Voices; Birth-Marks; The Man and the Elephant

by Mathew Joseph Holt

  CHAPTER XVII.--David Clark.

  Fortune when she deserted Wilkinson politically, deserted himfinancially. The river trade partnership with Major Dunn proved afailure and was dissolved, leaving Wilkinson heavily indebted to Dunn,an obligation he never met. In midsummer, 1791, his partnership withPeyton Short ended so disastrously as to make him a bankrupt. His onlysource of income now was the two thousand dollar pension which hereceived from Spain and it was altogether inadequate to meet hisextravagances.

  Having in mind to get beyond the vexatious importunities of hiscreditors, he filed an application for reappointment in the UnitedStates army, which received favorable action. He was first appointed alieutenant colonel under General Whayne and stationed at FortWashington, Cincinnati, and the next year advanced to a brigadiergeneralship.

  John Calvin Campbell, riverman, known to the crew only as John, was theoperator of a large sweep or steering car on a Wilkinson & Short flatboat, bound for New Orleans in the spring of 1791, Wilkinson's lastcommercial venture.

  Immediately upon his arrival, hunting up Daniel Clark, he inquired fornews of David, but learned nothing except that several Spanish sailorsand the American prisoner of the wrecked frigate had been swept ashorefrom their vessel; and that one of these sailors, Esteban Luna, was nowin Habana and might be able to give him definite news of David.

  Their conversation naturally turned to Wilkinson. Daniel, expressing thehope that he would some day be punished for his traitorous conduct,said: "I have absolute proof of his perfidy, but my position with theSpanish Government closes my mouth. Only to rescue David would I tellwhat I know; and with that purpose in view I have been making abstractsfrom certain letters which establish his guilt. I have two now in mypocket which I made today. This one is copied from a letter written byWilkinson to Miro:

  "* * * But you may rest assured that the constant persecution ofCongress cannot produce the slightest impression on my attachment andzeal for the interests of Spain, which I shall always be ready to defendwith my tongue, my pen and my sword."

  The Governor in reply to this letter wrote Wilkinson:

  "* * * Your countrymen will soon find out that the advantages theyexpect from the navigation of the Mississippi, on their paying an importduty of 15 per cent when entering Louisiana and an export duty of 6 percent when leaving it, amounts to nothing. So far, tobacco has been theonly produce of any importance which they have brought to New Orleansand which the King has reserved to himself the privilege of buying.Should he not choose to do so on the ground that the article wanted isnot furnished in sufficient quantity or not of the quality required, itwould remain a dead weight in the hands of the owner. Severalinhabitants who are now here have discovered this to be the case. Withregard to your supposition that they will evade paying the duty of 15per cent under the pretext of coining to settle in Louisiana, it iswithout any sort of foundation what ever, and you may rest assured thatI shall take care that the law be executed on that point. * * * I muchregret that General Washington and Congress suspect your connection withme, but it does not appear to me opportune that you declare yourself aSpaniard, for the reasons which you state. I am of opinion that thisidea of yours is not convenient and that on the contrary it might haveprejudicial results. Therefore continue to dissemble and to work as youpromise and as I have above indicated."

  When Mr. Clark finished reading the above extracts, he handed them toJohn who placed them in his pocket without comment, and said: "Let us goat once and inquire when I can sail for Habana. I must find out and atonce all this sailor knows. I believe the suspense will kill my aunt."

  "I am quite sure a ship sails tomorrow noon; we will make certain andengage your cabin. My father has a branch house in Habana and buys quitea lot of tobacco. I wrote his agent several days ago to interview thesailor and he has doubtless found him by now."

  They walked to the wharf and in a short time located the ship. Mr. Clarkknew the captain, who spoke English. He introduced Mr. Campbell andengaged his cabin. When they were leaving the captain said: "Mr.Campbell, I am glad to have you for a passenger and will most cheerfullyaid you in locating Esteban Luna. We will have no trouble in findinghim. I know just where to look for sailors in Habana. You better comeaboard by eleven o'clock, we sail at twelve, sharp."

