Part 14

On the 21st he was joined by Captain Minor and on the 26th by Dunbar. June 1st Gayoso, who succeeded on the death of Carondelet, came with his suite and examined the line as determined; but he then returned to New Orleans, leaving Minor to represent him.

Ellicott in the 5th volume of the American Philosophical Society Transactions (reprinted as an appendix to his Journal) quotes from Dunbar the following account of the establishment of the point on the Mississippi River:--

"On the 28th of July, the line then approaching the 10th mile, and learning that the waters of the inundation were retired within the banks of the Mississippi, so that the lands were become sufficiently dry to give firm footing to the labourers, the astronomer for his Catholic Majesty taking upon himself the extending of the line through the river low ground to the eastern margin of the Mississippi. The party allotted for this service did accordingly encamp at the point D, pushing the line forward. Judging the present a convenient position for verifying the direction of the line, the astronomer for His Catholic Majesty established his observatory near the point D, and made ____observations with the circular instrument placed in the direction of the tangent____.

"The line being extended to the margin of the Mississippi on the 17th of August, the measurement from the point D, was found to be 2 miles and 180 perches English measure, (or 2111.42 French toises.) At the distance of 1 and 2 miles at the points X and Y, were erected square posts surrounded by mounds of earth, and at a distance of 88 French feet from the margin of the river, and in the parallel of latitude was erected a square post 10 feet high surrounded by a mound of eight feet in height. On this post is inscribed on the south side a crown with the letter R underneath; on the north U. S., and the west fronting on the river, Agosto 18th, 1798. Lat. 31° N. In erecting the mile post, due regard was paid to the quantity of the offsets."

Their second camp was at Little Bayou Sara. Thence on their progress at first was slow on account of the cane, twenty to thirty-five feet high, matted with vines, and the many short, steep hills, besides the rainy weather. They hardly averaged a quarter of a mile per day. The Choctaw Indians, through whose country they passed, never disturbed the party, however, therein contrasting with the Creeks beyond Mobile River the next year.

While on Little Bayou Sara they learned of the formation of Mississippi Territory and the appointment of Winthrop Sargent as governor.[150] The new governor arrived in Natchez August 6th, and General Wilkinson on the 26th, but Sargent's health did not permit him to organize the government until the next month.

But Ellicott was now outside civil complications. He made new encampments on the line at Big Bayou Sara (whence Dunbar returned to his home near Natchez,) Thompson's Creek, Darling's Creek and Pearl or Half Way River. At Thompson's the observations covered the satellites of Jupiter by night, and the sun by day. After leaving Thompson's Creek they had much trouble crossing swamps and rafting over deep streams. Those named on his map are Comite, Beaver Creek, Amite, Ticfaw, Tanchipahoe, and Boguechitoe, all easily recognized. The soil generally was poor, covered with pines on the sandy uplands. He naively tells us that while at Darling's a confidential letter from the Spanish governor-general to a Spanish officer "fell into my hands for a few hours." What right he had to open and read official correspondence between officials of a power with whom his country was at peace does not appear, but espionage went so far at this period that an American commandant at Natchez had tried to intercept Ellicott's own letters. Evidently Ellicott thought the end justified his own means. For he discovered that improper correspondence had been carried on between Spanish officials and "some gentlemen in the western part of the Union," and that nearly $20,000 had been shipped from New Orleans in that connection. Ellicott copied the "interesting parts" and dispatched them to the Department of State. This may account for Wilkinson's hostility.

November 17-19 was occupied cutting a road through the cane brake, building rafts and ferrying across Pearl River. Here they had trouble getting provisions. Supplies and the large sector had arrived by water at a bluff at the mouth of the river, but the boat could not pass two natural rafts that blocked up the stream, as they often did. Gillespie succeeded in cutting through, but provisions meantime ran out except beef. Fortunately a small supply was secured by pack-horse from Thompson's Creek, and after two weeks Gillespie came back from New Orleans, bringing a few barrels of flour. After arranging for Gillespie to correct back to Thompson's Creek, and Daniel Burnet to carry the guide line on to the Mobile, Ellicott himself went down the river, and thence through the Rigolets to New Orleans, where he arrived January 4, 1799. There he obtained supplies, conferred with Gayoso, and took observations with his six feet sector.

