I continued in this down-spirited situation for a good long time, until
one day I took my rifle and started a hunting. While out, I made a call
at the house of a Dutch widow, who had a daughter that was well enough
as to smartness, but she was as ugly as a stone fence. She was, however,
quite talkative, and soon begun to laugh at me about my disappointment.
She seemed disposed, though, to comfort me as much as she could; and,
for that purpose, told me to keep in good heart, that "there was as good
fish in the sea as had ever been caught out of it." I doubted this very
much; but whether or not, I was certain that she was not one of them,
for she was so homely that it almost give me a pain in the eyes to look
at her.
But I couldn't help thinking, that she had intended what she had said as
a banter for me to court her!!!--the last thing in creation I could
have thought of doing. I felt little inclined to talk on the subject, it
is true; but, to pass off the time, I told her I thought I was born odd,
and that no fellow to me could be found. She protested against this, and
said if I would come to their reaping, which was not far off, she would
show me one of the prettiest little girls there I had ever seen. She
added that the one who had deceived me was nothing to be compared with
her. I didn't believe a word of all this, for I had thought that such a
piece of flesh and blood as she was had never been manufactured, and
never would again. I agreed with her, though, that the little varment
had treated me so bad, that I ought to forget her, and yet I couldn't do
it. I concluded the best way to accomplish it was to cut out again, and
see if I could find any other that would answer me; and so I told the
Dutch girl I would be at the reaping, and would bring as many as I could
with me.
I employed my time pretty generally in giving information of it, as far
as I could, until the day came; and I then offered to work for my old
friend, the Quaker, two days, if he would let his bound boy go with me
one to the reaping. He refused, and reproved me pretty considerable
roughly for my proposition; and said, if he was in my place he wouldn't
go; that there would be a great deal of bad company there; and that I
had been so good a boy, he would be sorry for me to get a bad name. But
I knowed my promise to the Dutch girl, and I was resolved to fulfil it;
so I shouldered my rifle, and started by myself. When I got to the
place, I found a large company of men and women, and among them an old
Irish woman, who had a great deal to say. I soon found out from my Dutch
girl, that this old lady was the mother of the little girl she had
promised me, though I had not yet seen her. She was in an out-house with
some other youngsters, and had not yet made her appearance. Her mamma,
however, was no way bashful. She came up to me, and began to praise my
red cheeks, and said she had a sweetheart for me. I had no doubt she had
been told what I come for, and all about it. In the evening I was
introduced to her daughter, and I must confess, I was plaguy well
pleased with her from the word go. She had a good countenance, and was
very pretty, and I was full bent on making up an acquaintance with her.
It was not long before the dancing commenced, and I asked her to join me
in a reel. She very readily consented to do so; and after we had
finished our dance, I took a seat alongside of her, and entered into a
talk. I found her very interesting; while I was setting by her, making
as good a use of my time as I could, her mother came to us, and very
jocularly called me her son-in-law. This rather confused me, but I
looked on it as a joke of the old lady, and tried to turn it off as well
as I could; but I took care to pay as much attention to her through the
evening as I could. I went on the old saying, of salting the cow to
catch the calf. I soon become so much pleased with this little girl,
that I began to think the Dutch girl had told me the truth, when she
said there was still good fish in the sea.
We continued our frolic till near day, when we joined in some plays,
calculated to amuse youngsters. I had not often spent a more agreeable
night. In the morning, however, we all had to part; and I found my mind
had become much better reconciled than it had been for a long time. I
went home to the Quaker's, and made a bargain to work with his son for a
low-priced horse. He was the first one I had ever owned, and I was to
work six months for him. I had been engaged very closely five or six
weeks, when this little girl run in my mind so, that I concluded I must
go and see her, and find out what sort of people they were at home. I
mounted my horse and away I went to where she lived, and when I got
there I found her father a very clever old man, and the old woman as
talkative as ever. She wanted badly to find out all about me, and as I
thought to see how I would do for her girl. I had not yet seen her
about, and I began to feel some anxiety to know where she was.
