The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds - 61 - Jim Bowie and The Sandbar Fight

Episode Date: February 25, 2015

Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds examine Jim Bowie and The Sandbar Fight SOURCESTOUR DATESREDBUBBLE MERCHPATREON

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I Dave Anthony read a story from American history to my friend Gareth Reynolds who has no idea what the topic is about. He don't know. He don't know nothing about it. Now wait what is that? Gareth. I like turtles. I do but I don't say it like that. Do you want to look who to do? I'll do one bottle. People say this is funny. Not Gary Gareth. Dave okay. Someone or something is tickling people. Is it for fun?

And this is not going to come the tickling podcast. Okay. You are queen fakie of made-up town. All hail Queen Shit of Liesville. A bunch of religious virgins go to mingle. And do what? Pray. Hi Gary. No. Is he done my friend? No. No. Girl. 1796. Smooth. James Bowie was born in Kentucky. Okay. Wait is this a small up or a dollop? This is a small up. Okay. Just want to know how focused to be. Yeah.

Yes it don't pay attention. Okay. These are easy on the mind. Perfect. Yeah. Good. His father was a native of Georgia and was temporary living in Kentucky at the time of the birth of young James. Okay. Resin Bowie. Nice. Nice name. I mean resin. This is my boy resin. I scraped him out of a pipe. He was somewhat of a wanderer and lived the next few years in Missouri, Cadillahua Parish and St. Alandre, Louisiana obviously.

About 1814 when James Bowie was still a minor, he left his father's home and came to the Parish of Rapidae. I'm going to say Rapidae because they all talk French down there but it's Rapit Rapides. It's what? Rapides. That would be the name if you were an American or a Mexican fellow. Have you guys seen Rapides? But I'm going to say it's a Rapidae because they're all French. Rapidae.

He acquired a track of land on Bayou Boeuf and proceeded to cut the timber away and make a farm out of his homestead. That's sweet. And he's like fucking 13 or something. 13 getting his farm ready. Life as usual. While living on the Bayou, he came to know the Wells family and formed a friendship that lasted during the remaining years of his life. James sold his property and entered into the business of smuggling slaves

to Louisiana from Galveston, Texas. Okay, so here we go. So now we're starting. Galveston was then the base of operation for pirate Jean Lafitte and his men. 20 feet, I think is what that is. The slaves were taken by Lafitte in his raids on the high sea and brought to Galveston. There he offered them for sale and will let the purchaser use his own means of getting them within the United States.

At this point, bringing importing slaves is illegal. Okay. So that's why the pirate was doing it. So how would he acquire the slaves? He would raid. He would do like he would just go... Well, they were going other places, so he would go raid a ship and take their slaves and then sell them.

It's going to be terrible as a slave to be like, oh, sweet freedom. He's like, no, no, no, no. Just going to a higher bid there. Sit down, slavey. No, no, you are not free. Take a seat. So Lafitte often brought slaves into central Louisiana and sold them cheaply to prosperous planters.

So that's basically it. Like they were trying to up the price on slaves by not letting anymore in. And so, yeah, it's so fun. Every time you hear about slavery, it's like, oh, it's worse. Yeah, it's just how little humanity there is attached to it. It's unreal. Remarkable.

Not that long ago. James Bowie and his brother figured out they could get in on this. They would go to Galveston, buy slaves from Lafitte at a price of $1 per pound. What? That's fucking weird to hear. They're deli meat to them? That's so crazy. A pound.

Oh, God. Yeah, I'll take a pound. I'll take 10 pounds of Zulu and 14 in Swahili. All righty. Let me just get the slicer. Give me, you know, give me the five Sudanese, too. You bought it? Yeah. I was going to say, try a piece of this. You like that?

So horrible. Yeah. They would then buy them, load them on a schooner and sell for the Louisiana coast. There, the boat would be beached and abandoned. OK, and that's an interesting part. The nearest customs official was then told of the abandoned cargo of slaves and he would then seize them and sell them off.

