Col. Richard Gentry & Boone County Soldiers in the Seminole War -- 1837

Submitted by Mary Helen Catlett Allen

Transcriber’s Note: The following appeared in the October 15th and 16th, 1937 issues of the Columbia (Missouri) Daily Tribune. It was written by William R. Gentry, Jr. St., Louis, Mo., great-grandson of Col. Richard Gentry.


On October 15, 1837, one hundred years ago today, there was great excitement in Columbia; people flocked into town from miles around to witness the departure of the First Regiment of Volunteers for the Seminole War.

The Seminole Indians had been causing trouble to the government for a long time. They had allied themselves with the British against us during the Revolution, and again in the War of 1812. They were a constant menace to the settlers of Florida and Georgia and frequently made raids on the villages of the whites, burning their crops and killing their cattle. Congress, in 1832, decreed that all Indians east of the Mississippi should be moved to the Indian Territory, and the regular army was sent to Florida, to transport the Seminoles. But the Indians took refuge in the Everglades and swamps, and could not be caught by the regulars.

By 1837, the government had spent over twelve million dollars and had almost one-half of the regular army on duty in Florida, with no results. Senator Thomas H. Benton of Missouri took a leading part in criticizing the administration of President Van Buren and declared that the job was one for western frontiersmen, rather than for the regular army. He secured the passage of legislation authorizing the raising of volunteers from the western states, and at his suggestion, Secretary of War Poinsett, commissioned Richard Gentry, of Columbia, as colonel, and directed Gentry to raise a regiment of 600 men for duty in Florida.

Gentry was a native of Kentucky. After service in the War of 1812 with Kentucky troops, he moved to Missouri in 1816, and became one of the founders of Columbia in 1820. He had been a major general in charge of Missouri troops during the Black Hawk War of 1832, and at the time of being commissioned as colonel of volunteers, he was serving as postmaster of Columbia. He was a robust, virile man, and always ready to engage in anything that promised excitement. He was a warm personal friend of Senator Benton.
His commission was issued on Sept. 8; he immediately traveled through the central portion of the state, seeking recruits. Companies were raised as follows: Boone county, Capt. John Ellis and Thomas D. Grant: Callaway county, Capt. Wm. H. Russell: Howard county, Capt. Congreve Jackson: Chariton county, Capt. James Flore: Ray county, Capt. Pollard: Jackson county, Capt. James Chiles: Marion county, Capt. John Curd.

While there were almost two hundred enlisted men in the two companies from Boone county, the records now available give only the following names:
Joseph Anthony, John R. Bennett, John N. Belcher, William H.(?) Belcher, Fred Biddle, William (?) Broaddus, G. S. Branham, James W. Brooks, Thomas U. Bryan, Edward Carpenter, Robert Carter, R. H. Coleman, R. S. Coleman, Sanford Connelly, Stephen Davenport, Sidney Farden, Morgan Funk, R. Harrison Gentry, William Gordon. David Grindstaff, Jephthah Haden, Clifton R. Harris, John M. Harris, Harrison Hawkins, Elijah Hawkins, Joseph Hickam, James G. Hopper, John Hopper, Littlebury Hunt, Thomas Jefferson, James Jones, Oliver F. Jones, Alfred Keene, John H. Kirtley, Calvin Little, William Little, Hiram Logan, William Maginess. Jacob C. March, William Martin, Samuel McCallen, Peter Mil-Holland, Joseph Morton, John Neely, Samuel Nelson, Thomas Nichols, William D. Smith, Henry Soflin, John Speake, Charles Stephens, Charles Stephenson, Jabez M. Tipton, Larkin D. Tipton, James Turner, Sam Varvell, Isaac N. Wilcoxen, Samuel Young.

A group of students and former students of the Columbia Female Academy worked long hours in making a silk flag. They took it to the office of the Columbia Patriot where this inscription was carefully printed on it:

FIRST REGIMENT OF MISSOURI VOLUNTEERS

Gird, gird for the conflict,

Our banner wave high!

For our country, we live,

For our country we’ll die!

This flag was presented to Col. Gentry’s widow after the return of the troops from Florida and is now in a glass case at the state museum in Jefferson City.

The regiment was to be mounted and the regulations called for recruits to furnish their own horses. They were to receive $8.00 dollars per month pay, plus an allowance of 40c a day for the use of the horses, all to be paid in coin. Many of the young men of Boone county wanted to go, but they did not have horses, nor the money with which to buy them. They appealed to Col. Gentry, who was in comfortable circumstances, considering the time and place, and he told them to go ahead and buy horses, giving their notes for security and that he would endorse them as additional security. Most of the notes were executed on Oct. 14, 1837, and were made payable on May 14 following which gave only seven months for the regiment to get to Florida, win the war, and get back to Columbia before the notes fell due. Col. Gentry did not realize that he would be dead and buried by that time, and that the notes would be paid by his estate, leaving nothing for his widow and nine children.

Early in the morning of October 15, the regiment was drawn up in front of Gentry’s Tavern, at the northeast corner of Broadway and Ninth street. Miss Lucy Wales, the preceptress of the academy presented the flags to the regiment. Her students were there in full force, attired in red, white and blue dresses. Col. Gentry detailed a young bachelor officer to make the speech of acceptance, but this young man was overcome with stage fright and could say nothing beyond, “Ladies and gentlemen.” The fifes and drums formed up in front, the command “Forward, March” was given and the regiment marched away. At the last moment, little Thomas Benton Gentry, the seven-year-old son of the colonel, climbed up on his daddy’s horse and rode with him to Hinkson creek. There the son told his father goodbye, and never saw him again.

The regiment made good time to St. Louis, taking only five days for the trip. They were stationed at Jefferson Barracks, south of the city, for a few days, while waiting for Senator Benton to come from Washington to address them. After his speech, they boarded steamboats for New Orleans, which they reached in six days, but they found that the city was paralyzed with an epidemic of yellow fever. People were dying faster than they could be buried, and everybody was terrified.
The regiment had to wait a few days for sailing ships. This waiting was apparently hard on the nerves of the men, who just a month before had been following a plow. They left Columbia 600 strong, but numbered 432 at the time they left New Orleans. Some of the boys apparently decided they had better get on back home while the getting was good.

