USA > Tennessee > Old times in Tennessee, with historical, personal, and political scraps and sketches > Part 5
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"The broken soldier kindly bid to stay, Sat by the fire and talked the night away. Wept on his wounds or tales of sorrow done, Shoulder'd his crutch and show'd how fields were won."
When more than the family remained over night, curtains were stretched across the room, and comfortable lodgings given to our guests. There were no conventional rules stifling the no- bler feelings of the heart, thereby destroying the pleasures of society.
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OLD TIMES IN TENNESSEE.
GAME OF ALL KINDS
in those days was abundant-deer, bears, turkeys, ducks, wolves, panthers, wildcats, foxes, and groundhogs. The mountain pike was delicious, as well as the finny tribe of Wells' creek. The deer went in herds of from fifteen to twenty. Any morning dur- ing the hunting season they could be seen within a mile or two of the house, and were frequently killed, affording a savory dish equal to that by which Jacob obtained Esau's birthright.
SNAKES.
In those days this was the finest snake country that I have ever seen. The rattlesnake, the rusty highland moccasin, and the cotton-mouth, with their stumpy tails, were the most venom- ous. Billy Rushing, robust and remarkable for his fine appear- ance, lived across the branch, about two hundred yards from our cabin, and as he stepped out about nine o'clock on an autumnal night, he was bitten upon the naked ankle by a rattlesnake. I heard him scream. My father ran down and I followed him to see what was the matter. The force of the lick on the ankle where the poisonous fangs were driven in, was so violent that Mr. Rush- ing thought it was one of the weight poles on the roof of the cabin that had fallen on his leg, and could not be convinced otherwise until the swelling began to rapidly extend up his leg, when by close inspection the entrance of the two fangs was discovered. The swelling was rapidly approaching the body. My father drenched him, as we do a horse, with a bottle of whisky, and got a bed cord and tied his foot up to the joice, keeping it elevated to make the swelling ascend. My impression was, though it may be regarded improbable, his big toe swelled to the size of a small watermelon. Every known remedy was applied, including the various snake roots and the poisoned stone. Mr. Rushing suf- fered greatly and lingered a long time. My opinion is that the whisky was a check, if not an antidote, to the poison and saved his life. When we moved to Sumner county he was periodically affected by this bite, but survived many years, and now sleeps with his fathers. The next morning we found the rattlesnake under the punchron floor and killed him. He had sixteen rattles, and was, of course, that many years old. This was an awful snake country, sure. The rattlesnakes lived and germinated in
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the cliffs, but came down into the settlements, and when molested, struck with terrible fatality. He is a magnificent snake. The rattle is his battle-cry, and while he is giving warning to the in- truder, he gets into the coil, with his head in the centre, and when he strikes he throws his whole body.
A RATTLESNAKE STORY.
I must give you a snake story, which is a part of the history of this county, and has been handed down from sire to son. I had my deadfalls to catch squirrels, which was a log, eight feet long, set with a pair of figure-four triggers, to which was attached an ear of corn to decoy the squirrel, and while moving the corn at the end of the trigger, the log would be thrown, which to him was equal to the French guillotine used in those days when France got drunk with blood and vomited crime. Barefooted, with my only wardrobe, my toga, which was a long shirt tied with a tow string, having two slits in the tail, to distinguish me from the girls, I one morning started forth in a long trot, going around the fields to examine my deadfalls. When I got to the far correr, I found one of my deadfalls down, and the tail of a squirrel produding. I knew I had him. My entire attention being drawn to the squirrel, I straddled the log to raise it up, when my naked foot rested on the broad back of the largest rat- tlesnake ever seen in Stewart county. He was as strong as a mule, and as big around as a large yellow dog. He rapidly threw himself into a coil, and his battle-cry was heard. I knew that this meant business. In trying to extricate myself, I became entangled in his coils. He then had elevated me three feet above the ground, resting upon his broad folds. One of my feet was hung in his coils, and it was with the greatest difficulty that I extracted myself. In disengaging myself I fell headforemost upon the ground. There was no time for swapping horses, or getting upon my feet, so I rolled over and over, until I got fifty . feet from the scene of strife. Every time that I struck the ground I thought I received a bite. Then I got up and ran to the centre of the field, and " hollered " all kinds of murder, which alarmed my father and mother, who came running with a hoe and an axe, thinking that Indians, who were troublesome in this section, had either wounded or scalped me. As they came up, I still invol-
