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{{Short description|Historic trail in the southern United States}}
{{No footnotes|date=April 2009}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2014}}
[[File:OldTraceSunken.jpg|right|thumb|Sunken part of the Old Trace]]
[[Image:NatchezCypressSwamp.jpg|thumb|right|A cypress swamp along the side of the Trace near [[Jackson, Mississippi]]]] The '''Natchez Trace''', also known as the "Old Natchez Trace", is a historical path that extended roughly {{convert|440|mi|km}} from [[Natchez, Mississippi]] to [[Nashville, Tennessee]], linking the [[Cumberland River|Cumberland]], [[Tennessee River|Tennessee]] and [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] rivers. It was a traditional [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] trail and was later also used by early European explorers as both a trade and transit route in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Today, the trail is commemorated by the {{convert|444|mi|km|adj=on}} [[Natchez Trace Parkway]], which follows the approximate path of the Trace,<ref>{{cite journal
| last =Devoss
| first =David
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title =End of the Road
| journal =[[Smithsonian Magazine]]
| volume =39
| issue = 2
| pages =72
| publisher =
| location =
| date =May 2008
| url =http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/da-natchez-trace.html
| doi =
| id =
| accessdate =2008-08-05}}</ref> as well as the related [[Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail]]. The trail itself has a long and rich history, filled with brave explorers, dastardly outlaws and daring settlers. Parts of the original trail are still accessible and some [[Old Natchez Trace segments listed on the National Register of Historic Places|segments have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places]].


[[File:Original portion of the Natchez Trace IMG 6998.JPG|thumb|right|Part of the original Natchez Trace near [[Natchez, Mississippi|Natchez]], Mississippi]]
==Origins of the Natchez Trace==
[[File:Old Trace sign of Natchez Trace IMG 6999.JPG|thumb|right|Old Trace historical marker]]
Largely following a geologic ridgeline, prehistoric animals followed the dry ground between the salt licks of central Tennessee to grazing lands southward and the Mississippi River. Native Americans used many early footpaths created by the foraging of [[American Bison|bison]], [[deer]] and other large [[game (food)|game]] that could break paths through the dense undergrowth. In the case of the Trace, bison traveled north to find [[salt lick]]s in the Nashville area.<ref>{{cite book
| last =Lay
| first =M G
| authorlink =
| title = Ways of the world
| publisher =Primavera Press
| date =1992
| location =Sydney
| pages =401
| isbn = 1875368051 }}, p5</ref> After Native Americans first began to settle the land, they began to blaze the trail further, until it became a relatively well-worn path traversable by horse in single file.


The '''Natchez Trace''', also known as the '''Old Natchez Trace''', is a historic forest trail within the [[United States]] which extends roughly {{convert|440|mi|km}} from [[Nashville, Tennessee]], to [[Natchez, Mississippi]], linking the [[Cumberland River|Cumberland]], [[Tennessee River|Tennessee]], and [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] rivers.
The first recorded European explorer to travel the Trace in its entirety was an unnamed [[Frenchman]] in 1742, who wrote of the trail and its "miserable conditions", though it may have been traveled in part before, particularly by famed Spanish explorer [[Hernando de Soto (explorer)|Hernando de Soto]]. Early European explorers depended on the assistance of Native Americans—specifically, the [[Choctaw]] and [[Chickasaw]]. These tribes and others, collectively known as Mississippian, had long used the Trace for trade between themselves.


[[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] created and used the trail for centuries. Early European and American explorers, traders, and immigrants used it in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. European Americans founded inns, also known as "stands", along the Trace to serve food and lodging to travelers. Most of these stands closed as travel shifted to steamboats on the Mississippi and other rivers. The heyday of the Trace began in the 1770s and ended in the 1820s, by the 1830s the route was already in disrepair and its time as a major interregional commercial route had come to an end.<ref>{{Cite book |author-last1=Bunn |author-first1=Mike |title=Old Southwest to Old South: Mississippi, 1798–1840 |author-last2=Williams |author-first2=Clay |date=2023 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi for the Mississippi Historical Society and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History |isbn=978-1-4968-4380-7 |series=Heritage of Mississippi Series, Vol. IX |location=Jackson |pages=188–189 |lccn=2022042580 |oclc=1348393702 |id={{Project MUSE|109599|type=book}}}}</ref>
==Development and disappearance of the Trace==
By 1800 [[Thomas Jefferson]] sought to counter growing French influence along the [[Mississippi Valley]]. To foster communication with the Southwest, he designated a postal road to be built between [[Daniel Boone]]'s wilderness road, ending in Tennessee, and the Mississippi River. To emphasize American sovereignty in the area, he decided to call it the [[Columbian Highway]]. Treaties were signed with the [[Chickasaw]] and [[Choctaw]] tribes. In 1801 the [[United States Army]] began blazing the trail, performing major work to prepare it as a thoroughfare. The work was first done by soldiers reassigned from [[West Tennessee]], then later by civilian contract. By 1809, the trail was fully navigable by wagon. Critical to the success of the Trace as a trade route was the development of [[inn]]s and [[trading post]]s, referred to at the time as "stands." For the most part, the stands developed southbound from the head of the trail in [[Nashville]].