  After an uneventful voyage of several days the ship anchored in Habanaharbor. Mr. Campbell came ashore with the captain and about the firstperson the captain saw was the sailor they sought. They invited him tothe tavern, where dinner was ordered for the three. After they had beeneating some time, the captain noticing that John, who had ordered thedinner, had not included wine, which all Spaniards drink at dinner,supplemented the meal by a liter of strong red wine. Then turning toJohn asked in English: "Just what is it you desire to learn from thesailor? In a few minutes he will grow quite talkative; nothing loosens aSpaniard's tongue like a good dinner and a bottle of wine."

  Having learned what was wanted the captain put several questions to thesailor, which he answered in monosyllables, as he was not quite througheating. When he had eaten a little more and finished the wine, he wipedhis mouth with the back of his hand, tilted back the chair on which hesat, lighted a long cigarette and gave a grunt of contentment. Then thecaptain knew he was ready to talk and asked him to tell of his shipwreckoff the African coast.

  "You see it was this way: we were about three days out from the Straitof Gibraltar when it came on to blow the hardest I have ever seen in myfifteen years before the mast. We would have gone down in the first fewhours, except that our frigate was the stanchest of the navy. For awhile we pointed her nose angling to the wind and as best we could keptour course. It was no use, we had to turn tail and run with the wind;and that frigate under bare poles made greater speed than she wouldsailing in a fair wind before a stiff breeze with all sail set. On thesecond night, near daybreak, when it was so dark because of the sprayand rain and clouds that you could not see your hand before you, norhear a sound because of the roar of the wind and the pounding of thewaves and the creaking of the ship, she was suddenly thrown in the airand seemed to come down in a thousand pieces. Many of the boys werekilled outright as she was crushed as a nail keg by a sledge. Quite afew of those on deck were thrown clear over the rock into a quieter seaand swept upon a sandy beach, even into the desert grass, where thewater rarely reached. There we lay waiting in the darkness until theday, too exhausted and wounded to move. With daylight all cloudsvanished and the moisture of the spray and storm was soon wiped out by ahot, drying sun. We seemed in a land where it never rained. There was afringe of salt water grasses on the edge of the beach and beyond nothingbut gray and brown sand; a land as bare as the palm of your hand; ofsand hills that shifted over night, riftling and moving like the surfaceof the ocean, riled by a squall.

  "With daylight, the least crippled, searching along the beach, gatheredtogether a few casks of provisions, some cordage, a torn sail and onesmall cask of water. With the broken timbers of our ship and the sail webuilt a rude shelter from the parching sun; then a signal fire upon anearby sand hill, hoping thus to attract the attention of a ship, if anyever passed that way. Thus we spent the first day and night.

  "On the morning of the second day, the prisoner, his name was Clark, andtwo of the sailors, being the least injured of any of us, went into thesand hills looking for food and water, as we had nothing but wet biscuitflour and salt pork. They climbed the highest sand hill and came runningback, saying: 'We have seen one of the ship's boats; it is lodged in acrevice just over the crest of the big rock, else you could see it fromhere. We will swim out and bring it ashore.'

  "These three, with Antonio, the cook, and I swam to the rock and aftermuch labor lowered the boat and pulled ashore. It was fitted out asrequired by the ship's rules, with a set of oars, a small cask of water,like the one we had found on the beach, a case of biscuits and a smallsail; all securely strapped inside. By overloading, it might have keptafloat with eighteen persons. Out of a crew of ninety-two, twenty-sevenof us had survi
ved the wreck; of these two had broken legs, one a brokenback and several broken or dislocated arms; and all were cut and bruisedby the jagged rocks.

  "It was decided that we five who brought the boat ashore should haveplaces in the boat as also thirteen others who should draw lots, and soall did except the man with the broken back.

  "While Clark and his two companions again made search for food and waterwe prepared and launched the boat, tying it to a stake awaiting theirreturn.

  "Five men who had lost out in the drawing, arming themselves with heavyclubs from the wreckage, rushed out, climbed into the boat and shovedout to deep water. There they rested, saying: 'Ten more may swim out tous, one at a time, and we will let them aboard.' So again those of us onthe beach drew lots, disregarding the claims of the badly crippled andthe three absent men. As each lucky man drew a place he swam out and washauled aboard. After the boat was loaded, as there was ample room foranother man, we agreed to wait off shore until the three huntersreturned and take one of them in with us.

  "In a little while they came running towards the beach pursued by atroop of Arabs, camel-back and carrying long muskets and great curvedknives.

