons pass, either going for or returning
with corn for the upper counties, and
know for myself that these people, after
the first few weeks, seldom mentioned
their business down there without nlaking
some allusion to the Bible narrative Of the
people of olden times going to Egypt for
corn. But no living man ever heard the
term Egypt applied to this part of Hi
nois prior to the spring of 1888. TO the
people and incident above mentioned we
are entitled for tbe name Egypt But
| little did those pioneer and plain but Bible
reading farmers. whose journey down here
! for corn forcibly reminded them of the
sons of jacob going down into ancient
Egypt to buv corn. and W. o, there ore.
first called this part of the State Egypt,
because of the abundance of corn to be
found here when ali other countries t.
which they had access were destitute--I
4 IL y
plimenting this part of the State as the
granary of Illinois, they y ere laying the
foundation for gross SANDER upon the in
telligence of the people whom they, in
the goodness and gratitude of their hearts
intended to honor and praise.
From and after the year 1882, the part
of the State south of the larg praIries.
in colloquial conversation WAS often refer
red to as Egypt" meaning the land of
Corn
But few years afterwards the great
food of immigration from the cider States
set in, and the term g Egypt was taken
up by the new population, most of whom
were using it without any knowledge of
its origin, and, without any regard to the
truth of historJ, sought to attribute It's
origin to whatever would best subse'Ve
the unhallowed ends to be obtained, and
in this atmosphere alone cid this term
first receive its cant OF opprobrious char
acter.
Rut, as to the foolish and unuritigaied !!
SANDER upon the early settlers of the State,
that they were more ignorant than those
of other new countries, | Will not now !
treat it with respect enough to enter into /