The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-25

has been able to secure the correct route through part of the State.
 On this trace In 1901, from the nar- row track of civilization on the At Iantic coast the earl, settlers came ever pushing to the western wilder ness. there to plant the newer civilt- zation.
 Over barriers and mountains they passed in ceaseless stream.
 What perils they encountered during the lonely time they were lost on the narrow trailt Yet they kept their went the tide of civilization tLat made their wilderness. blossom as the rose.
 The length of the Natchez Trace in Alabama is probably fifty miles. and 1t Is desired that the society of the D. A. R. in Alabama place markers along the trace at a distance of eight miles apart. To this effect, the Nat chez Trace Committee will submit resolutions at the next State confer ence.
 The Daughters of the American Rev. olution throughout our country have marked scenes of memorable events. historic homes, and the society of the D. A.. R. in Kansas has completed in their State the. preservation, of the old santa Ee Trail Let Alabama keep her ancient landmark .still!
 NANH L. II. tfIIQe,
 Chr. Natchez Trace Com, Mrs Dabnoy.
 Mrs. Osceola Kyle.
 Mrs. Goodioe M. Drisda1e.
 The. Natchez Trace Committee Is fortunate in having secured the fol- lowing splendid article from the pen of Mrs Egbert Jones of Mississippi;
 Mrss Jones presents in the following glowing words an idea Of the condi- ttons existing in. the great Southwest ern territory In, 1sOa:
 Fhe Matches Trace.
 For every American- 'versed even slightly in the history of his country. there Is glamour of romance and mystery ciingtng to the. name Nat chez, and 1t is pleasure to have a Mississippi author interpret this feel ing so sympathetleally as when Judge Harris Dickson writes, "Natchez. in- trenched like fendal chatelaine upon her tawney blum, guards the western borders of Mississippi with Ter miles and miles of level acres crouching be- hind their thin and winding levees like line of battle front watch ing every movement of the foe.
 From the summit of her citadel. she gazes, upon the greatest river in all, the world--the treacherous river. licking at her feet, undermining her
 
 to her gates" The river lies there. crawling and smiling. equally ready to fondle or to destroy--a yellow Tnon- ster full of strange contortions-with eddicsS swift and strong. floating the wreckage of a continent to the sea. For many generations these Natchez hills have nurtured a chisalrous race of gentlemen. whose whltened plahta tions meet the water on either side. a nA xrrhn at foIx aufn a IT nn doors that shut upon a strangerT
 But from this bit of Paradise to the east is far, far cry--an interfninabIe distance once, long ago. throngh q well-nigh impenetrable forest. over bridgeless rivers. and forbidding noun tain ridges: with only an Indian trail for guidance. a hostile wall of forest on either side, infested with painted braves, and less strange, but far more dreaded robbers. A journey to be feared. perhaps. and taken only in dire necessity.
 However. for the pioneers, there was but one other way. the devious, tedt- ous way of river travel.
 The Mississippi. Ohio, and the Cum berland, or the Tennessee. then form ed the only highway to the east from the isolated settlements of the Natchez district.
 Realizing that adequate roads are essential to the development of any region, one of the first concerns of the territorial authorities was to open up overland routes of travel to the older settlements of the United States in the east and to Now Orleans in the south7-an s'ytiFgsnk ] military necessity in those troublous times. as we'll as a convenience, an economic good and a means of attracting new settlers.
 The earliest and most famous of the public highways was the Natchez Trace. Once an old Indian trail most interest ing Is the history of its development into one of the worlds great thorough fares. For great 1t Is, and great is any factor that has played So import ant a part in the settlement and de- velopment of this section. Down it's lonely length passed a steady stream of travelers-often men of means journeying to the south in search of wealth and rich investments-~often the poorest of pioneers, rich only in sturdy strength and high determination to wrest a homestead from the wilder ness. While up the road plodded trad ers' supercargoes, boatmen, banded to- gether for mutual cheer and safety. returning to homes, perhaps a thous- and miles away. after a trading ex- petition to New Orleans, and carrying with them the proceeds of their sales packed on mules and horses.
 Of course bandits haunted the traii. How else could bandits live but near where travellers pass with their treas- ure and other fruits of labor? Con- sequently the Mason and Murel gangs gave theme to song and story for years after such strenuous days had van- ished with the coming of the iron horse.
 In the early days of French and Spanish occupa tion. travellers needs must depend upon the river or the In- dian trail and face that ever-present danger of battle, murder. and sudden death; but with the evacuation of the NatcheZ district by the Spaniards and the occupation by the United States came a change. The energetic spirit gotiations with the Indians to obtain their consent to the opening of public roads and mail routes from the Nat chez district to the frontier settlements of Tennessee and Georgia.
 All the vast region extending north and east of the Natchez district, nearly 500 miles to the distant white settle ments on the Cumberland River, Ten nessee. and those on the Oconee. in Georgia, was undisputed Indian terri tory with the single exception of the limited area on the Tombigbee and Mobile Rivers. to which the Indian title had been extinguished by France and England in former years. The Natchez district was remote and diff feult of access. Intercourse with the United States was by the laborous as- cent of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to the Kentucky and Tennessee set dement's or else over the lonely In- dian trace which led through the lands l s1, ,ISIga FsNr