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.