Anthony Glass and the Red River Expedition

by Jordan Rushing, Assistant Director/Curator of the Old Courthouse Museum

While researching Warren County, I’ve come across one person that stands out among all other early settlers. He is a man that had a hand in everything from agriculture, cotton ginning, lumber production, real estate, and politics; yet he is an enigma shrouded in mystery and rumors that are still highly debated today.

In almost every record of this area beginning in the 19th century, the name Anthony Glass will appear, but by far the most fascinating I have come across is a journal he kept beginning in 1808 when he and a band of ten other adventurers set out for the Red River on a potential government sanctioned expedition to establish trade with the Panis Natives. I say potentially because of the Louisiana Governor of the time, W. C. C. Claiborne, was skeptical about the Walnut Hills native’s true intentions for the expedition he was leading. Governor Claiborne wrote to the Secretary of State in Washington to express his anxiety, referencing that the campaign was Burresque in nature in reference to the mysterious adventure of Vice President Aaron Burr just one year prior. Despite Claiborne’s mistrust though, Glass did have the backing of John Sibley, head of the Indian agency at Natchitoches, LA, who outfitted his group with supplies, provisions, licenses, passports, and trade goods valued at $3,000.

Regardless of the permissions given, Glass expressed that the expedition was government-sanctioned and that he was to be considered an officer of the United States. The importance that he was an officer can not be understated, as previous ventures west years prior resulted in many groups being killed by the Spanish with the only exception being a military campaign being turned away. Much of the land out west was disputed territory between the United States and Spain. President Thomas Jefferson believed that the land was among the additions acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, yet Spain still held a firm claim to the Texas region. It was believed threats of war were brewing between the two nations over the dispute, which made establishing good relations with the Natives of the area imperative. Glass being unfazed by the threat of the Spanish, claimed the rank of a Captain, wore epaulets, belt and sword, dawned a military coat, and carried a regimental flag. Reports given to the Secretary of State mentioned that this band of eleven was actually closer to thirty strong, with some official reports claiming that reinforcements would join the expedition from Natchez and Rapides. Despite these claims, Glass only mentions the original group in his journal.

With forty-eight horses, sixteen of which were packed with supplies and trade goods, Glass and his men set out from Salt Works near Nackitosh on July 5th, 1808. Traveling nearly ten to twenty miles a day, their destination would be the present-day Wichita Falls region. When they were not traveling, they were hunting deer and buffalo, making notes about the geography, and observing the customs of the traveling Natives heading to Nackitosh to trade with the Americans. Although their journey was mostly tedious, they did encounter a few hiccups along the way. The most entertaining of which was the wild horses that would wander into their camp in the night and lure their steads off to open pastures requiring them to spend the following day tracking them down. This happened so frequently, one would think they would have come up with a solution to keep their mares reined. If they were not losing their horses, they were losing a man. On several occasions when the camp was made, a member of the party would venture out on their own into the wilderness to hunt and not return to camp before nightfall. The following morning a search group would be sent out to recover them, often delaying them for an additional day. After several hundred miles across thirty-six days, Glass and his men finally reached their destination.

The tradition among the Americans and the Panis Natives was to set up camp roughly five miles from their village and send a messenger to announce their arrival, at which time a party of Natives would return and escort the travelers to town. Upon arriving at the village Glass hoisted his flag high into the air, and the Panis returned the gesture by raising a similar flag given to them by Dr. Sibley on a previous visit. Glass and his men were invited to stay at the Chief’s house, but instead opted to set up a camp near a beautiful spring nearly fifty yards away. Women of the tribe immediately tended to the camp, clearing the grass from around it and setting a path for the party to the spring. The following days were spent trading amongst each other; guns being the most prominent trade item for the Americans and horses being what they sought to trade for.

Among the trading of goods, the Panis were also sharing their stories and traditions with the travelers. The story of the orphan was orated each night, which must have left an impression on Glass as it was the longest single entry in his journal for any one day. It told of an elder tribesman who adopted an orphan before the tribe set out on a great migration. Carrying the child proved to be an exhausting and impossible task for the elder, so at one of their rests, he lingered to build his energy while the rest of the tribe set out. Mournfully, the elder made the decision to leave the child behind as he knew he would be unable to keep up. When the elder caught up to the group they asked him what had happened, and he explained his predicament. A group offered to return and search for the child but were unable to locate him. The sounds of a voice finally caught their attention. The voice claimed to be the orphan, which told them to follow to the top of a hill crest. Upon reaching the summit of the hill they were shocked to find the land beyond it covered in what looked like miles of ice; an impossibility in the sweltering heat of summer. The orphan called out to them and told them not to be afraid that it was not ice they saw, but salt. Speaking to them one final time the orphan offered forgiveness and asked that they not search for him any longer, he was no longer a mortal in this world. As a reminder of the event, the tribesmen vowed to return to the salt fields annually to pay tribute to the gift the orphan had given them.