Most of the men sailed for Tampa Bay on November 3, and had an uneventful trip, reaching their destination in five days. The horses were loaded on smaller ships a few days later. The loading was done by boys who had never seen an ocean, and who had no idea of how a small ship can pitch and toss in the waves, and so the horses were simply driven on board, and were not tightly packed or firmly tied. A fearful storm came up on the Gulf of Mexico on the first day out; the rolling of the ships caused frightful injuries to the horses and many were crushed to death. The storm raged so that it took three weeks to make Tampa. By that time, many more of the horses had starved. Out of the 450 horses shipped from New Orleans, only 150 arrived at Tampa in serviceable condition, and so the army authorities ordered the discharge of all men whose horses had died.

These men were paid off at Tampa, and left to get home the best way they could. Instead of paying them the agreed rates in coin, their horse allowance was cut in half, and they were paid in “shinplasters” which were nowhere near their face value. By the time this money was converted into notes on the Bank of Missouri, the men had lost heavily, and arrived home broke and thoroughly disgusted with the treatment they had received at the hands of the regulars.

The remnants of the regiment still under the command of Col. Gentry, was placed in a brigade composed of the First, Fourth and Sixth Infantry of the regular army, with Colonel Zachary Taylor in command over all. Taylor later became president, after the Mexican War. He had very little time or sympathy for the volunteers, he resented their presence, and felt insulted that they had been attached to his command.
The brigade left Tampa on December 2, for the interior. Their total strength was about 1,000, or just the size of one of our battalions during the World War. The volunteers were given the hardest job of all, that of advance guard. Throughout the whole march, they had to keep ahead of and protect the main body, and build roads to permit the passage of the heavy baggage. For over three weeks, they were kept on duty without relief of any sort.

After a march of about 150 miles through the swamps and Everglades, the brigade reached the neighborhood of Lake Okeechobee on Christmas Day of 1837. There they discovered a large body of Seminole Indians who had taken station on a “hammock,” or slight elevation of the lake. An oval-shaped swamp separated them from the brigade, but it was possible to get around this swamp on either side.
Col. Taylor called for a conference of all officers, to decide upon the best plan of attack. Col. Gentry said he favored going around the swamp, which was deep and about three quarters of a mile across. He said that the men were all near exhaustion from their travels through the mud and if they had to contend with the swamp just before the attack, he feared they would be too tired to fight a superior force. This was a wise suggestion, in view of all the facts, but it did not meet with Taylor’s approval, because it had been put forward by an officer of the volunteers. Taylor said, “Colonel Gentry, are you AFRAID to attack their center?” Gentry replied, mad clear through, “No sir. If that is your order, it will be done that way.”

And that was the order and it was done that way, and Gentry died that night, a perfect example of a subordinate sacrificed at the whim of a superior.
(Concluded Tomorrow)

The Volunteers were ordered to lead the way through the swamp, spread out in one thin line, each man about two or three yards from his neighbor. They were followed by the 6th infantry, whose men were marching shoulder to shoulder. After the 6th, came the 4th Infantry, in similar formation. The 1st Infantry, Taylor”s regiment, came last of all. It is not clear as to where Taylor was during the night; he does not say anything about it in his report, and no volunteer saw him until the fight was over that evening.

The volunteers were told to march forward through the swamp and bring on the fight. If they became hard pressed, they were to fall back in rear of the regulars and support them. They went forward at 12:20 p.m., with Col. Gentry out in front of their center. Their total strength was 132. It was hard going; the men were in mud and water up to their waists, and had to hold their guns and powder containers overhead to keep them dry.

When they reached a point about 50 yards from the edge of trees in the hammock, the Indians cut loose with a volley. Gentry was shot in the chest; many volunteers particularly on the left of the line, were also hit. The 6th Infantry, following behind in close formation, had severe losses. Gentry ran over to the left side of his line to encourage the Volunteers. “Come on, boys”, he shouted, “we’re almost there; charge on into the hammock!” Just then, the Indians fired another volley from behind the trees, and shot Gentry through the abdomen. He fell right at the edge of the swamp and the firm ground, and some Indians rushed out to scalp him. A few volunteers hurried forward to protect him, and a brisk fight ensued, during which Harrison, the Colonel’s son, was severely wounded.

The 6th Infantry began firing at this point from behind the Volunteers. This was quite disconcerting to some of the latter, who retired in some confusion. Nothing is harder for green troops than to be fired on by their own supporters, and the few who made for the rear had ample reason. But the great majority of the Volunteers threw themselves face down into the mud, and loaded and fired in that position, while the 6th Infantry worked itself up onto a line with them. There they both stayed for over an hour, unable to advance any further because of the not fire that the Indians poured into them from their hiding places in the moss of the trees.
Finally the 4th and 1st Infantry worked their way around the north side of the swamp, reached the dry ground and began to fire into this right flank of the Indians. Then the Indians retired, taking most of their dead with them and the fight was soon over.

The casualties were severe, a total of 27 killed and 143 wounded in the whole brigade, which had only about 700 men in it that morning. The Volunteers had a 25 per cent loss, being exceeded only by the 6th Infantry, which lost most of its men while they were so closely bunched up. The dead and wounded were carried back across the swamp, and the surgeons did what they could.

Col. Gentry was still alive in spite of two ghastly wounds. The surgeons decided that his abdominal would needed “cleansing” and so they put a silk handkerchief on a ramrod and pushed the whole apparatus through his belly from front to rear. This did not improve his condition to speak of; on the contrary, he began to sink rapidly. He knew that his time was limited, and he felt that Col. Taylor would belittle the actions of the Volunteers in his official report if given half a chance. So Gentry sent for Taylor, and this conversation took place.

Gentry: Colonel Taylor, I am about to die. I depend on you to do my brave men full justice in your official report.
Taylor: Colonel Gentry, you have fought bravely; you and your men have done your duty and more, too! I shall do them full justice, you may be sure.

With giving of this pledge, Col. Gentry had to be content and so he died just before midnight on Christmas Day, 1837. He was buried the following morning with the others who had been killed, and the survivors made their weary way back to Tampa.

When Col. Taylor got around to making out his report of the battle, he consulted with all of his officers of the regulars, but he did not talk to a single officer of the volunteers. In his report, he complimented Col. Gentry by saying “Col. Gentry died a few hours after the battle, much regretted by the army, and will be doubtless by all who knew him, as his state did not contain a braver man or a better citizen”. Then he went on to praise the regulars and criticize the volunteers, stating that the latter had broken and retired clear back to the baggage dump, where they refused to reenter the fight.

