Arkansas Post Montgomery's Tavern & Johnston and Armstrong's Store Historic Structure Report/Historical Data

A. Jacob Bright and Company on the Arkansas

1. Bright and Company Come to Arkansas Post

Almost as soon as the United States took possession of the Louisiana Purchase in late 1803, Governor William C. C. Claiborne of Mississippi, who was also Governor-General and Intendant of the Province of Louisiana, was approached by Jacob Bright. Bright, the operator of a trading house at Chickasaw Bluffs, Tennessee, asked permission to establish a post on the Arkansas. Claiborne was agreeable. On February 8, 1804, he granted to Bright authority to open a store "on the Arkansaw [sic], for the purpose of carrying on trade with the inhabitants of that District, and such Indians as may still visit the Post." This franchise was to continue "in force during the pleasure of the Governor ...or until provision shall be made by Congress for regulating trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes west of the Mississippi river.[1]

To secure financial backing for his trading house on the Arkansas, Bright formed a partnership with Benjamin Morgan of New Orleans. Morgan was an important and wealthy member of the growing Anglo-Saxon community in New Orleans.In February 1804 he was one of the incorporators of the city's Bank of Discount, Deposit and Exchange, and on July 16, 1805, he was elected president of the Bank of the United States, of New Orleans. Morgan was also close to Governor Claiborne, and on September 1, 1807, he was appointed territorial secretary, an office he held until October 15. In addition to his banking interests, Morgan also owned several ships. A public-spirited individual, he took the lead in securing the paving of the New Orleans streets.[2]

Jacob Bright, having secured a franchise and a wealthy partner, traveled to Post of Arkansas. There he bought out the trading house owned by Louis Jordella. Besides Jordella's good will, Bright and Company secured a one-acre lot. Located on the subject lot was a house and probably other improvements.[3] Undoubtedly, Bright and Company erected other structures on the subject lot, because it promptly became the largest and most important trading house on the Arkansas River. Jordella, having sold out, went to work for Bright and Company.

2. Bright and Company Dominate the Arkansas River Trade

a. The Establishment of the U. S. Factory

In 1805 the United States government established four new factories or trading houses to trade with the western Indians. These were located at Arkansas Post, Natchitoches, Belle Fontaine, and Chicago. John B. Treat was appointed factor for the Arkansas Post establishment by Secretary of War Henry Dearborn.

On reaching Post of Arkansas in September 1805, Treat found that the trade had been engrossed by nine or ten "persons resident at the post, and 2 or 3 Frenchmen who annually descend the Wabash, having obtained their goods at Detroit." He learned that the amount of capital employed by his rivals was nearly $50,000, "about the half of which is engaged by the House of Bright and Company (an establishment transferred from the Chickasaw Bluffs about two years ago) connected also with a House in New Orleans, and probably with another place in Philadelphia." His other competitors, Treat reported, could be divided into three classes: those who employed from $4,000 to 5,000 each; those in the $3,000 class; and finally those that annually did from $2,000 to $1,500 business.[4]

b. Cutthroat Competition

The competition between the trading houses compelled them to extend the Indians liberal credit. This they hoped to recover when the Indians returned from their autumn hunts. Bright and Company, although at the Post less than two years, had advanced the Indians $10,000 in trade goods to be redeemed with peltries and furs.[5]

Shortly after his arrival at Post of Arkansas, Treat was distressed to learn that the Factory's only serious competitor, Bright and Company, had secured on September 27, 1805, from Secretary of War Dearborn, the right of "free trade throughout the whole extent of the Arkansas river for two years." Bright accordingly organized an expedition and prepared to start up the river to trade with the Osage.

Such action on the part of the Secretary jeopardized the success of the Factory, because Bright and Company, certain that profits from their Osage venture would be great, had drastically cut prices at Post of Arkansas. Treat feared that Bright and Company would soon be underselling the Factory. Until October 1805, the Factory's prices had been one-third less than those demanded by Bright and Company.[6]

In the spring of 1806, several vessels, including the barge Hope and the flatboat Necessity, left Post of Arkansas for New Orleans, with packs of peltries and furs. Sixty of these packs belonged to the United States Factory, which placed it fourth in quantity of packs forwarded. Bright and Company had shipped the lion's share, having loaded out 267 packs of deerskins, 1,500 pounds of beaver pelts, 930 pounds of bearskins, 12 packs of small furs, 72 packs of assorted hides, and a considerable quantity of oil and tallow. The next largest shipper had sent out about 100 packs.

Treat warned his superiors in Washington and Philadelphia that Bright and Company was continuing to engross much of the trade at the Post, and aided by their franchise would monopolize the Osage trade.[7]

Secretary of War Dearborn on April 29, 1806, assured Treat that the administration had not intended to give Bright and Company any advantages over competitors. Treat was authorized to notify the other traders that it was not proposed "to give anyone any exclusive privileges," and the "old trading settlers may have licenses to prosecute their trade up the Arkansas river." Moreover, the Secretary did not believe that Bright and Company should be permitted to keep a store at the Post to trade with the Indians.

Treat was therefore authorized to grant licenses to "such of the inhabitants of Arkansas as you may judge suitable characters to trade with the Indians ... taking suitable bonds for their proper conduct, especially prohibiting the sale of any ardent spirits."[8]

The Secretary's statement that Bright and Company should not be allowed to operate a store at Post of Arkansas perplexed Treat. If this were true, Treat wanted instructions how to proceed in this matter.[9]

3. Bright's Expedition to the Osage Village.

Bright with a strong force had ascended the Arkansas in July 1806 "to make arrangements to secure the trade of the Osage." It was apparent that Bright and Company had inaugurated an aggressive campaign to secure a monopoly. Credit had been advanced to traders operating on the St. Francis River at exorbitant rates. Treat knew of one Indian, not a chief, to whom Bright and Company had given a credit of "upwards of $3,000" by which means more than 100 hunters were indebted to them.[10]

By September 1 the recipient of the $3,000 credit returned to Post of Arkansas, with about 9,000 skins for Bright and Company. Having made his delivery, he returned to the woods with 115 hunters. [11]

Meanwhile, Bright's party had ascended the Arkansas for a distance of several hundred miles. Finding a likely looking site in the country of the Osage, they landed and started to build a cabin for a trading post. On August 3, 1806, Bright and his companions stopped work when they heard two guns discharged. About one-half hour later, they sighted "a tall and soldierly looking man, with a coat faced with red" ride into view. He fired his musket into the air, and it was followed by other shots by those to his rear who could not be seen. This bold warrior followed by several hundred others approached to within 20 yards of the traders and dismounted. After the chiefs had assembled, they advanced with Clermont in front. Clermont took position on Bright's right, and gave orders for his people "to falloff right and left ...to give room for them all to come in. They then seated themselves on some skins which they had thrown on the ground for that purpose" to receive presents of tobacco and to smoke. Bright gave each Indian a dram of whiskey, which most of them drank.[12]

On Monday, the 4th, Bright conferred at length with the Osage chiefs. By the 9th all the Osage except four had returned to their village. These warriors were to guide the traders to their village and to hunt for them as they ascended the Arkansas. The keelboat had been loaded by 1 p.m., and they cast off. Bright's party tied up and camped for the night at the head of a sand bar.

