CHAPTER VII.
The Justice of Peace and the Legislator.
Vagabondage.--Measures of Protection.--Measures of
Government.--Crockett's Confession.--A Candidate for Military
Honors.--Curious Display of Moral Courage.--The Squirrel Hunt.--A
Candidate for the Legislature.--Characteristic
Electioneering.--Specimens of his Eloquence.--Great Pecuniary
Calamity.--Expedition to the Far West.--Wild Adventures.--The
Midnight Carouse.--A Cabin Reared.
The wealthy and the prosperous are not disposed to leave the
comforts of a high civilization for the hardships of the wilderness.
Most of the pioneers who crowded to the New Purchase were either
energetic young men who had their fortunes to make, or families who
by misfortune had encountered impoverishment. But there was still
another class. There were the vile, the unprincipled, the desperate;
vagabonds seeking whom they might devour; criminals escaping the
penalty of the laws which they had violated.
These were the men who shot down an Indian at sight, as they would
shoot a wolf; merely for the fun of it; who robbed the Indian of his
gun and game, burned his wigwam, and atrociously insulted his wife
and daughters. These were the men whom no law could restrain; who
brought disgrace upon the name of a white man, and who often
provoked the ignorant savage to the most dreadful and indiscriminate
retaliation.
So many of these infamous men flocked to this New Purchase that life
there became quite undesirable. There were no legally appointed
officers of justice, no organized laws. Every man did what was
pleasing in his own sight. There was no collecting of debts, no
redress for violence, no punishment for cheating or theft.
Under these circumstances, there was a general gathering of the
well-disposed inhabitants of the cabins scattered around, to adopt
some measures for their mutual protection. Several men were
appointed justices of peace, with a set of resolute young men, as
constables, to execute their commissions. These justices were
invested with almost dictatorial power. They did not pretend to know
anything about written law or common law. They were merely men of
good sound sense, who could judge as to what was right in all
ordinary intercourse between man and man.
A complaint would be entered to Crockett that one man owed another
money and refused to pay him. Crockett would send his constables to
arrest the man, and bring him to his cabin. After hearing both
parties, if Crockett judged the debt to be justly due, and that it
could be paid, he would order the man's horse, cow, rifle, or any
other property he owned, to be seized and sold, and the debt to be
paid. If the man made any resistance he would be very sure to have
his cabin burned down over his head; and he would be very lucky if
he escaped a bullet through his own body.
One of the most common and annoying crimes committed by these
desperadoes was shooting an emigrant's swine. These animals,
regarded as so invaluable in a new country, each had its owner's
mark, and ranged the woods, fattening upon acorns and other nuts.
Nothing was easier than for a lazy man to wander into the woods,
shoot one of these animals, take it to his cabin, devour it there,
and obliterate all possible traces of the deed. Thus a large and
valuable herd would gradually disappear. This crime was consequently
deemed to merit the most severe punishment. It was regarded as so
disgraceful that no respectable man was liable to suspicion.
The punishment for the crime was very severe, and very summary. If
one of these swine-thieves was brought before Justice Crockett, and
in his judgment the charge was proved against him, the sentence
was--
"Take the thief, strip off his shirt, tie him to a tree, and give
him a severe flogging. Then burn down his cabin, and drive him out
of the country."
There was no appeal from this verdict, and no evading its execution.
Such was the justice which prevailed, in this remote region, until
the Legislature of Alabama annexed the territory to Giles County,
and brought the region under the dominion of organized law.
Crockett, who had performed his functions to the entire satisfaction
of the community, then was legally appointed a justice of peace, and
became fully entitled to the appellation of esquire. He certainly
could not then pretend to any profound legal erudition, for at this
time he could neither read nor write.
Esquire Crockett, commenting upon this transaction, says, "I was
made a Squire, according to law; though now the honor rested more
heavily upon me than before. For, at first, whenever I told my
constable, says I, 'Catch that fellow, and bring him up for trial,'
away he went, and the fellow must come, dead or alive. For we
considered this a good warrant, though it was only in verbal
writing.
"But after I was appointed by the Assembly, they told me that my
warrants must be in real writing and signed; and that I must keep a
book and write my proceedings in it. This was a hard business on me,
for I could just barely write my own name. But to do this, and write
the warrants too, was at least a huckleberry over my persimmon. I
had a pretty well informed constable, however, and he aided me very
much in this business. Indeed, I told him, when he should happen to
be out anywhere, and see that a warrant was necessary, and would
have a good effect, he needn't take the trouble to come all the way
to me to get one, but he could just fill out one; and then, on the
trial, I could correct the whole business if he had committed any
error.