The report created a storm of opposition when its contents became known. Senator Benton demanded a congressional investigation; Secretary of War Poinsett hastened to disclaim any intention of slandering the action of the volunteers saying, “the heavy loss they sustained in killed and wounded affords sufficient proof of the firmness with which they advanced upon an enemy under a galling fire.” Even Col. Taylor contradicted himself when he discharged the volunteers from further service in February of 1838. He complimented them in glowing terms for the “prompt, cheerful, soldierly manner they have discharged all of the duties required of them.” He expressed pleasure at having had them under his command, wished them a safe and speedy trip home and happy reunion with their families.

But the volunteers were still mad at the treatment under his hands. When they got back to Missouri in March, they kept talking about their wrongs, and when the general assembly met in November of 1838, one of the first orders of business was a joint committee of both houses, with power to make a full investigation. The committee subpoenaed the survivors of the campaign, interrogated then closely, and found that Taylor had deliberately made a false and slanderous report of the actions of the volunteers. They declared that Taylor was not fit to hold a commission in the army, and requested Governor Boggs to lodge an official complaint with the president.

The legislature then named Gentry county in honor of Col. Gentry. But his widow and nine children were having a hard time. All of his estate had gone to meet the notes given for the purchase of horses. Senator Benton came to their assistance by having his widow made postmistress of Columbia, where she served until 1868 under ten presidents, including Zachary Taylor.

Col. Gentry’s body was brought from Florida to Jefferson Barracks in 1839. His bones were mixed with the bones of three officers of the regular army, and all were buried in the same grave. Although his widow had been promised that a suitable monument would be erected, and the names of all four officers placed thereon, the authorities chiseled on the names only of the three regulars and left Gentry’s name off.
This was not discovered until 1889 by his family, who at once requested the war department to rectify the mistake. This the department refused to do, on the grounds that no funds were available. Finally, they reluctantly permitted Gentry’s family to erect a separate stone at its own expense, but this stone could not be closer than three feet to the one already there. But now a new stone has recently been erected, and at last all four occupants of the grave are properly identified.
WILLIAM R. GENTRY, JR.

Bethel Baptist Church Centennial Celebrated in 1917

From the 2 July 1917 issue of the Columbia Missourian.  Submitted by Mary Helen Catlett Allen.  Bethel Baptist Church was the first church and meeting house in what is now Boone County, Missouri.  At the time it was begun, in 1817, the land was still in Howard County.  The only remnants of the church site today are a few tombstones from the cemetery.

Bethel Baptist Church Centennial

BAPTISTS OF 3 COUNTIES PAY TRIBUTE TO PIONEERS

Notwithstanding a downpour that made the newly worked roads almost impassable, a crowd estimated at 1,500 persons gathered on the old Rollins homestead, sixteen miles west of Columbia yesterday to celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Bethel Baptist Church, the first church established in Boone County. Although practically all the gathering was from Boone, Callaway and Howard counties, in all of which the Baptist churches suspended services for this occasion, persons came from as far away as Marshall in Saline County.

The roads leading to the Rollins homestead were marked by flags and signs. The spot where Bethel Church was founded on June 28, 1817, one hundred years ago last Thursday, was marked by a flag. This flag, floating on the summit of a hill, which is now the center of a cornfield, could be seen from the porch where the Rev. John P. Greene, president of William Jewell College, and Judge John F. Philips of Kansas City, the only man living who attended services in the old Bethel Church, appeared as the leading speakers of the day. The flag also marked the location of the cemetery where many of the pioneers who helped found the first church in Boone County were buried. When the automobiles of E. W. Stephens, who had charge of the celebration, and several other Columbia families on their way to the celebration reached the point on the Rocheport road where it was necessary to turn off into a newly worked dirt road, it was found that a hard rain had made the road very muddy. Notwithstanding the risk of a mishap, four automobiles continued on the journey and reached the scene without further trouble than slipping from one side of the road to the other. Although rain continued to fall at intervals until late in the afternoon, automobiles and buggies continued to arrive until the large space reserved for them was full. It is estimated that 250 automobiles and 100 buggies were on the ground.

Tarpaulins Keep Off the Rain.

Several large tarpaulins had been stretched overhead in front of the house, and the program was not delayed or interrupted by the rains. The celebration was opened with a prayer by the Rev. G. W. Hatcher of Columbia, followed by the reading of scripture by the Rev. B. F. Heaton of Centralia. E. W. Stephens, as head of the celebration, explained the historical setting for the event and recalled historical facts from a book published by himself from information gathered over a period of many years. Mr. Stephens said in part:

“The first settlement in Boone county is said to have been made in this locality in 1812 and 1813 by John and William Berry, William Baxter and Reuben Gentry. In the same neighborhood are said to have lived James Barnes, Robert and Mitchell Payne, John Denham, David McQuitty and Robert Barclay. They were said to have lived here prior to the war.

“James Harris was the first constable for this county and John Copeland drove the first wagon over the Boon’s Lick trail. The first deed recorded in the county was on January 22, 1821, for the transfer of 320 acres of land from Taylor Berry to Jesse Cophe(r). The settlers of Thrall’s Prairie after the war in 1816 were August Thrall, Oliver Parker, Anderson Woods, Dr. J. B. Wilcox, Clayton Herne, Tyre Harris, Sampson and Stephen Wilhite, Henry Lightfoot, James Ketchum, William Boone, William Goslin, John Slack, Wilford Stephens, Jonathan Barton, Robert Barclay, James Cochran, Zadoc and James Hatton and Charles Laughlin.

Bethel Church Used for 40 Years.

“The constituent members of Bethel Church were Anderson Woods, Betsy Woods, David McQuitty, James Harris and John Turner. The church was organized on June 28, 1817, by William Thorp and David McClain. It stood until some time in the fifties, when it disappeared and was succeeded by the Walnut Grove Church. The other members of Bethel Church the first year of its existence, in addition to those already named, were Joshua Barton, Lazarus Wilcox, William Throp (Thorp) and Edward Turner.”

After prayer by the Rev. S. F. Taylor of Columbia, Dr. John P. Greene, president of William Jewell College at Liberty, was introduced as the speaker for the morning. Doctor Greene based his address on the thirty-seventh verse of the fourth chapter of St. John, “And herein is that saying true, One sowth, and another reapeth.” Showing how the descendants of the pioneers of Boone County had prospered by having reaped where their ancestors sowed, Doctor Greene urged the people of today to be benefactors as well as beneficiaries. His speech in part, follows:

Doctor Greene Praises Pioneers.