At dawn on August 10, they were attacked by a war party, whom some of the traders believed were Choctaw. In the first volley one of the Osage hunters was killed and the other three fled. The Choctaw kept up their fire for about 15 minutes. They then ceased shooting and withdrew. When he mustered his force, Bright found that besides the Osage, the score of attackers had killed two of his men, Louis Jordella and Augustine Strong. Jordella, in attempting to escape by swimming the Arkansas, had been shot. The loss of Jordella was a severe blow. A native of Post of Arkansas, and an experienced trader and hunter, he had been placed by Bright in charge of the Osage trading house. Jordella was in the prime of life, and possessed of both modesty and integrity, and his loss would be a blow to the community, as well as the company.[13]

Before returning to Arkansas Post in November 1806, Bright established a trading house near Clermont's village. In February 1807, when the Osage were absent, the trading house was besieged by Choctaw, angered because Bright and Company had been selling firearms and ammunition to the Osage.[14]

4. The Death of Jacob Bright

a. Bright Passes On

In the late spring of 1807, Bright left Post of Arkansas for New Orleans aboard a keelboat loaded with the winter's take of peltries and furs. He was not feeling well. He reached New Orleans in mid-May, and told his partner, Benjamin Morgan, that he planned to visit Washington, D. C., to discuss with the President and Secretary of War Indian relations and trade. Before he could complete arrangements for his trip to the nation's capital, he died. In reporting Bright's death, Morgan wrote Secretary of War Dearborn, "his death may be considered a public as well as a private loss. He was beloved and respected by all the Indian tribes with whom he had any connection. He was using his best efforts to attach them to the cause of the United States."[15]

b. Bright's Journal

Jacob Bright kept a detailed journal while at Arkansas Post. On December 20, 1806, he mailed an extract from his journal, covering the period August 4-12, 1806, to Secretary of War Dearborn. The Bright Journal if it could be located would prove an invaluable source of information about Arkansas Post and the Indian trade during the period 1804-07. In a futile effort to locate the Bright Journal, the author has contacted a number of historical societies and persons versed in the history of the fur trade.

B. Typical Structures

1. Arkansas Post in 1793

As yet it has been impossible to secure a description of the building or buildings occupied by Jacob Bright and Company at Post of Arkansas. We know that at the time Bright and Company purchased the square from Louis Jordella in 1804 there were improvements on the property. Jordella had engaged in the fur trade, so the improvements on the square probably consisted of a residence, skin house, and dependencies.

The buildings in all probability dated to at least 1793, when Pedro Andres Rousseau visited the Post. Rousseau, who commanded the Spanish river fleet, reached Arkansas Post aboard La Flecha on February 3. He wrote in his journal:

The Fort of Arkansas is situated in the middle of a hill that overlooks the Arkansas River, which may be forty-five feet in height when the river is low and six feet when it over flows. It forms a horseshoe that may be a half league on the river and extends to the north. At a half league to the north of the river there is a large prairie … There are several inhabitants around the prairie who sow wheat … Above the fort [upstream]there are about thirty houses, with galleries around, covered with shingles, which form two streets. Below [downstream from] the fort there are about a dozen quite pretty plots of four by four arpents, where there are very beautiful fields of wheat.[16]

2. The United States Factory Buildings

Although Bright and Company did a much larger business than the United States Factory, we may assume that its facilities were similar to those rented by John Treat in 1805 and erected by him in the period 1806-1810. If anything the facilities housing Bright and Company would have been more pretentious, because in September 1805 it handled one-half the fur trade transacted at Arkansas Post.

In October 1805, Factor Treat reported that, on arrival at Post of Arkansas, he had stored his trade goods at the fort. The first place he rented for use as a factory was a house, about 30 x 15 feet, containing two rooms, and these raised about six feet off the ground. The space below the flooring had been enclosed with " square timber," and would be used as heretofore for a skin house, it being dark and cool, and therefore well adapted to that purpose.[17]

A contract was soon executed by Treat for the construction of a factory. The frames had been cut and squared by mid-November. By mid-December 1805, he hoped the carpenters would have all the timbers ready, as well as the logs for hewing into boards and the shingles. The structure would be a single-story building, about 50 x 40 feet, with a "cellar or Skin Room below raised above the surface, otherwise in the Winter season" the room would be too damp.[18]

On July 1, 1806, Treat reported that construction of the Factory was progressing slowly. The oak framing for the story and one-half building had been cut and sawed. A large quantity of cypress logs and lumber for siding and flooring had been stockpiled, while 15,500 shingles had been rived and were on hand.

In the autumn Treat planned to erect an inexpensive building to accommodate Indians who traded at the factory during the winter. This structure could be closed in, and in the future serve as a kitchen.[19]

Work continued to drag, however, and on September 30, 1809, Treat reported that the carpenters had finally finished hand-sawing scantling and boards.[20] Before the factory and its dependencies could be completed, it was determined on May 29, 1810, to discontinue the factory at Post of Arkansas. At the time of its closing, the public improvements included:

(a) a single-story dwelling, 20 x 30 feet, with pitched roof piazzas front and rear, and roof over all. The structure was painted, had eave troughs, and was shingled. There were two bedrooms, one above and one on the piazza. There were seven windows, glazed with blinds, and two windows not glazed but shuttered. The small sitting room was finished, except for the ceiling, which had laths overhead. The kitchen had a rough floor.

(b) The storehouse and skin room had not yet been completed. It had a strong oak frame, 20 x 38 feet, and the lower or skin room had been enclosed. Materials for completing the building were on hand.

(c) In one corner of the lot was a half finished log stable.

