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Show THE FLAG AT NATCHEZ By REV. THOMAS B. GREGOBY IT was oue hundred and fourteen vear$ ago January 23, i"Hs -that GayosOj the Spanish governor of tho province ol Louisiana, scni word from ?-."cw Orleans to the Spanish authorities al Natchez to haui down the rla: or Spain and evacuate the country it once. After the usual Spanish delay, on March 30j under cover of darkness, and leaving everything every-thing uninjured, the yellow banner W8i Dulled down and folded, and the Spanish troops Hied out and turned their faces toward New Orleans The nexi morning March 31, 7.s--the Btarrj flag of the ra public went up where the Spanish ensign had so Ions waved, and the United States w;; it la si in possession of the territory in the Southwest which had been awarded it by the Treaty of Inde-pendence. Inde-pendence. immediately after the Spanish evacuation of the Natchez country," coun-try," as it was then called, con-rs con-rs -e; up the " Mississippi :."!-itorv.' and Win (loop Sargent wan snt to orcrtni-'e the eovoru-ment. eovoru-ment. Sargent arrived at Natchez August ,;. and three weeks later came thi little American army of occupation. Th--.. nearly .ten voars after the inauguration of tieorire Washington was established estab-lished the territorial integrity of th. republic, as Franklin, Adams nnd las had secured it by treatj against the indirection of her enemies, Proncb, Spanish and British, and the United Stale;.. I with its rightful proportions forever for-ever secured, was at last fairly started on its independent career. The flag wont up at Natchez none too soon. The quarrel be-tweeij be-tweeij the Americana au5 the Spaniards over the navigation of the Mississippi was an old one and j boded no eopd to the newlj i iorcied republic. Jay'a suggestion 1 that the Uuited States consent to the closing of the threat river for twenty -five years came pret near i breaking up the union. The south ern sti'tes swore that they would secede if .lav's idea, wne adopted, nnd tbe uorthern states declared thai they would secede if if was not adopted. Feeling ran hih, and it looked as tiioujfh the young nation was doomed to an early death. But. fortunately, Pennsylvania. NW Jersey and Pbode Island came over to the southern side, the treatv was postponed and the dancer averted. fn the meantime Spa-n. seeing that Uncle Sam had " blood in his I eye.'' was "indUCOd" by the. diplomats dip-lomats to set out of the Natchez country and permit the Father of Waters to "flow nnvezed to tbe sea. ' ' Such, in brief, is the story of thp rounding ou: of our doniaiu from the Atlantic ocean to the Mississippi nnd from what i now tho southern line of Georgia to the Great l akes and the Si. Lawrence. 1 |