much has been written about the old natchez trace, the narrow indian trail leading from natchez, mississippi, to nashville, tennessee, at which place travelers took other trails leading to illinois, kentucky, and virginia. in the flatboat days many merchants who had disposed of the goods they brought down the ohio and mississippi returned north with the proceeds of their sales by this overland route; others took the ocean route by way of philadelphia, back to their homes. many of these pioneer merchants refer to their experience in this wilderness and many early western travelers who rode over this old trail describe it in their books. we shall, however, confine our glimpse of the early days on this historic trace to the facts concerning mason.
it is more than likely that mason had committed a number of crimes along the natchez trace before he appeared in new madrid in march, 1800. many pioneers traveling over this route encountered highwaymen, but none of them succeeded in identifying the men by whom they had been robbed. the first record of a case with which mason is definitely connected is that of a party of boatmen riding from natchez to their homes in kentucky. an account of this incident is told in old times in tennessee, by josephus c. guild, who received his information from john l. swaney. swaney told guild that more than fifty years before, while carrying the mail over the old natchez trace,
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he frequently met samuel mason and talked with him.
swaney began carrying the mail over this old indian trail about 1796 and was familiar with the route before mason appeared on the scene. the distance from nashville to natchez he estimates at about five hundred and fifty miles. it was, in his mail-carrying days, a mere bridle path winding through an almost endless wilderness. he rode it for eight years, making a round trip every three weeks. traveling at the rate of about fifty-five miles a day permitted him a day’s rest at either end of his route. he frequently met indians along the trace. at colbert’s ferry, on the tennessee river, he always found the indian ferrymen “contrary,” for they would not cross the river for him if he got to the landing after bed time. at the chickasaw agency, about half-way between the two places, he changed horses. the only white men he saw were the few settlers, scattered forty or more miles apart, the occasional traveler returning north and, now and then, samuel mason and some of his band. swaney rode a good horse and carried with him, besides the mail (consisting of a few letters, newspapers, and government dispatches) a bushel of corn for his horse, provisions and a blanket for himself, a pistol, a tin trumpet, and a piece of flint and steel.
merchants and boatmen brought their provisions and other necessities on pack-horses or pack-mules. it was from these that mason captured much of the food and most of the clothing he and his people required. these travelers, as a rule, sewed their money in rawhides and threw the hides in the packs with supplies. at night, before making a fire, they hid their valuables in the bushes some distance from the camp in the event of a surprise at night by robbers. it was in this wilderness
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that mason looked for and found many of his victims. he and his band were the terror of all who traveled through the indian nation, except swaney.
mason frequently sought interviews with swaney, with whom he had many friendly chats. the outlaw often asked what was said about him by the public. he told swaney that no mail-carrier need fear being molested by him and his men, for mail was of no value to them, and that he “did not desire to kill any man, for money was all he was after and if he could not get it without taking life, he certainly would shed no blood.”
“among mason’s first robberies,” continues the historian who interviewed the mail-carrier, “was that of a party of kentucky boatmen returning home from natchez. they had camped at what was called gum springs, in the choctaw nation. they ate supper, and, as a matter of precaution, were putting out pickets before retiring for the night. in going to their positions one of the pickets stepped on one of mason’s men, who were hidden in the grass awaiting an opportunity to pounce upon the boatmen. the robber thus carelessly trod on jumped up, gave a yell, and fired off a gun, calling upon his comrades to shoot and kill every boatman. this was so unexpected to the kentuckians that they became panic stricken and ran off in the wildest confusion, leaving everything, some even their wearing apparel. mason and his men went to the camp and carried away everything.