"In this way I got on pretty well, till, by care and attention, I
improved my handwriting in such a manner as to be able to prepare my
warrants and keep my record-books without much difficulty. My
judgments were never appealed from; and if they had been, they would
have stuck like wax, as I gave my decisions on the principles of
common justice and honesty between man and man, and relied on
natural-born sense, and not on law-learning, to guide me; for I had
never read a page in a law-book in all my life."
Esquire Crockett was now a rising man. He was by no means diffident.
With strong native sense, imperturbable self-confidence, a memory
almost miraculously stored with rude anecdotes, and an astonishing
command of colloquial and slang language, he was never embarrassed,
and never at a loss as to what to say or to do.
They were about getting up a new regiment of militia there, and a
Captain Mathews, an ambitious, well-to-do settler, with cribs full
of corn, was a candidate for the colonelship. He came to Crockett to
insure his support, and endeavored to animate him to more cordial
cooperation by promising to do what he could to have him elected
major of the regiment. Esquire Crockett at first declined, saying
that he was thoroughly disgusted with all military operations, and
that he had no desire for any such honors. But as Captain Mathews
urged the question, and Crockett reflected that the office would
give him some additional respect and influence with his neighbors,
and that Major Crockett was a very pleasantly sounding title, he
finally consented, and, of course, very soon became deeply
interested in the enterprise.
Captain Mathews, as an electioneering measure, invited all his
neighbors, far and near, to a very magnificent corn-husking frolic.
There was to be a great treat on the occasion, and "all the world,"
as the French say, were eager to be there. Crockett and his family
were of course among the invited guests. When Crockett got there he
found an immense gathering, all in high glee, and was informed, much
to his surprise and chagrin, that Captain Mathews's son had offered
himself for the office of major, in opposition to Crockett.
The once had, in reality, but few charms for Crockett, and he did
not care much for it. But this unworthy treatment roused his
indignation. He was by nature one of the most frank and open-hearted
of men, and never attempted to do anything by guile. Immediately he
called Captain Mathews aside, and inquired what this all meant. The
Captain was much embarrassed, and made many lame excuses, saying
that he would rather his son would run against any man in the county
than against Squire Crockett.
"You need give yourself no uneasiness about that," Crockett replied.
"I care nothing for the office of major; I shall not allow my name
to be used against your son for that office. But I shall do
everything in my power to prevent his father from being colonel."
In accordance with the custom of the region and the times, after the
feasting and the frolicking, Captain Mathews mounted a stump, and
addressed the assembly in what was appropriately called a stump
speech, advocating his election.
The moment he closed, Squire Crockett mounted the stump, and on the
Captain's own grounds, addressing the Captain's guests, and himself
one of those guests, totally unabashed, made his first stump speech.
He was at no loss for words or ideas. He was full to the brim of
fun. He could, without any effort, keep the whole assembly in roars
of laughter. And there, in the presence of Captain Mathews and his
family, he argued his total unfitness to be the commander of a
regiment.
It is to be regretted that there was no reporter present to transmit
to us that speech. It must have been a peculiar performance. It
certainly added much to Crockett's reputation as an able man and an
orator. When the election came, both father and son were badly
beaten. Soon after, a committee waited upon Crockett, soliciting him
to stand as candidate for the State Legislature, to represent the
two counties of Lawrence and Hickman.
Crockett was beginning to be ambitious. He consented. But he had
already engaged to take a drove of horses from Central Tennessee to
the lower part of North Carolina. This was a long journey, and going
and coming would take three months. He set out early in March, 1821.
Upon his return in June, he commenced with all zeal his
electioneering campaign. Characteristically he says:
"It was a bran-fire new business to me. It now became necessary that
I should tell the people something about the Government, and an
eternal sight of other things that I know'd nothing more about than
I did about Latin, and law, and such things as that. I have said
before, that in those days none of us called General Jackson the
Government. But I know'd so little about it that if any one had told
me that he was the Government, I should have believed it; for I had
never read even a newspaper in my life, or anything else on the
subject."
