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 DEATH or COLONEL CROCKETT. 
 
; 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 COL. DAYID CEOCKETT, 
 
 WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. 
 
 COUPRISINa 
 
 HIS EARLY LIFE, HUNTING ADVENTURES, SERVICES UNDER 
 GENERAL JACKSON IN THE CREEK WAR, ELECTIONEER- 
 ING SPEECHES, CAREER IN CONGRESS, TRIUMPHAL 
 TOUR IN THE NORTHERN STATES, AND SER- 
 VICES IN THE TEXAN WAR. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED 
 
 AN ACCOTTNT OF COLONEL CROCKETT'S GLORIOTJS DEATH 
 
 AT THE ALAMO. WHILE FIGHTING IN DEFENCE 
 
 OF TEXAN INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 BY THE EDITOR 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 PUBLISHED BY a. G. EVANS, 
 
 NO. 439 CHESTNUT STREET. 
 1860. 
 

 T^t^^^e^ 
 
 Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1859| by 
 
 G. G. EVANS, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 8TKEE0TTPED BY XESPER HARDING & SON, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
PREFACE BY THE EDITOR 
 
 Colonel David Crockett was one of the most remark- 
 able men of the times in whicli he lived. Born in humble 
 life, but gifted with a strong will, an indomitable courage, and 
 unremitting perseverance, as well as an aptitude for accumu- 
 lating information from his intercourse with men of superior 
 education, he rose to posts of high honor and distinction. 
 His talent for original humor caused his sayings to be admired 
 and quoted, reported in newspapers, and received with ap- 
 plause throughout America and Europe. 
 
 In his military career, which was confined to the Creek 
 war of 1813-1814, he served in the ranks as a private sol- 
 dier; and although in these circumstances, he never had an 
 extensive separate command, he was frequently sent upon 
 scouting and hunting expeditions in which he acquitted him- 
 self with credit. His entrance into public life was unsought 
 on his own part, and was entirely the result of that ascendency 
 which an able and independent mina asserts over the masses 
 in the troubles and turmoils of politics. The stand which he 
 took in Congress against those measures, which he disapproved, 
 
 (3) 
 
4 PREFACE BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 of his old Commander, General Jackson, when President of the 
 United States, was recognized throughout the country as the 
 evidence of a high degree of political integrity, and rendered 
 him extremely popular with the party at that time opposed 
 to the administration of the .General Government. When 
 this popularity was at its height. Colonel Crockett made the 
 tour of the Middle and Northern States ; and was everywhere 
 received with the greatest enthusiasm. 
 
 His odd maxims and original remarks had for a long time 
 been circulating in the newspapers, and the greatest curiosity 
 prevailed to hear him speak on political affairs. Under these 
 circumstances, although it was not an easy matter to satisfy the 
 public, his speeches gave general satisfaction, and he returned 
 to his constituents crowned with fresh honors. 
 
 But the fiat of power had gone forth against him ; and every 
 nerve was strained by the administration to defeat his re- 
 election. As usual with General Jackson, he succeeded in 
 preventing the return of his adversary to Congress ; and Col- 
 onel Crockett was constrained to return to private life. 
 
 But private life had lost its charms for the Colonel ; and as 
 the struggle for the independence of Texas was then going 
 forward; although the cause was apparently in a hopeless 
 state, and the whole band of patriots but a handful of men, 
 Colonel Crockett with his usual ardor and determination 
 threw himself into the contest, and perished gloriously at the 
 siege of the Alamo. Had he survived that siege, and par- 
 ticipated in the subsequent glories of San Jacinto, it is not 
 easy to imagine to what honors he might not have been advanced 
 
PREFACE BY THE EDITOR. 5 
 
 by liis compatriots after the independence of Texas was se- 
 cured, and her admission as one of the states of the Union 
 had been accomplished. 
 
 The life of Colonel Crockett was written by himself, is en- 
 tirely without literary pretensions ; but it is full of interest as 
 well as instruction. It shows how much may be accomplished 
 by a right aim, a strong will, and an indomitable spirit of 
 perseverance. 
 
AUTHOR'S PREFACE 
 
 Fashion is a thing I care miglity little aboutj except when 
 it happens to run just exactly according to mj own notion ; 
 and I was mighty nigh sending out my book without any pre- 
 face at all, until a notion struck me, that perhaps it was ne- 
 cessary to explain a little the reason why and wherefore I had 
 written it. 
 
 Most of authors seek fame, but I seek for justice, — a holier 
 impulse than ever entered into the ambitious struggles of the 
 votaries of th.a,t Jlckle, JUrting goddess. 
 
 A publication has been made to the world, which has done 
 me much injustice ; and the catchpenny errors which it con- 
 tains, have been already too long sanctioned by my silence. I 
 don't know the author of the book — and indeed I don't want 
 to know him : for after he has taken such a liberty with my 
 name, and made such an effort to hold me up to public ridi- 
 cule, he cannot calculate on anything but my displeasure. If 
 he had been content to have written his opinions about me, 
 however contemptuous they might have been, I should have 
 less reason to complain. But when he professes to give my 
 narrative (as he often does) in my own language, and then 
 puts into my mouth such language as would disgrace even an 
 outlandish African, he must himself be sensible of the injus- 
 tice he has done me, and the trick he has played off on the 
 public. I have met with hundreds, if not with thousands of 
 
 (7) 
 
8 author's preface. 
 
 people, who have formed their opinions of ray appearance, haD- 
 its, language, and ever^^thing else from that deceptive work. 
 
 They have almost in every instance expressed the most 
 profound astonishment at finding me in human shape, and with 
 the countenance, appearance, and common feelings of a human 
 being. It is to correct all these false notions, and to do jus- 
 tice to myself, that I have written. 
 
 It is certain that the writer of the book alluded to has gath- 
 ered up many imperfect scraps of information concerning me, 
 as in parts of his work there is some little semblance of truth. 
 But I ask him, if this notice should ever reach his eye, how 
 would he have liked it, if I had treated him so ? — if I had 
 put together such a bundle of ridiculous stufi", and headed it 
 with his name, and sent it out upon the world without ever 
 even condescending to ask his permission ? To these ques- 
 tions, all upright men must give the same answer. It was 
 wrong; and the desire to make money by it, is no apology for 
 such injustice to a fellow man. 
 
 But I let him pass ; as my wish is greatly more to vindicate 
 myself, than to condemn him. 
 
 In the following pages I have endeavored to give the reader 
 a plain, honest, homespun account of my state in life, and some 
 few of the difficulties which have attended me along its journey, 
 down to this time. I am perfectly aware, that I have related 
 many small and, as I fear, uninteresting circumstances ; but 
 if so, my apology is, that it was rendered necessary by a desire 
 to link the different periods of my life together, as they have 
 passed, from my childhood onward, and thereby to enable the 
 reader to select such parts of it as he may relish most, if, in • 
 deed, there is anything in it which may suit his palate. 
 
 I have also been operated on by another consideration. It 
 is this : — I know, that obscure as I am, my name is making a 
 considerable deal of fuss in the world. I caa't tell why it is, 
 
author's preface. 9 
 
 nor in wliat it is to end. G-o where I will, everybody seems 
 anxious to get a peep at me ; and it would be hard to tell 
 which would have the advantage, if I, and the " Government,'' 
 and " Black Hawk," and a great eternal big caravan of loild 
 varmints were all to be showed at the same time in four dif- 
 ferent parts of any of the big cities in the nation. I am not 
 so sure that I shouldn't get the most custom of any of the 
 crew. There must therefore be something in me, or about 
 me, that attracts attention, which is even mysterious to my- 
 self. I can't understand it, and I therefore put all the facts 
 down, leaving the reader free to take his choice of them. 
 
 On the subject of my style, it is bad enough, in all con- 
 science, to please critics, if that is what they are after. They 
 are a sort of vermin, though, that I sha'n't even so much as 
 stop to brush oflP. If they want to work on my book, just let 
 them go ahead ] and after they are done, they had better blot 
 out all their criticisms, than to know what opinion I would 
 express of tliem, and by what sort of a curious name I would 
 call tliem, if I was standing near them, and looking over their 
 shoulders. They will, at most, have only their trouble for 
 their pay. But I rather expect I shall have them on my side. 
 
 But T don't know of anything in my book to be criticised 
 on by honorable men. Is it on my spelling? — that's not my 
 trade. Is it on my grammar ? — I hadn't time to learn it, and 
 make no pretensions to it. Is it on the order and arrange- 
 ment of my book ? — I never wrote one before, and never read 
 very many; and, of course, know mighty little about that. 
 Will it be on the authorship of the book ? — this I claim, and 
 I'll hang on to it like a wax plaster. The whole book is my 
 own, and every sentiment and sentence in it. I would noo 
 be such a fool, or knave either, as to deny that I have had 
 it run hastily over by a friend or so, and that some little al- 
 terations have been made in the spelling and grammar; and I 
 
10 author's preface. 
 
 am not so sure that it is not the worse of even that, for I de- 
 spise this way of spelling contrary to nature. And as for 
 grammar, it's pretty much a thing of nothing at last, after all 
 the fuss that's made about it. In some places, I wouldn't 
 suflfer either the spelling, or grammar, or anything else to be 
 touched ; and therefore it will be found in my own way. 
 
 But if anybody complains that I have had it looked over, I 
 can only say to him, her, or them — as the case may be — that 
 while critics were learning grammar, and learning to spell, I 
 and "Doctor Jackson, LL.D." were fighting in the wars; 
 and if our books, and messages, and proclamations, and cabi- 
 net writings, and so forth, and so on, should need a little 
 looking over, and a little correcting of the spelling and the 
 grammar to make them fit for use, its just nobody's business. 
 Big men have more important matters to attend to than cross- 
 ing their ^'s — , and dotting their i's — , and such like small 
 things. But the " Government's" name is to the proclama- 
 tion, and my name's to the book ; and if I didn't write the 
 book, the " Government" didn't write the proclamation, which 
 no man dares to deny I 
 
 But just read for yourself, and my ears for a heel tap, if 
 before you get through you don't say, with many a good-na- 
 tured smile and hearty laugh, " This is truly the -^ry thing 
 itself— the exact image of its Author, 
 
 DAVID CROCKETT." 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGH 
 
 Crockett's descent — His father a soldier in the Revolutionary War — 
 Fought at the battle of King's Mountain — Settles in Tennessee — 
 Crockett's grandparents murdered by the Indians — One uncle 
 wounded and another captured by the Indians — Birth of David 
 Crockett — Early recollections — Narrow escape of his brothers from 
 drowning — Shooting a man instead of a deer — His father's removals 
 — Keeps a tavern — Davy hired to a Dutchman — Escapes from him 
 in a snow storm — Mr. Dunn's kindness— David returns home 19 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 David goes to school — Flogs a schoolmate and plays truant — Gets found 
 out — Runs away — Hires himself to Jesse Cheek — Leaves him — Goes 
 with Myers — Afraid to go home — Works for John Gray — Goes to 
 Baltimore — Agrees to go to sea — Made prisoner — Escapes — Be- 
 friended by a wagoner — His kindness— David " hires out" to Cald^aell 
 — Works for GriflSth, the hatter — His master breaks — He starts for 
 home — Perilous adventure in a canoe — Meets his brother — Reaches 
 home — His reception 31 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 David at home — Works out a debt for his father — Hires out with an old 
 Quaker — Gets paid in a note of his father's — David falls in love with 
 a Quakeress — Disappointed — Goes to school — Falls in love again — 
 Goes to a shooting match— Gets jilted — Sick at heart 43 
 
 (11) 
 
12 CONTENTS. 
 
 ?AGE 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Crockett goes a hunting — The Dutch widow — Ugly daughter — Crockett 
 goes to a reaping — The old Irish woman — Crockett dances with her 
 daughter — Makes love to her — A rival — Crockett lost in the woods — 
 Meets his lady love — Opposition of her mother to the marriage — 
 Crockett married — Mother-in-law reconciled — Two sons horn — Re- 
 moval to Lincoln county — Removal to Franklin county 51 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Creek war — Massacre at Fort Mimms — Crockett volunteers — Joins 
 Captain Jones' company of mounted volunteers — Beaty's Spring — 
 Major Gibson — Crockett goes out as a scout with George Russell-^— 
 Scouting adventures — Crockett returns, and reports to General Cof- 
 fee — Express sent to General Jackson — His arrival in camp 61 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Crockett sent off with a detachment — Burning of Black Warrior's town 
 — Crockett goes a hunting to supply provision for the detachment — 
 His success — Rejoins the main army — Battle with the Indians — Re- 
 turn to Fort Strother — Famine in the camp — Expedition to Fort Ta- 
 ladega — Battle of Taladega — Famine — Mutiny — Crockett goes home 
 with the other volunteers — Rejoins the army — Skirmish near Horse 
 Shoe Bend — Another Battle — Courage and skill of General Carroll ... 71 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Crockett joins the army for the Florida campaign — Passes near Fort 
 Mimms — Arrival at Pensacola — General Jackson leaves for New Or- 
 leans — Crockett returns with his regiment to Fort Mimms — De- 
 scription of the fort and the massacre — March towards Pensacola 
 — Preparations for a battle — Creeks killed — Expedition of Major 
 Russell — Return to Pensacola 85 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Start for Chatahachy — Famine in the camp— Burning of town on the 
 Chatahachy — Famine again — Crockett goes a hunting — His success 
 — Arrival at Fort Decatur — Crockett buys corn with bullets — March 
 to Fort Williams — Pass the battle-ground of Taladega — Pass the 
 Coosa river — Crockett starts for home — Returns home — Joy of his 
 family — Crockett's sentiments on the warrior career — Close of the 
 war 95 
 
CONTENTS. 13 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FAQB 
 
 Death of Mrs. Crockett — His family — Crockett courts a soldier's widow 
 — Marries again — New family — Emigrates — Perilous journey — Sick- 
 ness — Returns home — Second sickness — Crockett settles on Shoal 
 Creek — Regulators — Crockett a magistrate — Amusing account of his 
 proceedings — Learning how to make out written warrants, and keep 
 a docket — His success as a magistrate 103 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Captain Matthew's intrigue — Crockett a candidate for military office — 
 Matthew's artful dodge — Detected by Crockett, who defeats him, and 
 is elected colonel — Crockett a candidate for the Legislature — On the 
 stump — Electioneering — Hunting party — Speech-making tough work 
 — Tells anecdotes — Gains his election — Colonel Polk— The judiciary 
 — Loss of property — Failure — Gives up all to his creditors 112 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Colonel Crockett emigrates again — Difficult journey — Visit to Mr. 
 Owens — Boating — Hunting — Planting — The Fall's hunt — Perilous 
 winter journey to get a cask of powder — Success 119 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 All hands turn out for a hunt — Colonel Crockett goes after bear — Kills 
 two wild turkeys — Encounters a very big bear — Three shots fired — 
 Bear killed — Weighs 600 pounds — Difficulty in getting him homo — 
 Colonel Crockett supplies his family with provisions by hunting 130 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Colonel Crockett sells his peltry — Meets influential politicians at Jack- 
 son — Is invited to become a candidate for the Legislature — Declines 
 — Is advertised for the office without his consent— Determines to run 
 — Meets his opponent — His amusing and characteristic description of 
 his manner of electioneering — Two other candidates proposed — Col- 
 onel Crockett is elected — Votes against General Jackson for Senator 
 — Colonel Crockett proposed as a candidate for Congress — He is de- 
 feated — Proposed again for the next Congress 134 
 