“We are beneficiaries in two respects: In the material and in the spiritual blessings that we have. We do not know how great our material benefits are. One of the greatest labors man assumed was attacking the wild country and subduing it. Sure, our forefathers did not build us any roads, or great buildings or schools or railroads, but they plowed up these prairies, cut down the great trees and subdued the soil—and they did that in the face of wild beasts and wild men. We have inherited this beautiful country that they opened for us. They made trails where we now have roads, and a good road is a great blessing. But a trail is a great blessing when there is no road.

“But I want to show you what the pioneers did for us spiritually. Some brought their religion with them from the Carolinas and Kentucky. A few preachers came along. The pioneer preachers came along. The pioneer preacher was a man of the people. He had an axe as well as the other pioneers and he had a plow and a rifle also and he knew how to shoot. He was right with the people, and was one of the main factors in the organization of settlements, townships and counties.

“Anderson Woods stands out before us today as a preacher of pioneer days. Judge of the county court, he would have also acted as sheriff, if necessary; plowman, axeman, rifleman, preacher, all in one. He did not preach for money. One thing certain in that day was that he never got any money, but everybody was full of courage and unselfishness, and willing to do his level best for everything.

County is Home of Baptist Education.

“Boone County is the home of Baptist education. Dr. William Jewell was a pioneer here and he advocated the starting of a school several years before they took hold of it. Boone County has done a world for education and you people have a lot to pay to this spot on which you now are. But if they gave $50,000 then, I do not think I am missing it now if I say the Baptists today can give $5,000,000 for education. If we catch the same spirit we ought to see that those who come after us will have something to thank us for.

“I should glory in the Baptists more if they should rise to the situation. I want to have a hand in making good roads for clean politics and in abolishing the saloon. There is nothing to keep a church but religion, and when that is gone it should die. I do not believe in education unless it is in harmony with the spirit of Christ.

“Let us see that in all our schools we have unselfish persons who will teach our children to go out into the world to do something good for the sake of the future. Jesus said “If you give a cup of cold water, you shall in no way lose the least.’ You and I are reaping--shall we sow for fullness of light have turned to death, reminding me of the continents and seas that lie between my being dead and present. Whole generations of people have come upon the stage of action and played their part and passed behind the curtain. I have not visited this neighborhood since 1876 and then only for a day, and I discovered then in passing around that many of the old homesteads that I knew as a boy had crumbled.

Judge Philips’ Parents Here in 1817.

“In 1816 my grandfather, John Copeland, came from Kentucky and pitched his tent one mile south of where I stand. The next spring my father, in company with the ancestors of David Harris, followed in a two-horse wagon with my mother. It was their bridal trip and, just adjoining my grandfather’s farm, they pitched their own tent in the unbroken woods.

“The Baptists outnumbered the Cumberland Presbyterians and Methodists, but they were kind enough to allow other denominations to worship with them. I have in my mind a vivid picture of that old Bethel Church as I saw it 77 years ago. It was built of huge ash logs, and if the hand of man would have left it alone, it would have defied the rages of time. It had one door in front that was strong enough to resist a battering ram. It had two windows, one on each side of the door. The pulpit was constructed after such a fashion that when the preacher entered the door leading to it, it looked like he was afforded shelter from without, and it was a veritable sweatbox within.

Pioneers Used Plenty of Lumber.

“The benches in that old church had timber enough in them to build a two-masted frigate. They built the pews on a rising scale so that the rear seats in the church were at least four feet from the floor and you had to climb like getting into a berth without a stepladder. One of those rear seats was my favorite place because I could see everything and also could slip out the windows without being seen by the old folks on the front benches.

The church was used, after the Baptists had gone to their new church, by the Cumberland Presbyterians until it was finally abandoned. The preacher then was known as Father Barnes. His face was not a thing of beauty, but seemed to be a joy forever to the old people of the congregation. I recollect he wore the conventional high black stock, whether it was winter or summer, over which peaked timidly a piece of limp shirt collar.

“The most notable preacher I ever heard in the Baptist Church was Dr. William Thompson. He was a man of transcendent power, not in polished rhetoric, but he was tremendous in his expounding of the scriptures and was overpowering in his eloquence.

Judge Philips Only Bethel Survivor

“All of these men have one by one gone their way and I am about the only keeper of their early traditions. But such men and women as settled this country and lived in this community do not cease to live when they cease to breathe. Their deeds of valor, their virtues, their fidelity to truth and society put in motion waves of influences that vibrate to the uttermost limits of time and although the rude winds of winter and the storms of summer may knock over their tombstones, and these marks be ground to dust, their spirits live on in the souls of the people Like indestructible material that reproduces itself, such men and women as these bear fruit even from the grave.”

The Rev. G. O. VanNoy, pastor of the Baptist Church at Fayette, was the final speaker of the day. He eulogized the pioneer settlers who, by their untiring and fearless efforts in settling this section of the country, made the present benefits enjoyed by their descendants possible.

The centennial celebration ended with the benediction by the Rev. S. F. Keith of the Walnut Grove Baptist Church.

Andrew McQuitty of Rocheport

SOLDIER NINE MONTHS CARRIED NO GUN

Andrew McQuitty, 89 Years Old, Served as Confederate.

HE LIVES HERE NOW

Made Trips to St. Louis as Freighter With Ox Wagon.

Among the many experiences crowded into his 89 years of active life, Andrew J. McQuitty, who lives on West Boulevard, says he served nine months in the Confederate army and never shouldered a gun.

In his nine months of service, he laughingly says, he never got in a fight but he developed into a great runner. Mr. McQuitty at one time made trips from Rocheport to St. Louis hauling freight in ox wagons.

In the winter of l846, Mr. McQuitty, then only 21 years old, made two trips to St. Louis from Rocheport,. hauling produce for the Rocheport stores. The trips required twenty-three days each.
Wagon trips were only resorted to when the Missouri River was either blocked with ice or the water too shallow for boats.

The route followed to St. Louis by freighters in those days was pretty much the same as is now known as the St. Charles Road. On these long trips Mr McQuitty never carried a gun. His
weapon for protection, as he says, was good long whip that was a necessity with oxen

In the summers from 1846 to 1850, Mr McQuitty hauled farm products from the farmers north and east of Rocheport. Wagons were scarce and farmers were forced to hire the services
of the professional freighter to haul their tobacco, wheat, pork and lumber to town.