Many stories such as this were told to Glass’ troop, but besides the story of the orphan, only one other lingered in his mind. On September 15, 1808, Glass made an entry in his journal about a remarkable piece of metal that he had been told about by not just the Panis, but several other surrounding tribes. The metal was said to be a gift that had fallen from the sky long ago, and that it had curative powers when touched. Believing it to be platinum, Glass pleaded with them to escort him to the location, but they refused as no white man had ever laid eyes on it. Despite their refusal, their stories about it continued. Glass noted “the more I heard about it the more my anxiety was increased…” Luck was on his side though, as there was one among the tribe that was willing to take him to the site. An orphaned Spaniard who had been captured as a baby and raised as a warrior, and his wife who had developed a friendship with Glass after he had shared with them several gifts, agreed to lead him to the location of the healing metal. They set off immediately toward the Brazos River.

Red River meteorite (Old Courthouse Museum)

Although their destination was known by Glass’ escort, they were in no hurry to reach it. Glass, fearing he would upset them if he pushed them to make ground on the journey, avoided pressuring them and instead used his time to trade with other tribes they encountered along the way. Among those he traded with were the Hietans, the early American name for the Comanches. It was imperative for Glass to establish a good relationship with them, as the metal was located in their territory. The Panis had found the mass long before the Hietans had, thus it was believed they had the claim to it by both tribes. They had agreed that if the mass of metal had value that they would split it among each other evenly. Curiosity grew, more Hietans met up with Glass’ group, and eventually, the small venture swelled to over 3,000. Observing the overwhelming size of followers Glass wrote, “It was impossible to remain at the same place but a short time on account of the grass being soon eaten up.” Their journey was held up several times due to differing opinions among the Hietans about the true ownership of the metal, requiring Glass to “flatter and bribe” them to push forward. Despite their troubles, on October 14, 1808, the group reached their destination.

Just beyond fifty miles of the Brazos River, Glass was the first American to set eyes on the spiritual stone. In one of his more vivid entries he describes the event as such, “we approached the place where the metal was; the Indians observing considerable ceremony as they approached we found it resting on its heaviest end and leaning towards one side and under it were some Pipes and Trinkets which had been placed there by some Indians who had been healed by visiting it. The mass was but very little bedded in the place where we found it. There is no reason to think it had ever been moved by man, it had the color of Iron, but no rust upon it. The Indians had contrived with Chisels they had made of old files to cut off some small pieces which they had hammered out to their fancy. There has been no other found near it nor anything resembling it.” Upon studying the metal more closely, Glass found that it was attracted by a magnet, could be brightly polished, and that it could spark with a flint. With permission, he chipped a few shavings of the metal off to bring home for study.

Red River meteorite (Old Courthouse Museum)

Having overextended beyond the scope of his venture, he decided it was time to return to Natchitoches and report his findings to Dr. Sibley. In the early February winter of 1809, Glass and his men concluded their adventure. (His final entry in the journal is not a summary of that day’s events, but instead, he opted to draft an extensive report on the character of the Hietan Natives indicating that his journal was less of a personal diary and more likely a report to be handed over to John Sibley upon his return.) A group returned to the site of the healing metal in 1810, hitched it to a raft, and floated it down the Red River. The 1,635-pound mass was eventually brought to the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University, where it was studied by Professor Benjamin Silliman in 1820. Silliman discovered that it had indeed fallen from the sky as it was a meteorite, the largest one ever found at that time. Anthony Glass returned to Warren County after his exhaustive expedition to settle down marrying Ellen D. Rapalje of Nannachehaw Plantation in 1829. His expedition out west was forgotten for almost a century until his journal resurfaced shedding light on the adventurous planter from Walnut Hills.

Vicksburg and Warren County Historical Society

If you enjoyed this story about Anthony Glass and his Red River Expedition and want to learn more about this area, please consider visiting the Old Court House Museum here in Vicksburg, MS. We’ve been a museum for 74 years now, and all items on display were donated by families from here. We also have a vast archive in our McCardle Research Library that is accessible by appointment. Members of the Historical Society have free admission to the museum, so please also consider becoming a member. All proceeds raised through membership go directly to the preservation of the museum and its contents. For more information visit our website at www.oldcourthouse.org or give us a call at 601-636-0741. You never know what you’ll find at the Old Court House!