“the next morning, just at daylight, mr. swaney came along, and seeing the camp fires burning, rode out, but could find no one. he was going toward natchez, and having met no party that morning, he instinctively knew that something was wrong, and began to blow his bugle. the boatmen recognized the
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familiar sound and commenced coming to mr. swaney, one and two at a time. he asserted that they were the worst scared, worst looking set of men he ever saw, some of them having but little clothing on, and one big fellow had only a shirt. they immediately held a sort of council of war, and it was unanimously agreed to follow the robbers and recapture their property. it was an easy matter to follow their trail through the cane and grass. their plan was, as they had no arms, to provide themselves with sticks and knives, and should they overtake mason and his men, attack them by a vigorous charge, knocking them down right and left with their shillelahs, and if those in front fell at the fire of the robbers, those in the rear were to rush upon, overpower and capture the robbers and recover their property.
“they started in pursuit of the robbers under the lead of the big kentuckian. they had gone about a mile when they began to find articles of clothing which had been thrown away by the robbers. the big kentuckian found his pants, in the waistband of which he had sewed four gold doubloons and, to his great joy, the robbers had not found them. after this it was noticed that the big kentuckian’s valor began to fail him, and soon he was found in the rear. the pursuit was kept up about two miles further, when they were suddenly hailed by mason and his men, who were hid behind trees, with their guns presented, and who ordered them to go back or they would kill the last one of them. this caused a greater stampede than that of the night before, and the big kentuckian out distanced the whole party in the race back to camp. they abused the big kentuckian at a round rate for his want of courage, but he only laughed at them, saying he had everything to run
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for. but, to his credit be it said, he spent his last dollar in procuring supplies for his comrades.”
mason was an active man and this comparatively insignificant robbery was doubtless preceded and followed by others of greater consequence of which, however, no written record or oral tradition now exists. then occurred the baker robbery on the old natchez trace—a robbery that became widely known through the current newspapers and soon convinced the public that mason was an outlaw of dangerous character, working over a large territory.
colonel joshua baker, the victim of this famous robbery, was a merchant living in central kentucky. in his day he made a number of trips south, going down in flatboats and returning by way of the old natchez trace. colonel baker had the misfortune to come in contact with mason at least once on land and once on water, and, as is later shown, played an important part in the activities that resulted in ending mason’s career.
in the spring or summer of 1801, colonel baker took several flatboats filled with produce and horses to new orleans. after disposing of his cargo, he set out on his return home, accompanied by four men, each of whom rode a horse. besides the five riding horses there were five pack-mules in the cavalcade loaded down with provisions, and, among other things, the proceeds of the sales made in new orleans. colonel baker and his men experienced no unusual trouble until they reached the ford across what was then called twelve mile creek, but since known as baker’s creek. the place is in hindes county, mississippi, about twenty miles west of jackson and near where the battle of baker’s creek was fought on january 16, 1863. there, august 14, 1801, the baker party was surprised by
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samuel mason and three of his men. a paragraph relative to the robbery that followed was published in the kentucky gazette, september 14, 1801. it is the earliest printed record so far found of mason’s activities on the natchez trace:
“we are informed that on the 14th of august, about sixty miles on this side of the big biopiere [bayou pierre] river, colonel joshua baker, a mr. william baker and a mr. rogers of natchez, were robbed of their horses, traveling utensils, and about two thousand three hundred dollars cash. it seems the company had halted in the morning at a small, clear stream of water in order to wash. as soon as they had dismounted and gone to the water four men appeared, blacked, between them and their horses and demanded the surrender of their money and property, which they were obliged to comply with. mr. w. baker was more fortunate than his companions. a pack-horse, on which was a considerable sum of money, being frightened at the appearance of the robbers, ran away, and they being in haste to escape could not pursue. mr. w. baker recovered his horse [pack-mule] and money. he, however, lost his riding horse, etc. colonel baker and mr. rogers came to the first settlement, where they procured assistance and immediately went in pursuit of the villains. it is to be hoped they will be apprehended. one of them who was described by colonel baker, formerly resided at red banks. a brother of colonel baker, our informant, obtained this information from mr. w. baker, who lodged at his house [in lexington, kentucky] on thursday night last.”