Lawrence County bounded Giles County on the west. Just north of
Lawrence came Hickman County. Crockett first directed his steps to
Hickman County, to engage in his "bran-fire" new work of
electioneering for himself as a candidate for the Legislature. What
ensued cannot be more graphically told than in Crockett's own
language:
"Here they told me that they wanted to move their town nearer to the
centre of the county, and I must come out in favor of it. There's no
devil if I know'd what this meant, or how the town was to be moved.
And so I kept dark, going on the identical same plan that I now find
is called non-committal.
"About this time there was a great squirrel-hunt, on Duck River,
which was among my people. They were to hunt two days; then to meet
and count the scalps, and have a big barbecue, and what might be
called a tip-top country frolic. The dinners and a general treat was
all to be paid for by the party having taken the fewest scalps. I
joined one side, and got a gun ready for the hunt. I killed a great
many squirrels, and when we counted scalps my party was victorious.
"The company had everything to eat and drink that could be furnished
in a new country; and much fun and good humor prevailed. But before
the regular frolic commenced, I was called on to make a speech as a
candidate, which was a business I was as ignorant of as an
outlandish negro.
"A public document I had never seen. How to begin I couldn't tell. I
made many apologies, and tried to get off, for I know'd I had a man
to run against who could speak prime. And I know'd, too that I
wasn't able to cut and thrust with him. He was there, and knowing my
ignorance as well as I did myself, he urged me to make a speech. The
truth is, he thought my being a candidate was a mere matter of
sport, and didn't think for a moment that he was in any danger from
an ignorant back woods bear-hunter.
"But I found I couldn't get off. So I determined to go ahead, and
leave it to chance what I should say. I got up and told the people I
reckoned they know'd what I had come for; but if not, I could tell
them. I had come for their votes, and if they didn't watch mighty
close I'd get them too. But the worst of all was, that I could not
tell them anything about Government. I tried to speak about
something, and I cared very little what, until I choked up as bad as
if my mouth had been jamm'd and cramm'd chock-full of dry mush.
There the people stood, listening all the while, with their eyes,
mouths, and ears all open to catch every word I could speak.
"At last I told them I was like a fellow I had heard of not long
before. He was beating on the head of an empty barrel on the
roadside, when a traveller, who was passing along, asked him what he
was doing that for? The fellow replied that there was some cider in
that barrel a few days before, and he was trying to see if there was
any then; but if there was, he couldn't get at it. I told them that
there had been a little bit of a speech in me a while ago, but I
believed I couldn't get it out.
"They all roared out in a mighty laugh, and I told some other
anecdotes, equally amusing to them, and believing I had them in a
first-rate way, I quit and got down, thanking the people for their
attention. But I took care to remark that I was as dry as a
powder-horn, and that I thought that it was time for us all to wet
our whistles a little. And so I put off to a liquor-stand, and was
followed by the greater part of the crowd.
"I felt certain this was necessary, for I know'd my competitor could
talk Government matters to them as easy as he pleased. He had,
however, mighty few left to hear him, as I continued with the crowd,
now and then taking a horn, and telling good-humored stories till he
was done speaking. I found I was good for the votes at the hunt; and
when we broke up I went on to the town of Vernon, which was the same
they wanted me to move. Here they pressed me again on the subject. I
found I could get either party by agreeing with them. But I told
them I didn't know whether it would be right or not, and so couldn't
promise either way."
This famous barbecue was on Saturday. The next Monday the county
court held its session at Vernon. There was a great gathering of the
pioneers from all parts of the county. The candidates for the
Governor of the State, for a representative in Congress, and for the
State Legislature, were all present. Some of these men were of
considerable ability, and certainly of very fluent speech. The
backwoodsmen, from their huts, where there were no books, no
newspapers, no intelligent companionship, found this a rich
intellectual treat. Their minds were greatly excited as they
listened to the impassioned and glowing utterances of speaker after
speaker; for many of these stump orators had command of a rude but
very effective eloquence.
