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South Mississippi in 1852: Some Selections from the Journal of Benjamin L. C. Wailes
Edited by John Hebron Moore
W„,LE ENGAGED IN CONDUCTING AN AGRICULTURAL and geological survey of the state, Benjamin L. C. Wailes, assistant professor of geology at the University of Mississippi, in 1852 made a journey overland through the little-known Piney Woods region of South Mississippi and along the Gulf Coast.’ At this time the economy of that section of the state was in a state of transition. For many years previous a majority of the inhabitants of the coastal plain had supported themselves by grazing cattle in the pine forests and the canebrakes along the streams, but during the 1840’s the once great herds of this eastern cattle kingdom began to decline in numbers because of damage to the range from ^ overgrazing and forest fires.2 In that same decade a new lumber, tar, and turpentine industry first made its appearance, and, expanding in size during the remainder of the ante-bellum period, it provided employment for many of the people of the southern part of the state.3
In a series of newspaper articles written during the
1	B. L. C. Wailes, Report on the Agriculture and Geology of Mississipvi, Embracing a Sketch of the Social and Natural History of the State ([Philadelphia], 1854). For a biography of Wailes refer to Charles S. Sydnor, A Gentleman of the Old Natchez Region: Benjamin L. C. Wailes (Durham, 1938).
- Eugene W. Hilgard, Report on the Geology and Agriculture1 of the State of Mississippi (Jackson, 1860), 361.
3 Canton Independent Democrat, December 2, 1843; Jackson Missis-sippian, June 15, 1849; July 1, 1857; Port Gibson Herald, June 12, 1845; Raymond South-western Farmer, January 20, 1843.
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Sici.EcnoNs From Jovunai. ok B. L. C. Wailes	l't
1840’s J. F. H. Claiborne gave a vivid description of the Mississippi cattle kingdom while it was still the basis of the economy of the Piney Woods/ and B. L. C. Wailes, writing in 1852, made observations in his unpublished journal which showed clearly the changes that had taken place in South Mississippi since Claiborne had ridden over the same territory.''1
Because his notes taken in the field were designed to be incorporated in a report to be written at a later date, Wailes paid little attention to rules of grammar, punctuation, or spelling. He also included many comments about the weather and routine travel incidents, as well as observations of geological formations and the flora and fauna of the country along his route. Entries of this nature have been omitted from the selections chosen for publication. Punctuation has been added when necessary, but misspellings and grammatical errors have been preserved as the author wrote them.
Monday 9 Avgust 1852. [At Holmesville, Pike County] Called on Mr. Murry Quin, Clerk of the Probate Court. Made a map of the County and transferred to it all the roads. Obtained list of the Schools, Churches, Mills, Post Offices, &c. in the County— in which I was politely assisted by Mr. Quin.
Holmesville is a small village much larger than Meadville & approaching Liberty in size. The only town in the County, [it] contains a small Court House & Clerk’s office and Jail of Brick, one Methodist Church (frame), [and] a very good two story house, neatly finished & painted, just completed and intended for an Accademy [sic]. It is on the West bank of [the] Bogue Chitto, a bold, rapid stream carrying about as much water as Pearl River at Jackson ....
There are five Post Offices in the County, Eighteen Church (or meeting) houses, Nine of the Baptist, and eight of the Meth-
* J. F. H. Claiborne, “A Trip Through the Piney Woods,” Mississippi Historical Society, Publications, IX (1906), 487-538.
5 The journal from which these selections have been drawn is included in the B. L. C. Wailes manuscript collection in the Department of Archives and History, Jackson, Mississippi. Other Wailes manuscripts can be found in the library of Duke University.