Among other historical figures who come into Passage to Natchez are a host of secondary characters, such as the outlaws Samuel Mason and James May, the innkeeper John Farris and his family, “Devil Joe” Ballenger, Henry Skaggs, and Daniel Trabue—a prominent figure in Kentucky’s frontier history, who made an appearance as a younger man in one of my earlier historical novels, Boone—and various other characters.
The Ames, Tyler, Deerfield, and Ford families are all fictional, as is Jim “Junebug” Horton. The briefly appearing Reverend Israel Coffman is a fictional character whose earlier life is described in my trilogy of novels of the Tennessee frontier, The Overmountain Men, The Border Men, and The Cane-brake Men.
Almost all the towns, communities, and major settings mentioned in the novel are, or were, real. The famous cavern called Cave-in-Rock still looks out over the Ohio, and in earlier times was frequently used as a base for river piracy as described in the novel. Samuel Mason and other criminals used it as a headquarters, and the Harpe brothers did lodge there briefly and perform the actions described in the novel. That they were asked to leave by the other outlaws living at the cave is evidence of just how repellent the cruel brothers were. The stench of outlawry no longer mars Cave-in-Rock; today it serves the happier purpose of being the centerpiece of an attractive recreational area and park in Illinois.
The town of Greenville, Mississippi, that comes into this novel was a real town in the early nineteenth century, but is not identical with the present-day Mississippi town of that name.
The earthquake that culminates Passage to Natchez is the famed New Madrid earthquake, which was actually a lengthy series of major quakes and hard aftershocks that occurred starting in 1811 and lasting into 1812. The effects of the series of quakes were so tremendous that it is difficult to get a grasp on them today. The original town of New Madrid, Missouri, was completely wiped out, and the sinking and flooding of a large area not far from that town created Reelfoot Lake, today a popular recreational spot in Tennessee with a tranquility that belies its violent origins.
The New Madrid quake forever changed the character of the land and river and struck apocalyptic fear into many hearts. Today, however, this upheaval that terrified our forebears is largely forgotten. Massive mid-American cities built mostly of unreinforced concrete, and transportation arteries stretching across regions that would turn to liquefied sand in a major earthquake, have grown up all through the New Madrid quake zone.
The terrors of 1811 and 1812 may someday return. Scientists now predict that the likelihood of a 6.3-magnitude quake occurring sometime between now and the year 2040 is from fifty to ninety percent. Odds of a quake of 7.6 magnitude are as high as twenty-five percent. Should quakes of such potency occur as predicted, this time they would shake not a wilderness but a great center of American population, and we might come to understand ourselves why some who went through the first New Madrid quake were prone to talk about it in terms of a world coming to an end.
Cameron Judd
September 30, 1994
About the Author
Cameron Judd writes with power and authority, and captures the spirit and adventure of America’s frontier in his fast-paced, exciting novels. Not since Louis L’Amour’s Sackett series has a writer brought to life the struggles, tragedies, and triumphs of our early pioneers with such respect and dignity. The author of more than forty books, Judd is one of today’s foremost writers of the Old West. He lives with his wife and family in Chuckey, Tennessee.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1996 by Cameron Judd
Cover design by Mimi Bark
ISBN: 978-1-5040-2806-6
This edition published in 2016 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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