  "The man, Clark, seeing the boat some distance from the shore, loadedand pulling away, turned towards the Arabs and held up his hands insurrender. One of them, dismounting, bound his hands behind his back.The others rode forward to the water's edge and fired a volley at us.Two of the five men who had captured our boat were killed, the otherswere unhurt. Then we pulled out beyond musket range.

  "The Arabs killed the crippled men; then they drank the water from thecask and divided the flour and other stores, including the clothing ofthe dead sailors; but as they considered the pork unfit food for a truebeliever, made signs to the prisoners to divide it up and carry it fortheir food; and each made a small bundle wrapping it in scraps of sailcloth. They also made signs for them to drink from the cask and afterthey had finished one of the camels drank the remainder. Then drivingtheir prisoners before them they disappeared among the sand hills.

  "When we were satisfied they were no longer in the vicinity, we cameashore for a short while, then setting up the sail, sailed northwardalong the coast.

  "Our boat seemed to be leaking, and the water in the bottom soon becamediscolored by the blood of the two sailors the Arabs had killed and bythe dirt from our shoes. When several asked for a drink, our lieutenant,the only officer who survived and who had assumed command, examining thecask, discovered that it had been perforated by a bullet and that morethan two-thirds of the water had leaked out and run into the boat.

  "Telling us what had happened, he forbade anyone to drink from the cask,saying: 'We have at least a hundred mile voyage before us. One drink aday for each man is all you can have. If you are thirsty drink the waterin the bottom of the boat, it is fresh.' He set the example by doing so;and more than half of us within the hour drank our fill of the dirty,blood-discolored water; and we nine who drank were the only ones wholived to reach the coast of Spain.

  "The man, Clark, I am satisfied, is alive, but held as prisoner or slaveby some Barbary pirate or desert chief."

  This finished the sailor's narrative. Mr. Campbell and the Captain wereboth satisfied that he had told them the truth and realized that it wasuseless to pursue the investigation or unaided attempt the rescue ofDavid Clark. The only hope lay in his escape if near the coast; if inthe interior, which was very probable, only Captain Eaton, the UnitedStates minister, dealing directly with the Barbary powers could effecthis rescue. There was nothing for John to do but return to New Orleansand this he did on the return trip of the vessel.

  There, having told Daniel Clark what he had learned, he asked hisassistance in finding a way to return to Kentucky, and was told:

  "That is easy. Governor Miro is sending some papers to Colonel Portellof New Madrid, and Mr. Owen, his messenger, leaves tomorrow in a pirogueand can make room for you. The boat you came down on left three daysago, but you can soon overtake it. We will hunt up Mr. Owen. Be sure notto tell him you are unfriendly to Wilkinson."

  When Mr. Owen learned that John was a friend of Mr. Clark's and anexperienced river man he readily consented, saying: "It seemsprovidential, we are short-handed, the pirogue is a large one and a goodhand with a paddle quite an acquisition. I have three men but need afourth. If you make the trip through to New Madrid I will pay youregular wages."

  John was assigned the seat in the stern and Mr. Owen took the one nextto him. Between them he placed three small kegs, which he looked aftervery carefully, saying: "They contain gun powder, which is badly neededat New Madrid. It is not much of a supply but will last until thearrival of the barge which follows us." This John believed, until he hadoccasion to move one of the kegs to make room for his feet, then he wasconvinced by the weight and a jingling noise, that they contained coin.

  The three men who had been hired for the journey proved to be adeptswith the paddle; and hugging the shore to avoid the current they madegood headway. On the seventh day they passed the boat on which John hadmade the down trip and in due course arrived at New Madrid where thethree kegs and some papers were delivered to Colonel Portell, thecommandant of the fort.

  After remaining several days they boarded a galiot commanded by CaptainLangois and were carried to the mouth of the Ohio. There the vessel tiedup, the pirogue was relaunched, the kegs placed in it and the originalcrew, supplemented by two Spaniards from the galiot, paddled off up theOhio.

  John felt apprehensive of the rivermen and so informed Mr. Owen. He evensuggested that when night came they should conceal the three kegs in theforest and travel along the river bank until they could find a canoe,when they could return for them. It was impossible to take their own astwo of the rivermen slept in it.

