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Selections From Journal of B. L. C. Wailes
19
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was still the basis of the economy of the Piney Woods,4 and B. L. C. Wailes, writing in 1852, made observations in his unpublished journal which showed clearly the changes that had taken place in South Mississippi since Claiborne had ridden over the same territory.5
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 August 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-
4	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.