john l. swaney, the mail-carrier, whose reminiscences have been drawn upon, gives some different details of this incident. the banks at baker’s creek
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are high and steep and at this crossing there was then nothing more than a deep-cut bridle path on either bank leading into or out of the stream. the baker party, after more or less difficulty, rode down to the creek. while their horses and mules were drinking, says swaney, mason and his men jumped up from where they had concealed themselves. the victims, realizing they had been trapped and were at the mercy of the outlaws, surrendered. mason made them drive the pack-mules over to his side of the creek, where two of his men took charge of them but permitted baker and his companions to keep their riding horses and side arms. colonel baker then rode to grindstone ford, a distance of about forty miles, and there raised a company to pursue the outlaws.
they followed the trail of the robbers to pearl river, near jackson, mississippi, and there learned that mason had crossed the stream only a few hours before. in the pursuing party was a man named brokus, a quadroon indian. brokus, according to swaney, stripped and swam down the river to ascertain, if possible, what route mason’s men had taken. while he was climbing up the bank one of the robbers punched him in the breast with a gun. brokus thought he was shot and, losing his grip on the sapling to which he was holding, fell back into the river. after considerable swimming and diving he reached the opposite shore. swaney ends his story of this chase by saying: “mason then made his appearance and notified colonel baker that he would never recover his money. this seemed to be accepted as the final arbitrament, for the pursuit of the robbers was abandoned.”
a contributor to the natchez galaxy in 1829, in a short article entitled “the robber of the wilderness,”
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gives another account of how mason made his appearance on the banks of pearl river and under what circumstances colonel baker abandoned the chase. this natchez writer has it that when colonel baker reached the river the pursuers took the saddles off their horses and made preparations to rest for a few hours before resuming the chase. the tracks made by mason’s horses showed that his party was much smaller than theirs. the pursuers therefore anticipated nothing other than an unconditional surrender. they did not realize how quickly mason could turn to his advantage any condition that presented itself. how the outlaw mastered the present situation is best told by the contributor to the natchez galaxy:
“those preliminaries being disposed of, two of the party strolled to the bank of the river and, tempted by the coolness and beauty of the stream, went in to bathe. in the course of their gambol they crossed to the opposite shore, where they encountered an individual whose society, under the present circumstances, afforded them very little satisfaction.
“mason, aware that he was pursued and having ascertained the superior force of his pursuers, determined to effect by strategem what he could not hope to do by open contest. the path into the forest was narrow here and much beset with undergrowth; and he placed his men in ambush so that by a sudden onset the party of colonel baker on entering the woods would be thrown into confusion, and thus be easily despatched or routed. chance, however, produced a success more complete than any he could have anticipated. no sooner had the two naked and unarmed men reached the eastern shore of the pearl, than mason rushed upon them before they could collect their thoughts or comprehend
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their danger. he was a hale, athletic figure, and roughly clad in the leather shirt and leggins, common to the indians and hunters of the frontier.
“‘i am glad to see you, gentlemen,’ said he sarcastically, ‘and though our meeting did not promise to be quite so friendly, i am just as well satisfied; my arms and ammunition will cost less than i expected.’
“his prisoners were thunderstruck and totally incapable of reply. having placed a guard over them, mason walked deliberately down to the shore and hailed the party on the opposite bank, who had witnessed the scene, that has been detailed, in amazement and apprehension. as he approached they instinctively seized their arms.
“‘if you approach one step or raise a rifle,’ cried the robber, ‘you may bid your friends farewell. there is no hope for them but in your obedience. i want nothing but security against danger to myself and party and this i mean to have. stack your arms and deposit your ammunition on the beach near the water. i will send for them. any violence to my messenger or the least hesitation to perform my orders will prove certain and sudden death to your companions. your compliance will insure their release, and i pledge my honor as a man to take no other advantage of my victory.’