Today, the path is commemorated by the {{convert|444|mi|km|adj=on}} [[Natchez Trace Parkway]], which follows the approximate path of the Trace,<ref name=Devoss>{{cite journal | last =Devoss| first =David| title =End of the Road| journal =[[Smithsonian Magazine]]| volume =39| issue = 2| pages =72| date =May 2008| url =https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/end-of-the-road-38356859/| access-date =May 10, 2020}}</ref> as well as the related [[Natchez Trace Trail]]. Parts of the original trail are still accessible, and some [[Old Natchez Trace segments listed on the National Register of Historic Places|segments are listed on the National Register of Historic Places]].
Many early American settlements in Mississippi and Tennessee developed along the Natchez Trace. Some of the most prominent were [[Washington, Mississippi|Washington]], the old capital of Mississippi; "old Greenville", where [[Andrew Jackson]] plied his occupation as a slave trader; and [[Port Gibson, Mississippi|Port Gibson]], among others.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Cotterill, R. S. | year = 1921 | month = April | title = The Natchez Trace | journal = Tennessee Historical Magazine | volume = 7 | issue = 1 | pages = 29–35 }}</ref>


==Origins==
By 1816, the continued development of both [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] and [[Jackson's Military Road]], a direct line to [[New Orleans, Louisiana]] from Nashville, began shifting trade both east and west, away from the Trace. As author [[William C. Davis (United States)]] writes in his book ''A Way Through the Wilderness'', it was "a victim of its own success." With the dawn of [[steamboat]] culture on the Mississippi, the Trace became obsolete. In 1830, the Trace was officially abandoned and began to disappear back into the wilderness.
[[File:OldTraceSunken.jpg|thumb|right|The "Sunken Trace"]]


Largely following a geologic ridge line, prehistoric animals followed the dry ground of the Trace to distant grazing lands, the [[salt lick]]s of today's [[Middle Tennessee]], and to the Mississippi River. Native Americans used many [[History of infrastructure#Before 1700|early footpaths]] created by the foraging of [[American Bison|bison]], [[deer]], and other large [[game (food)|game]] that could break paths through the dense undergrowth. In the case of the Trace, bison traveled north to find salt licks in the Nashville area.<ref>{{cite book | last =Lay| first =M G| title = Ways of the world| publisher =Primavera Press| year =1992| location =Sydney| pages =401| isbn = 1-875368-05-1}}, p5</ref>
==Bushwhackers, bibles, and boats==
Despite its brief span of use by Americans, the Trace served an essential function for years. It was the only reliable land link between the eastern States and the trading ports of [[Mississippi]] and [[Louisiana]]. This brought all sorts of people down the Trace: itinerant preachers, [[highwaymen]] and traders were just a few.


After Native Americans began to settle the land, they [[Trail blazing|blazed the trail]] and improved it further until it became a relatively well-established path. Numerous [[prehistoric]] [[indigenous peoples|indigenous]] settlements in Mississippi were established along the Natchez Trace. Among them were the 2,000-year-old [[Pharr Mounds]] of the Middle [[Woodland period]], located near present-day [[Tupelo, Mississippi]].
The [[circuit preacher]]s were some of the most notable of the lot. Unlike its physical development, the "spiritual development" of the Trace started from the Natchez end and moved up. Several [[Methodist Church|Methodist]] preachers began working a circuit along the Trace as early as 1800. By 1812 they claimed a membership of 1,067 [[Caucasian race|Caucasians]] and 267 [[African Americans]].


The first recorded European explorer to travel the Trace in its entirety was an unnamed [[Frenchman]] in 1742, who wrote of the trail and its "miserable conditions". Early European explorers depended on the assistance of Native American guides to go through this territory — specifically, the [[Choctaw]] and [[Chickasaw]] who occupied the region. These tribes and earlier prehistoric peoples, collectively known as the [[Mississippian culture]], had long used the Trace for trade. The Chickasaw leader, Chief [[Piomingo]], made use of the trail so often that it became known as '''Piominko's Path''' during his lifetime.<ref name= "ntrace">[https://www.oxfordeagle.com/2017/09/11/chickasaw-leader-piominko-impacted-us-mississippi-history/ ''Chickasaw Leader Piominko Impacted US, Mississippi History'']; article; Morris, M. Scott; The Oxford Eagle online; Oxford, Mississippi; (September 11, 2017); retrieved March 2023</ref> Another early common name was '''Trail to the Chickasaw Nation'''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=James |first=D. Clayton |title=Antebellum Natchez |date=1993 |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |isbn=978-0-8071-1860-3 |location=Baton Rouge, Louisiana |lccn=68028496 |oclc=28281641 |orig-date=1968}}</ref>{{Rp|page=42}}
The Methodists were soon joined in Natchez by other [[Protestant]] religions, including the [[Baptist church|Baptists]] and [[Presbyterian church|Presbyterians]]. The Presbyterians and their offshoot, the [[Cumberland Presbyterian church|Cumberland Presbyterians]], were the most active of the three. They claimed converts among Native Americans, too. The Presbyterians started working from the south; the Cumberland Presbyterians worked from the north, as they had migrated into Tennessee from Kentucky.


==Development==
As with much of the unsettled West, [[banditry]] freely occurred along the Trace. Much of it centered around ''[[Natchez Under-The-Hill]]'', as compared with the tame sister of [[Natchez, Mississippi|Natchez]] atop the river bluff (the current Natchez). Under-the-Hill, where Mississippi River [[steamboat]]s docked, was a hotbed for gamblers, prostitutes and drunkenness. The rowdiest of them all were the [[Kaintucks]], the wild frontiersmen from upriver who came in on the steamboats and flatboats loaded with goods. They left the goods in Natchez in exchange for pockets full of cash, and summarily treated Natchez Under-the-Hill as what could be generously called an early 1800s [[Las Vegas, Nevada]].
[[File:Map of Mississippi - constructed from the surveys in the General Land Office and other documents LOC 2001626031.jpg|thumb|Map of Mississippi from 1819 showing the "Road Made by Order of Government from Pierre River to Nashville"]]
[[File:Overpass over Natchez Trace IMG 7009.JPG|thumb|One of numerous overpasses on the Natchez Trace toward the exit to [[Vicksburg, Mississippi|Vicksburg]] ]]
[[File:Grindstone Ford photographed circa 1938.jpg|thumb|Grindstone Ford photographed {{circa|1938}}]]


Even before the 1803 [[Louisiana Purchase]], President [[Thomas Jefferson]] wanted to connect the distant Mississippi frontier to other settled areas of the United States. To foster communication with what was then called the Southwest, he directed the construction of a postal road between [[Daniel Boone]]'s [[Wilderness Road]] (the southern branch of the road ended at Nashville) and the Mississippi River.
Worse dangers lurked on the Trace itself in the wilderness outside city boundaries. Highwaymen such as [[John Murrell (bandit)|John Murrell]] and [[Samuel Mason]] terrorized travelers along the road. They operated large gangs of organized [[brigands]] in one of the first examples of land-based American [[organized crime]].