  Mr. Owen first laughed at this suggestion; then grew suspicious of John,thinking it was his purpose to separate him from his companions and rob,possibly murder, him. When he expressed his suspicions, John becameoffended and refused to accompany him further, though he again warnedhim against the designs of his companions; at which Mr. Owen, with anoath, jumped into the canoe and ordered the men to shove off, leavingJohn on the bank. Calling a good-bye he wished them a successful voyageto Fort Washington, their destination; then turned into the forest andtwo weeks later arrived at Campbell Station.

  Some months later, he learned from Daniel Clark that the three kegs hadcontained six thousand dollars, sent by Governor Miro to GeneralWilkinson, who was then stationed at Fort Washington; and that Owen hadbeen murdered by his crew for the money. Three of them were apprehended,and though guilty were permitted to escape, for fear that at their trialit might be disclosed that the money was the pension of Wilkinson andSebastian.

  ----

  John had been four months from home. As he drew near he saw his wifestanding in the doorway, looking down the road, watching for his coming.When she saw him she held high their infant son, now almost two monthsold.

  "* * * And how have you been?"

  "As happy as were possible with you away. What do you think of the boy?Stop kissing me and look at him."

  "What a fine little fellow, a soul entrusted to our keeping. How can awoman endure to live without being a mother? See how he smiles into ourfaces; not that he knows us; but he looks through the gates of heavenand takes us for angels. Son, I guess your mother thinks you know me,but your only thoughts are of heaven and your stomach. In an instinctiveway he likes you about; he connects you with the joy of living."

  "John! John! He thinks of you. He knows his father. Look how he openswide his eyes and smiles into your face. I do believe he approves of hisfather--the little darling! Oh, you little deserter; you would leaveyour mother for him and after what he has said. That's it; hold out yourarms pleading: 'Father take me in your strong arms; I will come back tomother when I am hungry.' Oh, what a wonderful boy! Just two months old!Just like his father!"

  "Oh wonderful son, that can so astonish a mother."

 
; The day following his return John rode over into Powell's Valley, whereRobert Marshall, who was substituting for him, was conducting a seriesof meetings. The people of the district liked Mr. Marshall, but toldJohn that no one could ever fill his place.

  He was also told that the people of Lincoln county, which at that timeembraced nearly a fifth of Kentucky, were going to send him as delegateto the Constitutional Convention, which was to assemble at Danville onApril 2, 1792, to draft the constitution for the new state, which was tobe admitted into the Union on June 1, 1792.

  At first he demurred; but when not only his neighbors but delegationsfrom distant points in the county came to see him and insisted, heconsented; giving all to understand that he would only run as ananti-slavery candidate; as did also Rev. David Rice and James Crawford,two other Presbyterian preacher candidates.

  They were elected in December, 1791; and when the convention assembledquickly ascertained that the only real controversy was upon the issue ofslavery or no-slavery for the new state.

  The constitution as adopted was modeled after that of the United States,which in turn had been modeled after that of Virginia. This was quitelogical as Kentucky had been settled by Virginians. Such modificationsas were made in the instrument exhibit a more democratic spirit than theVirginia instrument. For the first time in the history of any state, allmale citizens of age were given the right of suffrage, excepting onlymen convicted of felony and not pardoned. Ministers of the gospel wereexcluded from legislative bodies, a relict of British Conformistprejudice. No provision was made for a public school system. Slavery wasrecognized and approved after the bitter fight of the convention; thoughthe opposition succeeded in placing in the constitution many limitingrestrictions.

  The leaders who fought out this issue ably seconded by their followerswere David Rice and George Nicholas. Father Rice resigned on April 14,and was succeeded by Mr. Innes, who voted as his district instructed,against slavery; though he lacked the zeal for the cause that had firedhis predecessor.

  Article IX of the constitution dealing with slavery had been drafted byNicholas. After many amendments, a motion was made to expunge it fromthe constitution. A vote on the motion was taken on April 18, and therecord shows that all the ministers who were members of the conventionvoted in the affirmative. The motion was lost by a vote of 16 yeas and26 nays. There were some who charged that the clause in the constitutionproviding that ministers of the gospel should be excluded fromlegislative bodies was due to the unanimity of their vote in oppositionto slavery.