(d) The lot was enclosed with "strong Oak posts and rails, 7 bars high."[21]

3. James Scull and Company Builds a Trading House

The death of Jacob Bright in June 1807 resulted in the liquidation of the House of Bright and Company. Before the month was over, the surviving partner Benjamin Morgan announced plans to form a new partnership with Joseph Watson and JamesScull. As before, Morgan would contribute the capital, while Watson and Scull, who were residents of Arkansas Post, carried on the trade with the Indians. In advising Secretary of War Dearborn of his plans, Morgan pointed out that the license authorizing Bright and Company to trade on the Arkansas would expire in September.[22]

For reasons that are impossible to document, Watson did not join the partnership, and on November 4, 1807, Scull and Morgan signed an agreement to exploit the Indian trade on the Arkansas. The new firm would be known as James Scull and company.[23] On April 10, 1808, Scull as Morgan's agent sold at public auction the one-acre square and improvements that had belonged to Bright and Company. Having acquired two lots on the Arkansas River, Scull and Company on February 1, 1809, contracted with Daniel Mooney to build

a frame house 50 feet in length, 32 feet in breadth, and twelve feet high & to erect a gallery on each side of the house 10 feet wide and to enclose the same under a good & sufficient roof, the said building to contain four rooms, six doors & eight windows, all of which building to be finished neat & workman like & with as much dispatch as the nature of the case will admit.

The said James Scull & Co. to furnish at the place all necessary timber& materials, good & sufficient to complete the said building, also to furnish the said Daniel Mooney with boarding for himself and such Journey men as he may employ to work on said building.

The following species of joiners' work to be observed in finishing the said house, the two ends to be weatherboarded, the upper floor to be laid down rough, the lower floor in house and gallery to be laid neat with (illegible) to wit, gallery ceiled overhead, all doors & windows sheets panelled & cased neat, chairs and washboards throughout all the rooms, & stairs to ascend the gallery on each side with hand rails & Balustrades on each side, eave gutters and conductors on each side, for all of which work, when finished the said James Scull & Co. agrees to pay Mooney the sum of $1,500.[24]

C. The Arkansas General Assembly and Montgomery's Tavern

Samuel Moseley, who purchased the square and improvements thereon from Bright and Company, was also involved in trade with the Indians. He used the square and structures to pursue his business. As the years passed, hunters to secure pelts and furs were compelled to push farther and farther up the Arkansas and its tributaries. Profits realized by merchants based at Post of Arkansas shrank. But with more and more whites emigrating to the region in search of cheap land, the merchants catered to the wants of the newcomers. In 1819 Moseley sold the square and improvements thereon to William Drope.[25]

Drope, a land speculator and cotton merchant, had moved into the house on the square in January 1818. He did not reside there many months before renting the property to William Montgomery and moving to Pulaski County. Montgomery converted the major building on the one-acre square into a tavern.

The Arkansas General Assembly when it was convened by Governor James Miller in February 1820, for its first session, met in two rooms rented from Montgomery. For these rooms and sundries furnished the General Assembly, Montgomery was to be paid "a sum not exceeding thirty seven dollars."[26]

As was to be expected, during the 28 months Arkansas Post was the territorial capital, Montgomery's Tavern was a place of importance. On August 5, 1820, Peter Corsey announced that henceforth on Wednesday morning he would offer a "fat Beef" for sale near Montgomery's Tavern.[27] James Scull, lieutenant colonel and commanding officer of the 4th Regiment Arkansas Militia, announced on November 16, 1820, that to facilitate the organization of the unit into companies, a muster would be held on Saturday,November 24, at Montgomery's Tavern.[28] For the purpose of selecting five persons to act as trustees of the village, an election was held on January 22, 1821, at Montgomery's.[29] William Montgomery and Smith Brown on February 10, 1821, announced that they were moving from Post of Arkansas to the mouth of White River. Persons indebted to them were asked to settle their accounts on or before February 20.[30]

Meanwhile, Benjamin F. Babcock had purchased the subject square from William Drope. Babcock did not live in Arkansas Territory, and it has been impossible to determine to whom he rented the subject property following Montgomery's departure from the Post.In 1821, before the removal of the territorial capital to Little Rock, Babcock was assessed $15 taxes on the two lots he owned in the village. The subject lots--the one-acre square and the one on which Col. Daniel Brearly was residing--were choice ones and valued at $3,000. The transfer of the capital caused a bust in the Arkansas Post real estate market. In 1823 Babcock's lots were valued at $600, and he was cited as delinquent for taxes on the subject property.[31] Babcock accordingly sold his Arkansas Post property in 1825 to Col. Frederic Notrebe.

D. Audubon Stops at Montgomery's Tavern

1. Audubon's Visit

James J. Audubon, the great ornithologist, visited Arkansas Post in mid-December 1820. Accompanied by Joseph Mason, he took passage down the Mississippi on a flatboat belonging to Jacob Aumack. On the 10th the boat tied-up at Caledonia Point, four miles above the mouth of White River. It was decided to have a look at Arkansas Post. Audubon, accompanied by Mason, Aumack, and Anthony Badley, took a skiff through the White River Cut-Off to Duval's plantation, and from there the Frenchman guided them through seven miles of "Mud & Watter to the Post."

It was 9 p.m. when, wet, weary, hungry, and muddy, they entered Montgomery's Tavern, the only one in the village. Supper was called for and served. Audubon found "Mrs.Montgomery a handsome Woman of good Manners and rather superior to those in her rank of life."[32]

After they had eaten, Mrs. Montgomery showed the men to their quarters in a "large Building that formerly perhaps saw the great Councils of Spanish Dons." They "saw 3 Beds containing 5 men." Audubon recalled that

all was arranged in a few moments and as the Breaches were Coming off our Legs, Mr. Aumack & Anthony slided by into one and Joseph & myself into Another, to force Acquaintance with the strangers being of course necessary [.]

a Conversation ensued that Lolled Me a Sleep, and Nothing but the Want of Blankets Kept Me from Resting Well, for I soon found a place between the Tugs that Supported about 10 lbs of Wild Turkey Feathers to save [?], My roundest

Parts from the Sharp Edges of An Homespun Bedstead--[33]

The next morning, Audubon reconnoitered the area, and pronounced Post of Arkansas "a poor, Nearly deserted Village." While it once could have been called an agreeable small town, all that now gave it life was the "decripid Visages of the Worn out Indian Traders and a few American famillies." The site was a handsome one, "on a high Bank formerly the Edge of a Prairie, but rendered extremely sickly by the Back Neighborhood of Many Overflowing Lakes & Swamps."[34] After breakfast on the 12th, the travelers returned to the Cut-Off.