OK. Now, the informer, the gentleman who informed that there was a beached ship full of slaves could claim one half of what the agent received from selling the slaves. Oh, that's a very interesting loophole. So he basically took a shipload of slaves, crashed it, and then went, hey, man, there's a bunch of slaves over there in a boat.

And then the guy's like, all right, well, you get half. And then he sold them. Mail the check here. He took the other half. Yeah. He found a loophole. But is that, I mean, I guess that has to be profitable still? Well, he made $65,000.

Oh, Jesus. So for fucking back then, that's a shitload of money. Yeah. I love it. I mean, really, that's so easy. It's really. Yeah. Someone should have thought that up. Yeah.

We got to finish these laws today, guys. I'm sorry. I don't even care if they're first draft laws. I got to go. My wife is up my ass about my kid's birthday. I got to run. I think just say that if they find the boat, they split it with the guy who told them.

Come on, let's move. Because what if the guy who? Guys, guys, I have to go. OK. I have to go. The law is what it is. OK. The law's done.

They split the money with the person who told them. OK. I have to move. All right. It's fine. My wife, one foot is out the door. All right. It's done.

Jesus. That's going to be a problem. So he then, with the money, he entered land speculation. I think that might be land here. But with failing crops and other difficulties, Bowie hit upon hard times. He needed bigger loans. But the banks had recently adopted a policy of restrictions

on loans, which caused Bowie to lose even more money. Norris Wright was one of the directors of one of the local banks, and Bowie blamed him directly for the refusal of the large loans. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Poor Norris. There is quite a bit of hatred there.

Bowie was part of a group led by the Wells family. There were two main factions in a rapid day. One was made up of the old residents and their friends and kinsmen. This group included Bowie and Wells. And the other group was made up of newcomers, like Norris Wright. Norris Wright was from Baltimore.

He came south to clerk in the bank of Martin and Bryant, along with his buddy, Robert Henson. And when the bank went out of business with the death of one of the members of the firm, Henson and Wright took over. OK. Norris Wright was named Sheriff of Rapid Day in 1823. Norris was taking over the position from William Fristow, who had died and had been part of the Wells group.

OK. This feels very old West. Yeah. But it's the changing of the sheriff guard. Yeah. In the ensuing election of 1826, Lyons were drawn in a bitter campaign carried on. It was an ugly campaign.

And when it was over, Wright and his faction were successful. Deep resentment remained. Right? Look, I know we're headed. You do? Well, sort of. I don't think anything's going to happen. Yeah.

No, something's going to happen. You said that before, but we wouldn't be doing this if something wasn't going to happen. It's going to be a happy story. No. Everyone gets along. You said that before. And someone dies.

What if the end of this one is that they just become buddies and they go in on some land and they make a bunch of money and they have a barbecue. I know you. I know you. And I know you're not going to be reading that story to me. Maybe this ends with America's Greatest Barbecue. I don't think that this ends with a barbecue.

Bowie was a strong man accustomed to outdoor life. Wright was slender and somewhat frail in appearance. OK. We've got our tortoise. We've got our hair. But Wright was also cool and fearless. He was noted as one of the best pistol shots in Arapidae and had participated in several duels.

And at least two of which he killed the other man. What about the others? I got to go. Wright and Bowie fought in Alexandria one day. The exact reason for the fight on that day was unknown. But with the history between the two men, it really didn't matter. Bowie was shot by Wright. But the wounded Bowie was able to take Wright's gun away from him

and beat the shit out of him. Jesus. It was said that had the fight not been stopped, Wright would have been killed by Bowie with his bare hands. Bowie never forgot a friend or forgave an enemy. And he vowed from that day forward to always carry a knife, just in case. Interesting.

What would he call it? I don't know. Colonel Robert A. Crane was a native of Virginia and had moved to Louisiana, making his home on Bayou Rapidae. He was always ready to fight. And maybe not such a good man. OK. He had killed Dr. John Rippy because Rippy would not accept

his note in payment of the rent due on a plantation. Wait. That's how you deal with somebody? Well, take the money. You don't want the money? I'm going to kill you. Or maybe a note is like a, is like a, I think that means like you want to be able to, here's my debt.

