Statesmen, Scoundrels, and Eccentrics: A Gallery of Amazing Arkansans

Matthew Lyon

Matthew Lyon Matthew Lyon serves as an inspiration for older Arkansans. In , at the age of seventy-two, Lyon captained a flatboat full of cargo from well up the Arkansas River to New Orleans and then returned with a cotton gin. That journey merely hinted at Lyon’s force of will, for he brought the same determination to practically every aspect of life. Today few people recognize the name Matthew Lyon,but when he arrived in the new Arkansas Territory in  to assume control of the Indian trading post at Spadra Bluff on the Arkansas River near modern Clarksville,he was recognized throughout the young nation.His notoriety came from serving Vermont for six years in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he became a leading Jeffersonian Democrat in opposition to the Federalist Party. Born in  in Wicklow County,Ireland,Matthew was only twelve years old when his father was put to death by the British government for insurrection. He arrived in America penniless and indentured for his passage. He had learned book binding in Ireland, but he secured employment with the Ethan Allen Iron Work, Salisbury, Connecticut, and later married Allen’s niece. The extended family moved to Vermont, where Lyon joined the “Green Mountain Boys” in defense of local land ownership claims. He served in the convention that created the state of Vermont in . Lyon was astonishingly hard working. His homestead near Lake Champlain contained a sawmill, gristmill, tannery, iron smelter, and slate mill.His later pulp paper mill was possibly the first in the country. He purchased a printing press from Benjamin Franklin, cast his own type,and printed his own newspaper.One historian noted Lyon’s penchant for integrating his assets: “Lyon wrote,printed,and bound books in fine sheepskin from the backs of his own sheep, tanned in his tannery , with tannic acid from his barkmill.” Like many veterans of the American Revolution, Matthew Lyon took his politics seriously. Lyon, who was first elected to Congress in   after four failing efforts, was a fierce opponent of Federalist President John Adams.Lyon spat in the face of Federalist Congressman Roger Griswold of Connecticut during a heated debate in January , and a few days later Griswold avenged his honor by attacking Lyon on the floor of the House. Although taken by surprise, Lyon managed to grab a pair of fireplace tongs and a melee resulted. (The brawl generated vast public discussion. In  a rare book dealer offered for sale an original  cartoonlike rendering of the fight; the price for the seven-by-nine-inch drawing was $.) Lyon was a leading opponent of the alien and sedition acts of , and “Matt, the democrat” was the first victim of the new laws. He was sent to jail for a year for writing that President Adams was power hungry and had “an unbounded thirst for ridiculous pomp, foolish adulation , and selfish avarice.” He won reelection while occupying a tiny jail cell. Lyon did not seek reelection in , for he was on the move again. He purchased land in Kentucky and laid out the town of Eddyville. Despite having been born in poverty in Ireland,Lyon was a natural businessman and he established extensive business activities in Kentucky, including a shipyard on the Cumberland River. He also served in the Kentucky legislature and represented the state for eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was defeated for reelection in , and two years later he relocated to Missouri,where he narrowly lost another Congressional campaign. The War of  as well as natural disasters destroyed Lyon’s fortune . President James Monroe took pity on Lyon and named him as the government “factor” for the Cherokee Indians in Arkansas—which even Lyon must have considered a minor reward. As the agent of the national government, Lyon’s job was to provide trade goods to the Indians in exchange for various hides and other products. The Cherokees, who had long had contact with European settlers and had developed a taste for manufactured goods, purchased items such as hardware, needles, scissors, and cloth—the most commonly sought items.Among the food items purchased by the Cherokees were salt, sugar, and coffee. His new government position in a new frontier territory did not in the least deter Lyon from his habitual political involvement—nor  NATIVES, EXPLORERS, AND EARLY SETTLERS did it dull his sharp tongue.Within months of settling at Spadra...