HISTORIC ADAMS COUNTY
BY GERARD BRANDON, ESQ.
In the dim ages of the past, when our wondrous bluffs emerged from the inland sea which geologists tell us once swept over the alluvial lands of the Mississippi Valley, it would seem that the Great Spirit with special favor smiled upon and blessed that portion of his fair domain which is now embraced within the present limits of "Historic Adams County," as if to make of it an Eden for the Western World.
Perhaps no section of so limited an area has been more productive of the fossil remains of pre-historic animals, or has furnished so much to the collection of the geologist. It was largely from Adams County that Wailes, the geologist, obtained his collection which was afterwards purchased by the University of Louisiana. Mammoth Bayou, just beyond the limits of the City of Natchez, is so called on account of its so often returning to the light, remains of this gigantic animal, and it still continues to render its contributions. Indeed, there is scarcely a creek or water-course in the county that has not, at some time, contributed its share. Here also dwelt pre-historic man, the mound-builder, who has left in Adams County many of the monuments of himself, and notably the celebrated Emerald Mound, near old Selsertown,—one of the largest, loftiest, and most remarkable in the whole Valley of the Mississippi. And so, in later days, when the first of the white race came to this favored spot, they found here in the greatest beauty, abundance, and perfection, all the flora and fauna of the South. Chateaubriand, who during his exile visited the "Natchez Country," found here the inspiration and theme for writings which have made him immortal, and in his "Attala," "Rene," and in his great epic "The Natchez," has given us the impressions made upon his poetic imagination by the beauties of the landscape. And while the hand of the spoiler, man, has robbed the landscape of so many of its robes of natural beauty, there still remains enough to touch the fancy and impress the mind. We can still view the wondrous "Devil's Punch Bowls," in and just beyond the northern limits of Natchez, which, while the exact reverse of mountain scenery, presents a view almost as wild and grand. The view from our lofty bluffs, of our mighty river, of the green plains of Louisiana beyond, of the sun as he sinks beneath the Western horizon, and of the moon as she silvers the river with her parting beams, are worthy of any painter's brush. The fertile valleys of the St. Catharine and Second creeks still present some remains of their former beauty and fertility, which made the Natchez Country, in its palmy past, the promised land for so many brave and adventurous spirits.
It was in this favored section that lived the celebrated Natchez Indians, whose name is perpetuated in that of our historic city, and who have left behind them a history of which a Spartan would have been proud. Their civilization was higher than that of the surrounding tribes, and their customs and religion were similar to those of the ancient Mexicans. Like the Mexicans, Peruvians, and ancient Persians, their god was the sun, and in the temple built for his worship the priests kept burning, day and night, the sacred fire. To the sun they sacrificed the first fruits of the chase and of war, and sometimes, (as did the Mexicans), offered human sacrifices, even of their own children, to appease their angry deity. They honored their chiefs with the title of "Suns," and their king was the "Great Sun."
Such were the Natchez Indians, as portrayed to us by history and tradition, in the year 1700, when first visited by Iberville, the great French pioneer. The tribe then had about twelve hundred warriors: but, according to their own account, had been much more powerful; being then reduced in numbers by constant wars with surrounding tribes. So impressed was Iberville by the beauty and natural advantages of the location, that he decided to plant a colony here. This design was not carried into execution however, until June, 1716, when Bienville, the brother of Iberville, built a fort within the present limits of Natchez, and called it "Rosalie." But peaceful relations with the Indians were of short duration, and a few preliminary murders on both sides were followed, in 1723, by the first general outbreak of the Indians. This was quelled by Bienville with characteristic cruelty and severity, which inflamed the fires of hatred and revenge in the breasts of the savages. Nor did the French adopt a policy which might have averted a catastrophe that was soon to come; but persisted in their course of treachery, aggression and oppression.
The Indians finally matured a plot to rid themselves of their enemies by a general massacre. The execution of the design was doubtless hastened by the requirement of Chopart, commandant of Fort Rosalie, that White Apple Village, on Second Creek about twelve miles from Natchez, should be abandoned, so that it, with its surrounding fields, might be converted into a French plantation. On November 28th, 1729, the Indians, by stratagem gained admission into the fort, and the historic massacre began.
The governor general, Perrier, at New Orleans, as soon as the news was received, at once dispatched Chevalier Lubois, with a large force from that city to exterminate the Natchez. After a fierce but indecisive conflict, a truce was arranged, by which the Indians surrendered the prisoners in their hands. During the night the whole tribe crossed to the West of the Mississippi, and entrenched themselves near the junction of the Washita and Little rivers. Thither the vengeance of the French still pursued them, and the destruction of this interesting tribe is a matter of history.
It appears from the statements both of Monette and of Claiborne, in their respective histories, that the forts in which the Indians entrenched themselves, when attacked by Lubois after the massacre at Fort Rosalie, were near the junction of the St. Catherine creek with the Mississippi river. Both historians unite in stating that after their retreat to the West of the Mississippi, Lubois erected at Natchez near the brow of the bluffs, the terraced Fort Rosalie,—the remains of which were plainly visible when Monette wrote, but which, when Claiborne's history was written, had been largely effaced by the great landslide. But some traces still remain along the front a little distance below the Natchez compress. The name of this second Fort Rosalie, when occupied by the English, was changed to Panmure.
Both Monette and Claiborne clearly state that this second fort was not upon the same site as the original fort of the same name erected by Bienville, and where the massacre took place. Monette states that the first fort was remote from the bluffs, probably near the eastern limits of the city. Claiborne practically confirms him, stating that the original fort was some six hundred and seventy yards from the river. But its exact location is not known. Local tradition, however, erroneously points out the remains of the fort below the compress as those of the fort where the massacre occurred. This error is doubtless the result of confusion in the minds of persons not familiar with the historical facts, and arising from an identity of names. Tradition was certainly of more value years ago, when Monette and Claiborne lived, and they must certainly have had the benefit of it.
With the destruction of the Natchez Indians, the French colony located in their fertile country grew with great rapidity, but without events of more than passing historical interest. But the line of the Latin-French, claiming from the lakes to the gulf, and of the Anglo-Saxon, claiming from ocean to ocean, had crossed, and at the close of the great French and Indian Wars, by the treaty of Paris, Feb. 16th, 1763, the banner of France was lowered at Fort Rosalie, and instead the flag of England floated there, with the name changed to Fort Panmure.