“there was no alternative. the arms and ammunition were deposited as mason directed. two of the band were despatched for them, while a rifle was held to the head of each prisoner. no resistance was attempted, however, by colonel baker or his party, and the arms were brought across. the banditti were soon in readiness for a march; the prisoners were dismissed with a good humored farewell; and the dreaded mason, true to his word, was soon lost in the depths of
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the wilderness. it is hardly necessary to say that the pursuers, disarmed, discomfitted, and a little chapfallen made the best of their way back to ‘the settlement’.” [12l]
shortly after the baker robbery john mason, a son of samuel mason, was lodged in the natchez jail charged with taking part in the affair. it is more than likely that john mason happened to be in town when he was accused and arrested than that an officer brought him in from the country. at any rate, he was tried, convicted, and punished by whipping. it is possible that he was innocent of the specific crime for which he was punished, for he may not have been present when the mason band robbed colonel baker. about seventy years later george wiley, who was a mere lad at the time this whipping occurred, wrote a sketch on “natchez in the olden times.” in it he says:
“the old jail, too, was the scene of the first public disgrace to the noted mason, who afterwards, with his robber band, became the terror of travelers from the ohio river to new orleans. mason and his son were brought to natchez and lodged in jail, charged with the robbery of a man named baker, at a place now in hindes county where the road crosses a creek still known as baker’s creek. they were defended at their trial by a distinguished lawyer named wallace. he, after the manner so common with lawyers, went to work to get up a public feeling in favor of his clients, and succeeded so well that, although the masons were convicted, the general sentiment was that they were innocently punished. they were both convicted and sentenced to receive the punishment of thirty-nine lashes and exposure in the pillory. i witnessed the flogging and shall never forget their cries of ‘innocent’
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at every blow of the cowhide which tore the flesh from their quivering limbs, and until the last lash was given they shrieked the same despairing cry of ‘innocent,’ ‘innocent.’ after they were released the elder mason said to the surrounding crowd, ‘you have witnessed our punishment for a crime we never committed; some of you may see me punished again but it shall be for something worthy of punishment.’ he and his son then shaved their heads, and stripping themselves naked, mounted their horses and yelling like indians, rode through and out of the town.” [26]
this account appears correct in all its details except two. samuel mason’s son, john, was the only member of the mason family arrested and whipped. if, as stated by wiley, two men were punished on this occasion, the other may have been a member of samuel mason’s gang. the other error is in the statement that the two prisoners were released. it is shown later that after they were whipped they escaped from jail by the aid of some of mason’s men.
william darby, another citizen of natchez, in an account published in the casket magazine, in 1834, tells what occurred shortly after john mason was whipped: “one of the jury, whose name i omit,” writes darby, “made himself very conspicuous at the trial of john mason, wishing before the whole court and audience, that ‘the rascal might be hung.’” by some means samuel mason received a report of the juryman’s statement. a few weeks later this same juror, returning to natchez from one of the settlements, had occasion to ride over a bridle path through a heavy canebreak. he was suddenly confronted by samuel mason who stepped out of the cane, armed with a tomahawk and rifle, and, raising the rifle, pointed it at the
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surprised rider, who immediately threw up his hands. mason very calmly informed the juror that he had waited for him for two days “to blow your brains out.”
the frightened man begged to be spared for the sake of his wife and children. mason replied that he, too, had children and loved them as much as any other father loved his own, and that this was his first chance to extend to him the same mercy he had shown toward his son john. then, as if to further prepare the captive for the worst, mason asked: “did john mason ever do you any harm? did i myself ever do you any injury? did you ever hear of me committing murder, or suffering murder to be committed?” mason shrewdly omitted the words, “except when necessary.” the juror answered: “never in my life.” “thank god, i have never shed blood,” declared mason with great earnestness, “but now, come down off your horse, sir. if you have anything to say to your maker, i’ll give you five minutes to say it.”