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untarily "hollered" murder. They partook of the excitement and asked me what was the matter. I could give but a very in- distinct account of the situation, in which I spoke of a snake. Then they were satisfied I had been bitten by a snake, and raised up my toga looking for the bite, and asked me where I had been bitten. 1 told them that I was bitten all over. They could find no marks, and wanted me to go and show them the snake. I told them no, I could not go in that direction, but told them if they wanted to see the biggest snake they ever saw to go up to the corner of the field. I remained trembling and convulsed. They proceeded to the point indicated and found the monster snake still lying by the dead squirrel. He was of such extraor- dinary proportions that it was not prudent to attack him alone. Billy Rushing and other neighbors were called in to assist in the killing. Five or more came ; a long sapling having forks was cut down and was placed upon the back of the snake's neck and held there by four men, when my father stepped up with the axe and cut off his head or guillotined him. We had two large yel- low dogs, and the body of this snake was abont as large and of the same color as the dogs. He was as long as a fence rail and had twenty-two rattles, being that many years old. When he was thus beheaded, the dogs were set upon him, and bravely he kept up the fight. He would throw himself into a coil, and with the stump of his neck strike the dogs, knocking them eight or ten feet. When the dogs came out of the fight, they were as bloody as butchers. He was such an extraordinary snake that the neighbors concluded to carry him home, but were unable to drag him. The oxen and cart were sent for, and with the aid of handspikes he was rolled into the cart. His skin was taken off and stuffed with bran, with the head attached, and it was hung up by the walls of the house as a trophy, such as the scalps that hang from the girdle of the Indian warrior.
THE AMENDE HONORABLE.
After my return from the Florida war in 1837, I was elected to the Senate, and took into my circuit the good old county of Robertson, whose citizens I will always respect and love. I then for the first time met with the Eagle Orator, Gus Henry ; Boyd, one of the first legal minds of Tennessee; Kimball, Hockett
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Allen, and Pepper. There I met my old friend Judge Martin, my schoolmate, whom I voted for in the Assembly, and greatly contributed to elevate to the bench; likewise my old schoolmate, Wiley B. Johnson, the Attorney General of the fifth circuit ; Cave Johnson, the member of Congress, a sound Democrat, and one of the best stump speakers in the State, all of whom formed a galaxy of talent and worth not surpassed in Tennessee. All now have passed away, and the clods of the valley have fallen over them, except the Eagle Orator, Gus Henry. Well, to the point. My nature is to be communicative, and quickly to form muy acquaintances. I had never played a card, and never in- tended to use one. After making a few splurges in the court- house, in a few nights, we became hail fellows well met. I branched out and gave my snake story with the expletives. I extorted, by my powers and manner, from them a reluctant as- sent to its truth by an occasional nod of the head. Being a stranger, they waived, during that court, making any issue, but as they returned to Clarksville they doubted its entire truth. But finding a snake story in one of the Alabama papers, they in- closed it in a letter to me, and stated that when I told them my snake story they could not believe it, but that politeness pre- vented them from entering a dissent to any part of it. They had since found in the papers the Alabama snake story sent me, and they now felt it their duty to withdraw any reserved implication against the truth of my story, and to extend to me the amende honorable, as they now believed every word of it. It is said ob- jects become larger seen in the distance, and the lapse of time renders an enchantment to facts as well as fiction, yet I still ad- here to the entire features of this snake scene, so deeply has it become engraven in my memory.
This was an awful country for snakes, sure ! The snakes were so numerous that in the fall the neighbors drove their hogs to the cliffs to eat and fatten on them. The meat of the rattlesnake is fat and nutritous, and they will fatten hogs, if they eat enough of them, equal to corn. The mast and snakes in those days were , a great saving of the cereals.
ANOTHER SNAKE STORY.
