by Gary Krist
11 Excelsior, Onward, and Eureka … Panetta, “ ‘For Godsake Stop!,’ ” 29, enumerates the black brass ensembles active in the 1890s.
12 “ragging the hymns …” is from Marquis, Bolden, 43.
13 hot, wide-open, low-down … Descriptions of Bolden’s sound as per Marquis, Bolden, 43; Hersch, Subversive Sounds, 1–2, 16; and Chilton, Bechet, 5.
14 “ratty …” is from Barker, Life in Jazz, 27.
15 “He could go and hear a band playing …” is from Louis Jones’s oral history of January 19, 1959, in the Hogan Jazz Archive.
16 “Buddy, he stole lots of things …” is from Kid Ory’s oral history of April 20, 1957, in the Hogan Jazz Archive.
17 “Bolden would blow so hard …” is from Zue Robertson, as quoted in Marquis, Bolden, 43–44.
18 the Bolden persona … Marquis, Bolden, 7, 40–41, dispels many of the Bolden legends.
19 the Bolden Band … Marquis, Bolden, 46, makes the interesting point that Bolden was one of the only leaders who named his band after himself.
20 “Buddy was the first …” is from McCusker, Creole Trombone, 54.
21 improvised solos, or “rides” … See Winston, “News Reporting of Jazz,” 17.
22 “With all those notes he’d throw in …” is from Albert Glenny, as quoted in Marquis, Bolden, 101.
23 Critics would argue for decades … Where jazz came from is a question that few critics seem to agree on. Carney, “Creation of Early Jazz,” 300ff., does a pretty good job of summing up the various sources proposed by different critics.
24 “That’s where jazz came from …” is from Peter Bocage’s oral history of January 29, 1959, in the Hogan Jazz Archive.
25 “Who cared if you read music?…” is from Barker, Life in Jazz, 7.
26 “He wasn’t really a musician …” is from Kid Ory’s oral history of April 20, 1957, in the Hogan Jazz Archive.
27 bringing the soloist—that is, himself—to the fore … For Bolden’s new emphasis on the soloist, see Carney, “Creation of Early Jazz,” 303, and Marquis, Bolden, xvi.
28 “sort of Maori look about him” … as per Berry, “The Mysteries of Buddy Bolden,” 43.
29 a harem of female admirers … Marquis, Bolden, 45–46; this is also the source for Bolden’s relationship with Hattie Oliver.
30 “Oh, he was crazy about womens” … is from Ramsey’s interview with John Joseph (Frederick Ramsey Papers, Folder 282).
31 “whipping heads …” Cutting contests described by Bechet, Treat It Gentle, 111.
32 the new sound was dangerous … The best sources for the early (white) reception of jazz are Leonard’s Jazz and the White Americans and Anderson’s “The White Reception of Jazz in America.”
33 “Here male and female …” in the Mascot and the NODP’s “demoralizing and degrading” quote are cited in Hersch, Subversive Sounds, 5.
34 “Jazz was musical miscegenation” … Hersch himself is the source of this quote (Ibid.).
35 some dismaying changes in the city … The most helpful sources for changing race relations in New Orleans in the latter nineteenth century are Blessingame’s Black New Orleans, Dethloff and Jones’s “Race Relations in Louisiana,” Somers’s “Black and White in New Orleans,” and Reed’s “Race Legislation in Louisiana.”
36 a relatively accommodating place … For the environment of the 1870s, see also Anthony, “Negro Creole Community,” 41–43, and Medley, We as Freemen, 25.
37 “For at least two decades …” is from Somers, “Black and White,” 30.
38 a long tradition of interracial fraternity … Medley, We as Freemen, 20, describes the immigration from Haiti, Cuba, and Martinique.
39 Creoles of Color often took up trades … For the occupations of Creoles, see Kelley, Right to Ride, 53.
40 some of them even owned slaves … Fairclough, Race & Democracy, 15, points out that many free blacks owned black slaves.
41 a widely accepted system known as placage … Placage and the Quadroon Balls are ubiquitously described. See especially Long, Babylon, 7–12, and Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 18ff.
42 the racial dynamics of the city … For social and geographical differences between African Americans and Creoles in New Orleans, see especially Anthony, “Negro Creole Community”; Blessingame, Black New Orleans; Dethloff and Jones, “Race Relations”; Woodward, The Strange Career of Jim Crow; and Reed, “Race Legislation.”
