Mississippi River and Jogging
November 30, 1997
My old boss - Perry Adkisson - was a prolific writer. When I was his student, he confided that he did his best writing while playing golf. Don’t know how well he played golf cause he never invited me to play with him. Guess I always suspected his playing skills. How could he play well if his mind was devoted to writing scientific papers and research proposals? Anyway, instead of the golf course, it is while jogging that I often have the ideas for these stories that are forced on you through email. Yes, in a sense my stories are forced on you, but I rationalize that if you do not like them, with one click of the erase key they will disappear. The few ideas that flow through my inefficient brain these days, seem to happen most frequently when I jog. Maybe it’s the endorphins. Often heard that the human body releases endorphins during exercise so that torture becomes fun. But maybe it is like the stories we have read about the prisoner in some dungeon who - to maintain his sanity - memorizes the multiplication tables through a thousand, or something. In my case, maybe it is some sort of self defense to get my mind off of the little aches and pains of pounding the roads.
The jog this morning was conducive to a random jumble of impressions that I will try to tease apart. The temperature was about 48 F, the sky clear; sun was rising in the southeast, and no wind - a perfect morning for a jog. We are located at the historic town of St. Francisville, LA. My Rand McNally Road Atlas has placed a small red square beside the town with the attached label “antebellum homes.” If you are into antebellum homes, then you will be interested to know that from half to two-thirds of American millionaires in the 1850's lived in this rich valley between Natchez and New Orleans. Natchez alone boasted over 500 millionaires, more that any other city in the U.S. except New York City. Apparently, these millionaires wished for others to know that they were millionaires. One way of advertising their wealth was to build an mansion than we now label an antebellum home. Almost all of this wealth was based on cotton - its culture, harvesting, ginning, and transportation. The extravagant homes, gardens, and life styles of these rich folks came to an abrupt halt with the Civil War.
The most poignant story to which we were exposed was that of Dr. Nutt and his wife, Julia who owned about 7 plantations near Natchez. He was a northern sympathizer and had promises from norther officials not to destroy his plantation buildings. Of the many large plantation homes around lake St. Joseph, his Winter Quarters home (now a state Commemorative Area) was the only home that survived burning at the hands of Northern troops. But then his lands were confiscated by the new government and he lost almost everything. He was a millionaire when about 20 years old. When he was 48, he was building a large octagonal mansion in Natchez - Longwood - that is now one of its top tourist attractions. Only the bottom floor was finished when he died that year from what many insisted was a broken heart. Tour guides dressed in antebellum styles tell the story very well. Considering the poverty of the region following the war, it is amazing that so many of these homes remain.
The American Civil War plays a very important role in the history of this area. The National Park at Vicksburg tells a very important story of the war. However, we were unaware of the important role played at Port Hudson. We visited the State Commemorative Area near St. Francisville and absorbed some of the details of the 48-day siege of Port Hudson in 1863. About 30,000 Union troops launched assaults against 6,800 Confederates in this last Confederate stronghold along the Mississippi. Two major attacks by land and one by ships on the Mississippi were repelled by the Confederates. So Union officers decided on another tactic- except for minor skirmishes they simply waited until Confederate troop ran out of food.
The primary source of food for the Confederates was Texas Longhorns. These cattle were butchered and entrails thrown over the ramparts. A Union patrol on a nighttime attempt to penetrate Confederate lines fell into this pile of this rotting stuff. When they passed through the Confederate lines they were captured and were almost grateful that they could now wash off the mess and stench. Stench became one of the tactics used on both sides. After one battle, dead Union soldiers lay in large numbers between the lines. Their bodies turned black, covered with maggots and were rotting. The Confederate General sent word to the Union General suggesting a temporary truce so that the Union bodies could be removed and buried. The Union General declined claiming that the bodies would “stink out” the Confederates.
The Confederates soon ate all the Longhorns, then they ate their horses, mules, dogs, cats and rats. When the food supply was gone they resorted to “experimental consumption of human flesh.” Confederate ammunition was almost gone when they learned that Vicksburg had fallen so they surrendered. (Don’t know what role the stench played in the decision.) It turned out to be the longest siege in American military history and effectively split the Confederate forces. Confederate supplies from the West could no longer reach the eastern forces.
Now visitors can walk on miles of well-marked trails through the old battle ground. The old earthen redoubts can be seen and signs explain the various battles and thoughts of the soldiers. A visitor’s center provides an excellent museum and movie that provide an overview of the history of this National Historic Landmark. “How could such an important and interesting subject have been so boring in history class” I wondered? The Louisiana Office of State Parks has really done an excellent job with this park.
Also near St. Francisville, is the Audubon Commemorative Area. It is dedicated to John James Audubon who painted 32 of his famous bird paintings while there. He was hired to tutor Eliza Pirrie, the daughter of the owners of the Oakley Plantation for $60 a month. In his free time, he shot bird specimens, wired them to appear life-like and then painted them. His 13-year-old student, Joseph Mason, then painted in the background behind the bird.
Apparently, Eliza feigned sickness for about 5 days so wages for those days were deducted from John’s salary. John complained and was fired after only four months at Oakley Plantation.
To me, the charm of Oakley Plantation was that it was a working plantation so that the old barns, slave cabins, tools etc. still remain. There was even a small cotton field behind the slaves cabins containing cotton bolls in which boll weevil feeding cells could be found. The tall, airy house was built about 1808 can also be toured. Copies of Audubon’s paintings adorn the walls. Pat and I enjoyed a warm, sunny afternoon, leisurely exploring Oakley Plantation
A country road, aptly named Audubon Road, separates Oakley Plantation from a wooded area across the road. Signs along the road explain that the property is owned by some West Feliciana Parish hunting club. (There must be some good reason why hunting clubs are often located adjacent to parks and wildlife preserves.) While jogged along Audubon Road, I was thinking about the stench of dead soldiers on the battle ground. The image was so clear in my mind that I even imagined that I could smell the stench. As I approached a culvert, where some sorry ... had dumped his trash, the smell became stronger and I realized that it was not my imagination. Certain that I was about to see one of those dead Yankee bodies, I peered over the edge of the road and saw a large dead pig - probably dumped by the same “environmentalist” that had dumped the trash.
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