Mr. McQuitty always drove oxen in his freight business because they could endure more in the bad timber roads and then they were much cheaper than horses.

Mr McQuitty enlisted in the Confederate army in 1864. A company was recruited in Boone County to join General Sterling Price at Boonville, when General Price made his raid into Missouri. Four hundred men from the surrounding counties were enlisted under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Eli[j]ah Hodges [or Elijah Hodge? - ed.] who started to join General Price. A large Federal force in the meantime had checked the Confederates and had turned them back.

Then a long run began, says Mr. McQuitty, for Texas with General Price on the West, the Federals behind in hot pursuit and the 400 men under Colonel Hodges a few miles on the east. These 400 men had only a few guns and no ammunition. From the time they left Brunswick until they got into Arkansas they had only one meal a day. Meals were very irregular said Mr .McQuitty. "We took only time to eat when we thought we were safe from the Federals."

One night near the Arkansas line the Federals surprised them, Every man mounted his horse and struck out for himself over the hills to Arkansas. Mr. McQuitty and eight others rode for three days without food or rest. In northwest Arkansas they stopped to "fatten-up." They killed a cow and feasted for a week. They finally joined General Price's army in Texas and surrendered with General Price's army at Shreveport, La. Both Mr McQuitty’s company and regimental commanders live in Boone County. Colonel Elijah Hodges lives in Columbia and Captain John Maxwell east of town.

Mr McQuitty was born in Boone County in 1825. His father came to this county in 1802 from Kentucky.

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Enterprise Model 12-1/2 Coffee Mill Added to Easley Store

Boone County Historical Society collection. Donated by Barbara Esterly.  Restored by David Sapp.

The Enterprise Manufacturing Company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1864 near Independence Hall and quickly grew to a huge operation producing everything from barn-door bolts to seven-foot-high, motorized coffee mills weighing almost 500 pounds.  The company was awarded the Centennial Medal in 1876 for their outstanding contributions to the American public.

The rare Model No. 12-1/2 mill from our collection was designed for grinding larger amounts of coffee in stores.  It was manufactured between 1886 and 1898, stood 42" high, had 25" diameter wheels and weighed about 140 pounds.  All of the main components are of cast iron.  Such mills, when they could be afforded, were status symbols in general stores around the nation.

The mill shown here was restored and exhibits most of the decorations used originally.  The patriotic theme is obvious with the flag red and flag blue colors dominating coupled with an eagle/flag decal on the main body and the eagle finial on top.  Gold paint was used liberally to give a rich impression.  Elaborate flower motifs adorned the wheels.  Four additional ornate decorations were on the sides of the hopper but have so far not been able to be reproduced due to the rarity of the design.

A History of Home Rule Attempts in Boone County

On February 11, 2011, Steve Scott delivered the following talk to the Muleskinners, a Democratic political club, at Stephens College’s Stamper Commons. Mr. Scott is an attorney with Scott Law Firm in Columbia and has been intimately involved with this subject for three decades. His remarks provide an excellent history of efforts in Boone county to achieve “Home Rule.”

A History of Home Rule Attempts in Boone County

copyright 2011 by Steve Scott

Introduction

In 2010, some fourteen years after home rule for Boone County was defeated for the second time, the subject of home rule resurfaced in the Presiding Commissioner campaign. Ed Robb, the Republican candidate who narrowly won the election, advocated consideration of home rule as one of his campaign planks. As a long-time supporter of home rule, I was pleased to see someone in the public arena talking about the subject. Politically, though, I found it passing strange that Mr. Robb saw fit to raise the home rule issue -- more on that later.

In any event, I was asked to speak today about home rule as a direct result of the issue being raised by Mr. Robb. And I'm happy to try to shed some light on a subject that has been out of the public eye for so many years.

Historical Background

County government has its roots in feudal England. When William of Normandy conquered England in 1066, he had to set up his government. He chose a system of centralized control from London with local agents throughout the country carrying out his edicts, and, of course, collecting his taxes. For this purpose, William used the geographical divisions the Anglo-Saxons had called "shires." In fact, the modern word "sheriff" derives from the title of a feudal official called the "Shire Rieve," among whose duties was collecting taxes.

Normans used another word for these areas that became the modern word "county," referring to the realm of a count. And the counts administered their areas by holding "County Court." An aside: The older folks here, myself included, may recall that until 1985, our County Commission was called the County Court.

The main point of this history is that the central government held all the power. And that power was administered at the county level by agents of the crown who had little discretion in the performance of their duties.

Skipping forward in time, American settlers brought these ideas about county government with them to this country. And the result was that in Missouri and most other states, for all non-home-rule counties, state government is all-powerful, and its policies are carried out by county officials who have little discretion.

What We Have Now

The two main features of county government addressed by the home rule concept are structure and legislative power. Structure: Without home rule, the structure of county government is dictated by hundreds of pages of confusing and sometimes contradictory statutes. Legislative Power: Without home rule, laws affecting county government cannot be changed except with the agreement on statutory changes by a majority of the Missouri House of Representatives, a majority of the Missouri State Senate and the Governor.

Problems of Current System

The County Commission's legislative authority is very limited. Its main legislative function is adopting an annual budget. It has no authority to legislate in other areas unless that authority has specifically been granted by state. An example where such local legislative power has been granted is planning and zoning.

Administrative problems

County government now, in effect, is controlled by a large group of seventeen individuals: three commissioners, nine elected officials and about five appointed department heads. These officials are not even shaped into a committee. They each have their own statutory mandates. Legally, they are free to ignore each other, to a large extent, in carrying out their prescribed duties.

This results in a fragmented government where little internal accountability exists, except through voluntary cooperation among the officials. The extent to which Boone County government functions well is a testament to the general commitment of elected officials to cooperate with each other. But there is no guarantee that such cooperation will always be forthcoming. Nor is there any guarantee that the voters will always elect such good, cooperative office-holders.

What Home Rule Brings to the Table

As implied by what I've already said, home rule would allow the county to determine its own governmental structure and enable the county to adopt local legislation to meet its needs. Of these two issues, structure and legislative power, I believe the second is more important.

Home rule allows local people to make local decisions rather than having decisions made at the state level. In any event, it is often difficult to obtain legislative changes from the General Assembly because a change that Boone County might want could be opposed by other counties.