14 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 FA61 
 
 Colonel Crockett engages in a lumber speculation — Boat building — 
 Bear hunting — Tlie grubber — More bear hunting — Bear attacked in 
 a cane brake — Bear attacked in a hollow tree — Three bears killed — 
 Cutting up the bears and salting them 141 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 More bear hunting — Shooting a bear — Crockett benighted in the woods 
 — Night encounter with a bear — Crockett nearly frozen to death — 
 Dreadful earthquake — Ten bears killed during this hunt 150 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Colonel Crockett attends to his lumber speculations — Goes down the 
 Mississippi with his lumber — Difficult navigation — Boats swamped — 
 Narrow escape of the Colonel from drowning — Result of the specu- 
 lation a total loss 15S 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Colonel Crockett enters on a new canvass for Congress — A friend sup- 
 plies " the sinews of war" — Electioneering — A stump speech — Inci- 
 dent of the guinea-fowls turned to a good account — Crockett elected 
 — Serves in Congress during Adams' administration — Re-elected to 
 Congress — Votes against the Indian bill — Political persecution — 
 Crockett proposed for Congress again — Defeated — Crockett's district 
 Gerrymandered to keep him out of Congress — He is elected 163 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Colonel Crockett commences his tour to the Northern States — Enter- 
 tained at Barnum's Hotel in Baltimore — Passage to Philadelphia — 
 Crockett's toast — Grand reception at Philadelphia — Arrival at United 
 States Hotel — Crockett's speech — Walk round the Quaker City at 
 night — Visited by distinguished citizens — Visit to the Water Works, 
 the Mint, and the Asylum for the Insane — Crockett's speech at the 
 Exchange — Great applause — Goes to the Walnut Street Theatre — 
 Crockett presented with a watch-seal and rifle— Visits the Navy 
 Yard — Takes a ride with Colonel Reeside — Takes a supper with Mr. 
 Dorrance, and makes a call on Colonel Saint 171 
 
CONTENTS. 15 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PAGa 
 
 Colonel Crockett starts for New York — The passage — Grand Reception 
 — Committee of young whigs invite him to go to the American Hotel 
 — Goes to the Park Theatre — Sees Fanny Kemble — His opinion of 
 that actress — The Colonel goes to a fire — Makes a Speech at the Ex- 
 change — Goes to Peale's Museum and the City Hall — Dines with Col. 
 Draper— Invited to a supper by the young whigs — Has a ride with 
 Col. Jackson — Visits the Five Points — His opinion of the strange 
 sights there — Introduced to Albert Gallatin — Preparations for build- 
 ing the Astor House — Celebration at the Battery — General Morton — 
 Gideon Lee — Castle Garden — Goes to the Bowery Theatre — Colonel 
 Mapes — Grant Thorburn — Rifle shooting — The Colonel gives a spe- 
 cimen 183 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The Colonel starts for Boston — Passes Hell Gate and Point Juda — First 
 impressions of New England scenery — Captain Silsbee — Arrives at 
 Tremont House — Mr. Boyden — Visit to the gallery of the artist, 
 Chester Harding — Sits for his portrait — Faneuil Hall — Gen. Davis — 
 Quincy Market — India-rubber factory — Colonel Perkins — Carpet 
 factory — Sups with the young whigs — Bunker Hill — Whig dinner — 
 Chantrey's statue of Washington — Asylum for the blind 195 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Colonel Crockett is invited to visit Harvard University — Is afraid they 
 will make him a Doctor of Laws, and declines going there — Visits 
 the Tremont Theatre — Visit to Lowell — The Colonel is delighted with 
 the factories and the factory girls — His remarks on free labor — The 
 sea-serpent — The tariff — The South — Mr. Lawrence presents the Colo- 
 nel with a suit of broadcloth of Lowell manufacture, from Mississippi 
 wool — The Colonel dines with the young gentlemen of Lowell — New 
 England hospitality — The Colonel returns to Boston — Spends an eve- 
 ning with Lieutenant-Governor Armstrong — Returns to Providence, 
 New York, and Philadelphia — Visit to Camden, New Jersey — Loses 
 his pockei-book and money — Returns to Baltimore and Washington.. 209 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Breaking up of Congress— Crockett at Philadelphia— Presentation of 
 the rifle— The Colonel's speech— Visit to the Fish House— Celebration 
 of the Fourth of July— The Colonel's speech at Chesnut Street The- 
 
16 CONTENTS. 
 
 pAcn 
 
 atre — Present of gunpowder from Mr. Dupont — Crockett at Pittsburg 
 — His advice to Tennessee — Conversation with Captain Stone — Pas- 
 sage to Cincinnati and Louisville — Speech at Louisville — Return 
 home — Shooting for beef 222 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Electioneering — Stump speech — Price of popularityT— Treating — The j 
 coon-skin trick — The Yankee merchant outwitted — Offer of compen- 
 sation on the part of the Colonel refused — Adam Huntsman, the 
 Colonel's opponent ; 239 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 The Colonel loses his election — How it happened — Political persecution 
 and corruption — The Colonel's opinions and sentiments on political 
 affairs — Where the public money goes — Anecdote — The Colonel's 
 parting blessing to his constituents — He resolves to go to Texas, and 
 engage in the war for its independence — Specimen of the Colonel's 
 poetry 246 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 The Colonel starts for Texas — Amusing incident of the man fighting 
 with his own shadow — Crockett arrives at Little Rock — The puppet 
 showman — Disappointment — Threats of lynch law — The bookseller 
 who becomes fiddler to the puppet show — Moral of a puppet show.... 255 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Crockett offered a public dinner by the citizens of Little Rock — Thinks 
 he will decline — The landlord shows him his larder — The Colonel ac- 
 cepts — Rifle shooting — Cute trick — The dinner — The Colonel's speech 
 i— He tells the Little Rock politicians how to get office — A jolly 
 evening 268 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Western hospitality — The Colonel takes leave of his Little Rock friends 
 — Escorted on his way towards Texas — Tries for recruits for the 
 Texan war, without success — Whimsical adventure of the fiddling 
 bookseller — Great utility of fiddling — Account of Arkansas — Elo- 
 quence of the parson — The parting — Specimen of impertinent curi- 
 osity baffled — Job Snelling — Arrival at Pulton. ...\ 27* 
 
CONTENTS. 17 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 FAQS 
 
 Departure from Fulton — Game of thimblerig on the steamboat — Sleight 
 of hand — The Colonel makes Thimblerig treat the company — The 
 Colonel's toast — His speech — His opinion of Van Buren — Great 
 applause 291 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Thimblerig relates the events of his life to the Colonel — Thimblerig 
 courts a planter's daughter — Gets a very broad hint to leave — Becomes 
 a play-actor — Refuses to perform the hind legs of the elephant, be- 
 cause it is not a speaking part — Gets discharged — Becomes marker 
 in a- gambling house at New Orleans — Quits — Becomes a professional 
 blackleg — Goes to Natchez under the hill — His description of that 
 place — A murder — Punishment of the murderer — Punishment of a 
 gambler for cheating — Arrival of the Colonel at Natchitoches 302 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Account of Natchitoches — The Colonel advises Thimblerig to reform 
 and join the Texan patriots — Thimblerig decides to do so — Curious 
 incident of the yellow boy — The singer and the politician — A brisk 
 conversation — The singer thrashes the politician — The Bee Hunter — 
 He joins the patriots — The Colonel, Thimblerig, and the Bee Hunter 
 set out for Nacogdoches on their way to Texas 314 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Route to Nacogdoches — Accomplishments of the Bee Hunter — Story 
 of Andrew Tumlinson — His death — Society in Texas — Arrival at 
 Nacogdoches — Account of that place — Scene between the Bee Hunter 
 and his lady-love — Departure from Nacogdoches 327 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Incidents on the road — Tricks upon travelers — The mad dog hoax — 
 Another curious trick — Cane brake — Wolves and game — The party 
 joined by one of Lafitte's pirates and an Indian hunter — Scene at the 
 dinner table — Sudden disappearance of the Bee Hunter — The party 
 encounter an immense herd of bufixiloes — The Colonel gives chase — 
 Gets lost — Falls in with a herd of mustangs — A race with the mus- 
 tangs — Reaches the Navasola river, where the mustangs leave him... 338 
 2 
 
18 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 The Colonel's mustang apparently very ill — The Colonel has a hard 
 fight with a cougar, and kills him — Passes the night in a tree — Loses 
 his mustang — Breakfasts on roast goose — Falls in with a party of 
 Cumanches — Ride with them — Singular recovery of his mustang — A 
 prairie on fire — Politeness of the Cumanches — Meeting with Thim- 
 blerig — Re-union of the whole party — Meeting with a band of Mexi- 
 cans — A fight — The Mexicans beaten and put to flight — Arrival at 
 the Alamo , 354 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Description of the Alamo fortress and Bexar — Capture of the Alamo by 
 the Texan army — Account of Colonel Bowie — His stratagem for de- 
 ceiving the Cumanches — News of the approach of Santa Anna — 
 History of Texas — Account of Santa Anna — His ambition — Anec- 
 dote — Siege of a convent 368 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 Thimblerig on a spree — The mule train — News of Santa Anna — The 
 ragged hunter — Unsuccessful attack on Tampico — Fate of the assail- 
 ants — Approach of the Mexicans under Santa Anna — Siege of the 
 Alamo commenced — Raising the Texan flag — Colonel Travis sends 
 to Colonel Fanning for reinforcements — Reinforcements arrive — 
 Thimblerig wounded — His revenge on the Mexicans — Colonel Bowie 
 — The Bee Hunter cannonading — Provisions brought in — General 
 Sesma's movements — Sharpshooting — Declaration of Independence 
 — A sortie from the Alamo — End of Colonel Crockett's MS 378 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 Assault on the Alamo directed by Santa Anna — Desperate fighting — 
 Six Americans survive — Crockett one of the number — Death of Thim- 
 blerig — Castrillon takes the prisoners to Santa Anna, who directs the 
 massacre of the whole — Death of Col. Crockett — Of Col. Bowie — Of 
 Col. Travis — Loss of the Mexicans at the Alamo — Battle of Goliad — 
 Surrender of Col. Fanning — Massacre of the American prisoners — 
 Ravages of the Mexicans on their march to San Jacinto — General 
 Houston — Battle of San Jacinto — Total defeat of the Mexicans and 
 capture of Santa Anna — Death of Col. Fanning 395 
 
LIFE OF 
 
 COLONEL DAVID CROCKETT 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Crockett's descent— His father a soldier in the Eevolutionary War — 
 Fought at the battle of King's Mountain — Settles in Tennessee — 
 Crockett's grandparents murdered by the Indians — One uncle 
 wounded and another captured by the Indians — Birth of David 
 Crockett — Early recollections — Narrow escape of his brothers from 
 drowning — Shooting a man instead of a deer — His father's remo- 
 vals — Keeps a tavern — David hired to a Dutchman — Escapes from 
 him in a snow storm — Mr. Dunn's kindness — David returns home. 
 
 As the public seem to feel some interest in the his- 
 tory of an individual so humble as I am, and as that 
 history can be so well known to no person living as to 
 myself, I have, after so long a time, and under many 
 pressing solicitations from my friends and acquaintances, 
 at last determined to put my own hand to it, and lay 
 before the world a narrative on which they may at least 
 rely as being true. And seeking no ornament or color- 
 ing for a plain, simple tale of truth, I throw aside all 
 
 (19) 
 
20 Crockett's family. 
 
 hypocritical and fawning apologies, and according to 
 my own maxim, just "^c* ahead.'' Where I am not 
 known, I might, perhaps, gain some little credit by 
 having thrown around this volume some of the flowers 
 of learning ; but where I am known, the vile cheatery 
 would soon be detected, and like the foolish jackdaw, 
 that with borrowed tail attempted to play the peacock, 
 I should be justly robbed of my pilfered ornaments, and 
 sent forth to strut without a tail for the balance of my 
 time. I shall commence my book with what little I 
 have learned of the history of my father, as all great 
 men rest many, if not most, of their hopes on their 
 noble ancestry. Mine was poor, but I hoj)e honest, and 
 even that is as much as many a man can say. But to 
 my subject. 
 
 My father's name was John Crockett, and he was of 
 Irish descent. He was either born in Ireland or on a 
 passage from that country to America across the At- 
 lantic. He was by profession a farmer, and spent the 
 early part of his life in the State of Pennsylvania. .The 
 name of my mother was Rebecca Hawkins. She was 
 an American w^oman, born in the State of Maryland, 
 between York and Baltimore. It is likely I may have 
 heard where they were married, but if so, I have for- 
 gotten. It is, however, certain that they were, or else 
 the public would never have been troubled with the his- 
 tory of David Crockett, their son. 
 
 I have an imperfect recollection of the part which I 
 have understood my father took in the revolutionary 
 war. I personally know nothing about it, for it hap- 
 pened to be a -little before my day; but from himself, 
 
Crockett's family. 21 
 
 and many others who were well acquainted with its 
 troubles and afflictions, I have learned that he was a 
 soldier in the revolutionary war, and took part in that 
 bloody struggle. He fought, according to my informa- 
 tion, in the battle of King's Mountain, against the 
 British and tories, and in some other engagements, of 
 which my remembrance is too imperfect to enable me to 
 speak with any certainty. At some time, though I 
 cannot say certainly when, my father, as I have under- 
 stood, lived in Lincoln county, in the State of North 
 Carolina. How long I don't know. But when he re- 
 moved from there, he settled in that district of country 
 which is now embraced in the east division of Tennessee, 
 though it was not then erected into a State. 
 
 He settled there under dangerous circumstances, both 
 to himself and his family, as the country was full of 
 Indians, who were at that time very troublesome. By 
 the Creeks, my grandfather and grandmother Crockett 
 were both murdered in their own house, and on the very 
 spot of ground where Bogersville, in Hawkins county, 
 now stands. At the same time, the Indians wounded 
 Joseph Crockett, a brother to my father, by a ball, 
 which broke his arm ; and took James a prisoner, who 
 was still a younger brother than Joseph, and who, from 
 natural defects, was less able to make his escape, as he 
 was both deaf and dumb. He remained with them for 
 seventeen years and nine months, when he was disco- 
 vered and recollected by my father and his eldest 
 brother, William Crockett ; and was purchased by them 
 from an Indian trader, at a price which I do not now 
 remember ; but so it was, that he was delivered up to 
 
i:-^ CROCKETT S FAMILY. 
 
 them, and they returned him to his reLatives. He now 
 lives in Cumberland county, in the State of Kentucky, 
 though I have not seen him for many years. 
 
 My father and mother had six sons and three daugh- 
 ters. I was the fifth son. What a pity I hadn't been 
 the seventh ! For then I might have been, by common 
 €07ise7it, called doctor, as a heap of people get to be 
 great men. But, like many of them, I stood no chance 
 to become great in any other way than by accident. 
 As my father was very poor, and living as he did, far 
 bach in the back ivoods, he had neither the means nor 
 the opportunity to give me, or any of the rest of his 
 children, any learning. 
 
 But before I get on the subject of my own troubles, 
 and a great many very funny things that have happened 
 to me, like all other historians and biographers, I 
 should inform the public that I was born, myself, as 
 well as other folks, and that this important event took 
 place, according to the best information I have received 
 on the subject, on the 17th of August, in the year 1786 ; 
 whether by day or night, I believe I never heard, but 
 if I did, I have forgotten. I suppose, however, it is not 
 very material to my present purpose, nor to the world, 
 as the more important fact is well attested, that I vfas 
 born ; and, indeed, it might be inferred, from my pre- 
 sent size and appearance, that I was pretty ivell born, 
 though I have never yet attached myself to that nu- 
 merous and worthy society. 
 
 At the time my father lived at the mouth of Lime 
 Stone, on the Nolachucky river ; and for the purpose 
 not only of showing what sort of a man I now am, but 
 
EARLY RECOLLECTIONSi 23 
 
 also to show how soon I began to be a soi't of a little 
 man, I have endeavored to take the hack track of life, 
 in order to fix on the first thing that I can remember. 
 But even then, as now, so many things were happening, 
 that, as Major Jack Downing would say, they are all in 
 *' a pretty considerable of a snarl," and I find it " kinder 
 hard" to fix on that thing, among them all, which really 
 happened first. But I think it likely I have hit on the 
 outside line of my recollection ; as one thing happened 
 at which I was so badly scared, that it seems to me I 
 could not have forgotten it, if it had happened a little 
 time only after I was born. Therefore it furnishes me 
 with no certain evidence of my age at the time ; but I 
 know one thing very well, and that is, that when it hap- 
 pened I had no knowledge of the use of breeches, for I 
 had never had any nor worn any. 
 