Crockett listened also, with increasing anxiety. He knew that his
turn was to come; that he must mount the stump and address the
listening throng. He perceived that he could not speak as these men
were speaking; and perhaps for the first time in his life began to
experience some sense of inferiority. He writes:
"The thought of having to make a speech made my knees feel mighty
weak, and set my heart to fluttering almost as bad as my first
love-scrape with the Quaker's niece. But as good luck would have it,
these big candidates spoke nearly all day, and when they quit the
people were worn out with fatigue, which afforded me a good apology
for not discussing the Government. But I listened mighty close to
them, and was learning pretty fast about political matters. When
they were all done, I got up and told some laughable story, and
quit. I found I was safe in those parts; and so I went home, and did
not go back again till after the election was over. But to cut this
matter short, I was elected, doubling my competitor, and nine votes
over.
"A short time after this, I was at Pulaski, where I met with Colonel
Polk, now a member of Congress from Tennessee. He was at that time a
member elected to the Legislature, as well as myself. In a large
company he said to me, 'Well, Colonel, I suppose we shall have a
radical change of the judiciary at the next session of the
Legislature.' 'Very likely, sir,' says I. And I put out quicker, for
I was afraid some one would ask me what the judiciary was; and if I
know'd I wish I may be shot. I don't indeed believe I had ever
before heard that there was any such thing in all nature. But still
I was not willing that the people there should know how ignorant I
was about it."
At length the day arrived for the meeting of the Legislature.
Crockett repaired to the seat of government. With all his
self-complacency he began to appreciate that he had much to learn.
The two first items of intelligence which he deemed it important
that he, as a member of the Legislature, should acquire, were the
meaning of the words government and judiciary. By adroit questioning
and fixed thought, he ere long stored up those intellectual
treasures. Though with but little capacity to obtain knowledge from
books, he became an earnest student of the ideas of his
fellow-legislators as elicited in conversation or debate. Quite a
heavy disaster, just at this time, came upon Crockett. We must again
quote his own words, for it is our wish, in this volume, to give the
reader a correct idea of the man. Whatever Crockett says, ever comes
fresh from his heart. He writes:
"About this time I met with a very severe misfortune, which I may be
pardoned for naming, as it made a great change in my circumstances,
and kept me back very much in the world. I had built an extensive
grist-mill and powder-mill, all connected together, and also a large
distillery. They had cost me upward of three thousand dollars; more
than I was worth in the world. The first news that I heard, after I
got to the Legislature, was that my mills were all swept to smash by
a large freshet that came soon after I left home.
"I had, of course, to stop my distillery, as my grinding was broken
up. And indeed I may say that the misfortune just made a complete
mash of me. I had some likely negroes, and a good stock of almost
everything about me, and, best of all, I had an honest wife. She
didn't advise me, as is too fashionable, to smuggle up this, and
that, and t'other, to go on at home. But she told me, says she,
'Just pay up as long as you have a bit's worth in the world; and
then everybody will be satisfied, and we will scuffle for more.'
"This was just such talk as I wanted to hear, for a man's wife can
hold him devilish uneasy if she begins to scold and fret, and
perplex him, at a time when he has a full load for a railroad car on
his mind already. And so, you see, I determined not to break
full-handed, but thought it better to keep a good conscience with an
empty purse, than to get a bad opinion of myself with a full one. I
therefore gave up all I had, and took a bran-fire new start."
Crockett's legislative career was by no means brilliant, but
characteristic. He was the fun-maker of the house, and, like
Falstaff, could boast that he was not only witty himself, but the
cause of wit in others. His stories were irresistibly comic; but
they almost always contained expressions of profanity or coarseness
which renders it impossible for us to transmit them to these pages.
He was an inimitable mimic, and had perfect command of a Dutchman's
brogue. One of the least objectionable of his humorous stories we
will venture to record.
There were, he said, in Virginia, two Dutchmen, brothers, George and
Jake Fulwiler. They were both well to do in the world, and each
owned a grist mill. There was another Dutchman near by, by the name
of Henry Snyder. He was a mono-maniac, but a harmless man,
occasionally thinking himself to be God. He built a throne, and
would often sit upon it, pronouncing judgment upon others, and also
upon himself. He would send the culprits to heaven or to hell, as
his humor prompted.
One day he had a little difficulty with the two Fulwilers. He took
his seat upon his throne, and in imagination summoning the culprits
before him, thus addressed them:
"Shorge Fulwiler, stand up. What hash you been dain in dis lower
world?"
"Ah! Lort, ich does not know."
"Well, Shorge Fulwiler, hasn't you got a mill?"
"Yes, Lort, ich hash."
"Well, Shorge Fulwiler, didn't you never take too much toll?"
