Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-05-08
Written for TEE EVENING STAR
A LEGEND OF THE SATILLA.
BY MAURICE THOMPSON,
AUTHOR OF THE wIrcHERY OF ARCHERY, ETC.
copyrighted. 1861

lne SatiiIa, or as IL Is sometimes called the
santilla river, is a dark. narrow stream flowing
with many loops and fantastic, surpentine
turns, through tue luxuriant woods and vast
cane-brakes o. southeastern Georgia. Even now
the country known the Satilla region IS very
sparsely inhaoit and mostly by poor people
to whom the name Cracker" has attached
itself Here and there, where the swamps give
place TO wide areas OF pine forests, turpeutine
Plantations, called, have been made by
notching and pulling the bark from space on
the boie of each tree, process which has given
q CHASTITY glimmer TO the solemn monotony OF
the landscapes. BY far the larger part of the
region, however, is Jungle-like maze OF all the
tangllng vines, bewilderlng thckets, dark
groves and painless caue-brakes imaginable.
Here the sportsman. whose zeal and energy is
sufficient to overcome almost insurmountable
obstacles, may find bear, deer, wild turkey and
smaller game 10 the full of his desire. Not
frequently. too. panther will cross his path or
cry with peculiar effect in the dim cavern-like
hollow of the matted tussock growth.
One OF the strangest features of all that wild
country IS the abandoned plantation. Now
and again you may find Ii. especially along the
river, readily distinguishable by the old ridges
whereon the cotton long ago grew but which
now bear large trees. The remnant of a cabin
Ia sometimes seen and numerous other traces
OF long departed agriculture and a vanished
domestic center.
AS early in the history Of Georgia as the days
when General Oglethorpe lived on st. SimOns
Island, near Brunswick, there were plantations
set at wide intervals in the rich bottom lands
of the Satilla- At what date and why they
were abandoned Is not known certainly but il
appears not To have been much later than in
the first quarter of the present century, and it
could not nave been on account of any failure
OF the soils fertility.
Nearly every one of these abandoned planta-
tons has Its legend obseurely outlined by ira
ditoD. III one can chance to find 1t. legend as
bloody and as picturesque as any of medi-
Rval times. What with the Indians the out
laws and the feuds, there must have been wild
scenes along the Satflia. Ones closest scrutiny
of records and most patient chase Of tradition
however, give us nothing more than tantaiiZ-
Ing gliInpses of hOrsemeu in knightly or rather
brigandish array. galioping through the woods,
or OF skulking figures. dark, satuTnine, steaithy,
In the deepest fneShes OF the brakes contem-
plating some scheme OF terrible revenge.
IL 'ne co'iIse vi thIee winters and iour sum-
the Satilla region L tried industriously and in
vain 10 ind one of these legends sufficiently
continuous In outline To be made the subject OF
a sketch, until at last by merest chance /
stumbl ii upon one which, although the best
preserved of any, was absolutely formIess and
yet capable of being somewhat felt as a whole
IL was the legend of a three-edged knife. float
Ing, variable legend as regarded such details as
could get here and there, but constant as to
Its general feature. pursued It, as "a detective
pursues a clue 10 some criminal mystery get
ting mint from this or that or another source
patching and piecing with whatever dettne>s
possessed, until every scrap OF material was
exhausted. AT the end had nothing, i'll tact,
On something approaching fact. an elusive,
anorfhu> nebula floating just beyond the full
grasp OF my understanding.
Tbs legend Oi the three-edged knife lowered
a5ot-. Wild spot, on the north bank of the S;l-
iliia, called the La Fleur place, where long ago
Lad lived a family of French creOies VINO had
come from Louisiana. The La Fleurs must
have been very rich, for they opened a grand
cotton plantation stretching FOR miles along the
rlNer. They had many slaves. and although
the plahi: tion house was no more than rough,
rambling log cabin they lived in princeiy style
There was the periumed trace of love rO-
nance appearing at Intervals in the broken
story. n beautiful girl, two lovers. deadly
ieui between families, terrible revenge
wreakeG by a rejected sutton. all these thrown
together III pictures confusion.
The boide>t figure oi the SIIsldO0y group of
persons bearing part III the tragedy of the
Fieul Vissce Was that Of Old negro. W mo took
IpOn himself, As IL would appear the task o!
t-tii1g out punishment upon those who had
d,trI:led MS young mistress the fair maiden OF
lie legend, Marie La Fieur.
