“Batiste had made the journey through life and was knocking on the Gates of Heaven, a voice from within asks, who knocks? Batiste answers and gives his full name. The voice is that of St. Peter who looks up Batiste’s record of life in the Book of Judgment. Then St. Peter explains to Batiste, we take out the pages which contain your assets and place them on one side of the scales of justice and on the other side we place the pages of your de-sets. If your assets out-weigh your de-sets, then naturally you can come in, as we place your assets and de-sets upon the scales we will review them.”
(Now Murrell becomes the comic for the benefit of his audience). “Right here Batiste on May 25, you done de-setted enough to carry over on the next three pages. Boy, you was really de-setting that day.
Here, we see your Pastor found you hunting on Sunday and you had a nice bag of squirrels, the Pastor spoke to you about it and you gave the excuse that you had your days mixed up. Again he caught you fishing on Sunday and a nice bunch you had too, you gave the excuse that you had your days mixed up again.
Now, if you had given the Pastor some of those squirrels or fish, then those de-sets of that day would have turned into assets. But all along the Road of Life you gave the excuse that you had your days mixed up. ‘Now,’ said St. Peter, as he looked at the scales, ‘because you had your days mixed up you now have your directions mixed up. You all done come the wrong way’, and he shut the door in Batiste’s face. Batiste begged for another chance but this could not be, as you know you can only travel the Road of Life once.”
Along the Neutral Strip the inhabitants catered only to hard money, that is gold and silver coins, and Murrell asked that fees for his service be paid in coin.
Murrell would place a set of balancing scales where everyone could see, on one side he placed the Bible, then he said, “this Bible will represent the Book of Judgment and I place it on this side of the scales, it will represent your mis-deeds or de-sets. Now, we are all going to stay here until you people give enough to tip these scales to the asset side.” While the collections were being made, Murrell would be expounding of the good things he intended doing with the money, he even had a few henchmen in the audience to begin the contributions and to urge the others to do the same.
Murrell becomes another legend of Los Adais and of his hidden treasures, it is believed that he had many hidden treasures which he called large banks and small banks.
No one is certain how Murrell’s death came about. Murrell’s gold and silver, and he must have had much of it, with nearly a decade of preaching, lying, robbing and murdering in the strip, could have been the cause.
XIII
THE BREAK-UP OF THE NEUTRAL STRIP
There were rumors in 1806 that Aaron Burr was attempting to organize the settlers of the Neutral Strip and that an actual Free State of Sabine was to be established, Breastworks at Sabine-Town and a Block House with two companies of the United States militia were established near the confluence of Bayou Negrett and the Sabine River on the El Camino Real.