Meantime the guide line was plodding eastwardly through the forests. At 117 miles from the Mississippi the party passed the Hatcha-Lucha (Black Creek) and about 168 miles they crossed the Pascagoula (now Chickasawhay) a little above where the Slapacha (Leaf River) falls in. This last is called Estopacha in other documents of the time. Thence on nothing special occurred until they reached the Mobile River, where the guide line had diverged 517.44 perches too far north.

The observatory had been erected before Ellicott's arrival from New Orleans in his schooner by way of Mobile. Observations (solar and lunar, of Castor and Pollux, &c.) were made from March 18 to April 9, 1799. Here the large sector was used, and the transit and equal altitude instrument also. Finally a boundary stone was set up, marked (according to the Journal) on the north "U. S. Lat. 31° 1799," and on the south "Dominos de S. M. C. Carolus IV. Lat 31° 1799." This piece of brown sand-stone, about three feet high is still in place near the Southern Railway and is the basis of all surveys in south-west Alabama.[151] During this time Gillespie went up the river to St. Stephens. With a Haddley's sextant he determined the latitude of that place, and he also made a sketch of the river. Ellicott himself determined the latitude of Mobile and the point at the mouth of the Bay.

Among the most serious problems of the survey was carrying the line across the Mobile River and adjacent swamps. The only feasible way was found to be for parties on each side to make fire and smoke signals at certain intervals on the high lands to the east and west.

While Ellicott was at Pensacola, with Colonel Hawkins, trying to arrange with the Spanish commandant to secure the neutrality of the Creeks, his party pushed the line forward from the Mobile to the Escambia and Coenecuh Rivers above their junction. The matter of the Indians was never satisfactorily arranged, but the survey proceeded. On the Coenecuh, however, he notes that the more pressing enemies were flies and "musquitoes," which made every observation a matter of great pain. Among these was the transit of Mercury in May, 1799. Thereafter they crossed the White Cedar Creek, Yellow Waters, and between the 321st and 334th miles crossed and re-crossed the larger Choctaw River, now the Choctawhatchee, and its branch, the Pea River. Between that and the Chattahoochee were a number of streams and lakes, but he names only the Waters of Chapully (Chipola River.) In fact, little or no account is given of this part of the survey, as Ellicott was not in the party. He sailed from Pensacola and finally met the others on the Chattahoochee.

There he was surrounded by hostile Indians and had difficulty establishing in September 1799 the mound at the junction of the Flint. He then left the party and went by sea around Florida to the St. Mary's, while Gillespie apparently worked overland to the sources of that river. There, as at the beginning of the Mississippi, Ellicott built a terminal mound.

But at the Chattahoochee, 381 miles from the Father of Waters, ended Mississippi Territory. And there we must bid adieu to Ellicott and the south line alike of Mississippi and of Alabama. Spain retired below that line in 1798-9, and before 1820 the United States had acquired the territory south of it even to the Gulf. As a boundary between countries the parallel of 31° has become obsolete; but the Quaker's work in running out the old British line still remains important, for it separates much of Mississippi from Louisiana and much of Alabama from Florida. The stone on Mobile River is only a point of departure in surveying; but the mounds on the Mississippi, the Chattahoochee and St. Mary's bound civilized States instead of savage hunting grounds, as when they were made, and one at least still bears Ellicott's name.

FOOTNOTES:

[143] Colonial Mobile, pp. 185, 294; 7 Statutes at Large, p. 55.

[144] 4, Am. Hist. Rev. p. 62, &c.; 7 Stat. at Large, p. 140.

[145] Ellicott's Journal, pp. 40, 177.

[146] But at least he did not turn cannon on Gayoso and compel him to evacuate, as stated (p. 45) in Jones' Introduction of Protestantism.

[147] Ellicott's Journal, pp. 141, 282.

[148] Winsor's Westward Movement, p. 266; Ellicott's Journal, App. p. 45.