"Yes, Lort, ich hash; when der water wash low, and mein stones wash
dull, ich take leetle too much toll."
"Well, den, Shorge Fulwiler, you must go to der left mid der goats."
"Well, Shake Fulwiler, now you stand up. What hash you been doin in
dis lower world?"
"Ah! Lort, ich does not know."
"Well, Shake Fulwiler, hasn't you got a mill?"
"Yes, Lort, ich hash."
"Well, Shake Fulwiler hasn't you never taken too much toll?"
"Yes Lort, ich hash; when der water wash low, and mein stones wash
dull, ich take leetle too much toll."
"Well, den, Shake Fuhviler, you must go to der left mid der goats."
"Now ich try menself. Henry Snyder, Henry Snyder, stand up. What
hash you bin dain in die lower world?"
"Ah, Lort, ich does not know."
"Well, Henry Snyder, hasn't you got a mill?"
"Yes, Lort, ich hash."
"Well, Henry Snyder, didn't you never take too much toll?"
"Yes, Lort, ich hash; when der water wash low, and mein stones wash
dull, ich hash taken leetle too much toll."
"But, Henry Snyder, vat did you do mid der toll?"
"Ah, Lort, ich gives it to der poor."
The judge paused for a moment, and then said, "Well, Henry Snyder,
you must go to der right mid der sheep. But it is a tight squeeze."
Another specimen of his more sober forensic eloquence is to be found
in the following speech. There was a bill before the house for the
creation of a new county, and there was a dispute about the
boundary-line. The author of the bill wished to run the line in a
direction which would manifestly promote his own interest. Crockett
arose and said:
"Mr. Speaker: Do you know what that man's bill reminds me of? Well,
I s'pose you don't, so I'll tell you. Well, Mr. Speaker, when I
first came to this country a blacksmith was a rare thing. But there
happened to be one in my neighborhood. He had no striker; and
whenever one of the neighbors wanted any work done, he had to go
over and strike until his work was finished. These were hard times,
Mr. Speaker, but we had to do the best we could,
"It happened that one of my neighbors wanted an axe. So he took
along with him a piece of iron, and went over to the blacksmith's to
strike till his axe was done. The iron was heated, and my neighbor
fell to work, and was striking there nearly all day; when the
blacksmith concluded that the iron wouldn't make an axe, but 'twould
make a fine mattock.
"So my neighbor, wanting a mattock, concluded that he would go over
and strike till the mattock was done. Accordingly he went over the
next day, and worked faithfully. But toward night the blacksmith
concluded his iron wouldn't make a mattock but 'twould make a fine
ploughshare.
"So my neighbor, wanting a ploughshare, agreed that he would go over
the next day and strike till that was done. Accordingly he went
over, and fell hard at work. But toward night the blacksmith
concluded his iron wouldn't make a ploughshare, but 'twould make a
fine skow. So my neighbor, tired of working, cried, 'A skow let it
be;' and the blacksmith, taking up the red-hot iron, threw it into a
trough of hot water near him, and as it fell in, it sung out skow.
And this, Mr. Speaker, will be the way of that man's bill for a
county. He'll keep you all here, doing nothing, and finally his bill
will turn up a skow; now mind if it don't."
At this time, Crockett, by way of courtesy, was usually called
colonel, as with us almost every respectable man takes the title of
esquire. One of the members offended Colonel Crockett by speaking
disrespectfully of him as from the back woods, or, as he expressed
it, the gentleman from the cane. Crockett made a very bungling
answer, which did not satisfy himself. After the house adjourned, he
very pleasantly invited the gentleman to take a walk with him. They
chatted very sociably by the way, till, at the distance of about a
mile, they reached a very secluded spot, when the Colonel, turning
to his opponent, said:
"Do you know what I brought you here for?"
"No," was the reply.
"Well," added the Colonel, "I brought you here for the express
purpose of whipping you; and now I mean to do it."
"But," says the Colonel, in recording the event, "the fellow said he
didn't mean anything, and kept 'pologizing till I got into good
humor."
They walked back as good friends as ever, and no one but themselves
knew of the affair.
After the adjournment of the Legislature, Crockett returned to his
impoverished home. The pecuniary losses he had encountered, induced
him to make another move, and one for which it is difficult to
conceive of any adequate motive. He took his eldest son, a boy about
eight years of age, and a young man by the name of Abram Henry, and
with one pack-horse to carry their blankets and provisions, plunged
into the vast wilderness west of them, on an exploring tour, in
search of a new home.