Will you take my debt in return for rent? OK. Well. Yeah. OK. Fair. I get it now. So you killed the guy because you're a loser.

Yeah. He was indicted for carrying out of the state slaves belonging to Levin Luckett. So he stole a bunch of slaves. Cool. Fortunately for him and probably in Louisiana tradition, Luckett became his son-in-law and the case was dropped. What?

So he stole a guy's slaves and needed to try to take him across the border to sell them. But then the best way out of it was to marry the. This time. To marry his daughter to the dude. Hey, yeah. So I got caught, but you want to fuck my daughter? Yeah, I got caught.

Will you marry me? Crane prevailed upon Richmond E. Cooney to endorse his note for a considerable sum of money. OK. So he's right. He's still looking for. Sticking to the note game. Cooney agreed.

Interesting. The note was not paid when due and the maker and endorser were sued. Anybody can do that. Yeah, this is bad. I'll take it. Look at that. Cooney was forced to sell some of his slaves to meet his obligation. I'm not sure I feel about that.

Yeah, well, it's. Let me. I can tell you how you feel. Not good. No. This was the cause. This was the cause of troubles between Crane and General Samuel Cooney, a son of Richmond E. Cooney.

Crane simply refused to pay the note and a fight resulted. Also, none of these guys are actually ex-military. They just adopted the titles. Oh, really? Yeah. For the most part, all these guys are like, I'm a colonel now. Call me Sergeant. Hey, Jeff, I'm just going to Sergeant Jeff.

No, but you were never Sergeant Jeff. Hold on. You were never Sergeant Jeff. OK, Sergeant. Yes, sir, Sergeant Jeff. Yes, sir, Sergeant Jeff. All right. Give me 20.

OK. No. Come on. Give me five. And Cooney shot Crane with a shotgun in the right arm. OK. Now, the Coonies were close friends with the Wells family, who were part of the old school faction.

The old faction. With Bowie. Alfred Blanchard and his brother, Kerry Blanchard, also came from Virginia and settled on the upper end of the bayou. The Crane and Blanchard families intermarried. OK. They were part of the new faction. While drunk one day, Alfred Blanchard shot Thomas Jefferson Wells.

Whoa. But not seriously. Just shot him a little bit. Sure. Tiny bit of shot. Yeah. On September 19th, 1827, there was a duel on a sandbar outside of Nantes, Mississippi.

A sandbar? Yeah. We'll get to that. The duel was between Dr. Thomas H. Maddox and Samuel L. Wells. Dr. Maddox was a native of Maryland and had come to Rapiday and opened a practice with Dr. Robert Sibley. He was very successful and in a short time had built up a large clientele of the better class of people in town.

Sure. But the doctor had a habit of gossiping with his patients. Oh, I love that. Turns out Dr. Maddox had repeated a conversation of a lady patient and the rumor had to do with General Montfort Wells. Wells demanded to know the name of the woman, but Maddox would not give it up. A few days later, Wells saw Maddox on a road.

He was wielding a shotgun and he fired at Maddox. Jesus. But Wells was a very bad shot and he missed Maddox and hit another guy. Oh, my God. The guy who just was like, sure, I'll go for a walk. Wells was then challenged to a duel, but he declined the challenge. Probably because he was a terrible shot.

Plus, I wouldn't want to be the guy helping out the guy. You know, the guy has to load the gun for the guy in the duel. I wouldn't be that guy. No. You'd be like, I'll leave the gun in the room. You can go get it after I leave. Crane then offered to take the place of Maddox. Okay.

So now Crane is like, I'll fucking shoot. I like you. You don't like him. Therefore, I don't like him. I don't like, yeah. But Wells declined the duel again. Okay. Crane then told Wells that since he would not fight a duel

that his boys would make it a street fight, the next time Wells came to town, then Samuel Levi Wells, the brother of the general, and a bachelor. So no family. Agreed to take the place of his brother and accept the challenge. Of the duel. So already a guy.

So two guys have gotten into a fight. And now the buddy of one of the guys is like, I'll fucking duel. And then that guy was like, well, I don't want to do that. And then his brother's like, I'll do it. I'll do it. So now it's two guys. Who have everything to fight for.

