Half Horse Half Alligator Published in 1956 The University of Chicago Press Preface “These narratives unfold a fascinating story, the like of which no other body of documents can reveal. They show how an American, whose life was lived on three picturesque frontiers between about 1770 and 1823,became a legend; how the legend proliferated in…
Author: jackikellum
Petey the Circus Dog Who Loved My Grandma’s Church
My dad was a great storyteller, and most of his stories were about his childhood during the Great Depression. Largely because my grandfather was one of the few men who kept a job during the Depression, my dad’s childhood was colorful, and he could afford many things that most of the other kids could not….
A History of Steamboats
The following is from the following pdf made available by ICDST: [ICDST.org is a website that archives engineering and scientific PDF documents. It’s a repository that indexes and makes available papers that are freely accessible to the public. Goole ai] History of Steamboats page 1 “Before trains, cars, trucks and airplanes existed, rivers were used for…
Strange True Stories of Louisia by George Washington Cable – Published in 1890
by George Washington Cable Published in 1890 A Novel about a flatboat ride from New Orleans in 1795 Map of New Orleans in 1726 – Image Credit: Wikimedia A Ride on a Flatboat on the Mississippi River and into the Louisiana Bayous in 1795 – Described by George Washington Cable Although George Washington Cable wrote…
How to Naturally Dye Fabric with Goldenrod
For many years, I have wanted to have access to a large stand of goldenrod, and finally, I have that this year–standing at the back of my yard. I must confess that this delightful patch of goldenrod is not actually mine, Rather, it is at the back of a vacant lot next to my yard….
How to Make Goldenrod Salve
Goldenrod has long been considered as a medicinal herb. Since I have moved to a house in Mississippi with a field of goldenrod growing behind it, I have decided that this fall, I’ll try making goldenrod salve. Following is a recipe for making herbal salves: How to Make Goldenrod Salve “Goldenrod is such a lovely…
Septembers, School Days, and Coming Back Home
It is September, and schools across the USA are back in session now. Fifty-five Septembers ago, I left my rural farmland to attend college at the University of Mississippi. In terms of the seasons of the year, that was early autumn. In terms of the seasons of my life, it was early summer. You see,…
Prentiss House in Vicksburg, MS & the Famous Innkeeper Thomas Cherry McMackin
I am researching a couple of stories that seem to link Water Valley, MS, in Yalobusha County, and Vicksburg, a town east of Water Valley and on the Mississippi River, several miles southward. I have discovered that the railroad that ran through Water Valley was a prime target for the federal troops, as they marched…
The Great South by Edward King – Published in 1875
THE GREAT SOUTH: A RECORD OF JOURNEYS IN LOUISIANA, TEXAS, THE INDIAN TERRITORY, MISSOURI, ARKANSAS, MISSISSIPPI, ALABAMA, GEORGIA, FLORIDA, SOUTH CAROLINA, NORTH CAROLINA, KENTUCKY, TENNESSEE, VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA, AND MARYLAND. BY EDWARD KING. PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED FROM ORIGINAL SKETCHES BY J WELLS CHAMPNEY. AMERICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY, HARTFORD, CONN. 1875. https://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/king/king.html ON THE OCLAWAHA FLORIDA. Page i…
Early Railroad History in Mississippi – When Water Valley Was a Hub
I moved to Water Valley, MS, about 4 months ago, and since I came here, I have been busy creating some of the content for my upcoming memoir book: Churches in the Wildwood. Churches in the Wildwood As the title might suggest, my research for that book has taken me not only to the rural…