This Month in Missouri History

Feast of Saint Nicholas and "Duel of Governors"

Because of our strong German heritage, December 6 has special meaning for some in St. Louis. That day marks the Feast of Saint Nicholas, which for some kids amounts to an "early" Christmas.

Also, on Dec. 13, 1885, former Missouri governor and senator Benjamin Gratz Brown died. He was known for participating in the "Duel of Governors" on "Blood Island" in the Mississippi River.

Other notable items from Missouri's past Decembers include the death of famed photographer Alexander Gardner and unusual coverage of a "sleeping sickness" outbreak in St. Louis.

(Each month, the Missouri History Museum searches for items of interest from Missouri's long, rich history. Then, Young Saint Louis.com brings them to you with internet links so you can learn more about the items that interest you the most.)

The Feast of Saint Nicholas

Painting of Saint Nicholas

In American cities with a long German tradition, including St. Louis, some residents celebrate the Feast of Saint Nicholas on December 6. It has some of the form of Christmas, celebrated later in the month.

For instance, children put one empty shoe or sock outdoors. The next morning, the kids awake to find if St. Nick has filled them with candy and small presents, if they have been good, or with coal, if they had been bad.

Only 18 German families lived in St. Louis in 1833. But, four years later, there were 6,000 German immigrants in the city.

For more about St. Nicholas from the St. Louis Archdiocese, visit http://www.archstl.org/index.php?option=com_content&
task=view&id=745&Itemid=145

For more about German immigration, visit http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_feast_day_
of_St_Nicholas

The "Duel of Governors"

Benjamin Gratz Brown

The last duel that drew blood on "Blood Island" in the Mississippi River near St. Louis involved two men who both would hold the title of governor of Missouri.

One was Benjamin Gratz Brown who served both as governor and senator from Missouri, died Dec. 13, 1885, nearly 30 years after the duel.

The other participant was Thomas C. Reynolds, who went on to become the Confederate governor of Missouri during the Civil War.

The men were bitter political rivals.

Brown was a newspaper editor and advocated emancipation of slaves while Reynolds sympathized with the slaveholders. They had a running feud for years.

They actually had scheduled an earlier duel but it was called off because they couldn't agree on the ground rules.

But, they went at it later in what is described as the last duel to actually draw blood.

For more about dueling, visit the Mo Digital Heritage Duel site at http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/education/dueling/political-duels.asp

Famed Photographer Alexander Gardner

Alexander Gardner

Photographer Alexander Gardner, who died Dec. 10, 1882, was best known for his pictures of Civil War battlefields and for his photos of Abraham Lincoln.

But, he spent considerable time in St. Louis documenting the surrounding area in which the Union Pacific Railroad would build a rail line. The photos were published in a book, "Across the Continent on the Union Pacific Railway."

Gardner had been hired by the St. Louis Railroad Co. to produce the photos in support of a petition to Congress to approve the route for the first trans-continental rail line.

Office of Union Pacific Railway C.O.E.D., Saint Louis, MO. Photograph by Gardner, 1867

The George Eastman House has title to many of photos. See http://www.geh.org/fm/st04/htmlsrc/index.html#81:7171:0003

For more on Gardner, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Gardner_
%28photographer%29

Sleeping Sickness in St. Louis

In December, 1933, newspapers as far away as Australia carried news stories about a "sleeping sickness" epidemic sweeping through St. Louis.

The reports blamed a mosquito-borne virus spread as the cause of the disease. Thorough testing, which included testing of prison inmates, for the virus was underway in 1933.

The most common explanation was the disease was an outbreak of encephalitis, which was caused by a common mosquito-to-human flavivirus which was identified that year.

One of the most-distant reports of the outbreak was in the Canberra Times in Australia on Dec. 23, 1933. For a complete report of that story, visit http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/2324268

For a report from the federal CDC, visit http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/sle/

Another report on the St. Louis outbreak is at http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/St._Louis_
Encephalitis#encyclopedia