THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MISSISSIPPI

VALLEY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

The thirteenth annual meeting of the Mississippi valley historical association was held at DePauw university, Greencastle, Indiana, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, April 29, 30, and May 1, 1920. In point of interest aroused by the papers and discussions, and in point of attendance, it was by far the most successful meeting ever held in the history of the association. Over two hundred visitors and members were present during the three day session.

To the committee on local arrangements, of which Professor W. W. Sweet was chairman, and to the faculty of DePauw university, special credit is due for the successful manner in which the visitors and delegates were entertained. The dormitories, fraternity houses, and several private homes were thrown open, at a nominal cost, to the members of the association; and a dinner, a smoker, and receptions were tendered to all guests as a part of their entertainment. On Saturday morning, May 1, the local committee on arrangements took the visiting members on an automobile trip to Lafayette, where a luncheon was served by Purdue university. After luncheon a visit was made to the old Tippecanoe battlegrounds, ten miles north of Lafayette.

THE PROGRAM

The four papers read at the opening session on Thursday morning, while of a miscellaneous nature, were exceptionally interesting. The first paper, entitled "Timber culture acts," by William F. Raney, of the University of Louisville, dealt in part with one phase of the history of the public domain. The writer showed how, under the first timber culture act passed in 1875, a citizen might acquire title to a quarter section of land by planting forty acres with trees and caring for them for ten years. Five years later the act was amended, and the number of acres that had to be planted was reduced to ten, and a provision inserted that at the end of eight years, there had to be six hundred

seventy-five growing trees to the acre. Many abuses developed: entries were made simply to hold the land from other farmers; entrymen would decide to pre-empt or homestead the land; and cattle kings would make timber culture entries simply to have free grazing lands. A fight for the repeal of the acts finally succeeded in 1891, after some ten million acres had passed into private hands. Provision was made for commutation in cash, and all business under the acts was finally settled during the year ending June 30, 1909.

The second paper, entitled "The soldier vote in Iowa in the election of 1888," by Donald L. McMurray of the University of Iowa, showed how strong the civil war traditions were in that state during the late eighties. The political power wielded by the 40,000 survivors of the union army was enormous. Nearly 18,000 of the veterans in Iowa were members of the G. A. R., which furnished a means for expressing their political preference. The G. A. R. claimed to be, and in its official capacity tried to be, a non-political organization. But its interest in pension legislation, and its preference for veterans in the civil service, combined with the strongly sectional type of patriotism which its members inherited from the war, made it inevitably a political influence when these issues became prominent. The republican press in that strongly republican state confirms the opinion that public sentiment endorsed the demands of the soldiers for more pensions, more civil service positions, and more elective offices. While both parties claimed to be the friends of the soldiers, the republicans offered greater inducements to the veterans by condemning the democrats' alleged lack of patriotism, and by favoring a more liberal pension policy. The soldier issue probably played a greater part in obtaining the republican victory in Iowa than any other issue except the tariff.

The next paper, entitled, "An historical detective story," by Jacob P. Dunn, secretary of the Indiana historical society, was a study of the case of Jeffrey Nash, a negro held in slavery in Indiana territory, who was freed by the supreme court of Louisiana. The writer took issue with Dr. M. M. Quaife, who in his Chicago and the old northwest, maintains, as does E. W. Prussing in his article on "Chicago's first great lawsuit," that the bill of sale under which Nash was held as a slave was a forgery,

because a few months after its date, his owners, Kinzie and Forsyth, of Chicago, induced him to bind himself to them as an apprentice. Mr. Dunn explained this action as due to a misunderstanding of the indenture law of Indiana territory, adopted in 1803, under which slaves were brought into the territory bound as apprentices, but which did not affect slaves already here. His view was that the owners of Nash, whom he declared to have been a slave in fact, had heard of the law, but had not seen it, and apprenticed their man as a precaution. The paper was in the form of a story of the steps by which he reached his conclusions. The writer said that the solution of historical problems was really detective work, and advised students of history to read the novels of Gaboriau, who lays down the rule: "In a mysterious case, suspect what seems probable; investigate carefully what seems improbable, or even impossible." He condemned as fallacious the maxim of Sherlock Holmes: "If you can eliminate all the theories in a case but one, that one must be true," because one may have never thought of the true theory at all.