 But the circumstance was this : My four elder bro- 
 thers, and a well-grown boy of about fifteen years old, 
 by the name of Campbell, and myself, were all playing 
 on the river's side, when all the rest of them got into my 
 father's canoe, and put out to amuse themselves on the 
 water, leaving me on the shore alone. 
 
 Just a little distance below them, there was a fall in the 
 river, which went slap-right straight down. My brothers, 
 though they were little fellows, had been used to paddling 
 the canoe, and could have carried it safely anywhere 
 about there ; but this fellow Campbell wouldn't let them 
 have the paddle, but, fool like, undertook to manage it 
 himself. I reckon he had never seen a water craft be- 
 fore ; and it went just any way but the way he wanted 
 it. There he paddled, and paddled, and paddled — all 
 
24 ESCAPE FROM DROWNING. 
 
 the while going wrong, until, in a short time, here they 
 were all going, straight forward, stern foremost, right 
 plump to the falls ; and if they had only a fair shake, 
 they would have gone over as slick as a whistle. It 
 wasn't this, though, that scared me, for I was so infer- 
 nal mad that they had left me on the shore, that I had 
 as soon have seen them all go over the falls a bit, as any 
 other way. But their danger was seen by a man by the 
 name of Kendall, but I'll be shot if it was Amos, for I 
 believe I would know him yet if I was to see him. This 
 man Kendall was working in a field on the bank, and 
 knowing there was no time to lose, he started full tilt, 
 and here he come like a cane brake afire ; and as he ran 
 he threw off his coat, and then his jacket, and then his shirt, 
 for I know when he got to the water he had nothing on but 
 his breeches. But seeing him in such a hurry, and tearing 
 ofi" his clothes as he went, I had no doubt but that the 
 devil, or something else was after him — and close on him, 
 too — as he was running within an inch of his life. This 
 alarmed me, and I screamed out like a young painter. 
 But Kendall didn't stop for this. He went ahead with 
 all might, and as full bent on saving the boys, as Amos 
 was on moving the deposites. When he came to the wa- 
 ter, he plunged in, and where it was too deep to wade, 
 he would swim, and where it was shallow enough he went 
 bolting on ; and by such exertion as I never saw at any other 
 time in my life, he reached the canoe, when it was within 
 twenty or thirty feet of the falls ; and so great was the suck 
 and so swift the current, that poor Kendall had a hard time 
 of it to stop them at last, as Amos will to stop the 
 mouths of the people about his stockjobbing. But he 
 
A MAN SHOT INSTEAD OF A DEER. 25 
 
 himg on to the canoe, till he got it stopp'd, and then 
 draw'd it out of danger. When they got out, I found 
 the boys were more scared than I had been, and the only 
 thing that comforted me was the belief that it was a pun- 
 ishment on them for leaving me on shore. 
 
 Shortly after this, my father removed and settled in 
 the same county, about ten miles above Greenville. 
 
 There, another circumstance happened, which made a 
 lasting impression on my memory, though I was but a 
 small child. Joseph Hawkins, who was a brother to my 
 mother, was in the woods hunting for deer. He was 
 passing near a thicket of brush, in which one of our 
 neighbors was gathering some grapes, as it was in the 
 fall of the year, and the grape season. The body of the 
 man was hid by the brush, and it was only as he would 
 raise his hand to pull the bunches, that any part of him 
 could be seen. It was a likely place for deer, and my 
 uncle, having no suspicion that it was any human being, 
 but supposing the raising of the hand to be an occasional 
 twitch of a deer's ear, fired at the lump, and as the devil 
 would have it, unfortunately shot the man through the 
 body. I saw my father draw a silk handkerchief 
 through the bullet hole, and entirely through his body ; 
 yet after a while he got well, as little as any one w^ould 
 have thought it. What become of him, or whether he is 
 dead or alive, I don't know; but I reckon he didn't 
 fancy the business of gathering grapes in an out-of-the- 
 way thicket soon again. 
 
 The next move my father made was to the mouth of 
 Cove creek, where he and a man by the name of Thomas 
 Galbreath undertook to build a mill in partnership. 
 
26 CEOCKETT HIRED TO A DUTCHMAN. 
 
 They went on very well with their work until it was nigh 
 done, when there came a second epistle to Noah's 
 freshet, and away went their mill, shot, lock, and barrel. 
 I remember the water rose so high, that it got up into 
 the house we lived in, and my father moved us out of it 
 to keep us from being drowned. I was now about seven 
 or eight years old, and have a pretty distinct recollection 
 of everything that was going on. From his bad luck in 
 that business, and being ready to wash out from mill 
 building, my father again removed, and this time, settled 
 in Jefferson county, now in the State of Tennessee, where 
 he opened a tavern on the road from Abbingdon to 
 Knoxville. 
 
 His tavern was on a small scale, as he was poor ; and 
 the principal accommodations which he kept were for the 
 wagoners who traveled the road. Here I remained with 
 him until I was twelve years old ; and about that time, 
 you may guess, if you belong to Yankee land, or reckon, 
 if like me you belong to the back-woods, that I began to 
 make up my acquaintance with hard times, and a plenty 
 of them. 
 
 An old Dutchman, by the name of Jacob Siler, who 
 was moving from Knox county to Rockbridge, in the 
 State of Virginia, in passing, made a stop at my father's 
 h use. He had a large stock of cattle, that he was car- 
 rying on with him, and I suppose, made some proposi- 
 tion to my father to hire some one to assist him. 
 
 Being hard run every way, and having no thought, as 
 I believe, that I was cut out for a Congressman, or the 
 like, young as I was, and as little as I knew about tra- 
 veling or being from home, he hired me to the old 
 
ANXIOUS TO KETUr.N HOME. 2T 
 
 Diitcliman to go four hundred miles on foot, with a per- 
 fect stranger that I had never seen until the evening be- 
 fore. I set out with a heavy heart, it is true, but I went 
 ahead until we arrived at the place, which was three miles 
 from what is called the Natural Bridge, and made a stop 
 at the house of a Mr. Hartley, who was father-in-law to 
 Mr. Siler, who had hired me. My Dutch master was 
 very kind to me, and gave me five or six dollars, being 
 pleased, as he said, with my services. 
 
 This, however, I think was a bait for me, as he per- 
 suaded me to stay with him, and not return any more to 
 my father. I had been taught so many lessons of obe- , 
 dience by my father, that I at first supposed I was bound 
 to obey this man, or at least I was afraid openly to dis- 
 obey him ; and I therefore staid with him, and tried to 
 put on a look of perfect contentment until I got the fam- 
 ily all to believe I was fully satisfied. I had been therb 
 about four or five weeks, when one day myself and two 
 other boys were playing on the roadside, some distance 
 from the house. There came along three wagons. One 
 belonged to an old man by the name of Dunn, and the 
 others to two of his sons. They had each of them a good 
 team, and were all bound for Knoxville. They had been 
 in the habit of stopping at my father's as they passed 
 the road, and I knew them. I made myself known to 
 the old gentleman, and informed him of my situation ; I 
 expressed a wish to get back to my father and mother, 
 if they could fix any plan for me to do so. They told me that 
 they would stay that night at a tavern seven miles from 
 there, and that if I could get to them before day the 
 next morning, they would take me home ; and if I was 
 
28 ESCAPE. 
 
 pursued, tliey would protect me. This was a Sunday 
 evening ; I went back to the good ohl Dutchman's house, 
 and as good fortune would have it, he and the family 
 were out on a visit. I gathered my clothes and what 
 little money I had, and put them all together under the 
 head of my bed. I went to bed early that night, but 
 sleep seemed to be a stranger to me. For though I was 
 a wild boy, yet I dearly loved my father and mother, 
 and their images appeared to be so deeply fixed in my 
 mind, that I could not sleep for thinking of them. And 
 then the fear that when I should attempt to go out, I 
 should be discovered and called to a halt, filled me with 
 anxiety ; and between my childish love of home, on the 
 one hand, and the fears of which I have spoken, on the 
 other, I felt mighty queer. 
 
 Eut so it was, about three hours before day in the 
 Aorning, I got up to make my start. When I got out, 
 I found it was snowing fast, and that the snow was then 
 on the ground about eight inches deep. I had not even 
 the advantage of moonlight, and the whole sky was hid 
 by the falling snow, so that I had to guess at my way to 
 the big road, which was about a half mile from the house. 
 I, however, pushed ahead, and soon got to it, and then 
 pursued it in the direction to the wagons. 
 
 I could not have pursued the road if I had not guided 
 myself by the opening it made between the timber, as 
 the snow was too deep to leave any part of it to be known 
 by either seeing or feeling. 
 
 Before I overtook the wagons, the earth v/as covered 
 about as deep as my knees ; and my tracks filled so 
 
MR. DUNN. 29 
 
 briskly after me, .|Jhiat by daylight my Dutcli master 
 would have seen no trace which I left. 
 
 I got to the place about an hour before day. I found 
 the wagoners already stirring, and engaged in feeding 
 and preparing their horses for a start. Mr. Dunn took 
 me in and treated me with great kindness. My heart 
 was more deeply impressed by meeting with such a friend 
 and "at such a time," than by wading the snow-storm by 
 night, or all the other sufferings which my mind had en- 
 dured. I warmed myself by the fire, for I was very 
 cold, and after an early breakfast, we set out on our 
 journey. The thoughts of home now began to take the 
 entire possession of my mind, and I almost numbered the 
 sluggish turns of the wheels, and much more certainly 
 the miles of our travel, which appeared to me to count 
 mighty slow. I continued with my kind protectors until 
 we got to the house of a Mr. John Cole, on Roanoke, 
 when my impatience became so great, that I determined 
 to set out on foot and go ahead by myself, as I could tra- 
 vel twice as fast in that way as the wagons could. 
 
 Mr. Dunn seemed very sorry to part with me, and 
 used many arguments to prevent me from leaving him. 
 But home, poor as it was, again rushed on my memory, 
 and it seemed ten times as dear to me as it ever had 
 before. The reason was, that my parents were there, 
 and all that I had been accustomed to in the hours of 
 childhood and infancy was there ; and there my anxious 
 little heart panted also to be. We remained at Mr. 
 Cole's that night, and early in the morning I felt that 1 
 could not stay; so, taking leave of my friends, the 
 wagoners, I went forward on foot, until I was fortu- 
 
30 DAVID EETUR^iTS HOME. 
 
 nately overtaken by a gentlemn|j|^Yho was returning 
 from market, to wMcli lie kad belt witk a drove of 
 korses. He kad a led korse, witk a bridle and saddle 
 on kim, and ke kindly offered to let me get on kis korse 
 and ride kirn. I did so, and was glad of tke ckance, 
 for I was tired, and was, moreover, near tke first cross- 
 ing of Roanoke, wkick I would kave been compelled to 
 wade, cold as tke water was, if I kad not fortunately 
 met tkis good man. I travelled witk kim in tkis way, 
 witkout anytking turning up wortk recording until we 
 got witkin fifteen miles of my fatker's kouse. Tkere 
 we parted, and ke went on to Kentucky, and I trudged 
 on komeward, wkick place I reacked tkat evening. Tke 
 name of tkis kind gentleman I kave entirely forgotten, 
 and I am sorry for it ; for it deserves a kigk place in 
 my little book. A remembrance of kis kindness to a 
 little straggling boy, and a stranger to kim, kas, kow- 
 ever, a resting place in my keart, and tkere it will re- 
 main as long as I live. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 David goes to school — Flogs a schoolmate and plajs truant — Gets 
 found out — Runs away — Hires himself to Jesse Cheek — Leaves 
 him— Goes with Myers — Afraid to go home — Works for John 
 Gray — Goes to Baltimore — Agrees to go to sea — Made prisoner — 
 Escapes — Befriended by a wagoner — His kindness — David " hires 
 out " to Caldwell — Works for Griffith, the hatter — His master 
 breaks — He starts for home — Perilous adventure in a canoe — 
 Meets his brother — Reaches home^— His reception. 
 
 Having gotten home, as I liave just related, I re- 
 mained with my father until the next fall, at which time 
 he took it into his head to send me to a little country 
 school, which was kept in the neighborhood by a man 
 whose name was Benjamin Kitchen ; though I believe 
 he was no way connected with the cabinet. I went four 
 days, and had just began to learn my letters a little, 
 when I had an unfortunate falling out with one of the 
 scholars, — a boy much larger and older than myself. I 
 knew well enough that though the school-house might do 
 for a still hunt, it wouldn't do for a drive^ and so I con- 
 cluded to wait until I could get him out, and then I was 
 determined to give him salt and vinegar. I waited till 
 in the evening, and when the larger scholars were spell- 
 ing I slipp'd out, and going some distance along his road, 
 I lay by the way-side in the bushes, waiting for him to 
 come along. After awhile, he and his company came 
 
 (31) 
 
32 DATID PLAYS TRUANT. 
 
 on sure enough, and I pitclied out from tlie bushes and 
 set on him like a wild cat. I scratched his face all to a 
 flitter jig, and soon made him cry out for quarters in 
 good earnest. The fight being over, I went on home, 
 and the next morning was started again to school ; but 
 do you think I went ? No, indeed. I was very clear 
 of it ; for I expected the master would lick me up as 
 bad as I had the boy. So, instead of going to the 
 school-house, I laid out in the woods all day until in the 
 evening the scholars were dismissed, and my brothers, 
 who were also going to school, came along, returning 
 home. I w^anted to conceal this whole business from my 
 father, and I persuaded them not to tell on me, which 
 they agreed to. 
 
 Things went on in this way for several days ; I start- 
 ing with them to school in the morning, and returning 
 with them in the evening, but lying out in the woods all 
 day. At last, however, the master wrote a note to my 
 father, inquiring why I was not sent to school. When 
 he read this note he called me up, and I knew very well 
 that I was in a devil of a hobble, for my father had been 
 taking a few Jioms, and was in a good condition to make 
 the fur fly. He called on me to know why I had not 
 been at school. I told him I was afraid to go, and that 
 the master would whip me, for I knew quite well if I 
 was turned over to this old Kitchen, I should be cooked 
 up to a cracklin' in little or no time. But I soon found 
 that I was not to expect a much better fate at home ; for 
 my father told me, in a very angry manner, that he 
 would whip me an eternal sight worse than the master 
 if I didn't start immediately to the school. I tried 
 
HIRES HIMSELF TO JESSE CHEEK. 83 
 
 a^ain to beg off, but nothing would do but to go to tlie 
 school. Finding me rather, too slow about starting, he 
 gathered about a two year old hickory, and broke after 
 me. I put out with all my might, and soon we were 
 both up to the top of our speed. We had a tolerable 
 tough race for about a mile ; but mind me, not on the 
 school-house road, for I was trying to get as far the 
 t'other way as possible. And I yet believe, if my father 
 and the schoolmaster could both have levied on me about 
 that time, I should never have been called on to sit in 
 the councils of the nation, for I think they would have 
 used me up. But fortunately for me, about this time I 
 saw just before me a hill, over which I made headway, 
 like a young steamboat. As soon as I had passed over 
 it, I turned to one side, and hid myself in the bushes. 
 Here I waited until the old gentleman passed by, puffing 
 and blowing, as though his steam was high enough to 
 burst his boilers. I waited until he gave up the hunt, 
 ;ind passed back again : I then cut out, and went to the 
 house of an acquaintance a few miles off, who was just 
 about to start with a drove. His name was Jesse Cheek, 
 and I hired myself to go with him, determining not to 
 return home, as home and the school-house had both 
 become too hot for me. I had an elder brother, who 
 also hired to go with the same drove. "VYe set out and 
 went on through Abbingdon, and the county seat of 
 Withe county, in the State of Virginia ; and then through 
 Lynchburgh, by Orange court-house, and Charlottesville, 
 passing through what was called Chester Gap, on to a 
 town called Front Royal, where my employer sold out 
 his drove to a man by the name of Vanmetre * and I 
 3 
 
34 AFEAID TO GO HOME. 
 
 was started homeward again, in company witli a brother 
 of the first owner of the drove, with one horse between 
 us ; having left my brother to come on with the balance 
 of the company. 
 