2. Archeologist Walker's Speculations

Archeologist Walker, who called the account in Audubon's America to my attention, has pointed out from the description ...[it appears] that the tavern was composed of at least two buildings, one of which was used for dining and the other, which evidently was rather large, for sleeping. Since there may well have been a "summer kitchen" and a number of outbuildings, I would suspect that [personnel of the University of Arkansas Archeological Field School] will be dealing with quite a complex of buildings.[35]

E. Johnston and Armstrong's Store in the Territorial Period

The structure in which Johnston and Armstrong had their store in 1819 had been built a number of years before by Joseph Dardenne. The builder had lived in the house. On January 12, 1820, the subject property had been sold to Francis and Catherine Mitchell by William and Elouisa Drope.

From 1819 to November 1821, Johnston and Armstrong employed the two-story building and lot they rented from the Mitchells as a store. During the period July 4, 1820, to January 4, 1821, Territorial Secretary Robert Crittenden rented quarters in the store from Henry Armstrong. On January 4, 1821, Crittenden paid Armstrong $175 for:

In the months from January 4 to July 4, 1821, Crittenden continued to occupy rooms in the store. On July 4 he paid Armstrong $175 for:

On November 3, 1821, a new enterprise moved into the building. James Hamilton and Company announced that it had moved its place of business into the "store lately occupied by Messrs. Johnston & Armstrong."[38]

Like Babcock, the Mitchells saw the value of their real estate skid when the territorial capital was shifted in late 1821 to Little Rock. In 1821 their real estate in the village--the lot on which Johnston and Armstrong's store was located and the lot on the west side of the cross street--was valued at $1,600. Two years later, the subject lots were listed by the county assessor at $500. In 1825 the Mitchells sold the store lot to Colonel Notrebe for $100.[39]

F. Colonel Notrebe of Arkansas Post

1. Notrebe Settles in Arkansas

In 1825 Col. Frederic Notrebe acquired two of the structures (Montgomery's Tavern and Johnston and Armstrong's Store) used by territorial officials during the months thatPost of Arkansas served as territorial capital. Notrebe was born in France in 1780, and, after serving in the Imperial Army in Spain under Marshal B. A. J. de Moncey, had emigrated to the United States in 1809. As he was 29 at the time and still subject to the conscript laws of France, he had probably deserted Moncey's corps.[40]

Despite the abrupt departure from Europe and the French army, Notrebe throughout his life in the United States retained a deep admiration for the Emperor Napoleon I. When a town was platted in the early 1820s at the mouth of White River, he was one of those who insisted on naming it Napoleon. One of his grandsons was likewise christened Napoleon Notrebe.[41]

Notrebe, who probably landed at New Orleans, quickly made his way to Post of Arkansas and entered the Indian trade. A Mr. Frazier, reminiscing about early days in Arkansas, reported that his father on landing at the Post in the summer of 1810 met Notrebe. He was "conducting a French trading house, as the furs and peltries of the Indian hunt in the west was very lucrative."[42]

The presence of Notrebe at the Post in September 1811 can be documented. On the 9th John Baptiste and Mary Gerbert sold to Frederic Notrebe for $12 their "right and title" to a lot 65 feet broad and 165 feet deep "bounded on the one side by the lot and house" of Notrebe and on the other by Main Street.[43]

2. Notrebe Marries and Raises a Family

In the same year, 1811, Notrebe married Mary Felicite, the 17-year-old daughter of John B. and Elizabeth Bellette.[44] To the couple were born at least four children, three sons and one daughter. The sons were Eugene, Charles, and John. Eugene, the eldest, was born about 1816 and died in La Habana, Cuba, in 1840; Charles was born in 1817 and died in 1841; and John, born in the late 1820s, was killed in a brawl at Post of Arkansas by Etienne Vaugine on Christmas Eve 1844.[45]

Notrebe's daughter, Francine, married in 1831 William Cummins, a prominent member of the Little Rock bar. The Kentucky-born lawyer had located in Little Rock in 1824, and in 1836 he had been elected a member of the Arkansas Constitutional Convention. In 1840, three years before his death, Cummins was elected to the General Assembly from Pulaski County. His wife had preceded him in death, and their daughter, Mary Felicite, was left an orphan to be raised by her maternal grandparents.[46]

3. Travelers' Journals and Recollections

a. Nuttall's Journal

Most travelers passing through Post of Arkansas in the period 1819-49 and writing of their experiences mentioned Colonel Notrebe. The British natural scientist Thomas Nuttall, who was at the Post in the last week of February 1819, reported that the principal merchants "were Messrs. Braham and Drope, Mr. Lewis, and Monsieur Notrebe, who kept well-assorted stores of merchandise, supplied chiefly from New Orleans, with the exception of some heavy articles of domestic manufacture obtained from Pittsburgh."[47]

b. Pope's Recollections

William F. Pope stopped at Arkansas Post in October 1832. Years later he recorded his impressions of the village. He recalled that there were "a few modern buildings, situated near the bank of the river, among them two brickhouses, one of which was the store and warehouse of the opulent Frederic Notrebe." Most of the other buildings were "built after the French style of architecture, with high pointed roofs and gables and heavy exterior timbers, and high chimneys."[48]

Pope was a guest in Notrebe' s "beautiful home." He was impressed by the display of cut glass, china, and silverware, as well as the retinue of the servants. He did not expect to find such on the frontier. Pope recalled Notrebe as a man of commanding appearance, with jet black hair and eyes, and a dark complexion. He had large but regular features and in his younger years had undoubtedly been very handsome.[49]

c. Washington Irving Meets Notrebe

Washington Irving, the man-of-letters, on returning from his western journey stopped briefly at the Post on November 15, 1832. Aboard the steamboat with Irving on the passage down from Little Rock were Mr. and Mrs. William Cummins, Colonel Notrebe's son-in-law and daughter.

