HOUCK DISCOVERED ALL WAS NOT `ROSY'

When Louis Houck researched old records available about the early history of Missouri before it became a state, and the proceedings that occurred when the governing bodies met to make rules under which the people of Upper Louisiana were to live, he discovered that all was not "rosy."

The residents of Upper Louisiana were accustomed to the way the Spanish did things, which was not ridged. They objected to being under the court of Vincennes, Ind., where Congress had placed Upper Louisiana.

"How can they in Indiana know what we want?" they asked. "They do not understand us." The feeling was an echo of the past during the Revolutionary days, and the way the colonists felt.

As a result Congress finally passed an act March 3, 1805, that separated the two bodies and changed the name from the District of Louisiana under the Indiana Territory to the Territory of Louisiana of the lowest rank. The act went into effect July 4.

The president of the United States appointed Gen. James Wilkinson governor of the newly-formed territory. Others on the initial assembly were: Judges Return J. Meige, John B.C. Lucas, and Rufus Easton, who acted in the non-representative form of government until June 4, 1812, when Congress created the Territory of Missouri.

The first legislature transacted no business from June 11 until June 25, 1806, when three men were nominated for the office of chief clerk of the legislature. On June 28, Edward Hempstead was elected. He was also the first delegate to Congress, having previously served as attorney general for the districts of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in 1809 as the first attorney general of the Territory of Louisiana.

In Southeast Missouri the settlement known as Cape Girardeau was being made into a small city under Commandant Louis Lorimier and his secretary, B. Cousins, who knew surveying was laying out lots for residents to purchase at $100 each. The town was small, and in most places slightly over two blocks in depth.

It seems the first law on the Missouri books is dated May 6, 1806, and it created the office of attorney general, which was filled by Hempstead.

Since Indians resided in the area, and were disturbing when drunk, a law was passed 20 days later prohibiting the sale of liquor or even gifts or exchanges to Indians. On June 27 a law was passed to regulate the courts of the newly created District of Arkansas, and Missouri's first legislature adjourned Oct. 9, 1811, although it remained in authority until the congressional act of 1812.

Missouri's governing bodies have always been an important part of the state's history, and Cape Girardeau furnished men of prominence as elective representatives to both the legislature and senate. Members to the first territorial House of Representatives from Cape Girardeau were George Frederick Bollinger and Stephen Byrd.

Under the act providing for a Council for the Territory, the president was given a list of 18 names, from which he was to choose nine. William McNeeley and Joseph Cavender were selected to represent Cape Girardeau.

Although the legislative record of the first matters of business that came before the council does not remain, Charless' Gazette newspaper in St. Louis, the Mercantile Library in St. Louis, and Louis Houck's books on Southeast Missouri show the residents then were concerned over problems similar to those of today's residents.

Keeping order has always been a problem; the office of sheriff was established and laws relating to crime and the punishment of crimes were acted upon.

An act providing for taking of the census was passed to determine the male population of the territory. The Bank of Missouri, known as the Bank of St. Louis, was chartered. The Courts of Common Pleas were created (one was in Cape Girardeau).

A new county was formed from Ste. Genevieve land and named Washington County. It included the Mine Breton and other mines in the Lead Belt, where large mining interests were located. The town of Potosi was named as the county seat of Washington County. Last but of importance to the representatives was the compensation to be paid the representatives.

When the legislature adjourned the second session was to be held the following Dec. 5, 1814.

The census voted by the first legislature showed Cape Girardeau District had a white male population of 2,062. Only St. Louis was larger, with 3,149.

The male population of the territory was 11,393, white females about the same, and slaves, including free blacks, numbered 2,000. The total population of the territory was 26,000.

The previous census had shown it to be 20,845. The territory was bringing in more residents so that when the second session met on Dec. 5, 1814, there were five representatives from Cape Girardeau: Stephen Byrd, George Frederick Bollinger, Robert English, Joseph Sewell, and another man who was not able to attend the session.

We were fortunate to have such capable men ready to guide and promote the interests of Cape Girardeau in those formative years of our state and county.