Pigs in the Hood.
Written by Janine Plumer.
We know pigs can’t fly, they don’t sweat, and they were once used to hunt for truffles. Babe, Porky and Wilbur were famous pigs. Who would guess that a pig once instigated a national crisis in Austin, Texas?
It all started when a Frenchman, fresh from Washington DC, was dispatched to the New Republic of Texas. His business was to facilitate friendship and establish lucrative financial possibilities with the new government.
Texas would be a different place today, if not for the unfortunate incident.
In the 1800s,, only countries with great power sent and received ambassadors. When dealing with smaller, less powerful countries or states, the more powerful countries such as France, would send and receive a minister, whose job it was to operate a legation. Smaller territories, or newly established areas like the Republic of Texas, were entitled to a legation, but no minister. Instead, a representative of lower rank, known as a Charge D ‘affairs, was sent to oversee the legation.
When Texas won her independence from Mexico and became an independent country, a charge D affairs, was sent from the French legation in Washington DC, to investigate the prospect of the French government recognizing Texas as an independent nation, and therefore worthy of financial consideration. The charge de affairs sent by the French government was named. Jean Pierre Isidore Alphonse Dubois de Saligny. We will refer to him as Mr Jean Pierre.
Mr Jean Pierre arrived in the newly established Texas capital, Austin in February of 1840. The population of the capital city was 856. Austin was still a rather rustic town. For instance, the government offices such as the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War and the Treasurer were located in log cabins that served not only as their offices but their homes as well.
Also in 1840,, Marabeau Lamar was calculating plans as big as Texas itself. The second president of the Republic of Texas wanted to extend the country’s boundaries to include New Mexico and eventually all the land to the specific coast. He also intended to create a strong military, essential to bringing his plans to fruition. Clearly, the government of Texas would need money. The taxable population wasn’t growing fast enough, and there were few substantial resources. So, it was with great anticipation that the officials of Texas waited for the arrival of Mr Jean Pierre, the French Charge d’ affairs. They hoped France would invest in Texas.
Finally, After a long and arduous journey through the very untamed Texas land, Mr Jean Pierre arrived.
Trailing behind him were many heavily laden wagons piled high with delicately crafted furniture, find china and many other items necessary when setting up a new, fancy residence. With high expectations, Texas officials met Mr Jean Pierre outside of the city and escorted him to the house they had prepared for the Frenchman on the southeast corner of 6th Street and Guadalupe.
In those days, most of Austin’s residents lived in either tents, log cabins, or at the Bullock Hotel. It was a great honor that the Texans offered a three room pine board house. To Mr Jean Pierre Tourette. The structure was quite a luxury for a small town surviving in an untamed land, land less than one year old.
Accompanying Mr Jean Pierre to Texas was his secretary, Jules Dulong. And Eugene Pluyette, his Butler. Charles Baudin, a cook who Mr Jean Pierre quite frequently pointed out acquired his trade in Paris, also accompanied him. Soon after arriving in Austin, Mr Jean Pierre hit the trails again and made a brief visit to New Orleans where he purchased three slaves. Henry, Roseanne and Flora. Slavery was established in Texas when Stephen F Austin brought the first 300 families and their slaves to settle along the Brazos River. Though personally against slavery, Austin believed it to be an economic necessity.
Mr Jean Pierre and his servants hosted many lavish dinners at his house on 6th Street. The intent was definitely to wine and dine the Texans. Isaac Van Zandt, a congressman from Marshall, Texas, wrote a letter to his wife in which he stated, “It was the most brilliant affair I ever saw, the most massive plates of silver and gold, the finest glass, and everything exceeded anything I ever saw. We sat at the table for 4 hours. I was weary to death but had to stand it with the company”.
Mr Jean Pierre did not facilitate such impressive events to gain the friendship of his peers. He was promoting a plan to settle West Texas. He was promoting the France Texas bill. This bill would establish a corporation to plan and settle West Texas. The corporation would be given three million acres in West Texas, with a five year tax exemption, during which time 8000 French immigrants would travel across the ocean to Texas and settle. In addition, trade with Europe would be established and all European goods imported would also be tax free. In return, the corporation would give Texas 15% of its profit, generated from the minerals and materials the French settlers extracted from the three million acres and exported or otherwise sold.
This is the author stopping the story to point out – both the Texans and the Frenchmen had ulterior motives and big ideas. France’s plan to settle Texas was identical to the German plan to stake a claim on Texas soil. When Texas became independent it was it’s own country within North America. This was a time when many of the royalty in Europe were experiencing a revolution as the populace ended the Feudal System. They were eyeing this piece of land to conquer and exploit as they had done for all of time in their countries.