Crockett and the young man shouldered their rifles. Day after day
the three trudged along, fording streams, clambering hills, wading
morasses, and threading ravines, each night constructing a frail
shelter, and cooking by their camp-fire such game as they had taken
by the way.
After traversing these almost pathless wilds a hundred and fifty
miles, and having advanced nearly fifty miles beyond any white
settlement, they reached the banks of a lonely stream, called Obion
River, on the extreme western frontier of Tennessee. This river
emptied into the Mississippi but a few miles from the spot where
Crockett decided to rear his cabin. His nearest neighbor was seven
miles distant, his next fifteen, his next twenty.
About ten years before, that whole region had been convulsed by one
of the most terrible earthquakes recorded in history. One or two
awful hurricanes had followed the earthquake, prostrating the
gigantic forest, and scattering the trees in all directions.
Appalling indications remained of the power expended by these
tremendous forces of nature. The largest forest-trees were found
split from their roots to their tops, and lying half on each side of
a deep fissure. The opening abysses, the entanglement of the
prostrate forest, and the dense underbrush which had sprung up,
rendered the whole region almost impenetrable. The country was
almost entirely uninhabited. It had, however, become quite
celebrated as being the best hunting-ground in the West. The fear of
earthquakes and the general desolation had prevented even the
Indians from rearing their wigwams there. Consequently wild animals
had greatly increased. The country was filled with bears, wolves,
panthers, deer, elks, and other smaller game.
The Indians had recently made this discovery, and were, in
ever-increasing numbers, exploring the regions in hunting-bands.
Crockett does not seem to have had much appreciation of the
beautiful. In selecting a spot for his hut, he wished to be near
some crystal stream where he could get water, and to build his hut
upon land sufficiently high to be above the reach of freshets. It
was also desirable to find a small plain or meadow free from trees,
where he could plant his corn; and to be in the edge of the forest,
which would supply him with abundance of fuel. Crockett found such a
place, exactly to his mind. Being very fond of hunting, he was the
happiest of men. A few hours' labor threw up a rude hut which was
all the home he desired. His rifle furnished him with food, and with
the skins of animals for bed and bedding. Every frontiersman knew
how to dress the skin of deer for moccasins and other garments. With
a sharpened stick he punched holes through the rank sod, and planted
corn, in soil so rich that it would return him several hundred-fold.
Thus his tastes, such as they were, were gratified, and he enjoyed
what to him were life's luxuries. He probably would not have been
willing to exchange places with the resident in the most costly
mansion in our great cities. In a few days he got everything
comfortable around him. Crockett's cabin, or rather camp, was on the
eastern side of the Obion River. Seven miles farther up the stream,
on the western bank, a Mr. Owen had reared his log house. One
morning, Crockett, taking the young man Henry and his son with him,
set out to visit Mr. Owen, his nearest neighbor. He hobbled his
horse, leaving him to graze until he got back.
They followed along the banks of the river, through the forest,
until they reached a point nearly opposite Owen's cabin. By crossing
the stream there, and following up the western bank they would be
sure to find his hut. There was no boat, and the stream must be swum
or forded. Recent rains had caused it to overflow its banks and
spread widely over the marshy bottoms and low country near by. The
water was icy cold. And yet they took to it, says Crockett, "like so
many beavers."
The expanse to be crossed was very wide, and they knew not how deep
they should find the channel. For some distance the water continued
quite shoal. Gradually it deepened. Crockett led the way, with a
pole in his hand. Cautiously he sounded the depth before him, lest
they should fall into any slough. A dense growth of young trees
covered the inundated bottom over which they were wading.
Occasionally they came to a deep but narrow gully. Crockett, with
his hatchet, would cut down a small tree, and by its aid would
cross.
At length the water became so deep that Crockett's little boy had to
swim, though they evidently had not yet reached the channel of the
stream. Having waded nearly half a mile, they came to the channel.
The stream, within its natural banks, was but about forty feet wide.
Large forest-trees fringed the shores. One immense tree, blown down
by the wind, reached about halfway across. Crockett, with very
arduous labor with his hatchet, cut down another, so that it fell
with the branches of the two intertwining.