E. Merton Coulter of the University of Georgia read a paper on "Elijah Clarke's foreign intrigues and the Trans-Oconee republic." The writer showed how difficult it was to force foreign nations to respect the political independence of the United States government during the first years of its existence. Because of the attitude of certain adventurous Americans, it was an easy matter to plan intrigues. Elijah Clarke's name is connected with two of these schemes. In the first, he was connected with Genêt in his threatened attempt to capture East and West Florida. Clarke, a soldier of the revolution, was to secure all aid possible from Georgia; and, discontented with Indian affairs and the land situation, several Georgians fell in with his scheme. But with Genêt's recall the plan collapsed. With the close of the venture, Clarke found himself in command of several groups of men on the Oconee river, and he decided to cross over into the Indian territory west of the river, and set up an independent government. He instituted a frame-work of government, laid out towns, established forts, and made himself the civil and military head. The federal government now decided to oppose his action, and the governor of Georgia ordered him arrested. This

ended his project, but did not dishonor him in the eyes of Georgians.

The year 1920 being the tercentenary of the landing of the pilgrim fathers, the program committee had arranged for a group of papers commemorating some phases of the puritan life. The first paper, by Carl Russell Fish of the University of Wisconsin, was entitled "The pilgrim and the melting pot." Attention was called to the fact that in celebrating the three hundredth anniversary of the landing of the pilgrim fathers, one naturally reflects on the locust-like numbers of the pilgrims that have subsequently landed on the American shores. The question arises as to whether they have not actually obliterated the first pilgrims, and whether too little attention has not been devoted to the later comers. The writer pointed out, however, that when one studies the processes of immigration, it becomes apparent that influence and numbers are not identical. In particular, the individual has counted for little compared with the community as a germ of civilization, and the community of the first pilgrims brought not only settlers, but also a social system. The similarity that characterizes immigrants, as contrasted with stayat-homes, was pointed out, and it was shown that the later pilgrims found the traditions of the earlier ones quite congenial. Hence it has happened that the pilgrims of Plymouth have not been submerged, but have formed a real kernel for the adaptation of English civilization to the conditions of the northern United States.

A most original and suggestive paper entitled, "The undertow of puritan influence," was read by Albert L. Kohlmeier, of Indiana university. The writer admitted the positive influence of puritanism in American history to have been the furthering of idealism in government, religion, and social life. He contended, however, that the puritans were responsible for certain very different practices; that is, for the so-called materialism and nationalism of Americans. This was accounted for by pointing out three facts. First, when the puritan could not attain his ideal, he did not abandon the ideal, but explained his action in words that would make the act seem to conform the ideal. Second, the puritan by his insistence on his own ideas drove some men to the opposite. Third, the puritan looked upon the

elect as such favored creatures that he felt that God would bless them with material prosperity.

Under the title, "Introspections of a belated puritan," Solon J. Buck read selections from the manuscript journal of Lucien C. Boynton, which was found in Springfield, Illinois, some nine years ago. The volume covers the years from 1834 to 1853, and contains a wealth of valuable information about life and conditions in New England and Virginia. Its principal interest, however, lies in its revelation of the character and temperament of the writer. He began the journal when, at the age of twentyfour, he was a student at Andover theological seminary. Failing to find a church after his graduation, he drifted into school teaching, and later took up the study of law. The journal records his reactions to various problems, both theological and secular, and displays a character of great reality and of interest not only as a survival of seventeenth century puritanism but as an example of undated and almost unadulterated egotism.

In a paper on "The Moravian mission settlement in Indiana, read by Arthur W. Brady of Anderson, Indiana, a brief account was given of the mission which the Moravians undertook to establish between 1800 and 1806, among the Delaware Indians on White river in Indiana. The mission was an outgrowth of missions to the Delawares which the Moravians had carried on since about 1740, first in Pennsylvania and later on the Muskingum, in Ohio. The mission was established on White river a short distance from the site of Anderson, Madison county, Indiana. The Indians at first appeared to welcome the missionaries, but later became unfriendly. Finally, after Tecumseh's brother assumed the roll of prophet, he called upon the Indians to resume the ways of their ancestors and reject the customs of the whites. A number of Indians, particularly those opposed to the prophet and his faction, were charged with witchcraft and put to death. The hostility of the Indians became such that the mission was abandoned in 1806. Diaries and letters preserved in the archives of the Moravians at Bethlehem are the principal source of information concerning the mission. Translations of these papers will be published soon by the Indiana historical society.

On Thursday evening Milo M. Quaife of the state historical