Irving noted in his journal that Mrs. Cummins' father was said to be worth $40,000 to $50,000. She had inherited from her father his temperament, and it was said she ruled "her husband with the slipper." She was a "pretty, dark, black-eyed woman." The great author observed that when Colonel Notrebe traveled, he aped the Dons, taking along a servant and his own wines because he did not like those served aboard the Arkansas and Mississippi packets.[50]

The Post, Irving observed, was "a decayed, ruinous place--old Spanish wooden building, with piazza--outhouses--French buildings, with casement-- piazzas." Enclosing Notrebe's garden, store, and house was a stockade- like fence. Near the old Spanish house were two large ruins. Irving observed that the Americans had settled to the north of the old village.[51]

Five years later, Irving published his short story, "The Creole Village," in which he perpetuated the idyllic existence of the Post. It was in "The Creole Village" that Irving first used the now familiar phrase, "the almighty dollar."[52]

It is also possible that "the old ruinous Spanish house, of large dimensions, with verandas overshadowed by ancient elms," may have been Montgomery's Tavern.[53]

d. Featherstonhaugh Stops at the Post

G. W. Featherstonhaugh, visiting the Post in the mid-1830s, reported, "The great man of the place is Monsieur Notrebe, a French emigrant, who is said to have accumulated a considerable fortune here. His house appears to be a comfortable one, and has a store attached to it, where the principal business of this part is transacted."[54]

e. General Pike Describes Notrebe

Albert Pike--poet, masonic leader, lawyer, humanitarian, and Civil War general--was well acquainted with Notrebe. He wrote:

Mr. Notrebe, himself, was a man who ought not to be forgotten, for he was a very noble and generous man. I often dined at his house at Post of Arkansas, and his plantation below that place, on the river.[55]

4. Notrebe--Successful Merchant and Planter

Colonel Notrebe, unlike most other local businessmen, did not join the rush to Little Rock in late 1821 and '22, when the territorial capital was moved. Instead he determined to hold onto and expand his Arkansas County interests. Featherstonhaugh in 1835 described Notrebe's highly successful methods of doing business.

Cultivating cotton himself, advancing money to other planters to carry on their business with, upon condition of taking their crops when gathered at a given price, and taking skins and peltry of every kind in payment of goods obtained at his store--of which whiskey forms no small item--he has contrived to secure a monopoly of almost all the business of the country, and after a vigorous struggle has compelled all his competitors to withdraw from the trade.[56]

Notrebe's rise to affluence can be traced in the Arkansas County Tax Assessment Books. The one for 1817 credits Notrebe with ownership of two town lots, with improvements thereon valued at $1,100, and two slaves who were more than ten years old. His county tax in that year was $4.55.[57] In 1821 the tax roll listed Notrebe as owner of five town lots with improvements, valued at $2,800, and seven slaves more than ten years old. His taxes were $17.50.[58] In 1823 his taxes were $29.50, and in 1828 he was assessed for 805 acres in Arkansas County, ten cows, nine horses, and seven slaves. By 1836 he was credited with ownership of 14 parcels of land in the county totaling 3,496 acres, while in partnership with his son-in-law William Cummins, he owned another 4,633 acres divided into 22 parcels.

In 1848, the year before his death, Notrebe's property in Arkansas County was assessed: value of town lots, $3,000; number of slaves 71, valued at $27,400; household furniture$600; pleasure carriage $300; 28 horses and mules, valued at $1,250; 32 cattle valued at $320; and gold watches and jewelry at $100.[59]

5. Notrebe and King Cotton

a. As a Merchant

Notrebe, having first obtained financial security in the Indian trade, sensed the proper moment to diversify. While maintaining his store, which by 1819 catered to the interests of the growing white community, he entered the cotton trade, first as a merchant, then as a gin operator, and finally as a planter.

When the third issue of the Arkansas Gazette came off the press on December 4, 1819, it contained an advertisement placed by Notrebe. "The subscriber having directions to receive all the COTTON of Mr. William Drope, for the crop of 1819, requests all persons that are to deliver cotton 60 to Mr. Drope, to send it to the mill of Mr. James Scull."[60] Six weeks later, on January 15, 1820, Notrebe employed the Arkansas Gazette to announce, "I will give three and a half cents per pound for cotton--one-half to be paid in cash, the remainder in merchandise from my store."[61]

To encourage cotton growing in the area, Notrebe contracted in the spring with the farmers to purchase their cotton in the autumn at a fixed price. Typical of these contracts is one he made with Peter Corsey in May 1825:

Know all men by these presents that I Peter Corsey of the county and territory of
Arkansas for and in consideration of the sum of Four dollars for each hundred pounds of seed cotton to me to be paid by Frederic Notrebe of the County and Territory aforesaid have granted bargained and sold and confirmed and by these presents do grant bargain and sell and confirm unto the said Frederic Notrebe all my crop of cotton for the year 1825. The whole crop supposed to the amount of three thousand weight more or less.
his
Peter x Corsey [62]
Mark

b. Notrebe Builds a Gin

In late 1826 and early 1827, Notrebe had a gin erected on the lots opposite the square acquired from Babcock in January 1825. One of these lots Notrebe had purchased from Samuel Rutherford in June 1822. In August 1827, Notrebe inserted the following advertisement in the Gazette:

Cash! Cash down!
The highest price, in Cash, will be paid by the undersigned for good dry, clean,
merchantible [sic] Cotton, in the seed, to be delivered at my Gin at the Post of
Arkansas--(the drayage from the landing to be my expense.)[63]

Colonel Notrebe in September 1828 advertised in the Gazette:

COTTON
The subscriber having finished the Galleries to his inclined plane Cotton Gin, for the reception of large quantities of Cotton, informs his friends and the public in general, that he will receive Cotton in the seed, Gin and Bale it in the neatest manner, at one dollar per hundred weight of neat cotton in each bale, or nine pounds of seed cotton for every hundred pounds of the same.[64]

A reporter for the Gazette on November 4, 1828, described improvements Colonel Notrebe had made in his gin. "There is," he wrote, a cotton gin

on this improved plan, now in operation at this place (the Post of Arkansas), in the gin house of Mr. Frederick [sic] Notrebe, the gentleman to whom the public is indebted, for this valuable improvement. It has been examined by several persons, and is admitted by all to answer the desired purpose. The improvement is simple, and in the construction of gins, will be attended with but little additional expense.

It consists of giving a greater length of bar or axis to the cylinder and brush wheel, so that the gudgeons on the opposite side may work equidistant from the cylinder or box, with those on the side which receives the power, and supported by an additional frame. The gudgeons of the cylinder and brush, therefore, working outside and clear of the box, are within view of the person attending the gin, and should fire originate by friction, there is no cotton or combustible matter that can come in contact and it would be easily discovered, and could soon be extinguished, without the possibility of doing any injury.