The current rule is that the county can only do those things specifically authorized by statute, and the statutes are strictly construed. In contrast, under home rule, the county could exercise all legislative powers that are not specifically prohibited by the state Constitution and statutes.

So How Can a County Get Home Rule?

The Missouri Constitution provides two different processes to achieve county home rule. The older method is a petition process leading to appointment of a County Charter Commission. This requires gathering petition signatures from voters asking for appointment of a charter-drafting commission. The petition signature requirement is 10% of the number of voters who voted in the most recent gubernatorial election in the county. If sufficient petition signatures are gathered and certified, the Circuit Court appoints a charter-writing commission. The charter drafted by the commission is then submitted to the voters and can be approved by a majority vote.

The second, newer method is the county constitution process. In 1994 the Missouri Constitution was amended to provide for an alternative method for first-class counties such as Boone to achieve home rule -- this is the County Constitution process, which is simply home rule under a slightly different name. This process is easier because it does not require a petition drive -- rather, it starts with the County Commission placing a proposal on the ballot to establish a commission to draft a county constitution. If a majority of the voters approve the proposal, the drafting commission is then appointed by the Circuit Court. And later the county constitution drafted by the commission is submitted to the voters and can be approved by a majority vote. Both of these procedures have been attempted in Boone County, and in each case, the voters rejected home rule.

Boone County's First Home Rule Attempt

In the late 1970s, there were a couple of scandals in county government. County Court Judge Clarence Drew from Centralia had used county workers and materials to grade his personal driveway. County Clerk Murray Glascock was charged and convicted of embezzlement. Presaging Rahm Emanuel's maxim never to let a good crisis go to waste, a Boone County Home Rule Petition Committee was formed.

Credit must be given to the League of Women Voters for being instrumental in this effort and providing the bulk of the petition carriers who gathered signatures.

I served as legal counsel and publicity chair for the committee. After more than a year of effort, sufficient signatures were gathered and a charter commission was appointed by the Circuit Court.
The charter commission proposed a charter that bore many similarities to the Columbia City Charter, which is unsurprising given that the commission's chair was Rhonda Thomas, who had been the Columbia City Counselor and was an MU Law School professor when she served on the commission.

When the charter was submitted to Boone County voters in March 1982, it was defeated by a vote of 11,428 to 4,614, or 71% against the charter. Voters outside the City of Columbia were overwhelmingly opposed to the charter. And it wasn't all that popular within the city, either: It was defeated in Wards 1, 2 and 3. And it won only small majorities in Wards 4, 5 and 6. I ended up feeling that much of the opposition to the charter came from existing county officeholders who would have been displaced under the charter.

Boone County's Second Home Rule Attempt

In 1991, I was asked by the Boone County Commission to chair the Boone County Government Review Team. The team's assignment was to study county government and recommend improvements.

The committee's labors began in April 1991. Gestation began with numerous meetings with county officeholders and others, followed by public hearings around the county, ultimately resulting in the birth in January 1992 of a lengthy report consisting of a main body of 86 pages, plus about 300 pages of appendices (which were mostly verbatim transcripts of the team's meetings and hearings).

One of the report's recommendations was that the County Commission consider initiating a county constitution process, a recommendation the commission later followed. After the voters narrowly approved appointment of a County Constitution Commission, I found that my work in chairing the Government Review Team and writing its report was not done -- I was retained as legal counsel to the constitution commission.

As I said before, I think the legislative power issue is the more important aspect of home rule, so I privately urged the constitution commission's members to leave the county government structure untouched -- that is, retain the current statutory structure -- and draft a minimal constitution that focused mainly on giving the county local legislative power. To a certain extent, the commission followed that urging, but it couldn't resist some structural tinkering as well, with the result that it proposed appointment by the county commission of several currently elective officeholders. The other major proposal, similar to the previous charter, was to increase the size of the County Commission to give more representation to areas outside the City of Columbia.

Opposition to the county constitution was fierce, and a fair amount of that opposition came from then-sitting Boone County officeholders, including some whose positions would become appointive under the constitution. On election day, March 5, 1996, once again Boone County voters rejected home rule, this time by 72%. The vote total was 13,078 to 5,033.

Again, out-county voters were overwhelmingly opposed. The constitution was defeated in every single precinct outside the City of Columbia. The no vote exceeded 70% in 30 of 31 out-county precincts. And once again the City of Columbia was not supportive of home rule -- a majority voted in favor of the constitution in only 8 of 39 precincts, and the anti-constitution vote exceeded 70% in 13 of those precincts.

So Where Are We Now?

Now we come back to Ed Robb's advocacy of home rule in his campaign for Presiding Commissioner last Fall. As I said at the outset, I found it passing strange that he would broach the issue. The reason is that the two previous home rule attempts were hugely unpopular outside of the City of Columbia. And yet it was in those out-county areas that Mr. Robb had more of his support, which enabled him to gain a narrow victory over Scott Christianson. One might even speculate that his margin of victory in the out-county areas could have been even larger had he not made home rule an issue.

For my part, I was weary to the bone of pursuing home rule after the two previous attempts. After a while you realize that pounding your head against a brick wall hurts, and you stop doing it. My opinion is that Boone County voters are unlikely to approve home rule until one of two things occurs:

There is a huge scandal in county government that can be directly traced to the existing form of government; or

The county gets a lot larger. Historically in Missouri, no county of less than 300,000 population has approved home rule. At that point, the problems of urbanization become so pressing that opposition to home rule becomes muted.

© 2011 by Steve Scott

Taverns and Stage Lines in Columbia's Early Days

 From the Columbia Missourian newspaper of September 7, 1917, p. 10:

TAVERNS AND STAGE LINES HERE IN THE EARLY DAYS

In the memories of two of Columbia's oldest citizens there still burn brightly recollections of the times when all the hotels of the city and of the county were taverns, not only in name but in actuality.  William Mattocks, 83 years old, who lives at1607 East Broadway on what is called Gordon or Fyfer Hill, and James C. Gillespie of 15 North Eighth street, were residents of the city when there was no railroad nearer than Jefferson City and when the Wabash only came as near as Mexico. 