[149] Ellicott's Journal, App., p. 44, &c.

[150] Colonial Mobile, p. 342; Ellicott's Journal, p. 182.

[151] Picture in Colonial Mobile, p. 295, shows Ellicott to be inaccurate as to lettering.

ELIZABETH FEMALE ACADEMY--THE MOTHER OF FEMALE COLLEGES

BY BISHOP CHAS. B. GALLOWAY, D. D.

I believe that Mississippi can justly lay claim to the honor of having established the first chartered institution for the higher education of young women in the South, if not in the United States. Though called an Academy, it did full collegiate work, had a high standard of scholarship, and conferred degrees. The institution was located at Washington, six miles east of Natchez. Washington had been the brilliant and busy little Territorial Capital, and was then the center of social and political influence.

A recent visit to the site of that venerable school enabled me to gather much valuable information about its work, and heightened my appreciation of its vast educative and spiritual influence upon the history and destiny of the Southwest. The walls of the spacious building still stand, but the merry voices that rang through its halls only live in the sweet echoes of a distant past. Borrowing a style of architecture from the Spanish of Colonial times, the structure was two and a half stories high, the first of brick, the others in frame. A fire consumed it twenty years ago, leaving only the solid masonry as a memorial of the educational ambition and spiritual consecration of Early Mississippi Methodism. Some of the grandest women of the Southwest received their well-earned diplomas within those now charred walls, and went out to preside over their own model and magnificent homes. The early catalogues contain the names of fair daughters who afterward became the accomplished matrons of historic families. For many years the Elizabeth Female Academy was the one institution of high grade in the entire South for the education of young women. All others have been followers and beneficiaries of this brave heroine of Mississippi.

The grounds and buildings were donated to the Mississippi Conference by Mrs. Elizabeth Roach in 1818, and in her honor the institution was called the Elizabeth Female Academy. The year following a charter was granted by the Legislature, of which this is a copy:

"_An Act. To Incorporate the Elizabeth Female Academy._

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Mississippi in General Assembly convened, "That an Academy be, and is hereby established near the town of Washington, in the county of Adams, to be known by the name of the Elizabeth Female Academy, in honor of Mrs. Elizabeth Roach, the founder thereof, to be under the superintendence of John Menifee, Daniel Rawlings, Alexander Covington, John W. Briant, and Beverly R. Grayson, and their successors who are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate, to be known by the name and style of 'The Trustees of the Elizabeth Female Academy' and they and their successors are hereby made capable of receiving real and personal estate, either by donation or purchase, for the benefit of the institution, _not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars_, of suing and being sued, and of doing and performing all other acts, and shall possess all other powers, incident to bodies corporate.

"Sec. 2.--And be it further enacted, That all vacancies that may happen in the said Board of Trustees, either by death, resignation, refusal to act, or removal from the State, shall be filled by the members of the Methodist Mississippi Annual Conference: provided however, that all such vacancies may be filled by the said Board of Trustees, to continue until the meeting of the said conference next ensuing such vacancy, or until they shall fill the same.

"Sec. 3.--And be it further enacted, That the said trustees and their successors shall have the power to appoint their president, vice-president, and other officers, to engage such teacher or teachers as may be necessary for conducting the literary concerns of the Academy, to hold stated meetings of the board and to make all by-laws and regulations for the government of the institution and promoting piety and virtue among the students, but no religious test or opinion shall be required by the by-laws of the institution of the pupils admitted or to be admitted into said Academy. The president, or in his absence, the vice-president, may at any time call special meetings of the board by giving to each member five days notice of such meeting: the ordinary meetings shall be held on their own adjournment; Three members shall constitute a quorum to do business: the president, or in his absence, the vice-president shall preside, or in case of the absence of both, any member chosen by a majority of the members present shall preside.

"E. TURNER, "Speaker of the House of Representatives.

"D. STEWART, "Lieut. Governor, President of the Senate. "Approved the 17th day of Feb., 1918.

"DAVID HOLMES, "Governor of the State of Mississippi."