Thus aided they reached the opposite side. But still the lowlands
beyond were overflowed as far as the eye could see through the dense
forest. On they waded, for nearly a mile, when, to their great joy,
they came in sight of dry land. Their garments were dripping and
they were severely chilled as they reached the shore. But turning
their steps up the stream, they soon came in sight of the cabin,
which looked to them like a paradise of rest. It was one of the
rudest of huts. The fenceless grounds around were rough and
ungainly. The dismal forest, which chanced there to have escaped
both earthquake and hurricane, spread apparently without limits in
all directions.
Most men, most women, gazing upon a scene so wild, lonely,
cheerless, would have said, "Let me sink into the grave rather than
be doomed to such a home as that." But to Crockett and his
companions it presented all the attractions their hearts could
desire. Mr. Owen and several other men were just starting away from
the cabin, when, to their surprise, they saw the party of strangers
approaching. They waited until Crockett came up and introduced
himself. The men with Mr. Owen were boatmen, who had entered the
Obion River from the Mississippi with a boat-load of articles for
trade. They were just leaving to continue their voyage.
Such men are seldom in a hurry. Time is to them of but very little
value. Hospitality was a virtue which cost nothing. Any stranger,
with his rifle, could easily pay his way in the procurement of food.
They all turned back and entered the cabin together. Mrs. Owen was
an excellent, motherly woman, about fifty years of age. Her
sympathies were immediately excited for the poor little boy, whose
garments were drenched, and who was shivering as if in an ague-fit.
She replenished the fire, dried his clothes, and gave him some warm
and nourishing food. The grateful father writes:
"Her kindness to my little boy did me ten times as much good as
anything she could have done for me, if she had tried her best."
These were not the days of temperance. The whiskey-bottle was
considered one of the indispensables of every log cabin which made
any pretences to gentility. The boat, moored near the shore, was
loaded with whiskey, flour, sugar, hardware, and other articles,
valuable in the Indian trade in the purchase of furs, and in great
demand in the huts of pioneers. There was a small trading-post at
what was called McLemone's Bluff; about thirty miles farther up the
river by land, and nearly one hundred in following the windings of
the stream. This point the boatmen were endeavoring to reach.
For landing their cargo at this point the boatmen were to receive
five hundred dollars, besides the profits of any articles they could
sell in the scattered hamlets they might encounter by the way. The
whiskey-bottle was of course brought out. Crockett drank deeply; he
says, at least half a pint. His tongue was unloosed, and he became
one of the most voluble and entertaining of men. His clothes having
been dried by the fire, and all having with boisterous merriment
partaken of a hearty supper, as night came on the little boy was
left to the tender care of Mrs. Owen, while the rest of the party
repaired to the cabin of the boat, to make a night of it in drinking
and carousal.
They had indeed a wild time. There was whiskey in abundance.
Crockett was in his element, and kept the whole company in a
constant roar. Their shouts and bacchanal songs resounded through
the solitudes, with clamor and profaneness which must have fallen
painfully upon angels' ears, if any of heaven's pure and gentle
spirits were within hearing distance.
"We had," writes Crockett, "a high night of it, as I took steam
enough to drive out all the cold that was in me, and about three
times as much more."
These boon companions became warm friends, according to the most
approved style of backwoods friendship. Mr. Owen told the boatmen
that a few miles farther up the river a hurricane had entirely
prostrated the forest, and that the gigantic trees so encumbered the
stream that he was doubtful whether the boat could pass, unless the
water should rise higher. Consequently he, with Crockett and Henry,
accompanied the boatmen up to that point to help them through,
should it be possible to effect a passage. But it was found
impossible, and the boat dropped down again to its moorings opposite
Mr. Owen's cabin.
As it was now necessary to wait till the river should rise, the
boatmen and Mr. Owen all consented to accompany Crockett to the
place where he was to settle, and build his house for him. It seems
very strange that, in that dismal wilderness, Crockett should not
have preferred to build his cabin near so kind a neighbor. But so it
was. He chose his lot at a distance of seven miles from any
companionship.
"And so I got the boatmen," he writes, "all to go out with me to
where I was going to settle, and we slipped up a cabin in little or
no time. I got from the boat four barrels of meal, one of salt, and
about ten gallons of whiskey."
For these he paid in labor, agreeing to accompany the boatmen up the
river as far as their landing-place at McLemone's Bluff.