In a short time, however, my impatience was relieved, as she arrived at
home from a meeting to which she had been. There was a young man with
her, who I soon found was disposed to set up claim to her, as he was so
attentive to her that I could hardly get to slip in a word edgeways. I
began to think I was barking up the wrong tree again; but I was
determined to stand up to my rack, fodder or no fodder. And so, to know
her mind a little on the subject, I began to talk about starting, as I
knowed she would then show some sign, from which I could understand
which way the wind blowed. It was then near night, and my distance was
fifteen miles home. At this my little girl soon began to indicate to the
other gentleman that his room would be the better part of his company.
At length she left him, and came to me, and insisted mighty hard that I
should not go that evening; and, indeed, from all her actions and the
attempts she made to get rid of him, I saw that she preferred me all
holler. But it wasn't long before I found trouble enough in another
quarter. Her mother was deeply enlisted for my rival, and I had to fight
against her influence as well as his. But the girl herself was the prize
I was fighting for; and as she welcomed me, I was determined to lay
siege to her, let what would happen. I commenced a close courtship,
having cornered her from her old beau; while he set off, looking on,
like a poor man at a country frolic, and all the time almost gritting
his teeth with pure disappointment. But he didn't dare to attempt any
thing more, for now I had gotten a start, and I looked at him every once
in a while as fierce as a wild-cat. I staid with her until Monday
morning, and then I put out for home.
It was about two weeks after this that I was sent for to engage in a
wolf hunt, where a great number of men were to meet, with their dogs and
guns, and where the best sort of sport was expected. I went as large as
life, but I had to hunt in strange woods, and in a part of the country
which was very thinly inhabited. While I was out it clouded up, and I
began to get scared; and in a little while I was so much so, that I
didn't know which way home was, nor any thing about it. I set out the
way I thought it was, but it turned out with me, as it always does with
a lost man, I was wrong, and took exactly the contrary direction from
the right one. And for the information of young hunters, I will just
say, in this place, that whenever a fellow gets bad lost, the way home
is just the way he don't think it is. This rule will hit nine times out
of ten. I went ahead, though, about six or seven miles, when I found
night was coming on fast; but at this distressing time I saw a little
woman streaking it along through the woods like all wrath, and so I cut
on too, for I was determined I wouldn't lose sight of her that night any
more. I run on till she saw me, and she stopped; for she was as glad to
see me as I was to see her, as she was lost as well as me. When I came
up to her, who should she be but my little girl, that I had been paying
my respects to. She had been out hunting her father's horses, and had
missed her way, and had no knowledge where she was, or how far it was to
any house, or what way would take us there. She had been travelling all
day, and was mighty tired; and I would have taken her up, and toated
her, if it hadn't been that I wanted her just where I could see her all
the time, for I thought she looked sweeter than sugar; and by this time
I loved her almost well enough to eat her.
At last I came to a path, that I know'd must go somewhere, and so we
followed it, till we came to a house, at about dark. Here we staid all
night. I set up all night courting; and in the morning we parted. She
went to her home, from which we were distant about seven miles, and I to
mine, which was ten miles off.
I now turned in to work again; and it was about four weeks before I went
back to see her. I continued to go occasionally, until I had worked long
enough to pay for my horse, by putting in my gun with my work, to the
man I had purchased from; and then I began to count whether I was to be
deceived again or not. At our next meeting we set the day for our
wedding; and I went to my father's, and made arrangements for an infair,
and returned to ask her parents for her. When I got there, the old lady
appeared to be mighty wrathy; and when I broached the subject, she
looked at me as savage as a meat axe. The old man appeared quite
willing, and treated me very clever. But I hadn't been there long,
before the old woman as good as ordered me out of her house. I thought I
would put her in mind of old times, and see how that would go with her.
I told her she had called me her son-in-law before I had attempted to
call her my mother-in-law and I thought she ought to cool off. But her
Irish was up too high to do any thing with her, and so I quit trying.
All I cared for was, to have her daughter on my side, which I knowed was
the case then; but how soon some other fellow might knock my nose out of
joint again, I couldn't tell. I however felt rather insulted at the old
lady, and I thought I wouldn't get married in her house. And so I told
her girl, that I would come the next Thursday, and bring a horse,
bridle, and saddle for her, and she must be ready to go. Her mother
declared I shouldn't have her; but I know'd I should, if somebody else
didn't get her before Thursday. I then started, bidding them good day,
and went by the house of a justice of the peace, who lived on the way to
my father's, and made a bargain with him to marry me.