“the terrified man,” continues darby, “sank off the horse and fell on his knees, uttering a fervent prayer, addressed rather to the man who stood beside him with his gun cocked. at length, his words failed him and he burst into a violent shower of tears. the man himself, who afterward related the whole circumstance, and could scarce ever do so without tears at the remembrance, said he every moment expected death; but mason, regarding him with a bitter smile, swore his life was not worth taking, wheeled around and in an instant disappeared amongst the cane.”
colonel baker returned to kentucky and reports of the daring robbery on the natchez trace and of his unsuccessful attempt to capture samuel mason were circulated throughout the country. monette says that
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about the time the baker robbery occurred “the outrages of mason became more frequent and sanguinary” and that “the name of mason and his band was known and dreaded from the morasses of the southern frontier to the silent shades of the tennessee river.” mason’s depredations must have been many, although authenticated records of only a few specific instances are now found.
it is probable a number of his victims did not survive to tell the tale, for the wide-awake outlaw realized that along the trails and on the river, as at cave-in-rock, his greatest safety lay in the fact that “dead men tell no tales.” those who were permitted to survive had been treated in such a manner that they would be more likely to describe mason as a shrewd robber than a cruel murderer, and, it seems, most survivors were careful not to condemn him too severely lest one of his “agents” silence their tongues with a dagger. mason usually kept an intelligent man at natchez to observe the character of the outfits obtained by those preparing to travel over the trail. thus he often received advance notice of the approach of travelers and information in regard to their strength. [26] as is shown later, mason had at least one agent, anthony gass, of natchez, who managed to dispose of the stolen goods turned over to him. the probabilities were, as asserted by a spanish official, that this robber had “firm abettors” throughout the ohio and mississippi valleys.
in those days many a traveler was never heard from after he left home. in some instances it was because he died a stranger in a strange land, or was murdered but never missed except by his people far away, who had no means of learning of his whereabouts or fate. sooner or later, the impression would prevail among them
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that the missing man was actually or probably killed and robbed. and since mason was the most widely known among the outlaws in his day, he was usually selected as the man at the bottom of the mystery.
an example of such a supposition occurs as an incident in the life of the grandmother of w. l. harper, of jefferson county, mississippi. she lived along the old natchez trace and frequently accommodated travelers with food and shelter. on one occasion a young kentuckian stopped at her house and, becoming ill, was obliged to remain several weeks. his conduct and bearing were such that the old lady took a motherly interest in him. before he left “she actually quilted all his six hundred dollars in his coat and vest, partly to distribute his load, but chiefly to deceive the robbers then infesting the road. she heard no more of him, but the supposition was that he was another of mason’s victims.” [81]
a few months after william c. c. claiborne took his seat as governor of the mississippi territory he found it necessary to make an investigation of the robberies on the mississippi river. on february 10, 1802, he wrote to manuel de salcedo, the spanish governor general of the province of louisiana, residing at new orleans, informing him that he had received notice of “a daring robbery which had lately been committed upon some citizens of the united states who were descending the river mississippi on their passage to this town”—natchez—and that it was uncertain whether the persons guilty of this act of piracy were spanish subjects or american citizens.
map showing cave-in-rock and the natchez trace, 1814
to this the governor general replied on february 28, saying among other things that “it is truly impossible to determine whether the delinquents are spaniards
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or americans” and that he had given his officers “the most positive orders ... to take the most efficacious means of discovering and apprehending the criminal or criminals that can be adopted ... and i assure your excellency that if the criminals are taken they will be punished in such a manner as to serve as an example to others.” he complained that the people of “the states and western settlements ... having the freedom and use of the navigation of the mississippi” came down into the spanish territory in great numbers, among whom are “vagabonds ... who have fled from, or who do not, or can not return to, the united states.” [113]
each governor was willing to arrest highway robbers and river pirates on his own side of the mississippi, but neither could suggest to the other that if it became necessary for any pursuing party to cross the river into foreign territory, such pursuers might continue the chase without a special permit. samuel mason evidently understood and foresaw this condition of international affairs. he had purposely avoided committing crimes on the spanish side, and now that his notoriety would, in all probability, result in his being hunted along the natchez trace, he moved to the mississippi, there to confine his operations to the river and its american bank, on the very border of a comparatively safe and easily reached land of refuge.
