HISTORY OF SABINE PARISH, LOUISIANA by John G. BELISLE From tbe First Bxplorers and Settlers to tbe Present THE SABINE BANNER PRESS 1912 Contents Preface 3 Paradise of Lo 7 Spirit of the Spaniards 13 The French Explorers 21 The French Settlers 31 St. Denys and Natchitoches 39 Shifting of the Flags 48 Neutral Strip and Outlaws 56 Neutral Strip and Pioneers 65 Fort Jesup and the Frontier 79 Creation of Sabine Parish 90 Pioneer Customs and Society 93 Parish Government 102 The"Uncivil" War 142 Educational Progress 166 The Press 195 Towns and Villages 211 Biographical Sketches 277 The Churches 318 PREFACE In presenting this little volume to the public, the author has no intention of soliciting applause or posing as a Gruizot or a Macauley, nor so much as lay claim to any literary honors. He was induced to publish the work for two reasons: First, he be lieved that the book would result in some good to the parish ; and, secondly, he believed that the citizens of Sabine parish would appreciate the work. Disappointment is not anticipated in either case. The annals of a single community are frequently as interesting, if not as important, as the history of a nation, yet the community is often neglected by the author of general history, and therefore the deeds of the pioneers are not recorded on the printed page. It requires the little parish to make the state just as much as it takes the separate states to form our great republic. But, to our mind, the most important of all is the character of the citizenship which laid the foundation for the civilization o£ the parish, which has contributed to its progress, and takes a lively and unselfish interest in its advancement along all lines of peaceful and honest endeavor in the days to come. The real patriot is the man who is proud of the community in which he makes his home, and diligently strives to safeguard the welfare of his own neighborhood ; and this kind of a patriot may be depended up on to rally to the defense of the entire na tion whenever his services are required. The story of Sabine parish is a story of patriotism exemplified in the highest degree. From its beginning to the present time its real citizens have clung to those exalted ideals that go to make a splendid and a happy land. Many of their acts of devotion and sacrifice for their country will never be recorded in a book, but it is very proper that the things which have not yet been lost from memory should be pre served for the information of the citizens of the future. Considerable space, in. the first part of this volume, is devoted to the relation of things which belong to the history of the state and the nation, and which are known to even the primary student of history, but we did not deem it inappropriate to begin at the beginning. The fact that the first permanent settlements in the present State of Louisiana, by both English and French, were made in Natchitoches parish, of which Sabine was formerly a part, makes the sto ries of the explorers, even in brief, very pertinent to this work. The data was gleaned from various authorities, but no attempt has been made to repeat details of questionable authenticity or to adorn the chronicles with flowery rhetoric. In compiling the history of the parish since its formation in '1843, we have re ceived much valuable information from good friends who have spent their lives in the parish, and they ar* given credit in the proper place in the book. The data pertaining to the government of the parish was taken from the records at the court house, but it was a difficult task to get this matter in order, and it is very possible that errors may be found, however earnest has been our endeavor to present everything accurately. We have omitted reference to events, especially in the annals of the par ish courts, which might revive unpleasant memories in the minds of any of our citi zens, and ha-ve endeavored to present every topic in an unprejudiced manner. The work was not attempted for profit, and while its publication was a very expen sive undertaking, its favorable reception by the public will repay. The Author. Many, La., Nov. 1, 1912. Court House, Many, La. The Paradise of Lo. ‘Lio, the poor Indian! whose untutored mind Sees God in clouds, or hears Him in the wind; His soul, proud science never taught to stray Far as the solar walk or milky way; ' Yet simple nature to his hope has given Behind the cloud-topt hill an humbler heav'n; Some safer world in depth of woods embrac'd, Some happier island in the wat'ry waste. Where slaves once more their native land behold, No fiends torment, no Christians thirst for gold.. To Be, contents his natural desire, He asks no angel's wing, no seraph's flre; But thinks admitted to that equal sky, ) His faithful dog shall bear him company. Alexander Pope. "DESPITE the labors and researches of learned antiquarians and "owlish" scientists in their efforts to find the origin of the American Indian, the matter re tnf ins one of those profound secrets of the un relenting' past which will be forever hidden. The line ag*^ of Lois veiled in a mystery as stupendous as is the history of the wonderful country in which the discoverers from the old world found him. Roman history begins with the story of Romulus and Remus, that of Greece with the legends of the gods and the Argonauts, and the people of every ancient nation furnish some weird and romantic story of their beginning, but the first authentic chapter in the annals of the Indian practically begins with the coming of Christo pher Columbus to the western world (Oct. 12, 1492). All which concerns the Red Man previous to that event rests on a foundation of uncertainty and conjecture. When the illustrious navigator anchored his little vessels on one of the Bahama Is lands, he believed that be had arrived in the East Indies, and the copper-colored people who came to greet him were called Indians. By that name the remnant of the once famous race is still known, whether they are Piruans of the tropica or citizens of the State of Oklahoma. The news of the successful voyage of Columbus spread rap idly over Europe and many adventurers flocked to the new found land. The In dian everywhere greeted the strangers from the East. In the country now embraced in the United States and Canada there were many distinct tribes, but with the exception of the Zuni and Pueblo tribes of New Mexico, and the Piruans and Aztecs, who were more advanced in civilization, all de pended chiefly on hunting and fishing for their sustenanee ; but tribal wars seem to have occupied most of their attention. Historians place the" number oi Indians in North America at the time of the discovery at about 400,000, but as census taking at that period was not assisted by govern ment bureaus, and as in many instances the explorers and early settlers were more interested in counting the dead than the live Indians, the statements as to their numbers can be accepted as only casual guesses. It is not the purpose of the present writer to attempt to delve into the hazy past o£ the Indians, nor to speculate on the probable social and intellectual status of their supposed preldecessors, the Mound-Build ers and the Cyclopean race. We leave this speculative field to ambitious scientists, ne ologic naturalists and fossil hunters, who may furnish the world with a wealtK of wholesome thought, but, like the pursued har^, ^hej make countless paths over an expansive field and ultimately return to the point where the chase began. The only thing we know for a certainty of the Red Man is that the European discoverers found him here in a land of plenteous beauty, a land in harmony with his nature where our purposeful Creator had placed him. He was found in tented villages, on mountain and plain, and he freely trod the shady sylvan avenues of Louisiana and quenched his thirst at the refreshing springs of our own Sabine parish breathing that air of freedom which knows no conqueror save the mighty messenger of death. The noble fire of freedom which burned in the savage breast was apparently transmitted to his "pale-faced" successors, for America became the home of real freedom, where the despot dare not intrude. It is probable that many of the disasters which befell the pathfinders were due to an improper understanding of the nature of the Indians. The Red Men were savages, but all that went to make up their characters was not dross. Within their bronzed breasts there often beat hearts as humane and generous as could be found among people accredited with a higher civilization. They had no written language, no knowledge other than that gleaned from silent nature, but they had unwritten laws which were really democratic in character. They had no kings, but the supreme authority of the various tribes was vested in a chief and councilmen, which positions were elective, and all were subject to "recall" from their places of authority at the will of the members of their tribe. The Indians were in deed cruel and revengeful, and the readers of history are appalled at the atrocities attributed to them, but as a whole we fail to see wherein they were more barbaric than the early European tribes or more revenge ful than some of the more modern people who boast of a christian civilization.