There was very little in the Columbia of the days of '57 to remind Mr. Mattocks of the prosperous city of today.  Columbia at that date claimed a scant 3,000 population and was a city of the most rural type.  Everyone in the town knew of the latest arrivals by stage coach and every death and fire was heralded by a ringing of the bell on the court house.  Stories of the grandfathers of the best citizens of the city came fluently from the tongues of the two men as they told of the hotels of youthful Columbia and reminisced of the times that are past. 

Hotels In The Early Days.

The history of the hotels of Columbia that the two men gave between them goes back only as far as 1857, the year that Mr. Mattocks came to Columbia with his father from Virginia.  The history that came after1863 was supplemented by Mr. Gillespie.  Mr. Gillespie says, and probably rightly, that there is no man in the county that knows more of the history of Columbia or of Boone County, since that time than he. 

According to Mr. Mattocks, there were three small hotels when he came here a young man.  There were at that time and there have been since many boarding houses and near-hotels of which he makes no mention in his account. 

The City Hotel, kept by Tom Selbie [Tom Selby], was perhaps the most famous of the time. It stood where the Guitar Building stands today.  On the site of the new bank building was another tavern owned by John David VanHorn, the father of the David VanHorn, who owns the grocery store at the corner of Seventh street and Broadway.  This hostelry soon went out of business.  The other was just a few doors west, called the "Brick Hotel" kept by James Richardson, commonly known as "Jimmie" Richardson. 

City Hotel a Large Place.

In the memory of Judge Gillespie, the “Brick Hotel[“] was managed by "Dick" Leonard, Lishlighter and Bennett, and was then purchased from Richardson by William B. Quisenberry.  The City Hotel as described by Mr. Gillespie, was a large frame building—the largest tavern in Missouri at that time outside of St. Louis—sitting in the middle of a lot a block deep extending back to Ninth street [from Eighth Street].  After the death of Mr. Selbie, which occurred a short time after Mr. Mattocks came here, his widow took charge of the tavern and ran it for quite a number of years with the aid of a large number of slaves.  In nearly all the taverns at that time, according to Judge Gillespie, the work was done by slaves or by negroes that had been recently freed. 

Incident of a Negro Festival.

In a slight deviation from the history of hotels, Judge Gillespie told of an incident at a negro festival held on Guitar street early in 1864.  Lewis Selbie [Lewis Selby] was one of the waiters in the City Hotel, sharing the waiting work with another negro, named Abe.  Lewis Gordon was a powerful black man of a very responsible nature and had been appointed marshal for the festival.  Lewis Selbie, said Mr.Gillespie[,] got drunk.  Gordon, in his official capacity, remonstrated with him and was hit on the head with a brickbat that Selbie pulled from his pocket.  Gordon nearly lost his life and the rest of his life he had a large dent in the top of his head to remember the occasion.  Selbie left town hastily that night and was never seen here again. Several years later, said Judge Gillespie, he saw Lewis in the role of a porter on the Great Northern Railway. 

Returning to the Columbia's hotel history, the judge described the location of the City Hotel more exactly.  The hotel building was on the south side of the lot with a large flower garden on the south, while back, where the W. B. Nowell Grocery now stands, was a small barn belonging to the property where the travelers' horses were stabled and attended by the hostler who invariably was to be found in the tavern of that day. 

Other Columbia Hotels.

What was known as the "Brick Hotel" passed from the hands of Quisenberry to a man by the name of Hume and then to a Mr. Bush, from whom H. C. Schwabe, father of John, Jim and Henry Schwabe, purchased it.  The Gentry Hotel, built by Colonel Richard Gentry, grandfather of North Todd Gentry, was erected some time in the 60's, and was a typical hotel of the time.  It was a brick structure with the usual small window panes.  This hotel stood where the Hayden Building now is.  The name of Powers was one that was famous in the old days as being connected with taverns.  Just west of where the Post Office now stands, Tom Powers owned a cabinet shop.  He reared a boy named John Baker as his son and Baker and the neighbor boys, said Judge Gillespie, used to crawl into the coffins that Mr. Powers had completed and go to sleep.  Mr. Powers died in the 70's and his widow and Miss Lizzie Powers kept a boarding house that became very popular and which became known as the Powers House. The name once established in connection with the tavern was such a valuable asset that it was never changed with the change of owners and even when it was moved to the corner of Tenth and Walnut streets by the last owner, F. W. Poor, it was still known as the Powers House.  This hotel burned in 1912.  Later came the Gordon Hotel, at present used by the University for the domestic science department and the present Athens hotel.  The present Central Hotel was one time the residence of William Jewell.                         

Van Horn Tavern Popular.

A tavern just outside of Columbia that attained a great reputation with travelers was the old Van Horn Tavern, five miles west of Columbia on the Rocheport road.  It occupied theplace which is now the property of Dr. Lloyd Simpson. The old tavern is still there, north of the Simpson home and is used as a barn.  All the taverns of the day were similar in appearance: a large hallway generally opened into a reception room with a big, old-fashioned fireplace furnishing the chief attraction.  Here the bottle was set out.  On first arriving at the hostelry, the visitor's horse would be taken by the hostler and attended as carefully in the stable as the traveler's needs were attended within the tavern.  After the traveler had been warmed, both externally and internally at the fireplace, the call for supper was given and the guests would pass into the large dining room to get a good meal cooked in the southern style.  The cook and waiters were slaves.

Columbia Business District of 1850 Described

From the Columbia Evening Missourian, August 09, 1921, p. 4:

One Building In Business Section Has Stood For Years
                                       
     Only one building in the business section of Columbia today was standing seventy-one years ago [about 1850], according to the talk made by B.F. Venable at the dinner held at the Daniel Boone Tavern last Saturday evening in commemoration of the centennial of the city of Columbia.  In his talk, Mr. Venable gave an interesting description of the business section of the city as it looked seventy-one years ago when he came to Columbia.
     Beginning at the present location of the plant of the Hetzler Packing Co. west of the Katy Station, Mr. Venable described Broadway building by building as it was when he came to Columbia.  His description in full was as follows:
     “The first house on the other side of Flat Branch was owned by Colonel F.T. Russell.  On the east side of the tan yard, where the Katy station and Boone County Lumber Co. are, was a brick house built by John Rocheford, a man who worked at the University.  That was the only house until you came to the corner of Fifth and Broadway.  There was a big frame house owned by Doctor Provines.  Across the street east was Doctor Hall, next came Turner Daniels, a cabinet maker.  From his house to the corner of Sixth was all vacant.  Coming east across the street was Tom Powers.  He had a turning shop.  He turned wood work for tables and bedsteads.  His lathe was run by a horse named “Jack.”  The ground was all vacant from there until you came to the present postoffice.  There Mr. Powers had a cabinet shop, and he manufactured all kinds of furniture.  He also made pianos, not a great many, but a few.

