Territorial Lifeline

Territorial Lifeline. . After independence, the United States faced a challenge. Many remote, frontier emigrants lived in the shadow of the French or Spanish empires in North America. , In the Old Southwest, the Jefferson Administration threw a communication lifeline to Natchez, the political and economic capital of the Mississippi Territory. After treaties with the Chickasaw and Choctaw, the federal government sent regular post riders through tribal homelands back and forth between Nashville and the isolated Natchez District., Natchez Trace post riders traveled alone through dense forests and murky swamps, and braved perilous river crossings. The lifeline they created sustained communication, expanded trade, and solidified ties with a distant, but strategic frontier outpost. , [Captions] , (Map inset) In 1798, the Mississippi Territory was created with the Natchez District as its political seat. Trade and communication with the roughly 4,500 settlers in the Natchez District passed through Choctaw ad Chickasaw lands. , (Background) The intrepid post rider, traveling hundreds of lonely miles over a span of 8-12 days, became an icon of Natchez Trace history.