43 All of this had begun to change in the late 1870s … Post-Reconstruction changes as per Somers, “Black and White,” 27, and Reed, “Race Legislation,” 382–85.
44 Fearing a return of federal military intervention … See Somers, “Black and White,” 36.
45 “White and colored people mingled freely …” Warner is cited in Somers, “Black and White,” 33.
46 time to reassert old racial hierarchies … Somers, “Black and White,” 36–39, and Reed, “Race Legislation,” 383, describe the changes starting around 1890.
47 a young man named Homer Plessy … Numerous books have been written about Plessy v. Ferguson and its implications. From a narrative perspective (details about Plessy’s life, etc.), I found Medley’s We as Freemen most useful.
48 new laws were passed to suppress the status … For the tightening of racial restrictions in the mid-1890s, see Somers, “Black and White,” 37–40, and Reed, “Race Legislation,” passim.
49 the music challenged the spirit of Jim Crow … Hersch, Subversive Sounds (especially 56–58), is best on jazz as a perceived challenge to Jim Crow.
50 close the notorious “Negro dives” … For the effort to close the Franklin Street dives for health reasons, see Long, Babylon, 102.
51 kept within boundaries … Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 68, is best on the perceived importance of clear racial boundaries to the attraction of Northern capital investment.
52 “I’m telling you, that was it …” The “Home, Sweet Home” story, with quote, is from Frederick Ramsey’s interview with Raymond Lopez of August 30, 1958 (Ramsey Papers, Folder 430).
53 another young black man … For Robert Charles’s arrival in New Orleans, see Hair, Carnival of Fury, p. 67.
Chapter 7: Desperado
By far the most thorough and authoritative treatment of the Robert Charles Riot is William Ivy Hair’s excellent Carnival of Fury: Robert Charles and the New Orleans Riot of 1900. In the following account, I have relied most heavily on that book, on Ida B. Wells-Barnett’s “Mob Rule in New Orleans,” and on contemporary newspaper accounts.
1 a dark, tropical Monday evening … Details in this first paragraph come from Hair, Carnival, 114–19, and the NODP of July 26, 1900.
2 “air of elegance” … This and other characteristics as per the NODP of July 25, 1900. For other details, see Hair, Carnival, 107.
3 Born just after the Civil War … For specifics about Charles’s early life, see Hair, Carnival, 3–7, 27–34.
4 during a dispute about a stolen pistol … For the shooting incident in Vicksburg, see Hair, Carnival, 36, 55–56.
5 By late 1894, he had found his way … Charles’s move to New Orleans and his activities with the International Migration Society are from Hair, Carnival, 67–68, 96–97.
6 the timing of Charles’s application … Charles’s resentment of disenfranchisement as per Hair, Carnival, 107.
7 the night of July 23, 1900 … The details of the incident on Dryades Street as per Hair, Carnival, 19–20, and reports in the NODPs and NODIs of July 25 and 26, 1900.
8 An hour later, Lenard Pierce was sitting … Details mainly from Hair, Carnival, 112ff., and the newspaper reports cited above. “I know where I can get that nigger now” is quoted by Hair, Carnival, 123.
9 The captain’s instinct was right I have relied on Hair’s careful account of the incident at Charles’s Fourth Street home, supplemented by the same newspaper reports cited above. All quotes from Hair, Carnival, 125–30.
10 “Do you need any assistanc
e …” is from Hair, Carnival, 128.
11 the three officers ran away … Details of Perrier’s actions come mainly from the report in the NODP of July 25, 1900.
12 At five A.M.… The actions of Aucoin and Trenchard as per Hair, Carnival, 126ff.
13 “In a moment, a hundred or more …” and the outhouse incident are from the NODI of July 24, 1900.
14 Charles’s cache of migration literature … See Hair, Carnival, 132.
15 “evil toward the white man …” The quotes in this paragraph are from the NODP of July 25, 1900.
16 largest manhunt in the history of New Orleans … as per Hair, Carnival, 135.
17 “one of the most formidable monsters …” is from the NOTD of July 26, 1900.
18 even one white visitor from New York … See Hair, Carnival, 143. Page 145 of the same source cites the rumors of Charles’s capture in Kenner.
19 “as a class” … The editorial in the NOTD of July 25, 1900, blames blacks as such.