 I traveled on with my new comrade about three days' 
 journey ; but much to his discredit, as I then thought, 
 jjnd still think, he took care all the time to ride, but 
 never to tie ; at last I told him to go ahead, and I 
 would come when I got ready. He gave me four dollars 
 to bear my expenses upwards of fom' hundred miles, and 
 then cut out and left me. 
 
 I purchased some provisions, and went on slowly, 
 \mtil at length I fell in with a wagoner, with whom I 
 was disposed to scrape up a hasty acquaintance. I in- 
 quired where he lived, and where he was going, and all 
 about his affairs. He informed me that he lived in 
 Greenville, Tennessee, and was on his way to a place 
 called Gerardstown, fifteen miles below Winchester. 
 He also said, that after he should make his journey to 
 that place, he would immediately return to Tennessee. 
 His name was Adam Myers, and a jolly good fellow he 
 seemed to be. On a little reflection, I determined to 
 turn back and go with h;m, which I did ; and we jour- 
 neyed ouf slowly, as wagons commonly do, but merrily 
 enough. I often thought of home, and, indeed, wished 
 bad enough to be there; but, when I thought of the 
 school-house, and Kitchen, my master, and the race 
 with my father, and the big hickory he carried, and of 
 the fierceness of the storm of wrath that I had left him 
 in, I was afraid to venture back ; for I knew my father's 
 nature so well, that I was certain his anger would hang 
 
WORKS FOR JOHN GRAY. 35 
 
 on to Mm, like a turkle does to a fisjierman's toe, and 
 that, if I went back in a hurry, he would give me the 
 devil in three or four ways. But I and the wagoner had 
 traveled two days when we met my brother, who, I be- 
 fore stated, I had left behind when the drove was sold 
 out. He persuaded me to go home, but I refused. He 
 pressed me hard, and brought up a great many mighty 
 strong arguments to induce me to turn back again. He 
 pictured the pleasure of meeting my mother, and my 
 sisters, who all loved me dearly, and told me what unea- 
 siness they had already suffered about me. I could not 
 help shedding tears, which I did not often do, and my 
 affections all pointed back to those dearest friends, and 
 as I thought, nearly the only ones I had in the world ; 
 but then the promised whipping — that was the thing. 
 It came right slap down on every thought of home ; and 
 I finally determined that make or break, hit or miss, I 
 would just hang on to my journey, and go ahead with 
 the wagoner. My brother was much grieved at our 
 parting, but he went his way, and so did I. We went 
 on until at last we got to Gerardstown, where the 
 wagoner tried to get a back load, but he could not 
 without going to Alexandria. •He engaged to go there, 
 and I concluded that I would wait until h^'eturned. I 
 set in to work for a man by the name of John Gray, at 
 twenty-five cents per day. My labor^ however, was 
 light, such as ploughing in some small grain, in which I 
 succeeded in pleasing the old man very well. I con- 
 tinued working for him until the wagoner got back, and 
 for a good long time afterwards, as he continued to run 
 his team back and forward, hauling to and from Balti 
 
36 GOES TO BALTIMORE. 
 
 more. In the next spring, from tlie proceeds of my 
 daily labor, small as it was, I was able to get me some 
 decent clothes, and concluded I would make a trip with 
 the wagoner to Baltimore, and see what sort of a place 
 that was, and what sort of folks lived there. I gave 
 him the balance of what money I had for safe keeping, 
 which, as well as I recollect, was about seven dollars. 
 We got on well enough until we came near Ellicott's 
 Mills. Our load consisted of flour in barrels. Here I 
 got into the wagon for the purpose of changing my 
 clothing, not thinking that I was in any danger ; but, 
 while I was in there, we were met by some wheelbarrow 
 men, who were working on the road, and the horses took 
 a scare and away they went, like they had seen a ghost. 
 They made a sudden wheel around, and broke the wagon 
 tongue slap, short off, as a pipe-stem; and snap went 
 both of the axletrees at the same time, and of all devil- 
 ish flouncing about of flour barrels that ever was seen, 
 I reckon this took the beat. Even a rat would have 
 stood a bad chance in a straight race among them, and 
 not much better in a crooked one ; for he would have 
 been in a good way to be ground up as fine as ginger 
 by their rolling over him. But this proved to me, that 
 if a fellow is born to be hung, he will never be drowned ; 
 and, further, that if he is born for a seat in Congress, 
 even flour barrels can't make a mash of him. All these 
 dangers I escaped unhurt, though, like most of the 
 office-holders of these times, for a while I was afraid to 
 say my soul was my own ; for I didn't know how soon 
 I should be knocked into a cocked hat, and get my 
 walking papers for another country. 
 
AGKEES TO GO TO SEA. 37 
 
 We put our load into another wagon, and hauled ours 
 to a workman's shop in Baltimore, having delivered the 
 flour, and there we intended to remain two or three days. 
 which time was necessary to repair the runaway wagon. 
 While I was there, I went one day, down to the -wharf, 
 and was much delighted to see the big ships, and their 
 sails all flying, for I had never seen such things before, 
 and, indeed, I didn't believe there were any such things 
 in all nature. After a short time, my curiosity induced 
 me to step aboard of one, where I was met by the cap- 
 tain, who asked me if I didn't wish to take a voyage to 
 London ? I told him I did, for by this time I had be- 
 come pretty well weaned from home, and I cared but lit- 
 tle where I was, or where I went, or what became of me. 
 He said he wanted just such a boy as I was, which I was 
 glad to hear. I told him I would go and get my clothes 
 and go with him. He enquired about my parents, where 
 they lived, and all about them. I let him know that 
 they lived in Tennessee, many hundred miles off. We 
 soon agreed about my intended voyage, and I went back 
 to my friend, the wagoner, and informed him that I was 
 going to London, and wanted my money and my clothes. 
 He refused to let me have either, and swore that he 
 would confine me, a^nd take me back to Tennessee. I 
 took it to heart very much, but he kept so close and con- 
 stant watch over me, that I found it impossible to escape 
 from him, until he had started homeward, and made sev- 
 eral days' journey on the road. He was, during this 
 time, very ill to me, and threatened me with his wagon- 
 whip on several occasions. At length I resolved to leave 
 him at all hazards ; and so, before day, one morning, I 
 
38 PROTECTED BY A WAGONER. 4 
 
 got my clothes out of liis wagon, and cut out, on foot, 
 without a farthing of money to bear my expenses. For, 
 all other friends having failed, I determined then to 
 throw myself on Providence, and see how that would use 
 me. I had gone, however, only a few miles, when I 
 eame up with another wagoner, and such was my situa- 
 tion, that I felt more than ever the necessity of endea- 
 voring to find a friend. I therefore concluded I would 
 seek for one in him. He was going westwardly, and 
 very kindly enquired of me where I was traveling ? My 
 youthful resolution, which had brooked almost everything 
 else, rather gave way at this inquiry ; for it brought the 
 loneliness of my situation, and everything else that was 
 calculated to oppress me, directly to view. My first an- 
 swer to his questions was in a sprinkle of tears, for if 
 the world had been given to me, I could not, at that mo- 
 ment have helped crying. As soon as the storm of feel- 
 ing was over, I told him how I had been treated by the 
 wagoner but a little before, who kept what little money 
 I had, and left me without a copper to buy even a mor- 
 sel of food. 
 
 He became exceedingly angry, and swore that he 
 would make the other wagoner give up my money, pro- 
 nouncing him a scoundrel, and many other hard names. 
 
 I told him I was afraid to see him, for he had threat- 
 ened me witli his wagon-whip, and I believed he would 
 injure me. But my new friend was a very large, stout- 
 looking man, and as resolute, as a tiger. He bid me not 
 to be afraid, still swearing he would have my money, or 
 whip it out of the wretch who had it.* , 
 
 We turned, and went back about two miles, when we 
 
KINDNESS OF MR. MYEKS. 89 
 
 reached the phice where he was. I went reluctantly ; 
 but I depended on my friend for protection. When we 
 got there, I had but little to say ; but, approaching the 
 wagoner, my friend said to him, '' You damn'd rascal, 
 you have treated this boy badly." To which he replied 
 it was my fault. He was then asked if he did not get 
 seven dollars of my money, which he confessed. It was 
 then demanded of him ; but he declared most solemnly 
 that he had not that amount in the world ; that he had 
 spent my money, and intended paying it back to me 
 when we got to Tennessee. I then felt reconciled, and 
 persuaded my friend to let him alone, and we returned 
 to his wagon, geared up, and started. His name I shall 
 never forget while my memory lasts; it was Henry 
 Myers. He lived in Pennsylvania, and I found him 
 what he professed to be, a faithful friend, and a clever 
 fellow. 
 
 We traveled together for several days, but at length 
 I concluded to endeavor to make my way homeward ; 
 and for that purpose, set out again on foot, and alone. 
 But one thino^ I must not omit. The last nio-ht I staid 
 with Mi'. Myers was at a place where several wagoners 
 also staid. He'told them before we parted, that >I was 
 a poor little straggling boy, 'and how I "had been treated, 
 and that I was without money, though I had a long jour- 
 ney before me, through a land of straS^fers, where it was 
 not even a wilderness. 
 
 They were good enough to contribute a sort of money- 
 purse, and presented me *with three dollars. On this 
 amount I traveled-as far as Montgomery court-house, in 
 the State of Virginia, where it gave out. I set in to 
 
40 PEKILOUS ADVENTURE. 
 
 TTork for a man bj tlie name of James Caldwell, a 
 month, for five dollars, wMch was about a shilling a day. 
 When this time was out, I bound myself to a man by the 
 name of Elijah Griffith, by trade a hatter, agreeing to 
 work for him for four years. I remained with him about 
 eighteen months, when he found himself so involved in 
 debt, that he broke up and left the country. For this 
 time, I had received nothing, and w^as, of course, left 
 without money, and with but very few clothes, and them 
 very indifferent ones. I, however, set in again, and 
 worked about as I could catch employment, until I got 
 a little money and some clothing, and once more cut out 
 for home. When I reached New Kiver, at the mouth of 
 a small stream called Little River, the white caps were 
 flying, so that I couldn't get anybody to attempt to put 
 me across. I (argued the case as .well as I could, but 
 they told me there was great danger of being capsized 
 and drowned, if I attempted to cross. I told them if I 
 could get a canoe I would venture, caps or no caps. 
 They tried to persuade me out of it ; but finding they 
 could not, they agreed I might take a canoe, and so I 
 did, and put off. I tied my clothes to the rope of the 
 canoe to have them safe, whatever might happen. But 
 I found it a mighty ticklish business, I tell you. When 
 I got out fairly on the river, I would have given the 
 world, if it had belonged to mo^ to have been back on 
 shore. But there was no time to lose now, so I just de- 
 termined to do the best I could, and the devil take the 
 hindmost. I turned the canoe across the waves, to do 
 which, I had to turn it nearly up the river, as the wind 
 came from that way ; and I went about two miles before 
 
DAVID REACHES HOME. 41 
 
 I could land. "VYlien I struck land, my canoe was about 
 half full of Trater, and I was as wet as a drowned rat. 
 But I was so much rejoiced that I scarcely felt the cold, 
 though my clothes were frozen on me ; and, in this situ- 
 ation, I had to go above three miles before I could find 
 any house or fire to warm at. I, however, made out to 
 get to one at last, and then I thought I would warm the 
 inside a little, as well as the outside, that there might be 
 no grumbling. 
 
 So I took ^'a leetle of the creater," — that warmer of 
 the cold, and cooler of the hot — and it made me feel so 
 good, that I concluded it was like the negro's rabbit, 
 " good any way." I passed on until I arrived in Sulli- 
 van county, in the State of Tennessee, and there I met 
 with my brother, who had gone with me when I started 
 from home with the cattle drove. 
 
 I staid with him a few weeks, and then went on to my 
 father's, which place I reached late in the evening. 
 Several wagons were there for the night, and considera- 
 ble company about the house. I enquired if I could 
 stay all night, for I did not intend to make m3'self known 
 until I saw whether any of the family would find me out. 
 I was told that I could stay, and went in, but had mighty 
 little to say to anybody. I had been gone so long, and 
 had grown so much, that the family did not at first know 
 me. And another, and perhaps a stronger reason was, 
 they had no thought or expectation of me, for they all 
 had long given me up for finally lost. 
 
 After a while, we were all called to supper. I went 
 with the rest. We had sat down to the table and begun 
 to eat, when my eldest sister recollected me; she sprung 
 
42 DAVID AT HOME. 
 
 up, ran and seized me around the neck, and exclaimed, 
 "Here is my lost brother." 
 
 Mj feelings at this time it would be vain and foolish 
 for me to attempt to describe. I had often thought I 
 felt before, and I suppose I had, but sure I am, I never 
 had felt as I then did. The joy of my sisters and my 
 mother, and, indeed, of all the family, was such, that it 
 humbled me, and made me sorry that I hadn't submitted 
 to a hundred whippings, sooner than cause so much afflic- 
 tion as they had suffered on my account. I found the 
 family had never heard a word of me from the time my 
 brother left me. I was now almost fifteen years old ; 
 and my increased age and size, together with the joy of 
 my father occasioned by my unexpected return, I was 
 sure would secure me against my long dreaded whipping ; 
 and so they did. But it will be a source of astonishmenu 
 to many, who reflect that I am now a member of the 
 American Congress — the most enlightened body of JXien 
 in the world — that at so advanced an age, the age of .^f- 
 teen, I did not know the first letter in the book. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 David at Home — Works out a Debt for bis Father — Hires out with 
 an old Quaker — Gets paid in a Note of his Father's — David falls 
 in love with a Quakeress — Disappointed — Goes to School — Falls 
 in love again — Goes to a Shooting Match — Gets jilted — Sick at 
 Heart. 
 
 I HAD remained for some short time at home with my 
 father, when he informed me that he owed a man, whose 
 name was Abraham Wilson, the smn of thirty-six dollars, 
 and that if I would set in and work out the note, so as 
 to lift it for him, he would discharge me from his service, 
 and I might go free. I agreed to do this, and went imme- 
 diately to the man who held my father's note, and con- 
 tracted with him to work six months for it. I set in, 
 and worked with all my might, not losing a single day 
 in the six months. When my time was out, I got my 
 father's note, and then declined working with the man 
 any longer, though he wanted to hire me mighty bad. 
 The reason was, it was a place where a heap of bad com- 
 pany met to drink and gamble, and I wanted to get away 
 from them, for I know'd very well if I staid there, I 
 should get a bad name, as nobody could be respectable 
 that would live there. I therefore returned to my father 
 and gave him up his paper, which seemed to please him 
 mightily, for though he was poor, he was an honest man, 
 . Tid always tried mighty hard to pay off his debts. 
 
44 WORKS OUT HIS FATHER'S NOTE. 
 
 I next went to tlie house of a.n honest old Quaker, by 
 tlie name of John Kennedy, who had removed from 
 North Carolina, and proposed to lure myself to him, at 
 two shillings a day. He agreed to take me a week on 
 trial; -at the end of which he appeared pleased with my 
 work, and informed me that he held a note on my father 
 for forty dollars, and that he would give me that note 
 if I would work for him six months. I was certain 
 enough that I should never get any part of the note ; 
 but then I remembered it was my father that owed it, 
 and I concluded it was my duty as a child to help him 
 along, and ease his lot as much as I could. I told the 
 Quaker I would take him up at his offer, and immedi- 
 ately went to work. I never visited my father's house 
 during the whole time of this engagement, though he 
 lived only fifteen miles off. But when it was finished, 
 and I had got the note, I borrowed one of my employer's 
 horses, and, on a Sunday evening, went to pay my 
 parents a visit. Some time after I got there, I pulled 
 out the note and handed it to my father, who supposed 
 Mr. Kennedy had sent it for collection. The old man 
 looked mighty sorry, and said to me he had not the 
 money to pay it, and didn't know what he should do. I 
 then told him I had paid it for him, and it was then his 
 own ; that it was not presented for collection, but as a 
 present from me. At this he shed a heap of tears ; and 
 as soon as he got a little over it, he said he was sorry 
 he could not give me anything, but he was not able, he 
 was too poor. 
 