Fne >hTee-edsei knife was tie one bit of cold
'tlism III the story, albeit il was connected
" TN the mos prepDsierously preteTnatural ex-
PiOIts ever recorded IL the history OF superstl-
Ions or Invented tor the purposes OF romance
This knife was rusty. il had a, cross hill (he
cro,s-hilted knife runs through all the southern
ie-endsl a1d l. hads mysterious Weapon i'm no
h.tuu vi an Invisible monster whose deeds nf
assassination had tainted the air oil tine Satillt
region ever since the destruction OF the La
Fleur plac.- The waVerIng outlines of the Ie-
geud will rot admit O: amy clearer statement
anu ye@ nave IA hay mind, just beyond the
reach OF description. tile touching aud az
the saliIe time tue most horrible picture ever
cOnJUTrd up Dy heating suggestions and discon-
nected nIuts- sweet Marie La Flcur see nt.r
free nov giZ rg at me. with strange, surrowful
e. -, from the gloomy. Inoss-hung shadow
tangies of those weird semi-tropic groves i
word, "a phrase, a sketciIy bit of the legend LEI
tall by soIae of tie many persons who mad
heard vi IL, Ead now and agar shaken into NV
heart, a. II Were, fragrance lingering in,tt-
scrioabl., like the bouquet vi forgotten. but a.
most feihehbefeu loves anu joys and hopes and
kisses and, alas, despairs.
Sweet Marie Ia FIeur, What was her f,tee
know, but cannot quite frame the knowledge
In words. Her pitlIul story just evilsles INV
grasp No iindsi cali realize the haunting
sense Of fiIIuic (Which IL just "a line short Of
successl that worries ms mind aS strive totiud
a WAY 10 expires what eiusIvelv ami taufn-
lizinsly slip, away from my facui, les Let il 20
POoT Marie Ii FlcuT. Vanished like the SHOWS
Of last year in the OLD French refrain ha, I.ft
an Influence a. sWer. it j. subtle in all me
o.issy dlEines, -. tCe SAITH forests ard in all
Tie IDc!Octous windIngs oi TIE l.itL. river [
shvGId De sia'i 10 impress upon the readers
nlind >Dlne touch, NO matter how Vague OF the
peculiarly Isolated life which must nave been
leu y liIe jewellers at La Fiear place and OF the
many dangers with which >ucil {. lie WAS best
about tEe beginning Oi the present century
Sail More should I wish to fnp.rt tbut nov
SHAH IL s0inc dreamy knowledge of tine fr,.a-
dom, toe HesGItAIulnes> and the enhancing
Charm oi tie particular spot where still stands
bling, picturesque Cs.Oil wherein Marie l.,
t4"UT iIEV., loved aid died. but / ca1n,t
Eyer! thi.'S s-ii.' away irJan me. II Is like
gihs''.'- a. s'Ii"Ns al tTylL. - eaten plai.tl
Ia iI'Sf.'I-. ue,,'t Ca inyi sibi,. flower /
ci,i present. ilowcNc-, iIitI..a! tr4nscrfut on
ny owU eAptsIcIcv liz ti4c Inysiery-nauute,i
" tpI al slc >.,tiiIi, te Te-loii presided over
D. LIS demon Lie rusty threS,-e ICED knit.
over ss4d over mad been told OF the inex-
p.SlJe IN ,trtscES scattered through line sracs.
% tl. e. sTtSTS 80 - century that h;tu iI...,,
tl.s OiVt ID tc;ar Pi,soc the dread oil bt.l,ted
huiitSFs .sdL U1w.,dered cattle-Irivers. Not "A
nI.aii i.,d SEei taafTle1 about the charmed .por
aHd e>c'iIed- IiIe tHree-3d5et knife had done
It's oiCIIy Work uni;tlI!nsly. Ina: cross-hilteCi
fust[ Oh "ts..ftn a.. GeCDtHe familiar To my
e -. '.!ttv,.-u nad never seen it. Who
Ni-+s'e,.s Al 20 sS-si,i within y breath of
aiis"csIns- y 1s,t-I4Ae Thought Just beyond /
llV i..ss4ic fvsSSh al my 4liai. / strain every
la GltN IL VAIN one strains ones MEMORY
ioI a H.. Uslt almost remembered name In
decd, cNCrJ one vino .4stl 9nythIng 10 saw
AT u tni~ !'=vnd ot HE SatilII appeared T.,
he "a h.. q IA eil-ct OF grazing, as if with
IT, .--s -.'-,t's "i tue mind, the IuIes. knowI-
Ell SUBJECT
l..1Ns. 80 t..e i'ld in a victim the croS.-hilted
uiics--,i- e.. aa,..e hal been found So il was
sal, >@:NCrstt ieT~OIi> at widely separated
Nifi,~. Uut HI Sstc-4 Instance il had t.,t.,t.eti
la st-Tt,.>tS .TOiI the possession oil the finder
"a .t.4 Ptgi~sS IL bsb,Suy work along fine
81 tllist- srivti IN vain IT, lind some one OF the
lhlS!i 'stis - 40 Hal seem tue weapon out here
se;siu IA" St-iHrut~ of tanIalIZing proximity to
M t4rslTc s.-s'.> llr place success 30. too
the eN.syt situation Oi la Fieur pIace WAS not
Know ~. any one III my tnlOrIii:IutS though
The All spoke al IL well settled, The best
ess-tfIl ,.ir't ls'tnt OH the Ssttilla, in fact
An - amp OVdy, they Thought, might direct
he
IN the course OF leisurely canoe VOYAGE
down the river. noted several places where
Plantations lidd once existed, but no feature
PdItiedi;tTtN >as-c>ted La Ftear place. 1t was