Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2005 - (Page 62)

left: Legend has it that homesteaders in the Neutral Strip hid their valuables beneath postholes. illustration by Laura Ladendorf opposite page, top: Western Louisiana was part of Nueva España - or New Spain - following Spanish exploration of the region in the 1500s. A Spanish lead seal for cloth with the royal coat of arms embossed in the center was used to identify merchandise during the colonial period. opposite page, lower corner: This iron cannonball was excavated at Los Adaes State Historic Site. But as anxious as Wilkinson was to have the Free State ratified, Herrera was even more anxious to avoid a war with the Americans. His scouts had informed him of American soldiers moving toward the Sabine with 100 encamped at Los Adaes, 200 at Piedras, 300 at El Patero and 100 under the command of Wilkinson camped on the Sabine. Wilkinson had already informed Spanish authorities that he planned to take possession of the land east of the Sabine. On October 21, 1806, Wilkinson informed the U.S. Secretary of War that he had established Camp Sabine. “The purpose of this encampment is to discuss the term of a Neutral Strip Pact with General Herrera,” he wrote. Herrera, who wanted nothing better than to avoid the coming war, took it upon himself to accept the terms offered by Wilkinson without consulting with his superiors. In this way, Herrera determined, he was not surrendering any land or giving up any of Mexico’s holding. Instead, he was accepting a stalemate that would put the problem into the hands of higher government officials to resolve. The Neutral Strip Pact, signed November 6, 1806, stated: “We agree that American troops are not to cross the Arroyo Hondo and that Spanish troops are not to cross the Sabine River. Civilians from both nations may be free to travel the area from one country to another, provided they have the proper passports. The Neutral area here established is as follows: 62 LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES\Fall 2005 Were the opposing governments optimistic? Naive? Foolhardy? Careless? It shouldn’t have taken a contingent of the military’s best minds very long to realize that a 40 mile wide strip of land designed to be a buffer between governments would be a magnet to those seeking asylum from any government. In a land where law was outlawed, outlaws became the law. “When you don’t have any kind of government, you don’t have any kind of enforcement,” said Dr. Dayna Lee, “The Sabine Pass and the Sabine Lake and the Sabine River to the 32nd parallel and a straight line north to the Red River to form the western boundary of the Neutral ground. “The north boundary being that of the Red River to a point on Red River five miles northwest of Natchitoches. “The east boundary being a straight line from this point to intercept the Arroyo Hondo and a straight line in a southwesterly direction to a point five miles north of the mouth of the Mermanteau River and from the Mermanteau River thence to the Gulf of Mexico. “The Gulf of Mexico being the southern boundary of the Neutral Ground.” Wilkinson and Herrera, as well as Col. Thomas H. Cushing, acting U.S. adjutant, and Don Francisco Viana, assistant inspector of the post, signed the treaty. Essentially, the agreement said, “We’ll stop here. You stop there. And in between is No Man’s Land.” After more than two and a half centuries, two boundaries to recognize that there was no single boundary had been defined. These divergent borders would prove to be good intentions that paved the road to hell. ENTER THE BAD GUYS

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2005

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2005 Contents Editor’s Column Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Louisiana State Museum After Katrina and Rita Tabasco: Edmund McIlhenny and the Birth of a Louisiana Pepper Sauce Historic New Orleans Collection Louisiana Association of Museums New Orleans’ Coffee Connection No Man’s Land Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism Bookstand (Book Review by Thomas Uskali) Sound Advice (Music Review by Ben Sandmel) Forum (Commentary by Roy Blount, Jr. )

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2005

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