If it will not fatigue you, ladies, I will give you another snake
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scene of the olden times, and then pursue my rambles. A neigh- bor, with a wife and one child, built his cabin on a flat rock among the cliffs. The rock furnished him a substantial floor, impervious to floods but not to snakes. Upon this rock Peter built his cabin; his winter fires were built in the center of the . house; the chimney-stack of rocks and mud protruded through the roof and carried off the smoke. The fires being kept up during the winter upon this floor, the genial warmth thawed the snakes early in the spring. He and his wife and child occupied their only bed in the corner, elevated some two feet from the rock. Just before day he was awakened by the crawling of snakes over the bed, and their hissing all over the house. He soon became satisfied that his cabin was infested with snakes. It was, dangerous to attempt to walk across the rock floor to the door, as he could not avoid being enveloped by snakes, so he whispered to his wife to cover up her head and that of the child with the bed clothes, and hold them down, and remain in that condition until his return, as he was going to escape through the roof of the house, and bring her relief by morning. He thus escaped, alarmed the neighbors, who assembled at the break of day with guns and ropes. They examined the situation and found that the-floor and bed were covered with snakes. They got to the roof, made an opening, let down ropes that had "run- ning nooses," and, after great care and difficulty, they were placed under the arms of the wife, and she, holding to her child, was safely drawn up, and thus were the two saved from destruc- tion.
The rattlesnakes herd together and lie dormant under the rocks and cliffs during the winter, and this rock happened to be one of their headquarters. Having been thawed by the fire, they came out during the night and took up their line of march. There were upward of a hundred slain that morning, and de- stroyed with the cabin, which was burned in order to extermi- nate a den of snakes. I do not know how it is now, but I know that sixty years ago this was an awful snake country. But I suppose that the snake, like the bear, the panther, the wolf, and . the Indian, has retired before the approach of civilization, and is now but seldom seen.
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OLD TIMES IN TENNESSEE.
WHERE IS BEN'S HOLE?
It is about three miles from here, in Wells' creek. And why was it called Ben's Hole? I will tell you. There was but one negro boy in the county, and he was owned by 'Squire Edwards. The boys worked all the week, and Saturday, after twelve o'clock, went to Wells's creek to fish, bathe, and play. Ben was a lone fellow, and we took him into our circle of amusement. We found a hole in the creek some eight or ten feet deep, and in that one we bathed. I was an expert swimmer. Ben could not swim a lick, and in the confusion of the moment, on one occasion, got into deep water. I saw him go down the last time. I called the boys and we rolled a log ten feet in length into the hole, which was held to its place by poles, and I " bulged " in and dived for Ben at the point where I saw the last bubble come up. At the first dive my hand lit upon the head of Ben, and I grasped the wool with one hand, and by the aid of the other and my feet, rose with Ben by the side of the log, and we all made with the log and Ben for the land. Ben was lifeless-could not hold up his head, and when we got to the bank he was perfectly limber. We turned his head down hill, and by his feet lifted him up and let his body strike the ground, which had the effect of a force pump. Not less than a half bushel of water ran out of him, and at last he began to twitch his face and to show signs of life. We rubbed him and blew in his mouth, when low and suppressed breathing was visible, and thus Ben's life was preserved, and ever afterward they called this Ben's Hole. The word went round, " Boys, let us go washing in Ben's Hole." I have dili- gently inquired for Ben since my arrival, but I can get no tidings of him. I suppose he has long since paid the debt of nature. Ben ever afterward showed for me the most sincere attachment and gratitude. Upon Sundays he would bring me apples or melons as evidence of his gratitude.
RIP VAN WINKLE.
After the short sleep of twenty years on the Katskill moun- tains, Rip Van Winkle returned to his native home and scarcely recognized the country. He inquired for his faithful dog Wolf, but he had been dead for many years. He looked around for his gun, and he found only a lock and barrel, the stock being
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worm eaten, which he did not recognize as his. As he ap- proached the village he met a number of people, but none that he knew. Their dress was different from that to which he had been accustomed. Strange children followed him; the dogs barked at him, not one of which he recognized; every thing seemed to be altered and changed. He could recognize nothing but the Katskill mountains. There ran the silvery Hudson in the distance. He looked in vain for the sage Nicholas Vedder, with his broad face and long pipe; or the school-master, Bum- mel, doling to a select crowd the contents of an ancient news- paper. In the place of them a lean, billious-looking fellow was harranging vehemently about the rights of citizens, elections, member of Congress, liberty, Bunker's Hill, heroes of '76, all of which was Babylonish jargon to him. One fellow asked him on which side he voted; another whether he was Federal or Democrat. Rip was at a loss how to answer these questions. When he went to sleep he was a subject of George the Third; when he awoke the battles of the revolution had been fought, and the independence of the country established. At last he was asked by a man with a cocked hat, whose keen eye pene- trated into his very soul, " what brought him to the election with a gun on his shoulder and a mob at his heels, and whether he intended to breed a riot in the village." Rip, somewhat dis- mayed, replied that he was a quiet man, a native of the place, and "a loyal subject to the king, God bless him!" Here the shout was raised, "A Tory, a Tory, a spy; hustle him away !" He was again asked what he came there for, and whom was he seeking. Rip said, " I come in search of some of my neighbors." He was asked to name them. " Where is Nicholas Vedder ?" Why he is dead and gone eighteen years. "Where is Brom Dutcher?" He was killed in the storming of Stony Point. Rip's heart died within him at hearing of these sad changes among his friends, and in his native home, finding himself thus alone in the world. I can sympathize with poor old Rip, for I feel on this occasion much like he did, when I return to my na- tive home and ask for the friends of my youth.
