The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-12-28

position to closing the lake to the pub
lie. Instantly there were injunctions,
counter injunctions, bonds, and litigation
for the right to buy and sell Reelfoot's
wild booty. The prize sought would
amount, ii was claimed, to about $4,000
a year. The litigation was in line with
Old Man Harris's plan of Having oppo-
sition to DEATH and in this work he was
ably assisted by persistent attorneys.
But Harris was getting old, and in 1908
he died in st. Louis.
A Big Levee.
Judge Harris (his given name is Judge)
continued the fight for the lake and the
lands around the lake. Baffled in the
attempt to drain the lake, it was now
determined to redeem the lands in some
other way. The levee system offered AN
opportunity. Judge Harris saw that If
the Mississippi could be prevented from
flowing down into Reelfoot Lake every
spring. he would be able to clear from
$1,000 to 1900 acres of the swamp timber
brake land which he owned in the Reel
foot basin. He became head of the local
levee commission. He made applications
to the United States Mississippi River
Commission, and today 1876 miles of the
20 miles of levee necessary to save the
lower shores of Reelfoot from inundation
prog 1901 9ql lna 1Unq u9sq eABu
which began work with much enthusi-
asm. did no work last year, and the Mis-
sissippi commission placed 1900 cubic
Yards of dirt without local assistance.
The land owners OF Lakek county did not
take kindly to the high levee tax, whose
avowed purpose was to redeem many
thousand acres of land for the Harris es-
tate. though it would add, it was claimed,
900 acres of cotton land to the Reel
foot cultfVable area.
Heretofore the troubles have been mat
tiers of courts and politics. Independent
observers cou4u not become enthusiastic
in favor of the fishermen and hunters
who were fighting every attempt to pre-
serve the fish and game nor for the peo-
pie who desired to get all the profits
possible from the lake. So far as one
could see 1t was simply matter of greed
opposed to avarice. But Judge Harris
has been very plainly more progressive
man than his opponents, and when he
talked with me about trying to carry out
his fathers plans he showed himself
more than willing to put his shoulder to
the wheel for the progress of Lake
county.
1.-THE trouble is right here" he told me.
almost all the land in Lake county is
owned by five or six persons, and If we
are not progressive it keeps everybody
down. The land ought to be cut up into
small FARMS" Wearied by the fight,
Harris sold out to the West Tennessee
Land company, whose head was Rankin.
The Lynching Habit.
Lynching is no new thing to Lake
county The citizens of Lake county
were at one time greatly addicted to the
habit of lynching negroes, and a cypress
tree at fence corner just north of the
town was pointed out to me as "the
niger tree
Seven niggers have been hanged on
that tree" it was explained. On one &C.
CASTOR a negro was hanged by an impa-
tient mob on the main street of the
town, but this made some feeling. The
tree was cut down and the incident for
gotten as far as possible. The people of
Lake county tell about the trial of a ne
gro in the Tiptonvile, Lake county,
court The court was crowded and the
men were particularly wrought up by
the woman's story. The jury received
the case, and then there was delay.
They could not agree.
ITS a hung jury" somebody an
nomced.
well. we'll have a hung Niger toov'
somebody shouted, and the mob surged
forward The negro was hanged forth
with Later it was learned that one of
the white men on the jury and the son
of another of the jurors, had been ac-
cused of the crime. they escaped, but
were driven from the country.
was told that many more negroes
would have been lynched in Lake coun-
ty if it had not been for one difficulty
which the residents met at last. The ne
groes began to move away and the wan
dering cotton pickers ceased to visit Lake
county, so that increased difficulty was
| experienced in getting the cotton picked