When Thursday came, all necessary arrangements were made at my father's
to receive my wife; and so I took my eldest brother and his wife, and
another brother, and a single sister that I had, and two other young men
with me, and cut out to her father's house to get her. We went on, until
we got within two miles of the place, where we met a large company that
had heard of the wedding, and were waiting. Some of that company went on
with my brother and sister, and the young man I had picked out to wait
on me. When they got there, they found the old lady as wrathy as ever.
However the old man filled their bottle, and the young men returned in a
hurry. I then went on with my company, and when I arrived I never
pretended to dismount from my horse, but rode up to the door, and asked
the girl if she was ready; and she said she was. I then told her to
light on the horse I was leading; and she did so. Her father, though,
had gone out to the gate, and when I started he commenced persuading me
to stay and marry there; that he was entirely willing to the match, and
that his wife, like most women, had entirely too much tongue; but that I
oughtn't to mind her. I told him if she would ask me to stay and marry
at her house, I would do so. With that he sent for her, and after they
had talked for some time out by themselves, she came to me and looked at
me mighty good, and asked my pardon for what she had said, and invited
me stay. She said it was the first child she had ever had to marry; and
she couldn't bear to see her go off in that way; that if I would light,
she would do the best she could for us. I couldn't stand every thing,
and so I agreed, and we got down, and went in. I sent off then for my
parson, and got married in a short time; for I was afraid to wait long,
for fear of another defeat. We had as good treatment as could be
expected; and that night all went on well. The next day we cut out for
my father's, where we met a large company of people, that had been
waiting a day and a night for our arrival. We passed the time quite
merrily, until the company broke up; and having gotten my wife, I
thought I was completely made up, and needed nothing more in the whole
world. But I soon found this was all a mistake--for now having a wife, I
wanted every thing else; and, worse than all, I had nothing to give for
it.
I remained a few days at my father's, and then went back to my new
father-in-law's; where, to my surprise, I found my old Irish mother in
the finest humour in the world.
She gave us two likely cows and calves, which, though it was a small
marriage-portion, was still better than I had expected, and, indeed, it
was about all I ever got. I rented a small farm and cabin, and went to
work; but I had much trouble to find out a plan to get any thing to put
in my house. At this time, my good old friend the Quaker came forward to
my assistance, and gave me an order to a store for fifteen dollars'
worth of such things as my little wife might choose. With this, we
fixed up pretty grand, as we thought, and allowed to get on very well.
My wife had a good wheel, and knowed exactly how to use it. She was also
a good weaver, as most of the Irish are, whether men or women; and being
very industrious with her wheel, she had, in little or no time, a fine
web of cloth, ready to make up; and she was good at that too, and at
almost any thing else that a woman could do.
We worked on for some years, renting ground, and paying high rent, until
I found it wan't the thing it was cracked up to be; and that I couldn't
make a fortune at it just at all. So I concluded to quit it, and cut out
for some new country. In this time we had two sons, and I found I was
better at increasing my family than my fortune. It was therefore the
more necessary that I should hunt some better place to get along; and as
I knowed I would have to move at some time, I thought it was better to
do it before my family got too large, that I might have less to carry.
The Duck and Elk river country was just beginning to settle, and I
determined to try that. I had now one old horse, and a couple of two
year old colts. They were both broke to the halter, and my father-in-law
proposed, that, if I went, he would go with me, and take one horse to
help me move. So we all fixed up, and I packed my two colts with as many
of my things as they could bear; and away we went across the mountains.
We got on well enough, and arrived safely in Lincoln county, on the head
of the Mulberry fork of Elk river. I found this a very rich country, and
so new, that game, of different sorts, was very plenty. It was here that
I began to distinguish myself as a hunter, and to lay the foundation for
all my future greatness; but mighty little did I know of what sort it
was going to be. Of deer and smaller game I killed abundance; but the
bear had been much hunted in those parts before, and were not so plenty
as I could have wished. I lived here in the years 1809 and '10, to the
best of my recollection, and then I moved to Franklin county, and
settled on Beans creek, where I remained till after the close of the
last war.