[[File:US govt survey of the Natchez Trace with original image orientation from National Archives Digital.jpg|thumb|left|James Wilkinson's survey of the Mississippi section of the trace, probably circa 1802]]
==Mystery of Meriwether Lewis==
[[File:Government survey of Natchez Trace 02.jpg|thumb|left|Tennessee River section]]
[[Meriwether Lewis]], of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] fame, met his mysterious end while traveling on the Trace. Lewis had stopped at [[Grinder's Stand]] near current-day [[Hohenwald, Tennessee]] for rest. Distraught over the state of his financial affairs, disappointment from jilted loves, frustration from editing his journals, and unsatisfied as governor of Louisiana, he rested for the evening. He asked the owner of the stand for gunpowder. Intimidated by his behavior, she gave it to him. A few hours later, two shots rang out in the night—Lewis had apparently shot himself twice, once in the head and once in the chest. He lived until the next morning when he cut his own arms and legs open with a razor and bled himself to death.
The U.S. signed treaties with the [[Chickasaw]] and [[Choctaw]] tribes to maintain peace as [[European Americans]] entered the area in greater numbers. In 1801, the [[United States Army]] began trailblazing along the Trace, performing major work to prepare it as a thoroughfare. The work was done by soldiers reassigned from Tennessee and later by civilian contractors. Jefferson called it the "Columbian Highway" to emphasize American sovereignty in the area. The people who used it, however, dubbed the road "The Devil's Backbone" due to its remoteness, rough conditions, and the frequently encountered [[highwaymen]] found along the new road.<ref name=Devoss/> Aaron Burr wrote to his daughter, that the "'road...you will see laid down...on the map...as having been cut by the order of the minister of war[,]...is imaginary; there is no such road.' The region between Washington, Mississippi, and the Choctaw domain was, Burr reported, 'a vile country, destitute of springs or of running water—think of drinking the nasty puddle water, covered with green scum, and full of [[animaculae]]—bah! … [H]ow glad I was to get [into the high country,] all fine, transparent, lively streams, and itself [the Tennessee] a clear, beautiful, magnificent river.'"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Roger G. |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/10709 |title=Burr, Hamilton, and Jefferson |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-19-514055-2 |pages=319 |language=en |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195140552.001.0001 |lccn=99022453 |oclc=181840559}}</ref>


By 1809, the trail was fully navigable by wagon, with the northward journey taking two to three weeks. Critical to the success of the Trace as a trade route was the development of inns and [[trading post]]s, referred to at the time as "stands".<ref name=Devoss/>
A few years after his death, rumors of murder began to spread. Conspiracy theories surrounding that night in Grinder's Stand circulated in academia. In 1996 [[James E. Starrs]], a professor at [[George Washington University]], attempted to procure permission to exhume Lewis' remains for study, to put the mystery to rest. Although his efforts were supported by several researchers and 160 descendants of Lewis, the [[National Park Service]] (NPS), which oversees the grave site in Hohenwald, denied permission. A court later ruled that the exhumation was justified, but the NPS has successfully resisted pressure to exhume Lewis' remains.


Many early migrants in Tennessee and Mississippi settled along the Natchez Trace. Some of the most prominent were [[Washington, Mississippi]] (the old capital of Mississippi); "Old" [[Old Greenville, Mississippi|Greenville, Mississippi]] (where [[Andrew Jackson]] married [[Rachel Jackson]] in 1791);<ref name=Historical>{{cite book |last1=Rowland |first1=Dunbar |title=Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Volume IV |date=1921 |publisher=Mississippi Historical Society |location=Jackson, Mississippi |pages=14–16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2EcUAAAAYAAJ&dq=old+greenville+jefferson+county+mississippi&pg=PA155}}</ref> and [[Port Gibson, Mississippi]].<ref>{{cite journal | author = Cotterill, R. S. |date=April 1921 | title = The Natchez Trace | journal = Tennessee Historical Magazine | volume = 7 | issue = 1 | pages = 29–35 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1rVYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA27 }}</ref> The Natchez Trace was used during the [[War of 1812]] and the ensuing [[Creek War]], as soldiers under Major General Andrew Jackson's command traveled southward to subdue the [[Red Sticks]] and to defend the country against invasion by the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]]. Jackson most likely knew the road well from his [[Andrew Jackson and the slave trade in the United States|career as an interstate slave trader]] operating between Natchez and Nashville beginning in 1789.<ref>{{cite journal |year=2008 |title=Slave Owner, Slave Trader, Gentleman: Slavery and the Rise of Andrew Jackson |url=https://teachtnhistory.org/file/Slave%20Owner,%20Slave%20Trader,%20Gentleman-%20Slavery%20&%20the%20Rise%20of%20Andrew%20Jackson%20(Snow).pdf |journal=Journal of East Tennessee History |location=Knoxville, Tennessee |publisher=East Tennessee Historical Society |volume=80 |pages=47–59 |issn=1058-2126 |oclc=23044540 |author-last1=Snow |author-first1=Whitney Adrienne}}</ref>
Today, Grinder's Stand and the city of Hohenwald are part of [[Lewis County, Tennessee]], which was named for Meriwether Lewis.

[[File:Trail on the Natchez Trace IMG 7003.JPG|thumb|right|A trail on the Natchez Trace]]

By 1817, the continued development of [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] (with its access to the Mississippi River) and [[Jackson's Military Road]] (heading south from Nashville) formed more direct and faster routes to [[New Orleans]]. Trade shifted to either of these routes along the east or west of the area, away from the Trace.<ref name=Devoss/> As author [[William C. Davis (historian)|William C. Davis]] wrote in his book ''A Way Through the Wilderness'' (1995), the Trace was "a victim of its own success" by encouraging development in the frontier area.