Alas, all the dinners and plans were for naughty. An unfortunate incident took place. History remembers the incident as the starting point of “The Pig War”.
As mentioned previously, Mr Bullock’s hotel was quite a popular place for citizens to reside. It was, after all, the only hotel. Not mentioned, though, was the fact that Mr Bullock owned several pigs, which apparently often roamed freely through the town. Unfortunately, these pigs developed a fondness for breaking through Mr Jean Pierre’s fence, entering his yard and eating his horse’s corn. This meant that each morning one of Mr Jean Pierre’s servants was obliged to shoo away the pigs and repair the fence. As time went by, the pigs became more intent on their pursuit of Mr. Jean Pierre’s corn. At one point they even entered an open door, which happened to lead to Mr Jean Pierre’s bedroom. “They ate my linen and destroyed my papers”, Mr Jean Pierre stated when filing charges at the Sheriff’s Office. Mr Jean Pierre felt that it was up to the law to stop Mr Bullock from allowing his pigs to roam the neighborhood.
The law listened to the French man’s complaint, and that was about all they did. Finally, in retaliation, Mr Jean Pierre ordered one of his French servants to kill the pigs the next time they entered his yard.
History tells vastly different reports of exactly how many pigs were killed. Mr Jean Pierre claimed that five or six were killed, while Mr Bullock claimed that 15 to 25 were killed. Either way, an intense aggrivation developed between the two men. So much so that on two occasions when the French pig slang servant and Mr Bullock met on the streets of Austin, a scuffle broke out.
But on February 19, 1841, a war broke out.
Moses Johnson would later testify that he saw “Mr Bullock running after the Frenchman with an ax in one hand and throwing rocks with the other. At one point, the fleeing French servant, turned around, put down his basket of vegetables, and the two began fighting for at least two minutes they were kicking and punching each other”, Johnson recalled.
At some point the French fellow disengaged himself and ran, with blood streaming down his face, into Mr Jean Pierre’s house. Mr Bullock in hot pursuit, ran up to the closed and locked door and stood outside “using abusive language”.
During the brief trial that ensued, Mr Jean Pierre claimed that the attack violated the Law of nations. In which it states that a foreign or national diplomat is under the protection. According to Mr Jean Pierre, this put the responsibility of his protection, as the French Charge d’ affairs, in the hands of the Texans. Most Austinites felt that this conflict was a local one, rather than a national crisis, and therefore no resolution came forth. Tensions remained and no one was prosecuted.
It was in this environment that Mr Jean Jean Pierre decided to visit the recently arrived Charged d’ affaires from the United States, who happened to be staying at the Bullock Hotel. As Mr Jean Pierre walked up the stairs to the hotel, Mr Bullock walked out on to the porch and met him halfway. He then grabbed the Frenchman by the lapels, shook him and very clearly informed Mr Jean Pierre that he was not to set foot on his property again.
History remembers that what Mr Bullock actually shouted was “the next time you come here, I will beat you to death. Now I have warned you, in the future I shall act, not talk!”
Mr Jean Pierre went straight to the authorities and filed a complaint. Again, he expressed his opinion that the Texas government was responsible for his protection.
Staring into the unemotional eyes of the deputies, Mr Jean Pierre must have realized that at that point nobody was going to fight his battles for him and nobody was going to turn on their neighbor who lost good pigs because some foreigner couldn’t fix a fence right.
Also, much to Mr Jean Pierre’s chagrin, many Texas officials, including the individuals whom Mr Jean Pierre considered to be his supporters, defended Mr Bullock and refused to act on Mr Jean Pierre’s charges.
Disgruntled, Feeling unwelcome and more than a little threatened, Mr Jean Pierre announced that he was going to take a trip to Galveston. He would never see Austin again. After traveling around the Southeast for a short time, he sent a note to his colleagues in Washington DC, informing them that he was returning to Paris for health reasons.
During Mr Jean Pierre’s short time in Austin, he commissioned the construction of a house worthy of his status. It was built on a hill overlooking the city and was decorated with all the distinctive articles he had so painsakenly transported. He lived in the house less than a month before he made the unwise visit to Mr Bullock’s hotel. When he left Texas, most of his possessions remained. Today, the house is a museum known as The French Legation.
Learn more about Europeans attempts to exploit Texas: