Around the same time Benjamin Crowley was living and working on the high ground that soon bore his name, another Benjamin moved into Arkansas Territory, but much farther to the southeast, nearly into the province of Tejas, Mexico. Benjamin F. Layne moved into the territory near present-day Rocky Comfort in the extreme southwest corner of Arkansas on the Red River. The present town of Laynesport (Lanesport) is named after him. Hunters made their base at Laynesport, working the American and Mexican sides of the river for their quarry. They conducted business at Hartfield’s trading post in Laynesport or with Levi Davis downriver at Levi Landing. The traders loaded their collections onto boats and floated them to New Orleans. Because they resided close to the border and trapped and hunted both sides of the Red River, the Mexican authorities often visited Laynesport to inspect furs. According to one witness, they “would even take off all the furs they could find regardless of where they were caught, or make the trappers pay a duty or tax. The trappers hated the sight of a Mexican.” Accordingly, when the Mexican-American War began, many of the men of Laynesport enlisted in the United States Army.[1]
[1] H. M. McIver, “Water Bound in Arkansas,” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 14 (Summer 1955): 147-152.
Arkansas Wildlife History 