the baker robbery was in a sense nothing more than another link in mason’s long chain of crimes. colonel baker was not daunted by the loss of his money and his failure to capture mason, for the following spring he started down the river again in a flatboat loaded with merchandise. he supplied himself with guns, not only to protect his boat, but also to better prepare himself
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for his return home over the dangerous trace. some time in april, 1802, when his boat reached a point below vicksburg, then known as walnut hills and nogales, he came in contact with mason and some of his men. colonel baker wrote a statement giving the details of this attack and forwarded it to governor claiborne of mississippi. colonel baker’s written statement cannot be found. its effect, however, is shown by the fact that upon receipt of it governor claiborne, who was aware that outlaws had long infested the frontier, more fully realized the necessity for action. the governor sent out three official letters from the capital of mississippi territory, each dated, “town of washington, april 27, 1802.” [113]
the first was written to colonel daniel burnett, at fort gibson, who was in command of the militia in claiborne county. it is here quoted in full from dunbar rowland’s official letter books of w. c. c. claiborne:
town of washington, april 27, 1802—
“sir,—i have received information that a set of pirates and robbers who alternately infest the mississippi river and the road leading from this district to tennessee, rendezvous at or near the walnut hills, in the county of claiborne:—a certain samuel mason and a man by the name of harp, are said to be the leaders of this banditti:—they lately attempted in a hostile manner to board the boat of colo[nel] joshua baker, between the mouth of yazou river, and the walnut hills, but were prevented by colo[nel] baker’s making a shew of arms, and manifesting a great share of firmness. these men must be arrested; the honor of our country, the interest of society, and the feelings of humanity, proclaim that
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it is time to stop their career; the crimes of harp, are many and great, and in point of baseness, mason is nearly as celebrated:—while these sons of rapine and murder are permitted to rove at large, we may expect daily to hear of outrages upon the lives and properties of our fellow citizens.
“the militia of your regiment not being organized, i presume it would not be in your power, to execute (strictly) a military order, i shall therefore only request, that you will immediately endeavor to procure fifteen or twenty men as volunteers, and place yourself, or some confidential character at their head.
“this little force will then proceed to the walnut hills, and after making the due examination and enquiry at that place, they will examine the woods in the neighborhood of the mississippi as high up as yazou; if you should fall in with mason and his party you will use all the means in your power to arrest them, or any of them, and i desire, that the person or persons arrested, may immediately be conveyed under a strong guard to natchez.
“i hope that the honor of taking these lawless men, will be conferred upon the citizens of your neighborhood; should they succeed, i promise them a very generous reward.
“i have written to lieutenant rennick upon this subject, and it is probable, he will give you all the aid in his power.
“with great respect & esteem.
“i am sir, your hble—servt:
“william c. c. claiborne
“p. s. for your information, i have enclosed you the
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statement made by colo[nel] baker to me, of the late attempt made to rob him.
“w. c. c. c.
“colo[nel] daniel burnett—”
another letter was sent to lieutenant seymour rennick, who was in command of a detachment of united states troops at grindstone ford on the natchez trace. in it the governor referred to the attack made on colonel baker’s boat and stated that “a certain samuel mason and a certain wiley harp ... have been in the habit of committing with impunity murders and robberies.... i think it is probable they may be found at or near the walnut hills; at that place the wife of john mason resides.” he suggested to this officer that the federal government furnish colonel burnett with a sergeant and twelve men.
the third letter was addressed “to the officer commanding the united states troops near the mouth of bear creek on the tennessee river.” in it governor claiborne writes that: “i have received information that the road from this territory to tennessee is infested by a daring set of robbers, among them are a certain samuel mason and a certain wiley harp ... i hope, sir, that if you should receive information of any mischief being done or attempted in the wilderness you will immediately order out a party of men, and make the necessary exertions to arrest the offenders.”