WELCOME TO LAFAYETTE.
Who is here to-day that was present at the welcome at Nash-
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ville, given to Gen. LaFayette in 1825? I pause for a reply. Your silence indicates not one. Then let me allude to that in- teresting occasion. LaFayette, in 1776, was a young French no- bleman. His noble nature was fired by the principles announced in our immortal Declaration of Independence. He saw the dis- tant Colonies oppressed by the British Crown. Though few in numbers and with limited resources, headed by Gen. Washing- ton, they were bravely making the fight for independence. La- Fayette put to hazard his large fortune, his life, and his political prospects. He called to his standard the chivalry of France, purchased and equipped various vessels and sailed for America, uniting his destiny with ours. He was appointed by Gen. Wash- ington Brigadier General, and commanded the gallant French in the various battles of the revolution. At the battle of Bran- dywine he received a dangerous wound. Through his influence France recognized the independence of our country at a time when our fortunes were drooping, which nerved the arms of our patriots in their death-struggle. Nor did Gen. LaFayette and his gallant command leave us in the fight until Lord Cornwallis surrendered the English army, which fixed the independence of our country. Fifty years after this great event the people of the United States invited Gen. LaFayette to visit our country as the nation's guest. He accepted the invitation and was brought over in a government vessel. His arrival was the occasion of bonfires and fireworks displayed in every city in the United States. The American heart was fired by love and gratitude to the asso- ciate in arms of our immortal Washington. Every means was put forth to bestow appropriate honors on the nation's guest. I raised a company of one hundred men, who elected me Captain. With a flaming sash and red feather which floated in the breeze, I led them to Nashville, where we encamped with other compa- nies, forming an army of twenty-thousand men. LaFayette was received on the Public Square, an open area being reserved. La- Fayette was sitting in a carriage drawn by six white horses, open to public view. The balance of the Square was covered with human forms. All the windows and tops of houses were stream- ing with a sea of heads. The fair waving their handerchiefs and the floating of banners announced a hearty welcome to the nation's guest. This was the first time that Tennesseeans, ex-
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cept a few of the revolutionary soldiers, had seen Gen. LaFay- ette. He was a square, muscular, well-built man, of about five feet eight inches in height; a full, good-natured, benevolent face ; hazel eyes, fleshy nose and lips, swarthy color, with long elephant ears, indicating much kindness and humanity, coupled with manly firmness, but no very eminent degree of talent. « As he stood in the open carriage, with the eyes of twenty-five thousand people upon him, another personage appeared upon the scene, a man with whom we were familiar, and in whose presence we often took delight. It was Gen. Jackson. As he strode across the open area to greet LaFayette, it was the tread of a Chesterfield, as well as that of a military chieftain. As he approached the carriage with peacock: stride, the entire public eye was turned from LaFayette and rested upon the old hero. I heard an hun- dred voices exclaim, " My God, just look at old Jackson!" I give this as an instance to show what a remarkable hold he had upon the hearts of the people. There was something in his look, his martial presence, his whole personnel, that chained the public eye and heart to him-certainly the most interesting and won- derful man the United States has produced. No other person- age on that occasion could have taken the public eye from La- Fayette. In addition to the most extravagant honors and hearty welcome given to La Fayette throughout every State of the Union, large endowments of the public lands were given him, demon- strating to the world that republics were not ungrateful.