That's insane. I can't believe they played the game of telephone while dueling. The first place named for the duel was Burrs Ferry on the Sabine River. Okay. General Walter H. Overton, who was a friend of both parties, objected to the location stating that if they insisted upon fighting at the ferry, none of the parties would ever return home. I like that.

That's what he objects to. Like, you can't do it there. I object at the location. The location's wrong. Now let these two men who've never really met each other duel somewhere appropriate. After a lot of discussion about where the duel would take place, the sandbar opposite Natchez was selected and both parties journeyed there to spend the night before the duel.

Okay. But when you say sandbar... It's a sandbar. You mean... Yeah. I mean, look, down there, sandbars are pretty big. Yeah. So it might be like a barrier reef kind of thing.

But that's where they're going to duel? Yeah. Well, they can stand on it and shoot. I mean, it all works. Okay. Like, if it was a video game, that would be one of the last locations I would ever... Oh, yeah. I would not.

Oh, it's high tide. Okay. Let me just roll my pants up in case I survive. In the Wells Party were Thomas Jefferson Wells, James Bowie, General Samuel Cooney, Mick Horters, and the surgeon Dr. Cooney, brother of general. Brother of the non-general. Non-general. Are you really a doctor?

Nope. I'm a doctor colonel. That's right. And I'm a lawyer. I was Norris Wright, Robert A. Crane, the Blanchard Brothers, and Dr. Denny, the surgeon. Dr. Denny. Both parties were ferried across the river, and it was agreed that the principals were to be accompanied on the field by the seconds and the physicians.

So each guy had the guy who would load the gun. It's like a boxing match. Yeah. And a cut man. Now, the other friends were to remain a half mile away from the duel. Okay. This is, it's amazing, the amount of professionalism around two men who are just going to shoot at each other.

The duelists took their places and exchanged shots. They both missed. That's so much work. The pistols were then reloaded, and again they both shot, and again they both missed. At this point, Wells offered his apology. So those are the, so the guys who should be shooting each other are the seconds. Yeah. And there, and the guys who shouldn't be shooting each other are the first.

Yeah. So the two seconds who aren't even involved go, all right. I mean, we kind of got a little heated back there. Yeah. You get this, right? Yeah. I'm sorry. You're sorry, right?

We got caught up in a moment. So Wells apologized for shooting Maddox's friend, and they shook hands and then walked toward a grove of willows where refreshments had been provided. What? So they finished, so after the duel, you know, lemonade and cakes. No, wait, so the duel, the duel, though, two shots, that's it. Two shots missed. Two shots missed both.

And then they're like, how about biscuits? And then they're like, well, if you want to come over here, we have scones. So everyone over there is like, okay, great, we're all fine. But then, Jen — Let's have our murder picnic. And this then, General Cooney and Bowie came on to the field in violation of the agreement. So now they're fucking walking on. They're like, what's up?

Just as the duelists were walking out, General Cooney calls out to Crane. So this is the guy that he — Crane is the guy that basically took the money from him and then went, fuck off. Right. So Cooney calls out to Crane that this would be a good time to settle their differences. While we're here. We might as well do this. Right.

So he pulled out his pistol. Uh-huh. Crane quickly turned and fired at Bowie, who was standing next to Cooney. Because Bowie was considered to be the biggest badass. Right. So he turned around and shot the guy without the gun. That's fucked up. And he shot Bowie in the hip.

Okay. And at the same time, Cooney fired and hit Crane in the arm. Is this the end of Reservoir Dogs? So then, you know, men fall down. It's like, oh god, a murder at the picnic. Dr. Cooney ran out and tried to prevent his brother, the general, from going back into the fight and forcibly held him down. Finally, General Cooney freed himself from his brother and started back at Crane, who

was firing what was left in his pistol. And he basically killed mortally wounded General Cooney. Okay. So he shoots him. So his brother's like, don't go! Don't go! Fuck you! He's dead.