With the rise of [[steamboat]] culture on the Mississippi River after the invention of the steam engine, the Trace lost its importance as a national road, as goods could be moved more quickly, cheaply, and in greater quantity on the river.<ref name=Devoss/> Before the invention of [[steam engine|steam power]], the Mississippi River's south-flowing current was so strong that northbound return journeys generally had to be made over land.

Although many authors have written that the Trace disappeared back into the woods, much of it was used by people living nearby. Large sections of the Trace in Tennessee were converted to county roads for operation, and sections continue to be used today.

==Early 19th century==
[[Image:NatchezCypressSwamp.jpg|thumb|right|A cypress swamp along the side of the Natchez Trace near [[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]], [[Mississippi]]]]

Though the Natchez Trace was briefly used as a major United States route, it served an essential function for years. The Trace was the only reliable land link between the eastern states and the trading ports of Mississippi and [[Louisiana]]. All sorts of people traveled down the Trace: itinerant preachers, [[highwaymen]], traders, and [[peddler]]s among them.<ref name=Devoss/>

As part of the "[[Great Awakening]]" movement that swept the country in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the "spiritual development" along the Trace started from the Natchez end and moved northward. Several [[Methodist Church|Methodist]] preachers began working a [[circuit preacher|circuit]] along the Trace as early as 1800. By 1812 they claimed a membership of 1,067 [[white Americans]] and 267 [[African Americans]].<ref>Daniels, 1962 pp.146-149</ref> The Methodists were soon joined in Natchez by other [[Protestant]] denominations, including [[Baptist church|Baptist]] [[missionary|missionaries]] and [[Presbyterian church|Presbyterian]]s.

The latter accompanied the migration of Scots-Irish and Scots into the frontier areas. Presbyterians and their frontier offshoot, the [[Cumberland Presbyterian church|Cumberland Presbyterians]], were the most active of the three denominations in this country. They claimed converts among Native Americans. The Presbyterians started working from the south; the Cumberland Presbyterians worked from the north, as they had migrated to Tennessee from Kentucky.

[[File:Another view of the Sunken Trace IMG 7002.JPG|thumb|left|Another view of the Sunken Trace (June 2015)]]

As with the much-unsettled frontier, banditry regularly occurred along the Trace. Much of it centered around the river landing [[History of Natchez, Mississippi#Antebellum (1783-1860)|Natchez Under-The-Hill]], as compared with the rest of the town atop the river bluff. Under-the-Hill, where barges and [[keelboat]]s put in with goods from northern ports, was a hotbed of gamblers, prostitutes, and drunken crew from the boats. Many of the rowdies, referred to as "Kaintucks", were rough Kentucky frontiersmen who operated [[flatboat]]s down the river.<ref name=Devoss/> They delivered goods to Natchez in exchange for cash and sought gambling contests in Natchez Under-the-Hill. They walked or rode horseback the 450 miles back up the Trace to Nashville. In 1810, an estimated 10,000 "Kaintucks" used the Trace annually to return to the north to start another river journey.<ref name=Devoss/>

Other dangers lurked on the Trace in the areas outside city boundaries. Highwaymen (such as [[John Murrell (bandit)|John Murrell]] and [[Samuel Mason]]) terrorized travelers along the road. They operated large gangs of organized [[brigandage|brigands]] in one of the first examples of land-based [[organized crime]] in the United States.<ref>[[#Coates|Coates, 2014]] pp.107, 115-116, 270</ref><ref>Daniels; 1962; pp.114, 124-128</ref>

==Stands along the trace==
[[File:Daily life at Buzzard Roost Stand.jpg|thumb|Buzzard Roost Stand]]
[[File:Mount Locust Natchez Trace Parkway.jpg|thumb|Mount Locust, a "stand", or inn, that served travelers the early 1800s. It's one of the oldest structures left on the Old Natchez Trace.]]
The [[inn]]s, or stands, as they were called along the Natchez Trace, provided lodging for travelers from the 1790s to the 1840s. These stands furnished food and accommodations and contributed to the spread of news, information, and new ideas. The food was basic: corn in the form of [[hominy]] was a staple, and bacon, biscuits, coffee with sugar, and whiskey were served. Lodging was normally on the floor; beds were available only to a few due to many travelers and cramped conditions. Some travelers chose to sleep outdoors or on the porches.<ref>[https://www.nps.gov/natr/learn/historyculture/historic-stands-along-the-old-natchez-trace.htm "Historic Stands along the Old Natchez Trace." ''National Park Service.''] Retrieved July 12, 2021.</ref>