 The next day I went back to my old friend, the Qua- 
 ker, and set in to work for him for some clothes; for I 
 
DAVID IN LOVE. 45 
 
 had now worked a year without getting any money at 
 all, and my clothes were nearly all worn out, and what 
 few I had left were mighty indifferent. I worRed in 
 this way for about two months ; and in that time a young 
 woman from North Carolina, who was the Quaker's 
 niece, came on a visit to his house. And now I am just 
 getting on a part of my history that I know I never can 
 forget. For though I have heard people talk about 
 hard loving, yet I reckon no poor devil in this world 
 was ever cursed with such hard love as mine has always 
 been, when it came on me. I soon found myself head 
 over heels in love with this girl, whose name the public 
 could make no use of; and I thought that if all the hills 
 about there were pure chink, and all belonged to me, I 
 would give them if I could just talk to her as I wanted 
 to: but I was afraid to begin, for when I would think 
 of saying anything to her, my heart would begin to 
 flutter like a duck in a puddle ; and if I tried to outdo 
 it and speak, it would get right smack up in my throat, 
 and choke me like a cold potato. It bore on my mind 
 in this way, till at last I concluded I must die if I didn't 
 broach the subject ; and so I determined to begin and 
 hang on a trying to speak, till my heart would get out 
 of my throat one way or t'other. And so one day at 
 it I went, and after several trials I could say a little. 
 I told her how well I loved her ; that she was the dar- 
 ling object of my soul and body; and I must have her, 
 or else I should pine down to nothing, and just die away 
 with the consumption. 
 
 I found my talk was not disagreeable to her ; but she 
 was an honest girl, and didn't want to deceive nobody. 
 
46 DAVID GOES TO SCHOOL. 
 
 Slie told me she was engaged to her cousin, a son of 
 the old Quaker. This news was worse to me than war, 
 pestilence, or famine ; but still I knowed I could not 
 help myself. I saw quick enough my cake was dough, 
 and I tried to cool off as fast as possible ; but I had 
 , hardly safety pipes onougli, as my love was so hot as 
 mighty nigh to burst- my boilers. But I didn't press 
 my claims any more, seeing there was no chance to do 
 anything. 
 
 I began now to think that all my misfortunes growed 
 out of my want of learning. I had never been to school 
 but four days, as the reader has already seen, and did 
 not yet know a letter. 
 
 I thought I would try to go to school some, and as the 
 Quaker had a married son who was living about a mile 
 and a half from him, and keeping a school, I proposed 
 to him that I would go to school four days in the week, 
 and work for him the other two, to pay my board and 
 schooling. He agreed I might come on these terms ; 
 and so at it I went, learning and working, backwards 
 and forwards, until I had been with him nigh on to six 
 months. In this time, I learned to read a little in my 
 primer, to write my own name, and to cypher some in 
 the first three rules in figures. And this was all the 
 schooling I ever had in my life, up to this day. I 
 should have continued longer, if it hadn't been that I 
 concluded I couldn't do any longer without a wife ; and 
 so I cut out to hunt me one. 
 
 I found a family of very pretty little girls that I had 
 known when very young. They had lived in the same neigh- 
 borhood with me, and I had thought very well of them. 
 
IN LOVE AGAIN. 47 
 
 I made an offer to one of tliem, whose name is nobody's 
 business, no more than the Quaker girl's was, and 1 
 found she took it very well. I still continued paying my 
 respects to her, until I got to love her as bad as I had 
 the Quaker's niece ; and I would have agreed to fight a 
 whole regiment of wild cats if she would only have said 
 she would have me. Several months passed in this way, 
 during all of which time she continued very kind and 
 friendly. At last, the son of the old Quaker and my 
 first girl had concluded to bring their matter to a close, 
 and my little queen and myself were called on to wait 
 on them. We went on the day, and performed our duty 
 as attendants. This made me worse than ever ; and af- 
 ter it was over, I pressed my claim very hard on her, but 
 she would still give me a sort of evasive answer. How- 
 ever, I gave -her mighty little peace, till she told me at 
 last she would have me. I thought this was glorification 
 enough, even without spectacles. I was then about 
 eighteen years old. We fixed the time to be married ; 
 and I thought if that day come, I should be the happiest 
 man in the created world, or in the moon, or anywhere 
 else. 
 
 I had by this time got to be mighty fond of the rifle, 
 and had bought a capital one. I most generally carried 
 her with me wherever I went, and though I had got back 
 to the old Quaker's to live, who was a very particular 
 man, I would sometimes slip out and attend the shooting 
 matches, where they shot for beef; I always tried, 
 though, to keep it a secret from him. He had, at the 
 same time, a bound boy living with him, who I had got- 
 ten into almost as great a notion of the girls as myself. 
 
48 DAVID GOES TO A SHOOTING MATCH. 
 
 He was about my own age, and was deeply smitten with 
 the sister to my intended wife. I know'd it was in vain 
 to try to get the leave of the old man for m^^ yo^^^g dis- 
 sociate to go with me on any of my courting frolics ; but 
 I thought I could fix a plan to have him along, which 
 would not injure the Quaker, as we had no notion that 
 he should ever know it. We commonly slept up stairs, 
 and at the gable end of the house there was a window. 
 So, one Sunday, when the old man and his family were 
 all gone to meeting, we went out and cut a long pole, 
 and taking it to the house, we set it up on end in the 
 corner, reaching up the chimney as high as the window. 
 After this we would go up stairs to bed, and then putting 
 on our Sunday clothes, would go out at the window, and 
 climb down the pole, take a horse a-piece, a.nd ride about 
 ten miles to where his sweetheart lived, and the girl I 
 claimed as my wife. I was always mighty careful to be 
 back before day, so as to escape being found out ; and in 
 this way I continued my attentions very closely, until a 
 few days before I was ,to be married, or at least thought 
 I was, for I had no fear that anything vfas about to go 
 wrong. 
 
 Just now I heard of a shooting-match in the neighbor- 
 hood, right between where I lived and my girl's house ; 
 and I determined to kill two birds with one stone — to go 
 to the shooting-match first, and then to see her. I there- 
 fore made the Quaker believe I was going to hunt for 
 deer, as they were pretty plenty about in those parts; 
 but, instead of hunting them, I went straight on to the 
 shooting-match, where! joined in with a partner, and we 
 put in several shots for the beef. I was mighty lucky, 
 
DAVID GETS JILTED. 49 
 
 and wlien the match was over, I had won the -whole beef. 
 This was on a Saturday, and mv success had put me in 
 the finest humor in the workl. So I sold my part of the 
 beef for five dollars in the real grit, for I believe that 
 was before bank-notes was invented ; at least, I had 
 never heard of any. I now started on to ask for my 
 wife ; for, though the next Thursday was our wedding- 
 day, I had never said a word to her parents about it. I 
 had always dreaded the undertaking so bad, that I had 
 put the evil hour off as long as possible ; and, indeed, I 
 calculated they knowed me so well, they wouldn't raise 
 any objection to having me for their son-in-law. I had 
 a great deal better opinion of myself, I found, than other 
 people had of me ; but I moved on with a light heart, 
 and my five dollars jingling in my pocket, thinking all 
 the time there was but few greater men in the world than 
 myself. 
 
 In this flow of good humor, I went ahead till I got 
 within about two miles of the place, when I concluded I 
 would stop awhile at the house of the girl's uncle, where 
 I might enquire about the family, and so forth, and so 
 on. I was, indeed, just about ready to consider her un- 
 cle my uncle ; and her affairs, my affairs. When I went 
 in, tho', I found her sister there. I asked how all was 
 at home ? In a minute I found from her countenance 
 something was wrong. She looked mortified, and didn't 
 answer as quick as I thought she ought, being it was her 
 hrotlier-in-Iaio talking to her. However, I asked her 
 again. She then burst into tears, and told me her sister 
 was going to deceive me ; and that she was to be mar- 
 ried to another man the next day. This was as sudden 
 4 
 
50 DAVID SICK AT HEART. 
 
 to me as a clap of thunder of a bright, sunsliiny day. It 
 was the capstone of all the afflictions I had ever met 
 with ; and it seemed to me that it was more than any 
 human creature could endure. It struck me perfectly 
 speechless for some time, and made me feel so weak that 
 I thought I should sink down. I, however, recovered 
 from my shock after a little, and rose and started with- 
 out any ceremony, or even bidding anybody good-bye. 
 The young woman followed me out to the gate, and en- 
 treated me to go on to her father's, and said she would 
 go with me. She said the young man who was going to 
 marry her sister, had got his license and asked for her ; 
 but she assured me her father and mother both preferred 
 me to him ; and that she had no doubt but that, if I 
 would go on, I could break off the match. But I found 
 that I could go no further. My heart was bruised, and 
 my spirits were broken down ; so I bid her farewell, and 
 turned my lonesome and miserable steps back again 
 homeward, concluding that I was only born for hard- 
 ships, misery, and disappointment. I now began to 
 think that, in making me, it was entirely forgotten to 
 make my mate ; that I was born odd, and should always 
 remain so, and that nobody would have me. 
 
 But all these reflections did not satisfy my mind, for 
 I had no peace day nor night for several weeks. My 
 appetite failed me, and I grew daily worse and worse. 
 They all thought I was sick ; and so I was. And it was 
 the worst kind of sickness, — a sickness of the heart, 
 and all the tender parts, produced by disappointed love. 
 
CHAPTER lY. 
 
 Crockett goes a hunting — The Dutch widow — Ugl}' daughter — Crocl? 
 ett goes to a reaping — The okl Irish woman — Crockett dances with 
 her daughter — Makes love to her — A rival — Crockett lost in the 
 woods — Meets his lady-love — Opposition of her mother to the mar- 
 riage — Crockett married — Mother-in-law reconciled — Two sons 
 born — Removal to Lincoln county — Removal to Franklin county. 
 
 I CONTINUED in this down-spirited situation for a good 
 long time, until one day I took my rifle and started a 
 hunting. AVhile 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 began 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 
 gave 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 ofl" the time, I told her I thought I was born 
 
 (51) 
 
52 THE OLD lEISH WOMAN. 
 
 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 nothino; 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 that I would be at the rer.ping, and would 
 bring as many as I could with me. 
 
 I employed my time pretty generally in giving infor- 
 mation 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 
 w^as in my place he wouldn't go ; that there would be a 
 great deal of bad company there ; and that I had been 
 BO 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 gud, that ,this old lady was 
 the mother of the little girl she had promised me, though 
 
THE REAPING FEOLIC. 53 
 
 1 had not yet seen her. Slie was in an out-lioiise with 
 some other youngsters, and had not yet made her ap- 
 pearance. Her mamma, however, was no way hashful. 
 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 lono; before the dancino^ commenced, and 
 I asked her to join me in a reel. She very readily con- 
 sented 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 sitting 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 om- 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 morn- 
 ing, however, we all had to part ; and I found my mind 
 had become much better reconciled than it had been for 
 
54 NEW LOVE AFFAIR. 
 
 a long time. I >Yent 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 
 cliscly 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 
 whore 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 start- 
 ing, 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 indi- 
 cate 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 bard that I should 
 not go that evening ; and, indeed, from all her actions 
 
A EIVAL. 65 
 
 and tlie 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 her- 
 self was the prize I was fighting for ; and as she wel- 
 comed 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 anything more, for now 1 
 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 anything 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 in- 
 formation 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 
 tim-es out of ten, I went ahead, though, about six or 
 
56 LOST IN THE WOODS. 
 
 seven miles, wlien I found night was coming on fast ; but 
 at tliis 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 travel- 
 ing 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 some- 
 where, and so we followed it, till we came to a house, at 
 about dark. Here we staid all night. I sat 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 to make arrangements for an infair, and re- 
 
OPPOSITION. 57 
 
 turned 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 anything 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 Thurs- 
 day. 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 1 
 took my eldest brother and his wife, and another brother, 
 and a single sister that I had, and two other young men 
 w^ith mc, and cut out to her father's house to get her. 
 We went on, until we got within two miles of the place, 
 
58 Crockett's marriage. 
 
 wliere we met a large company that liad lieard 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 re- 
 turned in a hurry. I then went on with my company, 
 and when I arrived I never pi-etended 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 to stay. She said 
 it was the first child she 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 everything, 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 treat- 
 ment 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 
 
HOUSEKEEPING. 69 
 
 a day and a niglit 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 everything 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 humor 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 
 [ had much trouble to find out a plan to get anything 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 know'd 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 a little or no 
 time, a fine web of cloth, ready to make up ; and she 
 was good at that, too, and at almost anything else that 
 a woman could do. 
 
 We worked on for some years, renting ground and 
 paying high rent, until I found it wasn't the thing it was 
 cracked up to be, and that I couldn't make a fortune at 
 
bO REMOVALS . 
 
 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 enous^h, and arrived safely in Lincoln count}^, on the 
 head of the Mulberry fork of Elk river. I found this a very 
 rich countr}^, and so new that game of different sorts was 
 veryplenty. 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. 
 
CHAPTER V- 
 
 The Creek War — Massacre at Fort Mirams — Crockett volunteers- 
 Joins Captain Jones' Company of Mounted Volunteers — Beaty'a 
 Spring — Major Gibson — Crockett goes out as a Scout with George 
 Russell — Scouting Adventures — Crockett returns, and reports to 
 General Coffee — Express sent to General Jackson — His arrival in 
 camp. 
 
 I WAS living ten miles below Winchester wlien tlie 
 Creek war commenced : and as military men are making 
 so much fuss in the world at this time, I must give an , 
 account of the part I took in the defence of the country. 
 If it should make me President, why I can't help it ; 
 such things will sometimes happen, and my pluck is, 
 never to "seek nor decline office." 
 
 It is true, I had a little rather not ; but yet, if the 
 government can't get on without taking another Presi- 
 dent from Tennessee, to finish the work of " retrench- 
 ment and reform," why, then, I reckon I must go in for 
 it. But I must begin about the war, and leave the other 
 matter for the people to begin on. 
 
 The Creek Indians had commenced their open hostili- 
 ties by a most bloody butchery at Fort Mimms.* There 
 had been no war among us for so long, that but few who 
 
 * This terrible disaster took place on the 30th of August, 1813. It 
 
 is particularly described in the 7th chapter of this work. 
 
 (61) 
 
62 CROCKETT JOINS JACKSON'S ARMY. 
 
 were not too old to bear arms, knew anything about the 
 business. I, for one, had often thought about war, and 
 had often heard it described ; and I did verily believe in 
 my own mind, that I couldn't fight in that way at all ; 
 but my after experience convinced me that this was all a 
 notion. For, when I heard of the mischief which was 
 done at the fort, I instantly felt like going, and I had 
 hone of the dread of dying that I expected to feel. In 
 a few days, a general meeting of the militia- Avas called, 
 for the purpose of raising volunteers ; and when the day 
 arrived for that meeting, my wife, who had heard me say 
 I meant to go to the war, began to beg me not to turn 
 out. She said she was a stranger in the parts where we 
 lived, had no connections living near her, and that she 
 and our little children would be left in a lonesome and 
 unhappy situation if I went away. It was mighty hard 
 to go against such arguments as these ; but my country- 
 men had been murdered, and I knew that -the next thing 
 would be that the Indians would be scalping the women 
 and children all about there, if we didn't put a stop to 
 it. I reasoned the case with her as well as I could, and 
 told her that if every man would wait till his wife got 
 willing for him to go to war, there would be no fighting 
 done, until we would all be killed in our own houses ; 
 that I was as able to go as any man in the world, and 
 that I believed it was a duty I owed to my country. 
 Whether she was satisfied with this reasoning or not, she 
 did not tell me, but seeing I was bent on it, all she did 
 Avas to cry a little, and turn about to her work. The 
 truth is, my dander was up, and nothing but war could 
 bring it right again. 
 
