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The Third Season Presentation of October 3–8, 2006 The Bedbug is Back! by Bobby DeLaughter
Friends of Raymond’s Bedbug Production Company reprises its theatrical production of An Occurrence at the Oak Tree Hotel: Seargent Prentiss, Redemption, and the Trial of the Bedbug, bringing merriment, laughs, and goodwill. Seargent S. Prentiss, though born in Maine, became a nationally renowned lawyer, orator, and congressman from Mississippi during the early-to-mid 1800s. Arriving first in Natchez in 1827 at the age of nineteen, Prentiss moved his law practice upriver to Vicksburg in 1832. His heyday was in the time of the circuit-riders. The First Circuit was formed from the river counties: Adams, Jefferson, Claiborne, Warren, and Washington. The Second Circuit was made up of Hinds, Rankin, Madison, Yazoo, Holmes, and Carroll counties. Since there were no railroads, the lawyers as well as the judge traveled hundreds of miles on horseback into the state’s interior. These circuit-riders would generally travel in groups for protection against bandits. They not only traveled together, they also slept together since there was only one bed per room in the few inns that existed. Prentiss, a bachelor, thrived on these excursions, playing poker and pouring himself into extreme oratory between more than a few sips of ardent spirits, honing his skills to do legal battle the next morning. It was during such a trip to Raymond that the trial of the bedbug occurred and found its way into local legend.
Following a night on the town, Seargent Prentiss and his roommate staggered to their quarters in the Oak Tree Hotel. Soon after falling into bed, the two lawyers were allegedly attacked by bedbugs crawling out of the moss-stuffed mattress. Swatting the pesky bugs to the floor, the duo romped and stomped on some and bludgeoned others with pistol butts. At last, one survivor was spotted scurrying across the floor, but well out of reach. Prentiss’ roommate leveled his weapon and with unsteady eye took aim, much to the delight of the inebriated assemblage witnessing the scene from the doorway and hall. Suddenly, Seargent Prentiss grabbed his comrade’s arm and proclaimed that no living creature should be executed before receiving a fair trial. Naturally, as the self-proclaimed best defense attorney in the country, Prentiss volunteered to represent the bedbug. The crowd went wild. A prosecutor was chosen, and the innkeeper was enlisted to preside as the judge. The remaining soused patrons, clad in their nightshirts, comprised the jury that, at the conclusion of a trial that lasted throughout the night, acquitted the insect. As the sun rose, the defendant was ceremoniously released on the hotel balcony. Do not miss this zany production guaranteed to make you laugh and learn a little history in the process. This is a trial the likes of which you will not see anywhere, anytime, other than the Fall Pilgrimage of A Place Called Raymond.
Bedbug Production Company BoardChairperson – Brenda Davis
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