I knew he'd die. Bowie, who's been shot in the hip, drew his knife and advanced upon Crane. Yep. And who now had an empty pistol? Yeah. Because he'd shot it all. General Cooney. Bowie was within reach of Crane.

Crane struck Bowie over the head with the butt of his empty pistol. Bowie fell and Crane retreated. That's when Norris Wright came running up and attacked Bowie with his sword cane. So I assume it's on his canes. I mean, this is, this is, I can't even handle what's happening. I mean, my brain, what the fuck? This is just the craziest little event. A sword cane.

Oh, which I assume is like a cane that you pull out of the sword inside. Yeah, yeah. But still, finally, I use. Bowie attempted to fight off the sword cane, but failed. He was impaled. Oh. Wright then attempted to pull the sword out of Bowie. He put his foot on Bowie to get leverage and began to pull.

Oh no. Bowie then reached out and grabbed with one of his hands, Wright. And with the other hand, he held the Bowie knife and he pulled Wright toward him and slowly and bowled and gutted Wright. Oh, whoa. Wright died on the spot. Yeah. Well, a gutting will do that.

Not a lot of people go to the hospital with like, I've got my guts here. Bowie was then shot again by a member of Wright's group and following that, someone stabbed him. Jesus. Alfred Blanchard was wounded by a pistol ball. No one knows who fired it. Of course not. And that, at that point, that ended the duel.

The duel's been over. Yeah, the duel. Okay. It ended the fight. Everyone's like, all right. So we're all stabbed and shot. Okay. Everybody pretty much dead?

Are we evens? Okay. Even? Everybody even now? No. Is there any more jam? One man on each side was dead. Two other friends of Maddox were wounded and neither of the duelists had been touched

in the entire affair. That's what you want to be is the doler. The doctor's present attended to Bowie's wounds and the other people's wounds. Wright and Cooney were buried in Videlia. Bowie was taken to Neches where he recovered. Whoa. The others returned home. Okay.

Newspapers all over the country picked up a story. Bowie came out as the big hero, having not started the fight, but ended it with his incredible knife skill. The incident cemented Bowie's reputation across the South as a superb knife fighter. So now he's famous. I mean, we could be talking about the sword cane, but fate was not with him. The Bowie knife was suddenly wanted by people all over the United States. Oh, we're the, we're the best.

Yeah. I need that knife. God, he keep going, man. That's what it was, the knife. Many craftsmen and manufacturers made their own versions and major cities of the old Southwest had Bowie knife schools that taught the art of cut, thrust and parry. His fame and that of his knife spread to England and by the early 1830s, many British manufacturers were producing Bowie knives for shipment to the United States.

Send this off. After returning home, Samuel L Wells contracted some of the fevers that prevailed in this section at the time and died shortly thereafter. Dr. Maddox lived to be nearly 90 years of age. Whoa. And this is due to the general belief that the knife that is now known as the Bowie knife was not designed by James Bowie, but by his brother, resin Bowie named after his father. The actual work of making the knife was done by a plantation blacksmith named Snowden.

The Bowie's claim that the first time his knife was used in any fight was in the duel fight. Boy went on to become a fighter in the Texas wars. He was eventually killed at the battle of Alamo. The Bowie's mother was informed of his death. She calmly stated, I'll wait your no wound. I'll wait your no wounds were found in his back. Fair.

Fair. Fair. That's how the Bowie knife happened to Jesus. Yeah. I'm still, I've got to say, I really think the sword cane is where we need to be. Really. I know the whole thing could have changed in the sword. If the sword cane guy was the Bowie of the battle, we would all be like, and that's why

we all use sword canes. That's why the sword cane became such a popular look. Hipsters that have their sword canes. Oh my God. Yeah. Dude, let me open your beer with my sword cane. Oh. Well, that's.

Well, we did it. Yeah. That's great. That really, that really, there's a lot of names to focus on there. I know that. I should have had a notepad for that. Yeah, it was like the, the, okay, Corral. Yeah.

He's got a lot of key players. All right. Congratulations. Thank you on behalf of them. Thank you so much for being with us today, and I'll see you in the next video. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.