The Hayti herald. (Hayti, Mo.) 1908-1922, 1919-11-27
II Romance of the
Black HaWk War

features. Through the personal In
auence Of D'Iberville at Louis court
Alphonse de Beaucaire had originally
royal grant Of ten thou
sand acres Of land bordering the west
bank Of the Mississippi few miles
above st. Louis. When his master re-
turned to France leaving him unem-
ployed, Beaucaire, possessing ample |
means of his own, had preferred to re-
main in America. In flatboats, pro-
PEELED by voyageurs, and accompanied
by considerable retinue OF slaves, he,
with his family, had ascended the river
and finally settled on his princely es-
tate. Here he erected what for those
early days was stately mansion, and
devoted himself to cultivating the
land. Twenty years later, when his
death occurred, he possessed the finest
property along the upper river, was
shipping heavily to the New Orleans
market, and was probably the most
influential man in oil that section.
His only son, Felipe, succeeded him,
but was not so successful in admins
Judgment, and being decidedly indo-
lent by nature. Felipe married into
one Of the Oldest and most respectable
families of st. Louis, and as result
of that union had one son, Lucius, who
grew up reckless of restraint, and pre-
ferred to spend his time In New Or.
leans, rather than upon the plantation.
Lucius was young man of twenty
six, unsettled in habits, when the fa-
ther died.. and, against his inclination,
was compelled to return, to Missouri
and assume control of the property.
He found matters in rather bad condi-
-tion, and his was not at all the type
of mind to remedy them. Much OF the
land had been already irretrievably
lost through speculation, and when his
fathers obligations had been met, and
his own gambling debts paid, the es-
tate, once so princely and magnificent,
was reduced to barely five hundred
acres, together with q comparatively
| small amount of cash. This condition
years. and he married Menard Of
Cape Girardeau, of excellent family
but not great wealth, and earnestly
endeavored to rebuild, his fortunes.
Unfortunately his reform did not last.
| The evil influences of the past soon
proved too strong for one of his tenn
permanent. The plantation house be-
| came in time rendezvous for all the
| wild spirits of that neighborhood, and
| stories of fierce drinking bouts and
mad gambling were current in st.
| Louis. ID '' i'''"" ',' ''i'".
"Have you ever been at Beatlcaire,
captain?" asked. lJ~uyA ah
"We always stop at the landing, but
I have only once been rupa the cliff to
where the. house Stands, The Judge
was away from home-in st. Louis,
j ,|belteyse-+t the; day OF aHNsy visit, He. had
sold me some timber, and went selt
with the family lawyer a man naIaed
Haines. living at the landing, to obA
it over"
"The house was closedW ~
mo; 1t is never closed. The hofse
keeper was. there, and also the twt
daughters."H G
"DauehtefsY' %a'
Certainly; Hadn't told you abon
them? Both girls are accepted asthi!
daughters; but, If all I have ,heard3i Il
true, one must be his granddaughter.
He paused reminiscently, his eyes, Ol
the river. "Haines told me a numbe
of strange things about that family
had never heard before" he admitte,
at last. "YOu see he has known then
, for years, and attended to most O
. Beaucaire's legal business. This
about how the story runs, as he told il
1t wasn't generally known, but
, seems that Lucius Beaucaire has beel
married twice-the first time to Gre
ole girl In New Orleans when he wa
, scarcely more than boy. Nobod
now living probably knows whateve
became of her, but likely she die
, early; anyway she never came nortl
or has since been heard from. Th
, important part is that she gave brit
, to son. who remained in New o.
leans, probably in her care until h
, was fourteen or fifteen years old. The
: some occurrence, possibly his mother
death, caused the judge to send fo
- the lad, whose name was Adelber
and had him brought to Missouri. A
this happened before Haines settled G
!, the Landing, and previous to Bea,
: caire's second marriage to Mademo
selle Menard. Bert. as the boy wa
called, grew up Wild, and father an
. son quarreled so continuously thl
finally, and before he was twenty, th
latter ran away, and has never bee
heard of since-simply disappears
and no one knows to this day wheth,
he La alive or dead. At least II Judf
Beaucaire ever received any woi
= from him he never confessed as mus
,,ttnSH SHaiaes, However, the boy left b
|. thihd tangible evidence Of his extS
n Hsrpq5W3L y
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