The "_announcement_" for the initial term appeared in the Mississippi State Gazette, of Oct. 24th, 1818, a paper published in Natchez, and was signed by B. R. Grayson, Secretary of the Board of Trustees.

The Academy opened its doors to pupils November 12th, 1818, under the presidency of Chilion F. Stiles, and with Mrs. Jane B. Sanderson as "Governess." Of the first President, and the first Lady Principal of that first college for young ladies in all the Southwest, the distinguished Dr. William Winans thus writes most interestingly in his manuscript autobiography:

"Chilion F. Stiles was a man of high intellectual and moral character, and eminent for piety. The Governess was Mrs. Jane B. Sanderson, a Presbyterian lady of fine manners, and an excellent teacher, but subject to great and frequent depression of spirits. This resulted, no doubt, from the shock she had received from the murder of her husband a few years previously by a robber____Though a Presbyterian, and stanch to her sect, she acted her part with so much prudence and liberality as to give entire satisfaction to her Methodist employers and patrons. Some of the most improving, as well as most agreeable hours, of relaxation from my official duties were at the Academy in the society of Brother Stiles, who combined, in an eminent degree, sociability of disposition, good sense, extensive information on various subjects, and fervent piety, rendering him an agreeable and instructive companion. He was the only person I ever knew who owed his adoption of a religious course of life _to the instrumentality of Free Masonry_. He was awakened to a sense of his sinfulness in the process of initiation into that fraternity. Up to that time he had been a gay man of the world, and a skeptic, if not an infidel in regard to the Christian religion. But so powerful and effective was the influence upon him by somewhat in his initiation, that from that hour he turned to God with purpose of heart, soon entered into peace, and thenceforth walked before God in newness of life, till his pilgrimage terminated in a triumphant death."

Mr. Stiles was succeeded in the presidency by Rev. John C. Burruss of Virginia, an elegant gentleman, a finished scholar and an eloquent preacher. The school greatly prospered under his administration, as it continued to do under his immediate successor, Rev. Dr. B. M. Drake, a name that will ever live among us as the synonym for consecrated scholarship, perfect propriety, unaffected piety, and singular sincerity. In 1833 Dr. Drake resigned the presidency in order to devote himself entirely to pastoral work, and was succeeded by Rev. J. P. Thomas; and in 1836 he gave way to Rev. Bradford Frazee of Louisville, Ky. Rev. R. D. Smith, well known throughout the Southwest for his rare devotion, was called to the president's chair in 1839.

Some of the by-laws adopted by the Board of Trustees for the government and regulation of the Academy, recall in a measure the rigid and elaborate rules prescribed by John Wesley for the school at Kingswood. A few of these by-laws I here reproduce.

"The President of the Academy____shall be reputed for piety and learning, and for order and economy in the government of his family. If married he shall not be less than thirty, and if unmarried, not less than fifty years of age____.

"The Governess____shall be pious, learned, and of grave and dignified deportment____She shall have charge of the school, its order, discipline, and instructions, and the general deportment and behavior of the pupils who board in or out of commons____.

OF PATRONESSES.

"On the last day of every academic year, the Board of Trustees shall choose three respectable Matrons, who shall be acting patronesses of the Academy.

"It shall be the duty of the patronesses to visit the school as often as they think necessary, and inspect the sleeping rooms, dress, and deportment of the pupils, and generally the economy and management of the Academy, and report the same in writing to the Board of Trustees for correction, if needed____.

ON APPROPRIATION OF TIME.

"All pupils boarding in commons shall convene in the large school-room at sunrise in the morning, and at eight o'clock in the evening for prayers.

"The hours of teaching shall be from nine o'clock in the morning until noon; and from two o'clock in the afternoon until five; but in May, June and July, they shall begin one hour sooner in the morning and continue until noon; and from three o'clock in the afternoon until six, Friday evenings excepted, when the school shall be dismissed at five ____.

DISCIPLINE AND DRESS.

"No pupil shall be permitted to receive ceremonious visits.

"All boarders in commons shall wear a plain dress and uniform bonnets.