20 “We know not, it seems …” Quotes from Hearsey’s editorial are from the NODS of July 25, 1900.
21 “Unable to vent its vindictiveness …” is from Ida B. Wells-Barnett (as quoted in Lester, “New Negro of Jazz,” 45).
22 “Negroes fled terror-stricken …” is from the NOTD of July 26, 1900.
23 some three thousand men and boys … The scene at the parish prison as per Hair, Carnival, 152f.
24 “The angry men swayed …” is from the NOTD of July 26, 1900.
25 “The red-light district was all excitement …” and “Out went the lights …” are from the NODP of July 26, 1900.
26 “Aah, we never had nothing like that …” There is some confusion in various sources as to whether Peyton, Bolden, Nelson, and the others were playing at Big 25 or Club 28, both clubs on Franklin Street, though the version quoted here says the former. The description of the scene by Nelson is quoted from Lomax, Mister Jelly Roll, 111–12.
27 “The supreme sentiment was to kill Negroes …” is from the NODP of July 26, 1900.
28 By morning, three blacks had been brutally killed … For the aftermath of the night of rioting, see Hair, Carnival, 152–55.
29 “The better element of the white citizens …” is from Wells-Barnett, “Mob Rule in New Orleans,” 33.
30 “bloodthirsty champion …” as quoted in Hair, Carnival, 2.
31 In a small room in the rear annex … The scene in the Saratoga Street annex comes mainly from Hair, Carnival, 156–74, and from contemporary newspaper accounts.
32 instrumental in turning away the mob … Porteus’s actions at the Orleans Parish Prison as reported in the NODI of July 26, 1900. See also Hair, Carnival, 152, 159–60.
33 “his brother Robert Charles …” and “Robert Charles was no relation” are as quoted in Hair, Carnival, 161–62.
34 One off-duty police officer … Officer Fenny’s description of the scene as per “Testimony of Officer Fenny” in the NODP of May 15, 1901.
35 “For God’s sake, don’t shoot!” as quoted in Hair, Carnival, 166.
36 a Turkish bath at the St. Charles Hotel … See Hair, Carnival, 167.
37 dozens of answering reports … According to the NODP of July 28, 1900, some five thousand shots hit the annex building in which Charles was holed up.
38 the standoff was not to go on indefinitely … Charles’s last stand was covered extensively in all of the local papers; see also Hair, Carnival, 172–74. [NB: The NODP of July 28, 1900, claims that Noiret was alone in the room at the time Charles entered.]
39 “Now who says …” Trenchard’s moment of absurdity was reported in the NODI and NODP of July 28, 1900.
40 one more night of terror … For the second wave of rioting after the death of Charles, see mainly Hair, Carnival, 176–78.
41 “Robert Charles was the boldest …” is from the NODP of July 28, 1900.
42 “Never before was such a display …” is from the NODS of the same date.
43 the inevitable conviction of absolutely no one … The judicial aftermath of the case as per Hair, Carnival, 198–89.
44 “The nigger’s all right …” The quote from Outlook is from the May 17, 1902, edition (No. LXXI).
45 more outright suppression … For the uptick in harassment at black music venues after the riot, see Lester, “New Negro of Jazz,” 65.
46 “Nobody knew him …” The scene with Louis Nelson’s father, and the quotes, are from Lomax, Mister Jelly Roll, 112–13.
47 “This song was squashed …” For the Robert Charles rumors, and for Jelly Roll Morton’s quote, see Lomax, Mister Jelly Roll, 69–70.
Chapter 8: Storyville Rising
The literature on Storyville is extensive, though of varying reliability, much of it compromised by large amounts of folklore masquerading as history. Rose (Storyville, New Orleans) is the most complete account, and he spoke to many eyewitnesses from the District’s heyday, but his book lacks endnotes and so must be approached with some caution. The latter-day academic acounts by Long (Great Southern Babylon), Landau (“Spectacular Wickedness”), Leathem (“Carnival”), and Levy (“Bards and Bawds”) are all excellent sources.
1 “We didn’t have no sunglasses …” and the one hundred lights are from Rose, Storyville, 75.
2 “most modernly equipped …” and the quote about opening night are from an interview with Struve in the New Orleans Item-Tribune of August 2, 1931.
3 a former reporter … as per Succession of Anderson.
