Z 0273.000 Mason (Samuel) Trial Records

The official original record of the arrest of the Masons, highwaymen who in the early days of the middle West and South filled the Mississippi basin with the terror of their crimes. Samuel Mason, as a highwayman, plundered travelers up and down the Mississippi River in the early part of the nineteenth century. Mason was captured by the Spanish authorities on their side of the Mississippi River. The record of the trial was made in French and comprises 182 manuscript pages. The trial was for robbery and was conducted by the military authorities of New Madrid. The record is dated January 1803. An earlier description, dated May 1944, states that this record is part of the J. F. H. Claiborne Collection; a later description, October 1944, says of this record, "This record has been in the Department of Archives and History for many years, but was re-discovered in October 1944, among some irrelevant records. It has been described, inventoried, and filed in the Manuscripts Division of the Department." A translation of the volume was made, translator and date of translation unknown.