GENERAL JACKSON
was a most remarkable man, the greatest the world has produced since the days of Washington and Napoleon. I believe him equal to either. He takes his rank with such men as Cæsar, Charles V., the Duke of Marlborough, Cromwell, the Duke of Wellington, Bonaparte, and our own Washington, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson. Such men are the product of cen- turies. They are bright and brilliant stars that take their place in history at long periods of time. And as time rolls on, and the distant ages come, their brightness increases and their glory is not diminished. Many are the interesting scenes of Jackson's life which his biographer, Parton, has omitted and not brought to light. When a boy, I saw him scare and put to flight twenty
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thousand men. The occasion was this: Grey Hound, a Ken- tucky horse, had beaten Double Head, a Tennessee horse, and they were afterward matched for five thousand dollars aside, to be run on the Clover Bottom Course. My uncle, Josephus H. Conn-who, by the death of my parents, became a father to me, giving me such education as I received-carried me on horse - back behind him to see the race. He set me on the cedar fence and told me to remain till he returned. In those days not only counties, but States, in full feather, attended the race course as a great national amusement, and the same is still kept up in France and England under the fostering care of each government. There must have been twenty thousand persons present. I never witnessed such fierce betting between the States. Horses and negroes were put up. A large pound was filled with horses and negroes bet on the result of this race. The time had now ar- rived for the competitors to appear on the track. I heard some loud talking, and looking down the track saw, for the first time, Gen. Jackson, riding slowly on a gray horse, with long pis- tols held in each hand. I think they were as long as my arm, and had a mouth that a ground squirrel could enter. In his wake followed my uncle, Conn, Stokely Donelson, Patton An- derson, and several others, as fierce as bull dogs. As Gen. Jack- son led the van and approached the judges' stand, he was rapidly talking and gesticulating. As he came by me he said that he had irrefragible proof that this was to be a jockey race; that Grey Hound was seen in the wheat field the night before, which disqualified him for the race, and that his rider was to receive five hundred dollars to throw it off, and " by the Eternal God," he would shoot the first man who brought his horse upon the track ; that the people's money should not be stolen from them in this manner. He talked incessantly, while the spittle rolled from his mouth and the fire from his eyes. I have seen bears and wolves put at bay, but he was certainly the most ferocious looking animal that I had ever seen. His appearance and man- ner struck terror into the hearts of twenty thousand people. If they felt as I did, every one expected to be slain, He announced to the parties if they wanted some lead in their hides, to just bring their horses on the track, for "by the Eternal," he would kill the first man that attempted to do so. There was no response
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to this challenge, and after waiting some time, and they failing to appear, Gen. Jackson said it was a great mistake in the opin- ion of some that he acted hastily and without consideration. He would give the scoundrels a fair trial, and to that end he would constitute a court to investigate this matter, who would hear the proof, and do justice to all parties. Thereupon he appointed a sheriff to keep order, and five judges to hear the case. Procla- mation was made that the court was open, and was ready to pro- ceed to business, and for the parties to appear and defend them- selves. No one appearing, Gen. Jackson introduced the witnesses, proving the bribery of Grey Hound's rider, who was to receive five hundred dollars to throw off the race, having received two hundred and fifty dollars in advance, and that Grey Hound had been turned into the wheat field the night before. He again called on the parties to appear and contradict this proof, and vindicate their innocence. They failing to appear, Gen. Jackson told the court that the proof was closed, and for them to render their judgment in the premises, which, in a few moments, was done in accordance with the facts proved. I was still on the fence forming one line of the large pound containing the prop- erty bet on the race. Each man was anxious to get back his property. Gen. Jackson waved his hand and announced the de- cision, and said, " Now, gentlemen, go calmly and in order, and each man take his own property." When the word was given the people came with a rush. It was more terrible than an army with banners. They came bulging against the fence, and in the struggle to get over they knocked it down for hundreds of yards. I was overturned, and was nearly tramped to death. Each man got his property, and thus the fraudulent race was broken up by an exhibition of the most extraordinary courage. He did that day what it would have required two thousand armed men to have effected. All this was effected by the presence and action of one man, and without the drawing of one drop of blood. A certain knowledge that in one event streams of blood would have flown, effected this great and worthy object.
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