"No pupil shall be permitted to wear beads, jewelry, artificial flowers, curls, feathers, or any superfluous decoration.

"No pupil shall be allowed to attend balls, dancing parties, theatrical performances, or festive entertainments ____.

ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS--COURSE OF STUDY

"____The studies of the Senior Class are:

"_First Session._--Chemistry, natural philosophy, moral philosophy, botany; Latin, Aesop's Fables, Sacra Historia, Viri Romae illustres.

"_Second Session._--Intellectual philosophy, Evidences of Christianity, Mythology, general history, Latin, Cæsar's Bella Gallica.

"Students who have completed the full course above, shall be entitled to the honors of the institution, with a diploma on parchment, for the degree of _Domina Scientiarum_____Those who have pursued with honor the whole course of studies, shall be entitled to remain one academic year, free of charge for tuition, and be associated in an honorary class, to be engaged in the pursuit of science and polite literature, and ornamental studies. After which they shall be entitled to an honorary diploma ____."

The spiritual culture of the students was the supreme concern of the faculty. The Bible was systematically taught and revivals of religion were enjoyed. A notable one occurred in 1826.

The coming of Mrs. Caroline M. Thayer in the fall of 1825 was an epoch in the history of the Academy, and her administration marked an era. She was a remarkably accomplished woman with a genius for administration. Of her Dr. Winans, President of the Board of Trustees thus speaks:

"MONDAY, JAN. 16, 1826.

"In the evening I returned to Brother Burruss's, where I met Sister C. M. Thayer, who has come to take charge of Elizabeth Female Academy. She is a woman of middle size, coarse features, some of the stiffness of Yankee manners, but of an intelligent and pleasant expression of countenance; free in conversation and various and abundant in information. Rev. John C. Burruss, the President of the Academy, said: 'Mrs. Thayer is a most extraordinary woman; I have never seen such a teacher.'"

Again, under date of March 2d, 1826, in a letter to Rev. John Lane, Dr. Winans says: "The Academy is in a very flourishing condition--Sister Thayer is a tutoress of superior abilities, both as teacher and governess. We are very sanguine of the future usefulness and respectability of the Academy."

Mrs. Thayer was a niece of Gen. Warren, the hero of Bunker Hill, educated in Boston, warmly recommended by Dr. Wilbur Fisk, and before coming to Mississippi had made great reputation as an author and teacher. She had taught for a while with Rev. Valentine Cook on Green River, Kentucky, and had published a volume of essays and poems that attracted wide attention.

The editor of the _Southern Galaxy_, a paper published in Natchez, attended the semi-annual examinations at Elizabeth Female Academy in the Spring of 1829, and highly commended the institution, especially "the unquestioned capacity and superior accomplishments of the Governess," Mrs. Caroline M. Thayer. The eloquent address delivered on the occasion by Duncan S. Walker Esq., is published in full. In the list of young ladies receiving special mention for scholarship is found the name of "Miss Martha D. Richardson of Washita, La." That fair daughter of the first college for young ladies in the South still lives in California as the widow of the late Bishop H. H. Kavanaugh.

In that same issue of the paper, March 26th, 1829, is this communication:

"TO THE EDITOR OF THE SOUTHERN GALAXY."

"Sir: The following lines are the production of a pupil in the Elizabeth Female Academy at Washington. If you think them worthy of a place in your paper, their insertion may aid the cause of female literature, by awakening emulation among your young readers, though their youthful author only intended them for the eyes of her preceptress.

"C. M. T."

WHAT IS BEAUTY?

'Tis not the finest form, the fairest face That loveliness imply: 'Tis not the witching smile, the pleasing grace, That charms just Reason's eye.

No, 'tis the sunshine of the spotless mind, The warmest, truest heart, That leaves all lower, grosser things behind, And acts the noblest part--

That sunshine, beaming o'er the radiant face, With virtue's purest glow, Will give the plainest lineaments a grace That beauty cannot show.

This face, this heart alone can boast a charm To please just Reason's eye, And this can stern Adversity disarm And even Time defy.

--Margaret.