It may not be uninteresting, to state the cause which led to the discovery of this improvement. Some time in the month of February last, fire originated by friction at one of the gudgeons of the brush wheel of Mr. N's gin, which being confined ...within the gin box communicated with the cotton in the flue, and was carried by the current of air from the brush, through the flue into the cotton room. This room being very close, and highly charged with atmospheric air, kept the flame compressed. It, however, spread over the surface of the unpacked cotton, and

...continued to burn in that compressed state without being discovered, until the stopping of the gin, when the flame ascended, accompanied by a thick volume of smoke, into the flue, and burst forth at the cylinder. The alarm was immediately given, and by the timely assistance of the citizens, the fire was extinguished, with the loss of a few bales of cotton, and some slight injury to the buildings.

This accident, which had like to have proved so serious, set the active mind of Mr. N. to work, in order to discover some mode by which similar occurrences might be prevented; and having fell on the above plan, he immediately communicated his views, with a draft of the improvement, to Messrs, Caver, Washburn & Co., accompanied by an order for a new gin, to be constructed on his proposed plan. Those gentlemen, pleased with the improvement, constructed a gin, of superb workmanship, on the principle proposed, and forwarded it to Mr. N.

It will be recollected by many, that since the introduction of the flue, in the picking of cotton, several accidents have occurred by fire originating from the friction of the brush wheel, and thereby great losses have been sustained, by the destruction of gins. It must therefore be gratifying to planters and gin holders, as well as the friends of this branch of our industry, to learn that an improvement has been made in the construction of gins, that will effectually guard against accidents of this kind. [65]

c. Notrebe as a planter

Colonel Notrebe, as to be expected, became increasingly interested in agriculture as he expanded his landholdings. To boost the yield per acre on his plantations, he allied himself with another wealthy Arkansas County planter, Terence Farrelly. In 1840 they, at considerable expense, imported cotton seed from Mexico. This experiment failed. Next they planted several fields of "China Silk Cotton." As this strain of cotton was not acclimated to the region, the yield was a disappointing 150 pounds to the acre. But when closely examined, it was seen that the "Bolls were in clusters, firmly united together, some containing under one pod what appeared to be a half dozen bolls compressed." This staple, with the exception of Sea Island, was superior to any Notrebe and Farrelly had heretofore inspected.

It was determined to give it another trial. For two years patches of "China Silk Cotton" were planted adjacent to fields seeded with the Mexican. Cross fertilization was thus obtained. Seeds from the best plants were retained and seeded the following year. Samples of cotton produced by this cross fertilization were forwarded in 1846 to newspapers and factors in New Orleans and Little Rock.

In 1846 poor upland fields, near Arkansas Post, seeded in "silk cotton," as it was called, produced double the yield per acre of the common cotton seed. Judge Haller, who resided on the Little Rock road, three miles west of Arkansas Post, had planted his little prairie in the new seed. Although the land had been under cultivation for about ten years, Haller found on weighing his cotton in at Notrebe's gin that the improved seed had yielded 1,500 pounds per acre, despite an invasion of caterpillars. Several of his neighbors, who had used the Mexican seed, reported yields of from 500 to 600 pounds to the acre.[66]

d. Notrebe and the Arkansas State Bank
As a successful merchant and planter, Colonel Notrebe felt the need to expand the amount of money in circulation in the region. After Arkansas was admitted to the Union in 1836, Notrebe labored to secure the establishment of a branch bank of the State Bank at Arkansas Post. He was successful. On June 19, 1839, the Arkansas Gazette carried the following notice:

Proposals for Building a Banking-House at the Post of Arkansas

Sealed proposals will be received by the undersigned, till Monday the 19th day ofAugust next, for building and finishing a Banking House, of the following dimensions: --30 feet 8 inches wide, 60 feet 8 inches long including the projection of the palasters [sic]--whole height of the walls 29 feet.

The material for the building, and the workmanship and finish of said Bank to be of the first order.

The contractor will be required to give good references and ample security for the fulfillment of his contract.

A plan of the building, with specifications for finishing the same, can be seen by application to the State Bank at Little Rock.

Proposals to be directed to the "Post of Arkansas, " and opened at the Bank on the day above named.
Committee
Fred Notrebe
J. Mitchell
D. Maxwell
J. H. Lennox.[67]

Colonel Notrebe and his wife on April 4, 1840, sold to the Bank of Arkansas, for one dollar, a lot on which to build the branch bank. The lot sold was the northwest part of the one-acre square originally owned by Louis Jordella and sold by him to Bright and Company. The Notrebes had acquired the subject property in 1825 from Benjamin Babcock.[68]

The Arkansas General Assembly in 1843 enacted legislation to liquidate the Bank of Arkansas. On June 15, 1843, the receivers named by the legislature (Samuel Mitchell and William A. Doherty) announced,

we the undersigned, Executor and Financial Receivers having received possession of the property, assets, and effects of the Branch of the Bank of the State of Arkansas, at Arkansas in pursuance of an act of the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas entitled "an act to place the Bank of the State of Arkansas in liquidation," approved 31st January 1843, hereby give notice to all persons indebted to said Branch (whose debts are now due), to come forward, within ninety days from the date hereof, (and to all persons whose debts are not now due, within ninety days after same become due), "and pay up all arrearages of interest and calls," (and interest in advance for twelve months, at seven percent on the principal debt), "and furnish such security for the payment of the principal debt as the undersigned may approve." Otherwise suit will be instituted against them.[69]

A person visiting the Post in 1857 described the former bank building as "being of brick and not at the time being used for any purpose except holding elections and stabling horses."[70]

6. Colonel Notrebe's Death and Will

Colonel Notrebe, while visiting in New Orleans, died on April 4, 1849. He was 69 years old. In reporting his death the Arkansas newspapers observed, "Few men were more proverbial for probity and strict justice in every transaction with his fellow man. As a member of society, he was unexceptionable--an affectionate parent--a kind and indulgent master, a firm and confiding friend."

