The Best of the Bureau/The_Best_of_the_Bureau_Bureau_Development_Inc._1992.iso/dp/0138/01389.txt

Text File | 1992-08-07 | 20KB | 319 lines

$Unique_ID{bob01389}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Life On The Mississippi
Chapter XXIX}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Twain, Mark}
$Affiliation{}
$Subject{negro
murel
time
away
horse
hundred
days
creek
crenshaw
four
see
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}
$Date{1917}
$Log{See Memphis*0138901.scf
}
Title:       Life On The Mississippi
Author:      Twain, Mark
Date:        1917

Chapter XXIX

A Few Specimen Bricks

     We passed through the Plum Point region, turned Craig-head's Point, and
glided unchallenged by what was once the formidable Fort Pillow, memorable
because of the massacre perpetrated there during the war. Massacres are
sprinkled with some frequency through the histories of several Christian
nations, but this is almost the only one that can be found in American
history; perhaps it is the only one which rises to a size correspondent to
that huge and somber title.  We have the "Boston Massacre," where two or three
people were killed; but we must bunch Anglo-Saxon history together to find the
fellow to the Fort Pillow tragedy; and doubtless even then we must travel back
to the days and the performances of Coeur de Lion, that fine "hero," before we
accomplish it.

     More of the river's freaks.  In times past the channel used to strike
above Island 37, by Brandywine Bar, and down toward Island 39. Afterward
changed its course and went from Brandywine down through Vogelman's chute in
the Devil's Elbow, to Island 39 - part of this course reversing the old order;
the river running up four or five miles, instead of down, and cutting off,
throughout, some fifteen miles of distance. This in 1876.  All that region is
now called Centennial Island.

     There is a tradition that Island 37 was one of the principal
abiding-places of the once celebrated "Murel's Gang." This was a colossal
combination of robbers, horse-thieves, negro-stealers, and counterfeiters,
engaged in business along the river some fifty or sixty years ago.  While our
journey across the country toward St. Louis was in progress we had had no end
of Jesse James and his stirring history; for he had just been assassinated by
an agent of the Governor of Missouri, and was in consequence occupying a good
deal of space in the newspapers. Cheap histories of him were for sale by
train-boys.  According to these, he was the most marvelous creature of his
kind that had ever existed.  It was a mistake.  Murel was his equal in
boldness, in pluck, in rapacity; in cruelty, brutality, heartlessness,
treachery, and in general and comprehensive vileness and shamelessness; and
very much his superior in some larger aspects.  James was a retail rascal;
Murel, wholesale. James's modest genius dreamed of no loftier flight than the
planning of raids upon cars, coaches, and country banks.  Murel projected
negro insurrections and the capture of New Orleans; and furthermore, on
occasion, this Murel could go into a pulpit and edify the congregation. What
are James and his half-dozen vulgar rascals compared with this stately
old-time criminal, with his sermons, his meditated insurrections and
city-captures, and his majestic following of ten hundred men, sworn to do his
evil will!

     Here is a paragraph or two concerning this big operator, from a now
forgotten book which was published half a century ago:

     He appears to have been a most dexterous as well as consummate villain.
When he traveled, his usual disguise was that of an itinerant preacher; and it
is said that his discourses were very "soul-moving" - interesting the hearers
so much that they forgot to look after their horses, which were carried away
by his confederates while he was preaching.  But the stealing of horses in one
state, and selling them in another, was but a small portion of their business;
the most lucrative was the enticing slaves to run away from their masters that
they might sell them in another quarter.  This was arranged as follows: they
would tell a negro that if he would run away from his master, and allow them
to sell him, he should receive a portion of the money paid for him, and that
upon his return to them a second time they would send him to a free state,
where he would be safe.  The poor wretches complied with this request, hoping
to obtain money and freedom; they would be sold to another master, and run
away again to their employers; sometimes they would be sold in this manner
three or four times, until they had realized three or four thousand dollars by
them; but as, after this, there was fear of detection, the usual custom was to
get rid of the only witness that could be produced against them, which was the
negro himself, by murdering him and throwing his body into the Mississippi.
Even if it was established that they had stolen a negro, before he was
murdered, they were always prepared to evade punishment; for they concealed
the negro who had run away until he was advertised and a reward offered to any
man who would catch him.  An advertisement of this kind warrants the person to
take the property, if found.  And then the negro becomes a property in trust;
when, therefore, they sold the negro, it only became a breach of trust, not
stealing; and for a breach of trust the owner of the property can only have
redress by a civil action, which was useless, as the damages were never paid.
It may be inquired how it was that Murel escaped Lynch law under such
circumstances.  This will be easily understood when it is stated that he had
more than a thousand sworn confederates, all ready at a moment's notice to
support any of the gang who might be in trouble.  The names of all the
principal confederates of Murel were obtained from himself, in a manner which
I shall presently explain.  The gang was composed of two classes: The Heads or
Council, as they were called, who planned and concerted, but seldom acted;
they amounted to about four hundred.  The other class were the active agents,
and were termed strikers, and amounted to about six hundred and fifty. These
were the tools in the hands of the others; they ran all the risk, and received
but a small portion of the money; they were in the power of the leaders of the
gang, who would sacrifice them at any time by handing them over to justice, or
sinking their bodies in the Mississippi.  The general rendezvous of this gang
of miscreants was on the Arkansas side of the river, where they concealed
their negroes in the morasses and cane- brakes.

     The depredations of this extensive combination were severely felt; but so
well were their plans arranged that, although Murel, who was always active,
was everywhere suspected, there was no proof to be obtained.  It so happened,
however, that a young man of the name of Stewart, who was looking after two
slaves which Murel had decoyed away, fell in with him and obtained his
confidence, took the oath, and was admitted into the gang as one of the
General Council.  By this means all was discovered; for Stewart turned
traitor, although he had taken the oath, and having obtained every
information, exposed the whole concern, the names of all the parties, and
finally succeeded in bringing home sufficient evidence against Murel to
procure his conviction and sentence to the penitentiary (Murel was sentenced
to fourteen year's imprisonment).  So many people who were supposed to be
honest, and bore a respectable name in the different states, were found to be
among the list of the Grand Council as published by Stewart, that every
attempt was made to throw discredit upon his assertions - his character was
villified, and more than one attempt was made to assassinate him.  He was
obliged to quit the Southern states in consequence.  It is, however, now well
ascertained to have been all true; and although some blame Mr. Stewart for
having violated his oath, they no longer attempt to deny that his revelations
were correct.  I will quote one or two portions of Murel's confessions to Mr.
Stewart, made to him when they were journeying together.  I ought to have
observed that the ultimate intentions of Murel and his associates were, by his