the lower mississippi valley was now aroused. mason had become a terror in a frontier country that was more or less accustomed to lawlessness and bloodshed. his robberies were current history and the whereabouts of wiley harpe was a discussed but unsolved question. a little more than two years before
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governor claiborne began to move toward the arrest of mason, the news that big harpe had been captured and beheaded in kentucky near cave-in-rock (mason’s one-time headquarters) had rapidly spread throughout the country. with the report also had come the warning that little, or wiley harpe, had escaped and fled south. up to this time—april, 1802—there was nothing to point out the actual or probable whereabouts of the missing harpe. no mention of any murders committed by him appeared in the current newspapers. indications and hopes were that he had left the country for good or had been killed. governor claiborne probably had heard from others besides colonel baker that wiley harpe was one of mason’s men. even though he was not convinced of harpe’s presence on the mississippi, he knew that by linking the names of these two notorious outlaws together, the public would more fully realize the desperate character of mason and therefore take a more active interest in his capture.
as indicated in his letter to colonel burnett, the governor of mississippi territory promised “a very generous reward” for the capture of samuel mason and wiley harpe. monette says the governor “offered a liberal reward for the robber mason, dead or alive, and the proclamation was widely distributed.” j. f. h. claiborne, in his history of mississippi, states that the proclamation was issued and a reward of two thousand dollars was offered for the capture of mason and harpe. no two historians make precisely the same statements regarding the reward. it is more than likely that a printed proclamation was issued, although an effort to find a copy or reprint has been futile. the proclamation in all probability gave, among other
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things, the facts embraced in the following statement quoted from a letter written two years later by governor claiborne to james madison, who was then secretary of state at washington: “a reward of four hundred dollars for apprehending them was offered by the secretary of war, and five hundred dollars by myself, in my character as governor of the territory.”
the extermination of mason and his band was a matter of serious importance to the law abiding and peace loving citizens of the territory. and now that a reward of at least nine hundred dollars had been offered and the militia directed to search for the outlaws, the prospects of capture appeared very encouraging. it was known that mason and harpe had lived in kentucky and at cave-in-rock, and it was therefore apparently presumed that they were old and constant associates. the two outlaws, however, may never have met in kentucky nor at the cave. whether or not mason the robber and harpe the brute were in the same band, both, nevertheless, deserved the severest punishment that could be inflicted by a pioneer people.
a number of highway robbers and river pirates had been arrested during the time mason was working in mississippi, but samuel mason and wiley harpe, the most notorious of them all, had evaded arrest. where were they likely to be found? as a matter of fact outlaws camped at any place they found convenient and well adapted for their work, but never remained long at any one spot. it was known that samuel mason had, at one time, lived about twenty miles northeast of natchez, near what is now fayette. [81] shortly after the baker highway robbery had taken place it was discovered that at the time of the robbery mason’s headquarters was near rocky springs, a stopping place on
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the old natchez trace some forty miles northeast of natchez and twenty miles south of vicksburg.23
draper in a brief note [12h] says mason spent much time at palmyra and on stack island. palmyra then, as now, was a very small settlement on the mississippi, about twenty miles below vicksburg. stack island, also known as crow’s nest or island no. 94, was washed away shortly after mason’s day, and in time most of its traditions disappeared. it was on stack island, near the mouth of lake providence, about fifty-five miles below vicksburg, that we first hear of mason—after organized bands began to search for him.
claiborne, the historian, states that: “after the governor’s proclamation had been issued mason and his gang were closely hunted by the whites and indians and, having made some narrow escapes, they quit the country and crossed the mississippi to somewhere about lake providence [louisiana] in the then spanish territory.”