CAPTAIN JONES. 63 
 
 I went to Winchester, where the muster was to be, and 
 a great many people had collected, for there was as much 
 fuss among the people about the war as there is now 
 about moving the deposites. When the men were pa- 
 raded, a lawyer by the name of Jones addressed us, and 
 closed by turning out himself, and enquiring at the same 
 time, who among us felt like we could fight the Indians ? 
 This was the sam.e Mr. Jones who afterwards served in 
 Congress, from the State of Tennessee. He informed 
 us he wished to raise a company, and that then the men 
 should meet and elect their own officers. I believe I was 
 about the second or third man that stepp'd out ; but on 
 marching up and down the regiment a few times, we found 
 we had a large company. We volunteered for sixty days, 
 as it was supposed our services would not be longer 
 wanted. A day or two after this, we met and elected 
 Mr. Jones our captain, and also elected our other officers. 
 We then received orders to start on the next Monday 
 week ; before which time I had fixed as well as I could 
 to go, and my wife had equipp'd me as well as she was 
 able for the camp. The time arrived ; I took a parting 
 farewell of my wife and my little boys, mounted my 
 horse, and set sail to join my company. Expecting to 
 be gone only a short time, I took no more clothing with 
 me than I supposed would be necessary, so that if I got 
 into an Indian battle, I might not be pestered with any 
 unnecessary plunder to prevent my having a fair shake 
 with them. We all met and went ahead, till we passed 
 Huntsville, and camped at a large spring called Beaty's 
 spring. Here we staid for several days, in which time 
 the troops began to collect from all quarters. At last 
 
64 MAJOE GIBSON. 
 
 ^^e mustered about thirteen hundred strong, all mounted 
 volunteers, and all determined to fight, judging from my- 
 l self, for I felt wolfish all over. I verily believe the -whole 
 army was of the real grit. Our captain didn't want any 
 other sort : and to try them he several times told his 
 men that if any of them wanted to go back home, they 
 might do so at any time before they were regularly mus- 
 tered into the service. But he had the honor to com- 
 mand all hi;: men from first to last, as not one of them 
 left him. 
 
 General Jachson had not yet left Nashville with his 
 old foot volunteers, that had gone with him to Natchez 
 in 1812, the year before. While we remained at the 
 spring, a Major Gibson came, and wanted some volun- 
 teers to go with him across the Tennessee river and into 
 the Creek nation, to find out the movements of the In- 
 dians. He came to my captain, and asked for two of 
 his best woodsmen, and such as were best wuth a rifle. 
 The captain pointed me out to him, and said he would be 
 security that I would go as far as the major would him- 
 self, or any other man. I willingly engaged to go with 
 him, and asked him to let me choose my own mate to go 
 with me, which he said I might do. I chose a young 
 man by the name of George Russel, a son of old Major 
 Eussel, of Tennessee. I called him up, but Major Gibson 
 said he thought he hadn't beard enough to please him, 
 — he wanted men, and not boys. I must confess I was 
 a little nettled at this ; for I know'd George Russel, and 
 I know'd there was no mistake in him ; and I didn't 
 think that courage ought to be measured by the beard, 
 for fear a goat would have the preference over a man. I 
 
SCOUTING ADVENTURES. 65 
 
 tolfl tLe major he was on the vrong scent ; that Russel 
 could go as far as he could, and I must have him along. 
 He saw I was a little wrathy, and said I had the best 
 chance of knowing, and agreed that it should be as I 
 wanted it. He told us to be ready early in the morning for 
 a start ; and so we were. We took our camp equipage, 
 mounted our horses, and thirteen in number, including 
 the major, we cut out. We went on and crossed the 
 Tennessee river at a place called Ditto's Landing ; and 
 then travelled about seven miles further, and took up 
 camp for the night. Here a man by the name of John 
 Haynes overtook us. He had been an Indian trader in 
 that part of the nation, and was well acquainted with 
 it. He went with us as a pilot. The next morning, how- 
 ever, Major Gibson and myself concluded we should sepa- 
 rate and take different directions to see what discoveries 
 we could make ; so he took seven of the men, and I five, 
 making thirteen in all, including myself. He was to go 
 by the house of a Cherokee Indian, named Dick Brown, 
 and I was to go by Dick's father's ; and getting all the 
 information we could, we were to meet that evening where 
 the roads came together, fifteen miles the other side of 
 Brown's. At old Mr. Brown's I got a half blood Chero- 
 kee to agree to go with me, v/hoso name was Jack 
 Thompson. He was not then ready to start, but was to 
 fix that evening, and overtake us at the fork road where 
 I was to meet Major Gibson. I know'd it wouldn't be 
 safe to camp right at the road ; and so I told Jack, that 
 when he got to the fork he must holler like an owl, and 
 I would answer him in the same way ; for I know'd it 
 
 would be night before he got there. I and my men then 
 5 
 
6Q SCOUTING ADVENTURES. 
 
 started, and went on to tlie place of meeting, but Major 
 Gibson was not there. We waited till almost dark but 
 still he didn't come. We then left the Indian trace a 
 little distance and turning into the head of a hollow, wo 
 struck up camp. It was about ten o'clock at night when 
 I heard my owl, and I answered him. Jack soon found 
 us, and we determined to rest there during the night. 
 We staid also next morning till after breakfast : but in 
 vain, for the major didn't still come. 
 
 I told the men we had set out to hunt a fight, and I 
 wouldn't go back in that way ; that we must go ahead, 
 and see what the red men were at. We started and 
 went to a Cherokee town about twenty miles off; and 
 after a short stay there, we pushed on to the house of a 
 man by the name of Radcliff. He was a white man, but 
 had married a Creek woman, and lived just in the edge 
 of the Creek nation. He had two sons, large likely fel- 
 lows, and a great deal of potatoes and corn, and, indeed, 
 almost^ every thing else to go on ; so we fed our horses 
 and got dinner with him, and seemed to be doing mighty 
 well. But he was bad scared all the time. He told us 
 that there had been ten painted warriors at his house 
 only an hour before, and if we were discovered there, 
 they would kill us and his family with us. I replied to 
 him, that my business was to hunt for just such fellows 
 as he had described, and I was determmed not to go back 
 until I had done it. Our dinner being over, we saddled 
 up our horses, and made ready to start. But some of 
 my small company I found were disposed to return. I 
 told them, if we were to go back then, we should never 
 hear the last of it ; and I was determined to go ahea/^l. 
 
THE NEGRO. 67 
 
 I knowed some of tliem would go with me, and that the 
 rest were afraid to go back by themselves ; and so we 
 pushed on to the camp of some friendly Creeks, which 
 was distant about eight miles. The moon was about the 
 full, and the night was clear; we therefore had the 
 benefit of her Mght from night to morning, and I knew 
 if we were placed in such danger as to make a retreat 
 necessary, we could travel by night as well as in the day 
 time. 
 
 We had not got very far when we met two negroes, 
 well mounted on Indian ponies, and each with a good 
 rifle. They had been taken from their owners by the 
 Indians, and were running away from them, and trying 
 to get back to their masters again. They were brothers, 
 both very large and likely : and could talk Indian as well 
 as English. One of them I sent on to Ditto's Landing, 
 the other I took back with me. It was after dark when 
 we got to the camp, where we found about forty men, 
 women, and children. 
 
 They had bows and arrows, and I turned in to shoot- 
 ing with their boys by a pine light. In this way we 
 amused ourselves very well for a while, but at last the 
 negro, who had been talking to the Indians, came to me 
 and told me they were very much alarmed, for the "red 
 sticks," as they called the war party of the Creeks, would 
 come and find us there ; and, if so, we should all be 
 killed. I directed him to tell them that I would watch, 
 and if one would come that night, I would carry the skin 
 of his head home to make me a moccasin. When he 
 made this communication, the Indians laughed aloud. 
 At about ten o'clock at night we all concluded to try to 
 
68 NIGHT ALARM. 
 
 sleep a little ; but that our horses might be ready for use, 
 as the treasurer said of the drafts on the United States' 
 bank, on certain "contingencies," we tied them up with 
 our saddles on them, and every thing to our hand, if in 
 the night our quarters should get uncomfortable. We 
 lay down with our guns in our arms, and I had just gotten 
 into a doze of sleep, when I heard the sharpest scream 
 that ever escaped the throat of a human creature. It 
 was more like a wrathy painter than any thing else. 
 The negro understood it, and he sprang to me ; for tho' 
 I heard the noise well enough, yet I wasn't wide awake 
 enough to get up. So the negro caught me, and said the 
 red sticks was coming. I rose quicker then, and asked 
 what was the matter ? Our negro had gone and talked 
 »vitli the Indian who had just fetched the scream, as he 
 came into camp, and learned from him, that the war party 
 had been crossing the Coosa river all day at the Ten 
 Islands ; and were going on to meet Jackson, and this 
 Indian had come as a runner. This news very much 
 alarmed the friendly Indians in camp, and they were all 
 off in a few minutes. I felt bound to make this intelli- 
 gence known as soon as possible to the army we had left 
 at the landing ; and so we all mounted our horses, and 
 put out in a long lope to make our way back to that 
 l^lace. We were about sixty-five miles off. We went on 
 to the same Cherokee town we had visited on our way 
 out, having first called at Eadcliff's who was off with his 
 family ; and at the town we found large fires burning, 
 but not a single Indian was to be seen. They were all 
 gone. These circumstances were calculated to lay our 
 dander a little, as it appeared we must be in great dan- 
 
CROCKETT REPORTS HIS ADVENTURES. lO 
 
 ger ; thougli we could easily have licked any force of not 
 more than five to one. But we expected the whole na- 
 tion would be on us, and against such fearful odds we 
 were not so rampant for a fight. 
 
 We therefore staid only a short time in the light of 
 the fires about the town, preferring the light of the 
 moon and the shade of the woods. We pushed on till 
 we got again to old Mr. Erown's, which was still about 
 thirty miles from where we had left the main army. 
 When we got there, the chickens were just at the first 
 crowing for day. We fed our horses, got a morsel to 
 eat ourselves, and again cut out. About ten o'clock in 
 the morning we reached the camp, and I reported to 
 Col. Coffee the news. He didn't seem to mind my 
 report a bit, and this raised my dander higher than 
 ever ; but I knowed I had to be on my best behaviour, 
 and so I kept it all to myself; though I was so mad 
 that I was burning inside like a tar-kiln, and I wonder 
 that the smoke hadn't been pouring out of me at all 
 points. 
 
 Major Gibson hadn't yet returned, and we all began 
 to think he was killed ; and that night they put out a 
 double guard. The next day the Major got in, and 
 brought a worse tale than I had, though he stated the 
 same facts so far as I went. This seemed to put our 
 colonel all in a fidget ; and it convinced me, clearly, of 
 one of the hateful ways of the world. AYhen I made 
 my report, it wasn't believed, because I was no officer ; 
 I was no great man, but just a poor soldier. But when 
 the same thing was reported by Major Gibson ! ! why, 
 
70 EXPRESS TO GENERi^L JACKSON. 
 
 then it was all as true as preaching, and the colonel 
 believed it every word. 
 
 He, therefore, ordered breastworks to be thrown np 
 near a quarter of a mile long, and sent an express to 
 .Fayetteville, where General Jackson and his troops was, 
 requesting them to push on like the very mischief, for 
 fear we should all be cooked up to a cracklin before 
 they could get there. Old Hickory-face made a forced 
 march on getting the news ; and on the next day, he 
 and his men got into camp, with their feet all blistered 
 from the effects of their swift journey. The volunteers, 
 therefore, stood guard altogether, to let them rest. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Crockett sent off with a detachment — Burning of Black "Warrior's 
 town — Crockett goes a hunting to supply provision for the detach- 
 ment — His success — Rejoins the main army — Battle with the In- 
 dians — Return to Fort Strother — Famine in the camp — Expedi- 
 tion to Fort Takulega — Battle of Taladega — Famine — Mutiny — 
 Crockett goes home with the other volunteers — Rejoins the army — 
 Skirmish near Horse Shoe Bend — Another battle — Courage and 
 skill of General Carroll, 
 
 About eight liunclred of the volunteers, and of that 
 number I was one, were now sent back, crossing the 
 Tennessee river, and on through Huntsville, so as to 
 cross the river again at another place, and to get on the 
 Indians in another direction.* After we passed Hunts- 
 ville, we struck on the river at Muscle Shoals, and at a 
 place on them called Melton's Bluff. This river is here 
 about two miles wide, and a rough bottom ; so much so, 
 indeed, in many places, as to be dangerous ; and in 
 fording it this time, we left several of the horses be- 
 longing to our men, with their feet fast in the crevices 
 of the rocks. The men, whose horses were thus left, 
 went ahead on foot. We pushed on till we got to what 
 was called the Black Warrior's town, which stood near 
 
 * This was in November, 1813. The detachment was commanded 
 Dy General Coffee, 
 
 (71) 
 
72 BLACK warrior's TOWN BURNT. 
 
 tlie very spot wliere Tuscaloosa now stands, wMdi is the 
 seat of government for the State of Alabama. 
 
 This Indian town was a large one ; but when we ar 
 rived we found the Indians had all left it. There was 
 a large field of corn standing out, and a pretty good 
 supply in some cribs. There was also a fine quantity 
 of dried beans, which were very acceptable to us ; and 
 without delay we secured them as well as the corn, and 
 then burned the town to ashes ; after which we left the 
 place. 
 
 In the field where we gathered the corn we saw plenty 
 of fresh Indian tracks, and we had no doubt they had 
 been scared oiF by our arrival. 
 
 We then went on to meet the main army at the fork 
 road, where I was first to have met Major Gibson. We 
 got that evening as far back as the encampment we had 
 made the night before we reached the Black Warrior's 
 town, which we had just destroyed. The next day we 
 were entirely out of meat. I went to C'*^ Coffee, who 
 was then in command of us, and asked his leave to hunt 
 as we marched. He gave me leave, but told me to take 
 mighty good care of myself. I turned aside to hunt, 
 and had not gone far when I found a deer that had just 
 been killed and skinned, and his flesh was still warm 
 and smoking. From this I was sure that the Indian 
 who had killed it had been gone only a very few min- 
 utes ; and though I was never much in favor of one 
 hunter stealing from another, yet meat was so scarce in 
 camp, that I thought I must go in for it. So I just 
 took up the deer on my horse before me, and carried it 
 on till night. I could have sold it for almost any price 
 
CROCKETT GOES A HUNTING. 73 
 
 I would have asked ; but this wasn't my rule, neither 
 in peace nor war. Whenever I had anything, and saw 
 a fellow-being suffering, I was more anxious to relieve 
 him than to benefit myself. And this is one of the true 
 secrets of my being a poor man to this day. But it is 
 my way ; and while it has often left me with an empty 
 purse, which is as near the devil as anything else I have 
 seen, yet it has never left my heart empty of consolations 
 which money cou]dn't buy, the consolation of having 
 sometimes fed the hungry and covered the naked. 
 
 I gave all my deer away, except a small part I kept 
 for myself, and just sufficient to make a good supper for 
 my mess ; for meat was getting to be a rarity to us all. 
 We had to live mostly on parched corn. The next day 
 we marched on, and at night took up camp near a large 
 cane brake. While here, I told my mess I would again 
 try for some meat ; so I took my rifle and cut out, but 
 hadn't gone far, when I discovered a large gang of hogs. 
 I shot one of them down in his tracks, and the rest broke 
 directly towards the camp. In a few minutes the guns 
 began to roar, as bad as if the whole army had been in 
 an Indian battle, and the hogs to squeal as bad as the 
 pig did, when the devil turned barber. I shouldered my 
 hog, and went on to the camp ; and when I got there I 
 found they had killed a good many of the hogs, and a 
 fine fat cow into the bargain, that had broke out of the 
 cane brake. We did very well that night, and the next 
 morning marched on to a Cherokee town, where our 
 officers stopp'd, and gave the inhabitants an order on 
 Uncle Sam for their cow, and the hogs we had killed, 
 ^^he next day we met the main army having had, as wo 
 
74 IMPRESSING MEN. 
 
 thouglit, hard times, and a plenty of them, though we had 
 yet seen hardly the beginning of trouble. 
 