4 “the man who wants to be a thoroughbred bounder …” and other instructions are from Kane, Queen New Orleans, 269.
5 ads, photos, and descriptions … The most thorough coverage of the Blue Books is Arceneaux, “Guidebooks to Sin.”
6 “Anyone who knows to-day from yesterday …” is from Arceneaux, “Guidebooks to Sin,” 401.
7 “Mr. Anderson had a little white, waxed mustache …” For the description of Anderson, see Early, New Orleans Holiday, 253 and 270.
8 an ever-growing domain … Anderson’s various businesses at this time as per Rose, Storyville, 43.
9 “that Nero himself …” Quote from the NODI of December 31, 1901.
10 “mayor of Storyville” … Anderson is referred to often in the press as such, as in, for instance, the NODP of April 16, 1900.
11 Representative Anderson … Many sources incorrectly say that Anderson served in the state legislature from 1904 to 1920. He was actually first elected in 1900.
12 “Mr. Anderson …” and quotes in the following paragraph from the NODP are from the edition of March 13, 1900.
13 full-throated opposition … For the actions of the State Democratic Committee, see the NODP of March 17, 1900.
14 allegiance to no one … For Anderson’s vow to be a reformer, see the Harlequin of May 26, 1900.
15 “certain saloon influences …” See the Harlequin of June 23, 1900.
16 petition to open up the palatial new establishment … See the NODP of November 28, 1900.
17 a pesky arrest in March of 1901 … The arrest for violating the Sunday Closing Law as per the NODP of March 18, 1901.
18 elected, some said, expressly to overturn … as per the NODP of April 15, 1900.
19 to suffer the depredations of bigger fish … is from Succession of Anderson. Anderson struggled against the strong-arm tactics of the Standard Oil conglomerate for most of his business life.
20 paid off for their genial blindness … For the payoffs to police in the Tenderloin, see Rose, Storyville, 35–36.
21 laid out almost as rationally … An excellent hand-drawn map of Storyville and its various establishments is in the collection of the Historic New Orleans Collection (1950.57.17).
22 mostly white women … Rose, Storyville, 96, is the source for the claim about the race of the crib women on Liberty and Marais versus those of Villere and Robertson.
23 a campaign to eliminate the vice establishments … See especially Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,”
85.
24 doing very well indeed … Long, Babylon, and Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” are the best sources on Josie Arlington.
25 225 Basin Street … For a picture of the Arlington brothel, see Rose, Storyville, 74.
26 “oriental statuary” … Brothel descriptions as per Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 101, and Long, Babylon, 162–63.
27 “absolutely and unquestionably …” is quoted in Rose, Storyville, 48.
28 “These places were really something …” is from Shapiro and Hentoff, Hear Me Talkin’ to Ya, 11.
29 the most racially integrated square mile … See Long, Babylon, 6.
30 Often in trouble with the law … For White’s arrests, see, for instance, the NODPs of May 10, 1888, and August 12, 1891.
31 The furniture alone … $2,000 value of furniture as per Kane, Queen New Orleans, 274.
32 “the lights of the St. Louis Exposition …” Rose, Storyville, 40–42, describes Mahogany Hall and cites the Louis Armstrong quote.
33 the madam who played the role most convincingly … For Willie Piazza, see especially Long, Babylon, 199, 206–07, and Rose, Storyville, 158.
34 “the most handsome and intelligent …” is quoted in Long, Babylon, 208. See also Long’s article, “Willie Piazza.”
35 an estimated 1,500 prostitutes … For the statistics on number of prostitutes, see Long, Babylon, 169.
36 landlords of property in the District … See Long, Babylon, 145, for the silk stockings who owned property in Storyville.
37 Even the Storyville mayor’s personal life … Virtually the entire literature on Storyville—following the erroneous NOTP obituary for Anderson, which cites his “two” marriages—misses the fact that Anderson in fact had four wives in his lifetime.
38 woman from Kansas named Olive Noble … Sources on Olive Noble include Succession of Olive Noble, Anderson v. Anderson (the source of the pistol incident), and her death notice in the NODP of December 28, 1907.
39 “I’ll never have a girl ruined …” is cited in Kane, Queen New Orleans, 272.
40 Josie’s relationship to Anna … Long devotes an entire chapter of The Great Southern Babylon to Josie Arlington/Mary Deubler and her niece.