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whether at lake providence (which is on the spanish side of the mississippi but practically on the river) or on the nearby stack island in the river, mason was in a position to flee easily into that part of the great spanish wilderness which today is northern louisiana and the state of arkansas. there he could not only conceal himself more effectually, but also live with some confidence that the spanish authorities would not attempt to capture him.
at stack island mason laid his hand upon fate. the band robbed a traveler and found among his effects a copy of governor claiborne’s proclamation. [26] monette says that mason read it aloud and “indulged in much merriment on the occasion.” the statement in the proclamation that wiley (or little) harpe, the kentucky desperado, was a member of his gang convinced mason that the authorities were in great fear of the prowess of his band and were driven to arouse the public to terror and activity by conjuring with the dreadful name of harpe. mason was feeling good, notwithstanding the hue and cry raised by the promise of rewards for his capture dead or alive. he was perfectly confident of his ability to escape any american militiamen or mississippi posse. he could afford to laugh at the additional incitement to his capture contained in the declaration that he had joined forces with harpe.
nobody can say positively that little harpe was at that date a member of the band. it is more than probable that mason would not knowingly have permitted harpe to join him. the reputation of the harpes for brutality was sufficient to condemn them in the estimation of even such outcasts as mason and his men. somewhere in that southwest wilderness, however, little
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harpe was concealing himself from the fate that pursued him. he was hiding under assumed names, not daring to reveal his own even to the most abandoned persons he met for fear of capture. hunted like a wild animal, it was necessary to lose his identity beyond the most remote chance of discovery.
the question is was harpe with mason when the latter read his name aloud and made merriment about it? was the headsman of fate stalking there at mason’s elbow, compelled to keep silence and join in the laughter in that hour of grim jocularity? it was not until april, 1802, that john setton appears of record as one of mason’s band, was captured with him, tried with him, and escaped with him. it was not until almost two years later, under most dramatic circumstances, that setton was to be identified as little harpe—as the man who brought fate home to mason and himself and immediately met the pitiless fate he had so long and well deserved. all this will be shown later, but it is one of the mysteries of history whether that day at stack island mason laughed himself out of the fear of governor claiborne and committed himself into the hands of fate in the person of little harpe. there is a further doubt whether mason ever did actually discover that john setton was little harpe.24
in may, 1802, we find mason’s band at the mouth of white river, about one hundred and fifty miles above
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stack island. the palladium on august 12, 1802, in a news item dated cincinnati, north west territory, july 31, says:
“a letter dated, natchez, june 11, from a gentleman who lately descended the river, contains the following interesting intelligence: ‘we were attacked by robbers near the mouth of white river and a breeze springing up, prevented us from being boarded by two pirogues, having in each six men well armed. they hailed us from the shore, telling us they wished to purchase some rifles, and on our refusing to land, they commenced the pursuit. they originally consisted of three companies, and were commanded by a person named mason, who has left the camp at white river, and scours the road through the wilderness. about two weeks ago they attacked a merchant boat and took possession of her, after having killed one of the people on board.’”
other robberies in 1802 and in the summer and fall of 1803 were reported, but by whom they were committed is not stated in the current newspapers. the one just cited, however, was without doubt some of mason’s work. it occurred about one hundred and fifty miles above stack island and three hundred miles above natchez, and some three hundred miles below new madrid, which was then the principal town in the spanish territory of upper louisiana. new madrid is now the county seat of new madrid county, missouri. the new madrid country was six hundred miles from natchez, out of the mississippi territory and in a field where mason felt he could carry on his usual activities, unhindered by the men who were pursuing him for the nine hundred dollars reward. mason went up the river and had taken steps toward establishing
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himself a few miles below the town of new madrid, in a small settlement known as little prairie, when in january, 1803, he was trapped and captured. he was arrested, not by the american officials he so much feared, but by the spanish authorities who suspected that he was guilty of many of the crimes that had been committed on their side of the mississippi river. the curious story of that frontier pursuit and trial is now to be told from the french records for the first time.