 After our meeting we went on to Rad cliff's, where I 
 had been before, while out as a spy ; and when we got 
 there, we found he had hid all his provisions. We also 
 got into the secret, that he w^as the very rascal who had 
 sent the runner to the Indian camp, with the neAvs that 
 the "red sticks" were crossing at the Ten Islands; and 
 that his object was to scare me and my men away, and 
 send us back with a false alarm. 
 
 To make some atonement for this, we took the old 
 scoundrel's two big sons with us, and made them serve in 
 the war. 
 
 We then marched to a place which we called Camp 
 Wills ; and here it was that Captain Cannon was pro- 
 moted to a colonel, and Colonel Coffee to a general. 
 We then marched to the Ten Islands, on the Coosa river, 
 where we established a fort, and our spy companies were 
 sent out. They soon made prisoners of Bob Catala and 
 his warriors, and, in a few days afterwards, we heard of 
 some Indians in a town about eight miles off. So we 
 mounted our horses, and put out for that town, under the 
 direction of two friendly Creeks Ave had taken for pilots. 
 We had also a Cherokee colonel, Dick BroAvn, and some 
 of his men with us. When w^e got near the town we 
 divided; one of our pilots going with each division. 
 And so Ave passed on each side of the toAvn, keeping near 
 to it, until our lines met on the far side. We then closed 
 up at both ends, so as to surround it completely; and 
 then we sent Captain Hammond's company of rangers- 
 to bring on the affray. He had advanced near the town, 
 
FIGHT WITH THE INDIANS. 75 
 
 when the Indians saw Mm, and they raised the yell, and 
 came running at him like so many red devils. The main 
 army was now formed in a hollow square around the 
 town, and they pursued Hammond till they came in reach 
 of us. "\Ye then gave them a fire, and they returned it, 
 and then ran back into their town. "We began to close 
 on the town by making our files closer and closer, and 
 the Indians soon saw they were our property. So 
 most of them wanted us to take them prisoners ; and 
 their squaws and all would run and take hold of any of 
 us they could, and give themselves up. I saw seven 
 squaws have hold of one man, which made me think of 
 the Scriptures. So I hollered out the Scriptures was 
 fulfilling ; that there was seven women holding to one 
 man's coat tail. But I believe it was a hunting-shirt all 
 the time. We took them all prisoners that came out to 
 us in this way; but I saw some Avarriors run into a house 
 until I counted forty-six of them. We pursued them 
 until we got near the house, when we saw a squaw sitting 
 in the door, and she placed her feet against the bow she 
 had in her hand, and then took an arrow, and, raising 
 her feet, she drew with all her might, and let fly at us, 
 and she killed a man, whose name, I believe, w\as Moore. 
 He was a lieutenant, and his death so enraged us all, 
 that she was fired on, and had at least twenty balls 
 blown through her. This was the first man I ever saw 
 killed with a bow and arrow. We now shot them like 
 dogs; and then set the house on fire, and burned it up 
 with the fort3^-six warriors in it. I recollect seeing a 
 boy who was shot down near the house. His arm and 
 thigh was broken, and he was so near the burning house 
 
76 FAMINE. 
 
 that the grease was stewing out of him. In this situa- 
 tion he was still trying to crawl along; but not a murmur 
 escaped him, though he was onlj about twelve years old. 
 So sullen is the Indian, when his dander is up, that he 
 had sooner die than make a noise, or ask for quarters.* 
 The number that we took prisoners, being added to 
 the number we killed, amounted to one hundred and 
 eighty-six ; though I don't remember the exact number 
 of either. We had five of our men killed. We then 
 returned to our camp, at which our fort was erected, and 
 known by the name of Fort Str other. f No provisions 
 had yet reached us, and we had now been for several 
 days on half rations. However, Ave went back to our 
 Indian town on the next day, when' many of the car- 
 casses of the Indians were still to be seen. They looked 
 very awful, for the burning had not entirely consumed 
 them, but given them a terrible appearance, at least what 
 remained of them. It was, somehow or other, found out 
 that the house had a potato cellar under it, and an im- 
 mediate examination was made, for we were all as hungry 
 as wolves. We found a fine chance of potatoes in it, 
 and hunger compelled us to eat them, though I had a 
 little rather not, if I could have helped it, for the oil of 
 the Indians we had burned up on the day before, had 
 run down on them, and they looked like they had been 
 stewed with fat meat. We then ag-ain returned to the 
 army, and remained there for several days, almost starv- 
 ing, as all our beef was gone. We commenced eating 
 the beef-hides, and continued to eat every scrap we could 
 * This battle is generally called the battle of Tallushatchee 
 f This is the Fort at Tea Islands, referred to before. 
 
EXPEDITION TO FORT TALADEGA. 77 
 
 lay our hands on. At length an Indian came to our 
 guard one night, and hollered, and said he wanted to see 
 ^'Captain Jackson." He was conducted to the general's 
 markee, into which he entered, and in a few minutes we 
 received orders to prepare for marching. 
 
 In an hour we were all ready, and took up the line of 
 march. We crossed the Coosa river, and went on in the 
 direction to Fort Taladega. When we arrived near the 
 place, we met eleven hundred painted warriors, the very 
 choice of the Creek nation. They encamped near the 
 fort, and had informed the friendly Indians who were in 
 it, that if they didn't come out, and fight with them against 
 the whites, they would take their fort and all their am- 
 munition and provision. The friendly party asked three 
 days to consider of it, and agreed that if on the third day 
 they didn't come out ready to fight with them, they might 
 take their fort. Thus they put them off. They then 
 immediately started their runner to General Jackson, and 
 he and the army pushed over, as I have just before 
 stated. 
 
 The camp of warriors had their spies out and disco- 
 vered us coming some time before we got to the fort. 
 They then went to the friendly Indians, and told them 
 Captain Jackson was coming, and had a great many fine 
 horses, and blankets, and guns and everything else, and 
 if they would come out and help to whip him and to take 
 his plunder, it should all be divided with those in the 
 fort. They promised that when Jackson came they 
 v/ould then come out and help to whip him. It was 
 about an hour by the sun in the morning when we got 
 near the fort. We were piloted by friendly Indians and 
 
78 BATTLE OF TALADEGA. 
 
 divided as we had done on a former occasion, so as to go 
 to the right and left of the fort, and, consequently, of 
 the warriors who were camped near it. Our lines 
 marched on as before, till they met in front, and then 
 closed in the rear, forming again into a hollow square. 
 We then sent on old Major Russcl with his sp}^ company, 
 to bring on the battle ; Captain Evans' company went 
 also. When they got near the fort, the top of it was 
 lined with the friendly Indians, crying out as loud as 
 they could roar, " Ilow-dy-do, brother, how-dy-do ?" 
 They kept this up till Major Russel had passed by the 
 fort, and was moving on towards the warriors. They 
 were all painted as red as scarlet, and were just as naked 
 as they were born. They had concealed themselves 
 under the bank of a branch that ran partly around the 
 fort, in the manner of a half moon. Russcl was going 
 right into their circle, for he couldn't see them, while the 
 Indians on the top of the fort were trying every plan to 
 show him his danger. But he couldn't understand them. 
 At last, two of them jumped from it, and ran and took 
 his horse by the bridle, and pointing to where they were, 
 told him there were thousands of them h'ing under the 
 bank. This brought them to a halt, and about this mo- 
 ment the Indians fired on them, and came rushing forth 
 like a cloud of Egyptian locusts, and screaming like all 
 the young devils had been turned loose, with the old 
 devil of all at their head. Russel's company quit their- 
 horses and took into the fort, and their horses ran up to 
 our line, which was then in full view. The warriors then 
 came yelling on, meeting us, and continued till they were 
 within shot of us, when we fired and killed a considera- 
 
FAMINE AND MUTINY. 79 
 
 ble number of them. They then broke like a gang of 
 steers, and ran across to the other line, where they were 
 again fired on ; and so we kept them running from one 
 line to the other, constantly under a heavy fire, till 
 we had killed upwards of four hundred of them. They 
 fought with guns, and also with their bows and arrows ; 
 but at length they made their escape through a part of 
 our line which was made up of drafted militia, which 
 broke ranks and they passed. We lost fifteen of our 
 men, as brave fellows as ever lived or died. We buried 
 them all in one grave, and started back to our fort ; but 
 before we got there, two more of our men died of wounds 
 they had received, making our total loss seventeen good 
 fellows in that battle.* 
 
 We now remained at the fort a few days, but no pro- 
 vision came yet, and we were all likely to perish. The 
 weather also began to get very cold ; and our clothes 
 were nearly worn out, and horses getting very feeble and 
 poor. Our officers proposed to General Jackson to let 
 us return home and get fresh horses and fresh clothing, 
 so as to be better prepared for another campaign, for our 
 sixty days had long been out, and that was the time we 
 entered for. 
 
 But the general took " the responsibility" on himself, 
 and refused. We were, however, determined to go, as 1 
 am to put back the deposites, if I can. With this, the 
 general issued his orders against it, as he has against the 
 bank. But we began to fix for a start, as provisions 
 
 * This' is the famous battle of Taladega, fought under Jackson's 
 immediate command, Dec. 7, 1813. 
 
80 VOLUNTEERS GO HOME. 
 
 were too scarce, just as Clay, and Webster, and myself, 
 are preparing to fix bank matters, on account of the 
 scarcity of money. The general went and placed his 
 cannon on a bridge we had to cross, and ordered out his 
 regulars and drafted men to keep us from crossing ; just 
 as;Jie has planted his Globe and K. C. to alarm the bank 
 men, while his regulars and militia in Congress are to 
 act as artillery men. But when the militia started to 
 guard the bridge, they would holler back to us'*to bring 
 their knapsacks along when we come, for they wanted to 
 go as bad as we did, just as many a good fellow now 
 wants his political knapsack brought along, that, if when 
 we come to vote, he sees he has a fair shake to go, he 
 may join in and help us to take back the deposites. 
 
 We got ready and moved on till we came near the bridge 
 where the general's men were all strung along on both 
 sides, just like the office-holders are now, to keep us from 
 getting along to the help of the countr}^ and the people. 
 But we all had our flints ready picked, and our guns 
 ready primed, that if we were fired on we might fight 
 our way through, or all die together, just as we are now 
 determined to save the country from ready ruin, or to 
 sink down with it. When we came still nearer the bridge 
 we heard the guards cocking their guns, and we did the 
 same, just as we have had it in Congress, while the 
 <' government " regulars and the people's volunteers have 
 all been setting their political triggers. But, after all, 
 we marched boldly on, and not a gun was fired, nor a 
 life lost, just as I hope it will be again, that we shall not 
 be afraid of the general's Globe, nor his K. C, nor his 
 regulars, nor their trigger snapping, but just march 
 
CROCKETT REJOINS THE ARMY. 81 
 
 boldly over tlie executive bridge, and take the deposites 
 back wliere the law placed them and where thej ought 
 to be. When we had passed, no further attempt was 
 made to stop us ; but the general said we were " the 
 damned'st volunteers he had ever seen in his life ; that 
 we would volunteer and go out and fight, and then at our 
 pleasure would volunteer and go home again in spite of 
 the devil." But we went on, and near Huntsville we 
 met a reinforcement who were going on to join the army. 
 It consisted of a regiment of volunteers, and was under 
 the command of some one whose name I can't remember. 
 Thej were sixty day volunteers. 
 
 We got home pretty safely, and in a short time we 
 had procured fresh horses and a supply of clothing bet- 
 ter suited for the season ; and then we returned to Fort 
 Deposite, where our officers held a sort of a " national 
 conventiori' on the subject of a message they had re- 
 ceived from General Jackson, — demanding that on our 
 return we should serve out six months. We had already 
 served three months instead of two, which was the time 
 we had volunteered for. On the next morning the offi- 
 cers reported to us the conclusions they had come to ; 
 and told us, if any of us felt bound to go on and serve 
 out the six months, we could do so ; but that they in- 
 tended to go back home. I knowed if I went back home 
 I wouldn't rest, for I felt it my duty to be out ; and 
 when out I was, somehow or other, always delighted to 
 be in the very thickest of the danger. A few of us, 
 therefore,, determined to push on and join the army. 
 The number I do not recollect, but it was very small. 
 
 When we got out there, I joined Major Russell's com- 
 
82 SKIRMISH WITH THE INDIANS. 
 
 pany of spies. Before we reached the place, General 
 Jackson had started. We went on likewise, and over- 
 took him at a place where we established a fort, called 
 Fort Williams, and leaving men to guard it, we went 
 ahead; intending to go to at^lace called the Horseshoe 
 bend on the Talapoosa river. When we came near that 
 place, we began to find Indian sign plenty, and we struck 
 up camp for the night. About two hours before day we 
 heard our guard firing, and we were all up in little or 
 no time. We mended up our camp fires, and then fell 
 back in the dark, expecting to see the Indians pouring 
 in ; and intending, when they should do so, to shoot 
 them by the light of our own fires. But it happened 
 they did not rush in as we had expected, but commenced 
 a fire on us as we were. We were encamped in a hollow 
 square, and we not only returned the fire, but continued 
 to shoot as well as we could in the dark, till day broke, 
 when the Indians disappeared. The only guide we had 
 in shooting was to notice the flash of their guns, and 
 then shoot as directly at the place as we could guess. 
 
 In this scrape ^\e had four men killed and several 
 wounded, but whether we killed any of the Indians or 
 not we never could tell, for it is their custom always to 
 carry ojQT their dead, if they can possibly do so. We 
 buried ours, and then made a large log heap over them 
 and set it on fire, so that the place of their deposite 
 might not be kndwn to the savages, who we knew would 
 geek for them that they might scalp them. We made 
 some horse litters for our wounded, and took up a re- 
 treat. We moved on till we came to a large creek which 
 "we had to cross ; and about half our men had crossed. 
 
GENERAL CARROLL'S BRAVERY. 83 
 
 "wlien tlie Indians commenced firing on our left wing, and 
 tliey kept it up very warmly. We had left Major Rus- 
 sell and his brother at the camp we had moved from 
 that morning, to see vvhat discovery they could make as 
 to the movements of the Indians ; and about this time, 
 Y hile a warm fire was kept tip on our left, as I have just 
 stated, the major came up in our rear, and was closely 
 pursued by a large number of Indians, who immediately 
 commenced a fire on our artillery men. They hid them- 
 selves behind a large log, and could kill one of our men 
 almost every shot, they being in open ground and ex- 
 posed. The worst of all was, two of our colonels just at 
 this trying moment left their men, and by a forced 
 marcJij crossed the creek out of the reach of the fire. 
 Their names, at this late day, would do the world no 
 good, and my object is history alone, and not the slight- 
 est interference with character. An opportunity w^as 
 now afi*orded for Governor Carroll to distinguish himself, 
 and on this occasion he did so, by greater bravery than 
 I ever saw any other man display. In truth, I believe, 
 as firmly as I do that General Jackson is President, that 
 if it hadn't been for Carroll, we should all have been 
 genteely licked that time, for we were in a devil of a fix ; 
 part of our men on one side of the creek, and part on 
 the other, and the Indians all the time pouring it on us, 
 as hot as fresh mustard to a sore shin. I will not say 
 exactly that the old general was whipped ; but I will say, 
 that if we escaped it at all, it was like old Henry Snider 
 going to heaven, "mit a dam tite squeeze." I think he 
 would confess himself, that he was nearer whipp'd this 
 time than he was at any other, for I know that all the 
 
84 MIGHTY NEAR WHIPPED. 
 
 world couldn't make liim acknowledge that he was point- 
 edly whipped. I know I was mighty glad when it was 
 over, and the savages quit us, for I begun to think there 
 was one behind every tree in the woods.* 
 
 * I'his was the battle of Enstichopco, fought January 23d, 1814, 
 Jackson in command. • • 
 
CHAPTER YII. 
 
