Contents

Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . .

Background Notes . . . . . . . . . . .

Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1. Beginnings

2. Mr. Trotter Pays With His Life

3. Louisiana Purchase: Not Everyone Drank a Toast

4. Lewis and Clark Expedition Members in the District

5. Burr Collects Supporters and Tomahawks

6. Tecumseh and His Sister

7. The Evil Institution

8. Earthquake – The Big One

9. An Axe Murderer in a Presidential Family?

9a. Key to Axe Murderer Characters

10. Father of Texas in Missouri

11. Sojourn En Route to Sainthood

12. Was There a Real Uncle Tom?

13. Old Man River, Mixed Blessing

14. Who Invented the Sewing Machine?

15. Mighty Scourge of War

16. Murders in the Swamps

17. Drainage, Ditches and Levees

18. Invisible Women

19. The Lynchings

Epilogue – Media Quake

Conclusion

Glossary of Archaic and Uncommon Terms

Works Consulted

List of Illustrations

Excerpts

3. Louisiana Purchase: Not Everyone Drank a Toast:

It was springtime, 1804 and, despite budding trees and crocus peeking through melting snow, many people in New Madrid wept. After living alternately under Spanish and French rule, residents learned that a pen stroke had made them American citizens.

6. Tecumseh and His Sister:

LeSieur added a romantic twist, writing that when Shawnee warrior Tecumseh headed south forming the alliance of the Indian tribes, his sister found herself “en ceinte” [pregnant] and returned to her “lover."

8. Earthquake – The Big One:

“I never before thought the passion of fear so strong as I find it here among the people . . . . that present themselves at my tent, some so agitated that they cannot speak—others cannot hold their tongues—some cannot sit still, but must be in constant motion, while others cannot walk. . . . Encampments are formed of those that remain in the open field s, of 50 and 100 persons in each.” (New Madrid resident, Dec. 17, 1811.)

Mississippi River keelboat tossed by New Madrid Earthquake of 1811-12
(Drawing by David Anton, Santa Fe, N.M.)

9. An Axe Murderer in a Presidential Family?

They stood against the wall dressed in pantaloons or gowns of tow-cloth, watching, horrified at the unfolding scene. But they knew their place. Slaves learned early on not to question their masters’ actions and never to reveal true feelings outside the safety of slave quarters.

13. Old Man River, Mixed Blessing:

After the water went away, women--exhausted from scooping out mud and debris and dragging water hoses--likely had no appreciation for the following news clip: "The flooding of the first-story houses in our city gave the housewives a fine opportunity to scrub their floors easily and quickly, when the water receded, and can now claim to have the cleanest town in the country." (Weekly Record)

15. Mighty Scourge of War:

"The day of departure from New Madrid was made a gala occasion, all of the horns, fiddles and drums in the town were brought out to make all the noise possible. Lemonade and sweet cakes were free, the children thought it great fun. . . . our Mothers realized what that day of parting meant to their future lives. There were not many dry eyes.” (Lena Dawson Howard)