Twice ToldCaptain John R. Bell's journal, 19 October 1820
- Language
- English
- Reading
- transcribed from the page image
- Retrieved
- 24 September 2026
John R. Bell, a captain of light artillery, was the official journalist of Stephen H. Long’s expedition to the Rocky Mountains in 1820. On his way back east he rode through northern Middle Tennessee toward Nashville and kept a daily entry. The manuscript was given to Stanford University’s history department and was on deposit in Stanford’s special collections when Fuller and Hafen printed it in 1957, keeping its spelling, punctuation and grammar. This is the part of the entry for Thursday 19 October 1820 that concerns the voice.
Thursday, Octr. 19th. The weather continues remarkably pleasant, breakfasted and resumed my journey, was soon passed the country of the barrons, where there was evidently a tract of country superior in soil, large extensive plantations on both sides of the way, on which, was cultivated, corn, cotton and tobacco, from 12 to 1500 pounds of tobacco is raised from a acre of ground. The dwellings, tobacco & other out houses on the plantations, are more extensive and in better style and order than I have yet seen [dash] travelled 6 miles and crossed a stream called Red river at a place or town of Port Royal, containing two dwellinghouses, a store and stables etc 7 miles further is Turnersville a good dwelling house and a Blacksmiths shop appear to be the principle buildings of this village [dash] five miles from Turnersville is Murpheys a good planta. and comfortable accomodations, halted for dinner [dash] met a number of families during the morning, moving to Missouri. Rather a singular circumstance was here related to me, of a young girl of about 15 years of age, residing but 3 miles from Murphey, a voice accompanies her, which says she should marry a man a neighbor [dash] thousands of persons have visited her to hear this voice, in many instances, it will reply to questions put to it, the visitors have left as little satisfied in their curiosity as before they heard it, many are under the impression, that it is ventrelequism imposed upon the hearers either by the girl or her brother [dash] who it seems is generally in her company, her family is respectable. After dinner travelled 10 miles to Simms where I put up for the night, the country in that distance is hilly and stony altho the soil appears good producing firm timber of oak, walnut and other varieties. Travelled to day 28 miles.
Notes
- Transcription conventions: spelling as printed in the 1957 edition, which says it follows the manuscript. Each [dash] stands for a dash printed between words; nothing is left out.
- The entry names no family. Nothing in it says the girl was a Bell. The identification with Betsy Bell is ours, and rests on the route (Port Royal and the Red River), the voice’s wish that she marry a neighbour, and her age: M. V. Ingram (1894) says Betsy was born in 1805, which would make her 15 in October 1820.
- The next day, 20 October, Captain Bell rode the last 16 miles to Nashville.
- The editors found no earlier printing of the journal: Edwin James, who wrote the expedition’s official account, said he never saw it, and the Library of Congress had no copy.
- This entry is two months before the date M. V. Ingram gives for John Bell’s death, 20 December 1820. It says nothing about a sick father, a witch or a poisoning.