Federal Promotion of Crops


can receive a reward for their labor, together with some mis-
fortunes peculiar to themselves." In 1818 Congress granted Dufour
and his associates a five-year extension on their lands, but the
project was never successful. (1)

 THE TOMBIGBEE ASSOCIATION

 A group of French emigrants known as the Tombigbee Associ-
ation settled in western Alabama in 1819 to raise grapes and olives.
The government had granted the association four townships of
92,160 acres, with the stipulation that at least one acre of each
quarter section was to be planted in vine. Five hundred olive
trees also were to be planted in the settlement unless it were found
impossible to grow the olive in that climate.
 The land selected was near the junction of the Tombigbee and
Black Warrior rivers. It sold for two dollars per acre, and the fail-
ure of any one of the emigrants to pay for his land was cause for
forfeiture of the benefits of the grant to all the settlers. This pro-
vision of the law was finally repealed after repeated complaints
by the emigrants. A Treasury Department report in 1822 showed
that eighty-one families had actually settled by that time, with
2,500 acres under cultivation, and 10,000 vines planted.
 The young colony soon ran into difficulties and many of the
colonists failed to live up to their contracts with the government.
An inspection of the project by the Treasury Department revealed
that members of the association were composed chiefly of refugee
military officers and merchants, with little knowledge of agricul-
ture. The region selected was a wilderness, and hunger forced the
settlers to cultivate food crops instead of the grape and olive. (2)
 A lack of roads and other transportation facilities limited the
settlement temporarily to small lots around the town of Aigleville
(Eagleville). Exorbitant prices for corn and foodstuffs charged by
their American neighbors soon exhausted the settlers' funds.
Squatters moved into the settlement and threatened the most
violent vengeance on those who should interfere with them. There
was trouble in clearing the land for planting the vine and olive.
The cuttings arrived out of season from Europe and died. The
olive was peculiarly unsuccessful. Each winter's frost killed the
tree except for the roots, and these put up fresh shoots which in
turn were frozen the following winter.
 The settlers were given several extensions of time on the pay-
ments for their land, but the project never succeeded. Further