His death would be a severe blow to his widow, already "bowed down" with sorrow from the loss of her four children. His only other heir was his granddaughter, Mary Felicite
Cummins.[71]

Six years before on October 24, 1843, Colonel Notrebe-- in the presence of Samuel Mitchell, W. A. Doherty, G. W. S. Crass, and John L. Jones--had dictated his last will and testament. In the first article of the will, he declared that his wife Mary Felicite Bellette, whom he had married in 1811, was on his death to receive for her lifetime one-half of his real and personal estate. The other one-half was to be shared equally by his son John and his granddaughter Mary F. Cummins.[72] The widow, on his death, was to be given the "option and privilege in the division of the one half of all the... estate as a life dowery, after" his just debts were paid. She was to be allowed to choose those slaves she wished for her share, and would have the choice of his "cotton plantation (3 miles below the Post) which I now cultivate or the premises at the Post of Arkansas where I now reside to make her own residence which will be valued and appraised with impartiality by my" heirs, John and Mary, if they are of age or their guardians, or by three disinterested persons.[73]

Should the widow remarry, "which is not probable," the aforementioned clauses in her favor were to be null and void, and she would receive from the estate only what she was allowed by the laws of Arkansas for her dowry. John and Mary would then be willed an additional share to be distributed in the "same proportion of one half each."[74]

The granddaughter Mary Cummins was to receive as a part of her share all the money owed Notrebe by her late father, "as cash advanced to him on several times to help him in paying his share of purchases and entries of lands made in partnership between him ...and myself as it will appear by his three notes in my favor and to my order amounting" to $12,090.18 as principal as of March 17, 184l, and bearing interest of six per cent per annum for ten years. As security for these notes, Notrebe held a mortgage on lands belonging to the deceased in Arkansas and Desha counties. In addition, the granddaughter was to receive on account as part of her share of the estate a receipt given by Notrebe to her parents for $2,741.58, representing cash advanced to the Cumminses "to help them in their first year of marriage."[75]

If Mary Cummins died before coming of age or before marriage, John Notrebe or his legitimate descendants would be the "sole heirs" of "all the amounts of patrimony allotted to the granddaughter." Should the granddaughter die after marriage without any lawful children, John or his legitimate heirs would inherit from her "all and singular her goods and chattels, real property, and slaves as a patrimony coming and arising" from Notrebe's estate.

Article 7 provided that should John die without lawful issue, his mother would be the executrix of all property, chattels, and slaves inherited from his father's estate, and after the death of his mother they were to pass to the granddaughter or her lawful descendants.

When the granddaughter married, to protect her in the enjoyment of her inheritance and to prevent her husband from making "bad use of her property without her consent," a contract of marriage was to be entered into between her and her spouse before a notary, and "a court of record giving a full description of the amount of cash, real and personal property, number of slaves with their names and ages" made.[76]

To protect the interest of his son John, the granddaughter and her husband were denied the right of demanding "a sale or division" of the estate without John's consent. If the estate were to be disposed of, John and Mary, assisted by two disinterested parties, would have an inventory prepared.

Mary's spouse would be prohibited from interfering in any way with John in his business operations of the estate. John at the same time was expected to divide equally with Mary the one-half of all revenue arising from the estate. This clause Notrebe had included to prevent Mary's husband, "who may be ambitious," from forcing a "sale or division at a great sacrifice" of Colonel Notrebe's property.[77]

As his father-in-law John Bellette, to whom he had given two lots and five slaves in 1835, had died, Notrebe willed them to his mother-in-law Elizabeth Bellette for her lifetime. He urged his heirs to continue to cherish his mother-in-law in her old age.

Upon the death of his wife, the share of the estate willed to her ''as a life estate" was to revert to equal shares "to my only two heirs... or to their legitimate heirs of desents."

The executors of the estate were to be the widow, John Notrebe if of age, Terence Farrelly, Wm. B. Wait, Louis Refeld, and A. B. K. Thetford. Each executor was to receive $500 to reimburse him or her for their services. Should any of them refuse to serve, the widow was to name their replacements.[78]

7. The Division of the Estate

a. The Debits and Credits

The death of John Notrebe on Christmas Eve 1844, in a brawl, left only two heirs--the widow and granddaughter. Within hours of receipt of news of Notrebe's death, Edward Chancey Morton, age 28, on April 22, 1849, took as his wife the 16-year-old granddaughter Mary Felicite Cummins.[79] Twenty-one days later, Notrebe's will was submitted to probate, and on July 17, 1849, Farrelly, Refeld, and Thedford, as executors, were bonded for $240,000.[80]

When they examined claims against the estate and its assets, the executors found that cash on hand totaled $3,606.40 1/2 against which there were claims outstanding of $18,427.10.[81] On Captain Morton's motion, it was ordered that the clerk of the probate court have an audit made and "strike a pro-rata dividend" of the assets among the creditors.[82]

In January 1851 Farrelly and the widow appeared before the court and submitted a petition, stating that in March 1850 the widow had determined "to take dower in the estate of her late husband." She asked that the executors be ordered to pay her a proportion of the value of the rent of land and hire of slaves. The court allowed the widow's petition, and ordered the executors to pay to her a percentage of "the value of rent of land and hire of slaves not to exceed the dower interest."[83]

Six months later at the July Term of the Probate Court, Farrelly reported that the 1850 cotton crop had been shipped to New Orleans and sold by Captain Morton. Besides being absent, Morton had in his possession the accounts, so it had been impossible for the executors to make a settlement with the widow.[84]

b. The Division of the Estate

On September 10, 1850, the widow released to Mr. and Mrs. Morton "all her title and interest and estate as devised" under her late husband's will to the land and tenements, along with all slaves belonging to the estate.[85] To liquidate the claims outstanding against the estate, the Mortons secured from the firm of A. W. Walker and Company of New Orleans, a letter of credit for $10,000, payable in not less than 12 months from February 4, 1852, in their counting room in New Orleans. For this loan the Mortons were to pay a commission of five per cent and interest of eight per cent per annum, and to ship to A. W. Walker and Company all cotton raised on their plantations until the indebtedness was retired. Morton then approach Albert Pike, and he agreed to become his surety for the letter of credit.

Pike was given a mortgage on a tract constituting the plantation of "the late Frederic Notrebe ... whereon he resided" and where the Mortons then lived, on the north bank of the Arkansas, three miles below Arkansas Post, and the lands on the opposite side of the river, totaling 3,546 acres.[86]

By May 1854 the Mortons had repaid A. W. Walker and Company, and before the year was over Albert Pike gave them a release on the mortgage which he held on their property.[87]

Meanwhile, the Widow Notrebe and the Mortons had quarreled. In October 1851 the Chancery Court of Arkansas County, at the widow's request, named Samuel Mitchell, B. L. Haller, and J. A. Jordon court commissioners to examine the plantation of Frederic Notrebe and other lands owned by him and

in cultivation at the time of his death with the lands adjacent and connected therewith and ascertain the quantity thereof and if the same can be divided, and the widow's dower set apart therein, and the heirs have their two-thirds, and each party receive their just rights therein without prejudice or injury to the rights of either party therein without a sale thereof.[88]

The Court, after reviewing the will of the deceased and the commissioners' report, on October 26, 1852, declared that the Widow Notrebe was entitled to her dower. She would have possession in severalty during her lifetime of the following tracts and improvements on the plantation of her late husband, on the Arkansas River, three and one-half miles below Arkansas Post: (a) all that tract fronting on Arkansas River above the lane containing 109 acres, enclosing the patrimony of Colonel Notrebe; and (b) a second tract below the tract aforementioned, fronting on the river and extending from said lane down the Arkansas 90 poles "to a stake planted as a boundary point" by the commissioners charged with laying out the widow's dowry, "and then back on a line running parallel with the lane aforesaid, containing 111 acres." Except for these two tracts totaling 220 acres, Mrs. Edward Morton and her husband were to have and retain in severalty the remainder of the deceased's real estate. In addition, Mrs. Notrebe was to have the privilege of cutting wood on the tract below the plantation.[89]

As her dowry, Mrs. Notrebe was also awarded 37 slaves, nine horses, and six oxen, along with all plate and silver belonging to the estate. The executors and heirs were to hold in severalty the residue of the personal effects and real estate of the deceased.