;Stands on the old Natchez Trace, from Nashville south to Natchez
;''[[Nashville]]''
* Joslin's Stand, Tenn. 1797
* [[John Gordon (militia captain)|Gordon's]] Stand, with Gordon's Ferry across the [[Duck River (Tennessee)|Duck River]], Tenn. 1802.
* Keg Springs Stand, Tenn. 1812
* Sheboss Place, Tenn.
* Dobbin's Stand, Tenn. 1808
* [[Grinder's Stand]], Tenn. 1808
*McLish's Stand, Tenn. 1806
*Young Factor's Stand, Tenn. 1805
*McGlamery's Stand, Tenn.
*Toscomby's Stand, Tenn.1810
* [[George Colbert]]'s Stand and Colbert's Ferry across the Tennessee River, Ala. 1806
[[File:Buzzard Roost Spring.jpg|thumb|The spring located at Buzzard Roost Spring at Milepost 320.3 near [[Cherokee, Alabama]].]]
*[[Buzzard Roost, Alabama|Buzzard Roost Stand]], Ala. 1812 See:[[Levi Colbert]]
*Levi Colbert's Stand, Ala.
*Brown's Stand, Miss. 1815
*Old Factor's Stand, Miss. 1812
*Levi Kemp's Stand, Miss. 1825
*James Colbert's Stand, Miss. 1812
[[File:Tokshish Church, Pontotoc County, Mississippi.jpg|thumb|Tokshish Church, Pontotoc County, Mississippi]]
*Tockshish's Stand (McIntosh's Stand), or McIntoshville, Chickasaw Old Town, Miss. 1797<ref>Phelps, Dawson A. (2016) "Tockshish," Journal of Mississippi History: Vol. 78: No. 1, Article 6. Available at: <nowiki>https://aquila.usm.edu/jmh/vol78/iss1/6</nowiki> </ref>
*Wall's Stand, Miss. 1811
*[[Pigeon Roost, Mississippi|Pigeon Roost]] Stand, Miss. 1800
*Mitchell's Stand, Miss. 1806
*[[French Camp, Mississippi|French Camp, LeFleur's Stand]], Miss. 1810
*Hawkins's Stand, Harkin's Stand, Miss. 1811
*Shoat's Stand (Choteau's Stand), Miss. 1811
*Anderson's Stand, Miss.1811
*Crowders Stand, Miss. 1813
*Doak's Stand, Miss. 1810. See: [[Treaty of Doak's Stand]].
*Ward's Stand, Miss. 1811
*Brashear's Stand, Miss. 1806. See: [[Ridgeland, Mississippi]].
[[File:"Turner Brashears' Tavern, Natchez Trace" The Mississippi Messenger, November 11, 1806.jpg|thumb|Turner Brashears announces his tavern is open for business, 1806]]
;''[[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]]''
*Ogburn's Stand, Miss. 1810
*Hayes's Stand, Miss. 1815
*Dean's Stand, Miss. 1821
*Red Bluff Stand, McRover's Stand, Smith's Stand, Miss.1806
*Wooldridge's Stand, Miss.1806
*Dillon's Stand, aft. 1830<ref>{{Cite book |last=United States. |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000968469 |title=Natchez trace parkway survey. Letter of the secretary of the interior transmitting in response to Senate resolution no. 222, a report of a survey of the old Indian trail, known as the Natchez trace, made by the Department of the interior, through the national park service, pursuant to an act approved May 21, 1934, with a view to constructing a national road on this route to be known as the Natchez trace parkway. |date=1941 |publisher=U.S. Govt. print. off. |series=[United States] 76th Cong., 3d sess. Senate. Doc. 148 |location=Washington}}</ref>
*[[Old Natchez Trace (132-3T)|Grindstone Ford, Miss.]] 1797
;''[[Port Gibson, Mississippi|Port Gibson]]''
*[[Coon Box, Mississippi|Coon Box Stand, Miss.]]
*[[Greenville, Mississippi|Greenville, Miss.]]
*[[Uniontown, Mississippi|Uniontown, Miss.]]
*[[Selsertown, Mississippi|Selserville, Miss.]]
*[[Washington, Mississippi|Washington, Miss.]]
;''[[Natchez, Mississippi|Natchez]]''

Source:<ref>[http://redbonenation.com/natchez-trace-stand-owners-traders/ Webb, Stacy R. (2007). "Stand Owners & Traders Natchez Trace." ''MEHRA''. ] Retrieved July 12, 2021.</ref>

==Death of Meriwether Lewis==
[[File:Meriwether Lewis National Monument and Gravesite.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Meriwether Lewis National Monument and Grave, April 2014]]
{{Main|Meriwether Lewis}}

[[Meriwether Lewis]], of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] fame, died while traveling on the Trace. Then serving as appointed governor of the [[Louisiana Territory]], he was on his way to Washington, D.C., from his base in St. Louis, Missouri. Lewis stopped at [[Grinder's Stand]] (near current-day [[Hohenwald, Tennessee]]) for overnight shelter in October 1809. He was distraught over many issues, possibly affected by his use of [[opium]]. He was believed by many to have committed [[suicide]] there with a gun.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Some uncertainty persists as to whether it was suicide.<ref name=Devoss/> His mother believed he had been murdered, and rumors circulated about possible killers. [[Thomas Jefferson]] and Lewis's former partner, [[William Clark (explorer)|William Clark]], accepted the report of suicide. Lewis was buried near the inn along the Trace.<ref name=Brown>[http://stories.washingtonhistory.org/LC-columbia/teaching/pdfs/What-really-happened-to-MeriwetherLewis.pdf Dee Brown, "What Really Happened to Meriwether Lewis?"], ''Columbia Magazine'', Winter 1988, Vol. 1, No. 4, accessed Oct 17, 2010</ref> In 1848, a Tennessee state commission erected a monument at the site.

On the bicentennial of Lewis's death (2009), the first national public memorial service honoring his life was held; it was also the last event of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Bicentennial.

==See also==
{{Portal|Mississippi}}
* [[Natchez Trace State Park]], Tennessee
* [[Trace State Park]], Mississippi


==Notes==
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==References==
==References==
* {{cite book | last=Coates |first=Robert M. |year=2004 |title=The Outlaw Years The History Of The Land Pirates Of The Natchez Trace |ref=Coates | publisher=Kessinger Publishing |pages=244 |isbn=9781417943777}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=7tuco4Tc0U8C]
* Crutchfield, James A. (1985). ''The Natchez Trace: A Pictorial History''. Nashville, Tennessee: Rutledge Hill Press. ISBN 0-934395-03-9.
* {{cite book |last=Crutchfield |first= James A. |year= 1985 |title= The Natchez Trace: A Pictorial History |ref= Crutchfield |publisher= Rutledge Hill Press |location= Nashville, Tennessee |isbn= 0-934395-03-9 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/natcheztracepict0000crut }}
* Daniels, Jonathan (1985). ''Devil's Backbone: Story of the Natchez Trace''. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company. ISBN 0-88289-438-2.
* {{cite book | last=Daniels |first=Jonathan |year=1962 | title=The Devil's Backbone: The Story of the Natchez Trace| publisher= Pelican Publishing, Louisiana |pages=267 |isbn=0-88289-438-2}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=yK955803jzQC&q=%22Natchez+Trace%22]
* Davis, William C. (1995) ''A Way Through the Wilderness: The Natchez Trace and the Civilization of the Southern Frontier''. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-016921-4.
* {{cite book | last=Davis | first=William C. | year=1995 | title=A Way Through the Wilderness: The Natchez Trace and the Civilization of the Southern Frontier | publisher=HarperCollins Publishers | location=New York | isbn=0-06-016921-4 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/waythroughwilder00davi }}