OLD TAVERN STOOD WHERE ESTES’ STORE IS
     “Across the street, where Van Horn and Laughlin now are, was a vacant lot, and where Hetzler’s Market is, Colonel F.T. Russell had his office.  He was a lawyer.  Then came James Richardson’s Tavern; that was where Estes’ store now stands.  Where Fredendall is, Doctor Spottswood had a drug store; where the Boone County National Bank now stands was Tom Selby’s Tavern.  Across the street east was J.L. Stevenson’s dry goods and general store.  Next to that, where Higbee and Hockaday are now, was a little brick building with offices attached.  One was that of Judge James Gordon.  He was a lawyer, and next to him was Arch Turner.  In place of the Peck Drug Co., there was brick house where a shoe maker lived upstairs and worked downstairs.  Where Levy’s store, Hays Hardware store and Sapp Brothers are now located, there was a frame building.  It ran the whole length of these buildings.  It was below the street and at that time it was A.G. Newman’s residence.  From the street you could see across the roof of this building.  The ground from here up to Strawn-Neate was vacant.
     “Where Wolff-Berger and the Liberty confectionery store now stand was a brick house belong to Samuel Ashlock.  On the west part was the residence and on the corner he had a hat store where he manufactured all kinds of hats.  Across the street, where Sykes and Broadhead are, Lawrence Matthews had a carriage shop, and where Newman Hardware store is, Mrs. Neff and Mrs. Woodward had a millinery store.  It was the only millinery store in Columbia at that time.  Next to that, running east, where the Dorsey Buildings are, there was a little frame residence set below the street, belonging to Mr. Smith.  He was an artist and had his studio over Stephenson’s store when it was blown up.  From there to the corner of Tenth, the ground was vacant.  All the ground was below the level of the street.
     “On the next corner was the Presbyterian Church.  Next door to the Odeon there was a wagon shop, which was run by a man named Hackman, and on the corner where the Thilo Building now stands there was a residence occupied and owned by James Wood.  On the opposite corner where the Thilo Building is, there was a building occupied by Milton Matthews.  There was no other building in that block until you came to Mrs. McAfee’s house, which was a frame building occupied by Dr. Arch Young.  All the other property on east was vacant until you came to the Stephens College property which was then Oliver Parker’s residence.  He was the father of James and Moss Parker.  Mrs. Willis’ house was the next one.  It was built by John Field, but after Mrs. Willis came, it was greatly improved.  The land from there to the hospital was vacant and in those days was called the old fair grounds.  From that point to Hinkson Creek, the land was used for farming.

GORDON RESIDENCE AMONG FIRST
     “When one crossed Broadway at Hinkson Creek, on the north side, there was judge David Gordon’s residence, now owned and occupied by N.D. Evans.  The land was vacant west of this place until you came to James L. Stephens’ place.  Mr. Stephens owned all the property from the Gordon place west to Price Avenue and north to Paris road; then the property on Paris road going west was a pasture owned by David Hickman and where Alex Bradford and Mr. Goldsberry live David Hickman’s residence was located.  The next residence was owned by J.W. Stone’s father, the second by William Duncan and the third by Colonel William Switzler.  On Tenth and Broadway, running east, was Mrs. Switzler’s garden.
     “On the corner where the O’Rear Building is now, was George Gordon’s blacksmith shop.  He worked four or five hands and they were all negroes who belonged to him.  That was a frame building.  Next to that on the west was a little frame building occupied by W.T. Anderson’s father.  From there west, the land was vacant until you came to Ninth street, which was the Jeffrey place, where the postoffice was when I came here.  Across the street west, next to Barth’s clothing store, there were three brick business houses.  The house on the corner belonged to Tommie and Jimmie Johnson.  They made harness and saddles.  The next house belonged to the Reverend Mr. Jones.  He lived where the New York store is now.  The next business house was that of George Schoolfield, who had a silversmith shop and jewelry store.  Next came Dr. S.B. Victor, the place now occupied by the Drug Shop.
      “Where Henninger’s jewelry store is, there was a little frame building, one room of which was occupied by Alex McMillan, who had a saddle shop here.  Next to him was Henry Crumbaugh.  The next building was a frame building occupied by Major Reddy.  It was a tailor shop.  Then came Nutton Austin’s tailor shop.  Next to him was Richard Branham’s dry goods store.  At Eighth and Broadway was the Howard and Kirkendull [Kirkendall] dry goods store.  Next to them was Alex Douglas’ dry goods store and then came Stone Brothers building.  They were all brick buildings.  Wilson and Field, dry goods, came next, and then Jonathan Kirkbride, who kept a general store.
     “Across the street was a vacant lot with posts for hitching horses and stile blocks for the ladies to mount from.  Beyond this east was a frame building where A.G. Newman had his tin shop.  Next to this, there was a little brick building occupied by William LeNoir, and adjoining this was a vacant brick building.  On Seventh and Broadway was Trumpler’s bakery.  Next came a vacant lot, then Mrs. Royal’s residence.  It took up most of one block because she had a flower garden on the west. 
     “On the corner of Sixth and Broadway was William LeNoir’s residence.  On the northwest corner was Doctor Jewell’s residence.  It is the only building standing today that was here seventy years ago.  The property from there to Fifth street was vacant.  Where Clinkscales Garage is now, there was a frame residence occupied by Cliff Hensley.  There were not more houses until one came to a little house occupied by William Cato, a blacksmith.  From there on west to the branch going north to Walter [Water] Street, the land was owned and occupied by Gilbert Akers, a free negro.  His house stood in the center of the lot and he farmed the rest of the land.  Across the branch was the public school.  It was a little one-story brick building about 20 by 30 feet.  W.J. Hetzler’s residence was the next house.  It was then owned by Bob Nevins.  The next property was Jeff Garth’s farm.
     “No girls attended the school but they had a female academy where the Gordon Hotel now stands.  On one occasion, Hall Litch, who was a painter, passed by the academy and saw that it was on fire.  He hurried down town, and meeting several people said to them, ‘I am authorized to say to you that the female academy is now on fire, and if it is not speedy put out it will surely burn down.’”