It was further ordered that the Mortons for two calendar years have use of and occupy the well and garden on the lands allotted to the Widow Notrebe, along with one Negro cabin and the plantation kitchen.[90]

Despite Frederic Notrebe's statement in his will, his widow in 1853 married William Price, a widower. In October 1854 the Prices brought suit in the Arkansas County Chancery Court against Terence Farrelly, the other executors, and Edward and Mary Morton to force a division of the estate. The court, after reviewing the case, decreed that William Halli Burton proceed "to make and state an account current in respect of the persons in pursuance of said bill and decree." He was to: (a) report the amount of all money on hand at Notrebe's death; (b) make an accounting of the expenses and profits of the plantation, slaves, and other property thereon from the death of Notrebe until January 1, 1853, the date the widow was assigned her dower right; (c) state an "account of all parts of the property of Frederic Notrebe at the Post of Arkansas and elsewhere other than the plantation"; (d) list all other sources of income from the estate "other than from the slaves ...and debts due the same";' (e) make an accounting of all money received by the executors and the Mortons from the estate; and (f) submit his report at the next term of court.[91]

A search of the records of the Arkansas County Chancery Court failed to locate Halli Burton's report. This report, if found, might provide valuable information on the real estate owned by Colonel Notrebe at the time of his death. It might even tell us something about Montgomery's Tavern and Johnston and Armstrong Store, provided they were still standing in 1849.

G. The Morton-Price Property, 1849-65

1. The Plantation in 1850

In 1850 Edward Morton and his wife were reported by the Seventh Census enumerator for Arkansas Township to be the owners of 3,000 acres, 700 of which were under cultivation. Morton estimated that the cash value of the plantation was $34,750, and the implements worth $1,850.

On the plantation in June 1850 were 16 horses, 16 mules, 20 milk cows, 20 oxen, 200 beef cattle, and 150 hogs, which Morton valued at $2,940. He and his wife were owners of 115 slaves.

The Mortons in 1849 had raised on the Notrebe plantation 1,500 bushels of corn, 50 bushels of oats, and 50 bales of cotton. Five hundred pounds of butter had been churned and 100 pounds of honey collected, while the value of cattle and hogs slaughtered for consumption on the plantation was placed at $500.[92]

2. The Civil War Brings Hard Times to Arkansas Post

In the period 1850-1860, the Mortons struggled in vain to payoff the debts with which the Notrebe estate had been saddled. To do so, Captain Morton periodically mortgaged the real estate, next year's cotton crop, and the slaves. Moreover, as the years passed, Morton found more and more of his time engrossed by his banking interests in Little Rock.

The secession of Arkansas in May 1861 and the Civil War cost the Mortons dearly. In the autumn of 1862 Confederate troops were ordered to the area, and construction started on a bastioned earthen fort. This activity further disrupted the economic life of the community. Morton slaves were impressed to work on the fortifications and their fields and fences suffered. In January 1863 a powerful Union army led by Maj. Gen. JohnA. McClernand and gunboats commanded by R. A. David D. Porter came. There was a battle. The supporting Confederate force was defeated, and along with the fort, captured. In the marching and fighting, the Morton property suffered. Their plantation was used by the Union army as its place of debarkation; their property in the village was in the beaten zone, where projectiles from Union cannon that missed their mark struck and exploded.The two-story brick building which had housed the Arkansas Post Branch of the Bank of Arkansas, although taken over by Confederates as a hospital, was destroyed. As this building was adjacent to the family home, store, and cotton gin, these structures, along with others nearby, must have been damaged or destroyed in the fighting on January 10 and 11, and the brief ensuing occupation of the area.[93]

Mrs. Morton by this time had moved to Little Rock. There she was living with her children, when Federal forces occupied the city in September 1863. She made a display of her Confederate sympathies, for which she was called to account by Maj. Gen. Joseph J. Reynolds.[94]

3. The Reconstruction Years

Peace returned to Arkansas in the late spring of 1865. The Mortons, like many of their class who had rallied to the Southern cause, were broke. Their slaves had been emancipated, and their plantation and property at Arkansas Post destroyed or damaged. The Reconstruction Period was especially difficult in Arkansas Township. Crops failed in 1866, and many of the planters and farmers were unable to pay their taxes. Land had to be forfeited. At the April 1867 term of the County Court, it was ordered that $5,000 be appropriated to purchase corn "for the use of those in need who will execute a deed of trust, or mortgage, on real estate, or a sufficient amount of personal property to secure the payment for the amount of corn received by them."

The clerk of the court was authorized upon the posting of a bond of $10,000 by John G. Quertermous to issue $2,000 of the appropriation and deliver it to Quertermous, and that he proceed to negotiate for the purchase of as much corn as he could buy with that amount of scrip. Quertermous was to have 300 bushels of the corn purchased shipped to
Arkansas Post and the rest to Crockett's Bluff.

Commissioner Quertermous sold the scrip to James H. Lucus, a St. Louis banker and former resident of Arkansas Post. After Lucus had provided Quertermous with the means to purchase the corn, he learned from the commissioner that "certain of the older residents were still living, and that they and their neighbors generally were impoverished" by the war. Lucus accordingly ordered a shipment of $300 worth of supplies to be forwarded to Arkansas, to be billed to his account. In addition, he donated a large percentage of the county scrip purchased from Quertermous to Mrs. Morton. These acts of kindness by Lucus were prompted by recollections of the "kindness and liberality" shown him in the 1820s and 30s by the people of Arkansas County and especially by Mrs. Morton's grandfather, Colonel Notrebe.[95]