==See also==
== Further reading ==
* George, Linda, George, Charles (2001). ''The Natchez Trace'', pp.&nbsp;30 [https://books.google.com/books?id=pV1X6z23SCcC]
{{portal|Mississippi|Flag of Mississippi.svg}}
* Hall, Robert Green (1914). ''The Natchez trace: a study in transportation and travel between the early west and southwest''; University of Wisconsin, pp.&nbsp;128 [https://books.google.com/books?id=0rU2AAAAMAAJ&q=%22Natchez+Trace%22 -- Ebook (full view)]
*[[Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge]]
* Jamison, Lena Mitchell (1938). ''The Natchez trace''; University of Wisconsin—Madison, pp.&nbsp;208 [https://books.google.com/books?id=uSI1AAAAMAAJ]
*[[Natchez Trace State Park]], Tennessee
* Kroll, Harry Harrison (2005). ''Perilous Journey''; Kessinger Publishing, pp.&nbsp;420, {{ISBN|9781417997626}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=lvtTzaxbN_wC&q=%22Natchez+Trace%22]
*[[Trace State Park]], Mississippi


== External links ==
==External links==
{{commons|Category:Natchez Trace|Natchez Trace}}
{{Commons category|Natchez Trace}}
*[http://www.nps.gov/natr/ National Park Service: Natchez Trace Parkway]
* [https://www.nps.gov/natr/ National Park Service: Natchez Trace Parkway]
*[http://scenictrace.com/ The Natchez Trace Compact]
* [https://www.chickasaw.tv/places/natchez-trace-profile Natchez Trace Profile and Videos] - Chickasaw.TV
*[http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2285/ Natchez Trace Parkway] at byways.org
* [http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2285/ Natchez Trace Parkway] at byways.org
* [https://arts.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Natchez-Trace-Curriculum-06.03.19-1.pdf Lesson Plan: "Footprints in the Dust: The Natchez Trace"]


{{Authority control}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}


[[Category:Natchez Trace]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Natchez Trace}}
[[Category:Natchez Trace| ]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Lauderdale County, Alabama]]
[[Category:Native American trails in the United States]]
[[Category:Historic trails and roads in Alabama]]
[[Category:Roads on the National Register of Historic Places]]
[[Category:Historic trails and roads in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Historic trails and roads in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Historic trails and roads in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Historic trails and roads in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Historic districts in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area]]
[[Category:Historic districts in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Native American trails in the United States]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Historic trails and roads in the United States]]

[[da:Natchez Trace]]
[[de:Natchez Trace]]
[[fr:Piste Natchez]]
[[ru:Натчез-трейс]]

Latest revision as of 04:42, 10 December 2024

Part of the original Natchez Trace near Natchez, Mississippi
Old Trace historical marker

The Natchez Trace, also known as the Old Natchez Trace, is a historic forest trail within the United States which extends roughly 440 miles (710 km) from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi, linking the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Mississippi rivers.

Native Americans created and used the trail for centuries. Early European and American explorers, traders, and immigrants used it in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. European Americans founded inns, also known as "stands", along the Trace to serve food and lodging to travelers. Most of these stands closed as travel shifted to steamboats on the Mississippi and other rivers. The heyday of the Trace began in the 1770s and ended in the 1820s, by the 1830s the route was already in disrepair and its time as a major interregional commercial route had come to an end.[1]

Today, the path is commemorated by the 444-mile (715 km) Natchez Trace Parkway, which follows the approximate path of the Trace,[2] as well as the related Natchez Trace Trail. Parts of the original trail are still accessible, and some segments are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Origins

[edit]
The "Sunken Trace"

Largely following a geologic ridge line, prehistoric animals followed the dry ground of the Trace to distant grazing lands, the salt licks of today's Middle Tennessee, and to the Mississippi River. Native Americans used many early footpaths created by the foraging of bison, deer, and other large game that could break paths through the dense undergrowth. In the case of the Trace, bison traveled north to find salt licks in the Nashville area.[3]

After Native Americans began to settle the land, they blazed the trail and improved it further until it became a relatively well-established path. Numerous prehistoric indigenous settlements in Mississippi were established along the Natchez Trace. Among them were the 2,000-year-old Pharr Mounds of the Middle Woodland period, located near present-day Tupelo, Mississippi.

The first recorded European explorer to travel the Trace in its entirety was an unnamed Frenchman in 1742, who wrote of the trail and its "miserable conditions". Early European explorers depended on the assistance of Native American guides to go through this territory — specifically, the Choctaw and Chickasaw who occupied the region. These tribes and earlier prehistoric peoples, collectively known as the Mississippian culture, had long used the Trace for trade. The Chickasaw leader, Chief Piomingo, made use of the trail so often that it became known as Piominko's Path during his lifetime.[4] Another early common name was Trail to the Chickasaw Nation.[5]: 42 

Development

[edit]
Map of Mississippi from 1819 showing the "Road Made by Order of Government from Pierre River to Nashville"
One of numerous overpasses on the Natchez Trace toward the exit to Vicksburg
Grindstone Ford photographed c. 1938

Even before the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas Jefferson wanted to connect the distant Mississippi frontier to other settled areas of the United States. To foster communication with what was then called the Southwest, he directed the construction of a postal road between Daniel Boone's Wilderness Road (the southern branch of the road ended at Nashville) and the Mississippi River.

James Wilkinson's survey of the Mississippi section of the trace, probably circa 1802
Tennessee River section

The U.S. signed treaties with the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes to maintain peace as European Americans entered the area in greater numbers. In 1801, the United States Army began trailblazing along the Trace, performing major work to prepare it as a thoroughfare. The work was done by soldiers reassigned from Tennessee and later by civilian contractors. Jefferson called it the "Columbian Highway" to emphasize American sovereignty in the area. The people who used it, however, dubbed the road "The Devil's Backbone" due to its remoteness, rough conditions, and the frequently encountered highwaymen found along the new road.[2] Aaron Burr wrote to his daughter, that the "'road...you will see laid down...on the map...as having been cut by the order of the minister of war[,]...is imaginary; there is no such road.' The region between Washington, Mississippi, and the Choctaw domain was, Burr reported, 'a vile country, destitute of springs or of running water—think of drinking the nasty puddle water, covered with green scum, and full of animaculae—bah! … [H]ow glad I was to get [into the high country,] all fine, transparent, lively streams, and itself [the Tennessee] a clear, beautiful, magnificent river.'"[6]

By 1809, the trail was fully navigable by wagon, with the northward journey taking two to three weeks. Critical to the success of the Trace as a trade route was the development of inns and trading posts, referred to at the time as "stands".[2]

Many early migrants in Tennessee and Mississippi settled along the Natchez Trace. Some of the most prominent were Washington, Mississippi (the old capital of Mississippi); "Old" Greenville, Mississippi (where Andrew Jackson married Rachel Jackson in 1791);[7] and Port Gibson, Mississippi.[8] The Natchez Trace was used during the War of 1812 and the ensuing Creek War, as soldiers under Major General Andrew Jackson's command traveled southward to subdue the Red Sticks and to defend the country against invasion by the British. Jackson most likely knew the road well from his career as an interstate slave trader operating between Natchez and Nashville beginning in 1789.[9]

A trail on the Natchez Trace

By 1817, the continued development of Memphis (with its access to the Mississippi River) and Jackson's Military Road (heading south from Nashville) formed more direct and faster routes to New Orleans. Trade shifted to either of these routes along the east or west of the area, away from the Trace.[2] As author William C. Davis wrote in his book A Way Through the Wilderness (1995), the Trace was "a victim of its own success" by encouraging development in the frontier area.

With the rise of steamboat culture on the Mississippi River after the invention of the steam engine, the Trace lost its importance as a national road, as goods could be moved more quickly, cheaply, and in greater quantity on the river.[2] Before the invention of steam power, the Mississippi River's south-flowing current was so strong that northbound return journeys generally had to be made over land.

Although many authors have written that the Trace disappeared back into the woods, much of it was used by people living nearby. Large sections of the Trace in Tennessee were converted to county roads for operation, and sections continue to be used today.

Early 19th century

[edit]
A cypress swamp along the side of the Natchez Trace near Jackson, Mississippi

Though the Natchez Trace was briefly used as a major United States route, it served an essential function for years. The Trace was the only reliable land link between the eastern states and the trading ports of Mississippi and Louisiana. All sorts of people traveled down the Trace: itinerant preachers, highwaymen, traders, and peddlers among them.[2]

As part of the "Great Awakening" movement that swept the country in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the "spiritual development" along the Trace started from the Natchez end and moved northward. Several Methodist preachers began working a circuit along the Trace as early as 1800. By 1812 they claimed a membership of 1,067 white Americans and 267 African Americans.[10] The Methodists were soon joined in Natchez by other Protestant denominations, including Baptist missionaries and Presbyterians.

The latter accompanied the migration of Scots-Irish and Scots into the frontier areas. Presbyterians and their frontier offshoot, the Cumberland Presbyterians, were the most active of the three denominations in this country. They claimed converts among Native Americans. The Presbyterians started working from the south; the Cumberland Presbyterians worked from the north, as they had migrated to Tennessee from Kentucky.

Another view of the Sunken Trace (June 2015)

As with the much-unsettled frontier, banditry regularly occurred along the Trace. Much of it centered around the river landing Natchez Under-The-Hill, as compared with the rest of the town atop the river bluff. Under-the-Hill, where barges and keelboats put in with goods from northern ports, was a hotbed of gamblers, prostitutes, and drunken crew from the boats. Many of the rowdies, referred to as "Kaintucks", were rough Kentucky frontiersmen who operated flatboats down the river.[2] They delivered goods to Natchez in exchange for cash and sought gambling contests in Natchez Under-the-Hill. They walked or rode horseback the 450 miles back up the Trace to Nashville. In 1810, an estimated 10,000 "Kaintucks" used the Trace annually to return to the north to start another river journey.[2]

Other dangers lurked on the Trace in the areas outside city boundaries. Highwaymen (such as John Murrell and Samuel Mason) terrorized travelers along the road. They operated large gangs of organized brigands in one of the first examples of land-based organized crime in the United States.[11][12]

Stands along the trace

[edit]
Buzzard Roost Stand
Mount Locust, a "stand", or inn, that served travelers the early 1800s. It's one of the oldest structures left on the Old Natchez Trace.

The inns, or stands, as they were called along the Natchez Trace, provided lodging for travelers from the 1790s to the 1840s. These stands furnished food and accommodations and contributed to the spread of news, information, and new ideas. The food was basic: corn in the form of hominy was a staple, and bacon, biscuits, coffee with sugar, and whiskey were served. Lodging was normally on the floor; beds were available only to a few due to many travelers and cramped conditions. Some travelers chose to sleep outdoors or on the porches.[13]

Stands on the old Natchez Trace, from Nashville south to Natchez
Nashville
  • Joslin's Stand, Tenn. 1797
  • Gordon's Stand, with Gordon's Ferry across the Duck River, Tenn. 1802.
  • Keg Springs Stand, Tenn. 1812
  • Sheboss Place, Tenn.
  • Dobbin's Stand, Tenn. 1808
  • Grinder's Stand, Tenn. 1808
  • McLish's Stand, Tenn. 1806
  • Young Factor's Stand, Tenn. 1805
  • McGlamery's Stand, Tenn.
  • Toscomby's Stand, Tenn.1810
  • George Colbert's Stand and Colbert's Ferry across the Tennessee River, Ala. 1806
The spring located at Buzzard Roost Spring at Milepost 320.3 near Cherokee, Alabama.
  • Buzzard Roost Stand, Ala. 1812 See:Levi Colbert
  • Levi Colbert's Stand, Ala.
  • Brown's Stand, Miss. 1815
  • Old Factor's Stand, Miss. 1812
  • Levi Kemp's Stand, Miss. 1825
  • James Colbert's Stand, Miss. 1812
Tokshish Church, Pontotoc County, Mississippi
  • Tockshish's Stand (McIntosh's Stand), or McIntoshville, Chickasaw Old Town, Miss. 1797[14]
  • Wall's Stand, Miss. 1811
  • Pigeon Roost Stand, Miss. 1800
  • Mitchell's Stand, Miss. 1806
  • French Camp, LeFleur's Stand, Miss. 1810
  • Hawkins's Stand, Harkin's Stand, Miss. 1811
  • Shoat's Stand (Choteau's Stand), Miss. 1811
  • Anderson's Stand, Miss.1811
  • Crowders Stand, Miss. 1813
  • Doak's Stand, Miss. 1810. See: Treaty of Doak's Stand.
  • Ward's Stand, Miss. 1811
  • Brashear's Stand, Miss. 1806. See: Ridgeland, Mississippi.
Turner Brashears announces his tavern is open for business, 1806
Jackson
  • Ogburn's Stand, Miss. 1810
  • Hayes's Stand, Miss. 1815
  • Dean's Stand, Miss. 1821
  • Red Bluff Stand, McRover's Stand, Smith's Stand, Miss.1806
  • Wooldridge's Stand, Miss.1806
  • Dillon's Stand, aft. 1830[15]
  • Grindstone Ford, Miss. 1797
Port Gibson
Natchez

Source:[16]

Death of Meriwether Lewis

[edit]
Meriwether Lewis National Monument and Grave, April 2014
Main article: Meriwether Lewis

Meriwether Lewis, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition fame, died while traveling on the Trace. Then serving as appointed governor of the Louisiana Territory, he was on his way to Washington, D.C., from his base in St. Louis, Missouri. Lewis stopped at Grinder's Stand (near current-day Hohenwald, Tennessee) for overnight shelter in October 1809. He was distraught over many issues, possibly affected by his use of opium. He was believed by many to have committed suicide there with a gun.[citation needed]

Some uncertainty persists as to whether it was suicide.[2] His mother believed he had been murdered, and rumors circulated about possible killers. Thomas Jefferson and Lewis's former partner, William Clark, accepted the report of suicide. Lewis was buried near the inn along the Trace.[17] In 1848, a Tennessee state commission erected a monument at the site.

On the bicentennial of Lewis's death (2009), the first national public memorial service honoring his life was held; it was also the last event of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Bicentennial.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Bunn, Mike; Williams, Clay (2023). Old Southwest to Old South: Mississippi, 1798–1840. Heritage of Mississippi Series, Vol. IX. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi for the Mississippi Historical Society and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. pp. 188–189. ISBN 978-1-4968-4380-7. LCCN 2022042580. OCLC 1348393702. Project MUSE book 109599.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Devoss, David (May 2008). "End of the Road". Smithsonian Magazine. 39 (2): 72. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  3. ^ Lay, M G (1992). Ways of the world. Sydney: Primavera Press. p. 401. ISBN 1-875368-05-1., p5
  4. ^ Chickasaw Leader Piominko Impacted US, Mississippi History; article; Morris, M. Scott; The Oxford Eagle online; Oxford, Mississippi; (September 11, 2017); retrieved March 2023
  5. ^ James, D. Clayton (1993) [1968]. Antebellum Natchez. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-1860-3. LCCN 68028496. OCLC 28281641.
  6. ^ Kennedy, Roger G. (2000). Burr, Hamilton, and Jefferson. Oxford University Press. p. 319. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195140552.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-514055-2. LCCN 99022453. OCLC 181840559.
  7. ^ Rowland, Dunbar (1921). Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Volume IV. Jackson, Mississippi: Mississippi Historical Society. pp. 14–16.
  8. ^ Cotterill, R. S. (April 1921). "The Natchez Trace". Tennessee Historical Magazine. 7 (1): 29–35.
  9. ^ Snow, Whitney Adrienne (2008). "Slave Owner, Slave Trader, Gentleman: Slavery and the Rise of Andrew Jackson" (PDF). Journal of East Tennessee History. 80. Knoxville, Tennessee: East Tennessee Historical Society: 47–59. ISSN 1058-2126. OCLC 23044540.
  10. ^ Daniels, 1962 pp.146-149
  11. ^ Coates, 2014 pp.107, 115-116, 270
  12. ^ Daniels; 1962; pp.114, 124-128
  13. ^ "Historic Stands along the Old Natchez Trace." National Park Service. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  14. ^ Phelps, Dawson A. (2016) "Tockshish," Journal of Mississippi History: Vol. 78: No. 1, Article 6. Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/jmh/vol78/iss1/6
  15. ^ United States. (1941). Natchez trace parkway survey. Letter of the secretary of the interior transmitting in response to Senate resolution no. 222, a report of a survey of the old Indian trail, known as the Natchez trace, made by the Department of the interior, through the national park service, pursuant to an act approved May 21, 1934, with a view to constructing a national road on this route to be known as the Natchez trace parkway. [United States] 76th Cong., 3d sess. Senate. Doc. 148. Washington: U.S. Govt. print. off.
  16. ^ Webb, Stacy R. (2007). "Stand Owners & Traders Natchez Trace." MEHRA. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  17. ^ Dee Brown, "What Really Happened to Meriwether Lewis?", Columbia Magazine, Winter 1988, Vol. 1, No. 4, accessed Oct 17, 2010

References

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
  • George, Linda, George, Charles (2001). The Natchez Trace, pp. 30 [3]
  • Hall, Robert Green (1914). The Natchez trace: a study in transportation and travel between the early west and southwest; University of Wisconsin, pp. 128 -- Ebook (full view)
  • Jamison, Lena Mitchell (1938). The Natchez trace; University of Wisconsin—Madison, pp. 208 [4]
  • Kroll, Harry Harrison (2005). Perilous Journey; Kessinger Publishing, pp. 420, ISBN 9781417997626 [5]
[edit]
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