 Crockett joins the army for the Florida campaio:n — FVisses near Fort 
 Mimms — Arrival at Pensacola — General Jackson leaves for New 
 Orleans — Crockett returns with his regiment to Fort Mimms — De- 
 sci^ption of the Fort and the massacre — March towards Pen^acola 
 —Preparations for a battle — Creeks killed — Expedition of Major 
 Russell — Return to Pensacola. 
 
 Soon after this, an army T^as to be raised to go to 
 Pensacola, and I determined to go again witli them, for 
 I wanted a small taste of British fighting, and I supposed 
 they would be there. 
 
 Here again the entreaties of my wife were thrown in 
 the way of my going, but all in vain ; for I always had a 
 way of just going ahead at whatever I had a mind to. 
 One of my neighbours, hearing I had determined to go, 
 came to me, and offered me a hundred dollars to go in 
 his place as a substitute, as he had been drafted. I told 
 him I was better raised than to hire myself out to be shot 
 at ; but that I would go, and he should go too, and in that 
 way the government would have the services of us both. 
 But we didn't call General Jackson "the government" 
 in those days, though we used to go to fight under him 
 in the war. 
 
 I fixed up, and joined old Major Russell again ; but 
 we couldn't start with the main army, but followed on 
 in a little time, after them. In a day or two, we had 9 
 
 (85) 
 
 :mrt^^^ 
 
SQ GOES TO PENSACOLA. 
 
 hundred and tliirtj men in our company ; and we went 
 over and crossed the Muscle Shoals at the same place 
 v.here I had crossed when first out, and when we burned 
 the Black Warrior's town. We passed through the 
 Choctaw and Chickesaw nations, on to Fort Stephens, 
 and from thence to wliat is called the Cut-oiF, at the junc- 
 tion of the 5om-Bigbj with the Alabama river. This 
 place is near old Fort Mimms, where the Indians com- 
 mitted the great butchery at the commencement of the 
 war. 
 
 We were here about two days behind the main army, 
 who had left 'their horses at the Cut-off, and taken it on 
 foot ; and they did this because there was no chance for 
 forage between there and Pensacola. We did the same, 
 leaving men enough to take care of our horses, and cut 
 on foot for that place. It was about eighty miles off; 
 but in good heart we shouldered our guns, blankets, and 
 provisions, and trudged merrily on. About twelve 
 o'clock the second day, we reached the encampment of 
 the main army, which was situated on a hill, overlooking 
 the city of Pensacola. My commander Major Kussell, 
 was a great favorite w^ith General Jackson, and our ar- 
 rival was hailed with great applause, though we were a 
 little after the feast ; for they had taken the town and 
 fort before we got there. That evening we went down 
 into the town, and could see the British fleet lying in 
 sight of the place. We got some liquor, and took a 
 " horn" or so, and went back to the camp. We remained 
 there that night, and in the morning we marched back 
 towards the Cut-off. We pursued this direction till we 
 reached old Fort Mimms, where we' remained two or 
 
GOES TO FORT MIMMS. 87 
 
 ttiree days. It was here that Major Russell was pro- 
 moted from his command, which was only that of a cap- 
 tain of spies, to the command of a major in the line. He 
 had been known long before at home as old Major Russell, 
 and so we continued to call him in the army. A Major 
 Childs, from East Tennessee, also commanded a battalion, 
 and he, and the one Russell was appointed to com- 
 mand, composed a regiment, which, by agreement with 
 General Jackson, was to quit his army and go to the 
 south, to kill up the Indians on the Scamby river. 
 
 General Jackson and the main army set out the next 
 morning for New Orleans, and a Colonel Blue took com- 
 mand of the regiment which I have before described. 
 We remained, however, a few days after the general's 
 departure, and then started also on our route. 
 
 As it gave rise to so much war and bloodshed, it may 
 not be improper here to give a little description of Fort 
 Mimms, and the manner in which the Indian war com- 
 menced. The fort was built right in the middle of a 
 large old field, and in it the people had been forted so 
 long and so quietly, that they didn't apprehend any dan- 
 ger at all, and had, therefore, become quite careless. A 
 small negro boy, whose business it was to bring up the 
 calves at milking time, had been out for that purpose, 
 und on coming back, he said he saw a great many 
 Indians. At this the inhabitants took the alarm, and 
 slosed their gates and placed out their guards, which they 
 2ontinued for a few days. But finding that no attack 
 was made, they concluded the little negro had lied ; and 
 again threw their gates open and set all their hands out 
 to work their fields. The same boy was out again on the 
 
88 MASSACRE AT EORT MIMMS. 
 
 same errand, when, returning in great haste and alarm, 
 he informed them that he had seen the Indians as thick 
 as trees in the woods. He was not believed, but was 
 tucked up to receive a flogging for the supposed lie ; and 
 was actually getting badly licked at the very moment 
 when the Indians came in a troop, loaded with rails, with 
 which they stopp'd all the port-holes of the fort on one side 
 except the bastion ; and then they fell in to cutting down 
 the picketing. Those inside the fort had only the bastion 
 to shoot from, as all the other holes were spiked up ; and 
 they shot several of the Indians, while engaged in cutting. 
 But as fast as one would fall, another would seize up the 
 axe and chop away, until they succeeded in cutting down 
 enough of the picketing to admit them to enter. They 
 then began to rush through, and continued until they 
 were all in. They immediately commenced scalping, 
 without regard to age or sex ; having forced the inhabi- 
 tants up to one side of the fort, where they carried on 
 the work of death as a butcher would in a slaughter pen. 
 The scene was particularly described to me by a young 
 man who was in the fort when it happened, and subse- 
 quently went on with us to Pensacola. He said he saw 
 his father, and mother, his four sisters, and the same 
 number of brothers, all butchered in the most shocking 
 manner, and that he made his escape, by running over 
 the heads of the crowd, who were against the fort wall, 
 to the top of the fort, and then jumping off, and taking 
 to the woods. He was closely pursued by several Indians, 
 until he came to a small bayou, across which there was a 
 log. He knew the log was hollow on the under side, so 
 he slipp'd under the log and hid himself. He said he 
 
MARCH TOWARD PEXSACOLA. 89 
 
 heard the Indians walk over him several times back and 
 forward. He remained, nevertheless, still till night, when 
 he came out and finished his escape. The name of this 
 young man has entirely escaped my recollection, though 
 his tale greatly excited my feelings. But to return to 
 my subject. The regiment marched from where General 
 Jackson had left us to Fort Montgomery, which was dis- 
 tant from Fort Mimms about a mile and a half, and there 
 we remained for some days. 
 
 Here we supplied ourselves pretty well with beef, by 
 kilhng wild cattle which had formerly belonged to the 
 people who perished in the fort, but had gone wild after 
 their massacre. 
 
 When we marched from Fort Montgomery, we went 
 some distance back towards Pensacola ; then we turned 
 to the left, and passed through a poor piny country, till 
 we reached the Scamby river, near which we encamped. 
 We had about one thousand men, and as a part of that 
 number, one hundred and eighty-six Chickesaw and 
 Choctaw Indians with us. That evening a boat landed 
 from Pensacola, bringing many articles that were both 
 good and necessary ; such as sugar and coffee, and liquors 
 of all kinds. The same evening, the Indians we had 
 along proposed to cross the river, and the officers think- 
 ing it might be well for them to do so, consented ; and 
 Major Russell went with them, taking sixteen white men, 
 of which number I was one. We camped on the opposite 
 bank that night, and early in the morning we set out. 
 We had not gone far before we came to a place where 
 the whole country was covered with water, and looked 
 like a sea. We didn't stop for this, though, but just put in 
 
90 PREPARATIONS FOR A FIGHT. 
 
 like flo many spaniels, and waded on, sometimes up to 
 our arm-pits, mitil we reached the pine hills, which made 
 our distance through the water about a mile and a half. 
 Hers we struck up a fire to warm ourselves, for jt was 
 cold, and we were chilled through by being so long in the 
 water. We again moved on, keeping our spies out ; two 
 to our left near the bank of the river, two straight before 
 us, and five others on " our right. We had gone in this 
 way about six miles up the river, when our spies on the 
 left came to us leaping the brush like so many old bucks, 
 and informed us that they had discovered a camp of 
 Creek Indians, and that we must kill them. Here we 
 paused for a few minutes, and the prophets pow-wowed 
 over their men awhile and then got out their paint, and 
 painted them, all according to their custom when going 
 into battle. They then brought their paint to okl Major 
 Russell, and said to him, that as he was an ofiicer, he 
 must be painted too. He agreed, and they painted him 
 just as they had done themselves. 
 
 We let the Indians understand that we white men 
 would first fire on the camp, and then fall back so as to 
 give the Indians a chance to rush in and scalp them. 
 The Cliickesaws marched on our left hand, and the Choc- 
 taws on our right, and we moved on till we got in hear- 
 ing of the camp, where the Indians were employed in 
 beating up what they called chainy briar root. On this 
 they mostly subsisted. On a nearer approach, we found 
 they were on an island, and that we could not get to 
 them. While we were chatting about this matter, we 
 heard some guns fired, and in a very short time after, a 
 keen whoop, which satisfied us that 'wherever it was, 
 
CREEKS KILLED. 91 
 
 there was war on a small scale. With that, we all broke 
 like quarter horses, for the firing ; and when we got 
 there, we found it was our two front spies, who related 
 to us the following story : — As they were moving on, 
 they had met with two Creeks who were out hunting 
 their horses ; as they approached each other, there was 
 a large cluster of green bay bushes exactly between them, 
 so that they were within a few feet of meeting before 
 either was discovered. Our spies walked up to them, 
 and, speaking in the Shawnee tongue, informed them 
 that General Jackson was at Pensacola, and they were 
 making their escape, and wanted to know where they 
 could get something to eat. The Creeks told them that 
 nine miles up the Conaker, the river they were then on, 
 there was a large camp of Creeks, and they had cattle 
 and plenty to eat ; and further, that their own camp was 
 on an island about a mile ofi", and just below the mouth 
 of the Conaker. They held their conversation, and 
 struck up a fire and smoked together, and shook hands 
 and parted. One of the Creeks had a gun, the other 
 had none ; and as soon as 'they had parted, our Choctaws 
 turned round and shot down the one that had the gun, 
 and the other attempted to run off. They snapped sev- 
 eral times at him, but the gun still missing fire, they took 
 after him, and overtaking him, one of them struck him 
 over the head with his gun, and followed up his blows till 
 he killed him. 
 
 The gun was broken in the combat, and they then 
 fired off the gun ^ the Creek they had killed, and raised 
 the war-whoop. vVhen we reached them, they had cut 
 off the heads of both the Indians ; and each of those In- 
 
92 TAKE THE CAMP. 
 
 dians with us would walk up to one of tlie lieads, and ta- 
 king his war-club would strike on it. This was done by 
 every one of them ; and w^hen they had got done, I took 
 one of their clubs and walked up as they had done, and 
 struck it on the head also. At this, they all gathered 
 round me, and patting me on the shoulder, would call me 
 "Warrior, warrior." 
 
 They scalped the heads, and then we moved on a short 
 distance to where we found a trace leading in towards 
 the river. We took this trace and pursued it, till w^e 
 came to where a Spaniard had been killed and scalped, 
 together with a woman who w^e supposed to be his wife, 
 and also four children. I began to feel mighty ticklish 
 alono; about this time, for I knowed if there was no dan- 
 ger then, there had been, and I felt exactly like ther<} 
 still was. We, however, went on till we struck the river, 
 and then continued down it till we came opposite to the 
 Indian camp, where we found they were still beating 
 their roots. 
 
 It w\as now late in the evening, and they were in a 
 thick cane-brake. We had some few friendly Creeks 
 with us, who said they could decoy them. So we all hid 
 behind trees and logs while the attempt was made. The 
 Indians would not agree that we should fire, but picked 
 out some of their best gunners and placed them near the 
 river. Our Creeks went down to the river's side, and 
 hailed the camp in the Creek language. We heard the 
 answer, and an Indian man started down towards the 
 river, but didn't come in sight. He went back and agam 
 commenced beating his roots and sent a squaw. She 
 came down and talked to our Creeks until dark came on •. 
 
RUSSELL'S EXPEDITION. 93 
 
 They told her thej wanted her to bring them a canoe. 
 To which she replied that their canoe was on our side ; 
 that two of their men had gone out to hunt their horses, 
 and hadn't yet returned. They were the same two we 
 had killed. The canoe was found, and forty of our 
 picked Indian warriors were crossed over to take the 
 camp. There was at last only one man in it, and he es- 
 caped ; and they took two squaws and ten children, but 
 killed none of them, of course. 
 
 We he.d run nearly out of provisions, and Major Rus- 
 sell had determined to go up the Conaker to the camp we 
 had heard of from the Indians we had killed. I was one 
 that he selected to go down the river that night for pro- 
 visions, with the canoe, to where we had left our regi- 
 ment. I took with me a man by the name of John 
 Guess and one of the friendly Creeks, and cut out. It 
 was very dark, and the river was so full, that it over- 
 flowed the banks and the adjacent low bottoms. This 
 rendered it very difficult to keep the channel, and par- 
 ticularly as the river was very crooked. At about ton 
 o'clock at night we reached the camp, and were to re- 
 turn by morning to Major Russell, with provisions for his 
 trip up the river ; but on informing Colonel Blue of this 
 arrangement, he vetoed it as quick as General Jackson 
 did the bank bill, and said, if Major Russell didn't come 
 back the next day, it would be bad times for him. I 
 found we were not to go up the Conaker to the Indian 
 camp, and a man of my company offered to go up in my 
 place to inform Major Russell. I let him go ; and they 
 reached the Major, as I was told, about sunrise in the 
 morning, who immediately returned with those who were 
 
M EETURN TO PENSACOLA. 
 
 with him, to the regiment, and joined us where we crossed 
 the river, as hereafter stated. 
 
 The next morning we all fixed up, and marched down 
 the Scambj to a place called Miller's Landing, where we 
 swam our horses across, and sent on two companies down 
 on the side of the bay, opposite to Pensacola, where the 
 Indians had fled when the main army first marched to 
 that place. One was the company of Captain William 
 Russell, a son of the old Major, and the other was com- 
 manded by a Captain Trimble. They went on, and had 
 a little skirmish with the Indians. They killed some, 
 and took all the balance prisoners, though I don't re- 
 member the numbers. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Start for Chataliachy — Famine in Camp — Burning of town on the 
 Cliatahachy — Famine again — Crockett goes a liuntiug — His success 
 — Arrival at Fort Decatur — Crockett buys corn with bullets — 
 March to Fort Williams — Pass the battle ground of Taladega — 
 Pass the Coosa river — Crockett starts for home — Returns home — 
 Joy of his family — Crockett's sentiments on the "Warrior career — 
 Close of the War. 
 
 Whej? we made a move from the point where we met 
 
 the companies, we set out for Chatahachy, the place for 
 
 which we had started when we left Fort Montgomery. 
 
 At the start, we had taken only twepty days' rations of 
 
 flom-, and eight days' rations of beef, and it was now 
 
 thirty-four days before we reached that place. We were, 
 
 therefore, in extreme suffering for want of something to 
 
 eat, and exhausted with our exposure and the fatigues 
 
 of our journey. I remember well, that I had not myself 
 
 tasted bread but twice in nineteen days. I had brought 
 
 a pretty good supply of coffee from the boat that had 
 
 reached us from Pensacola, on the Scamby, and on that 
 
 we chiefly s'ubsisted. At length, one night our spies 
 
 came in, and informed us they had found Holm's village 
 
 on the Chatahachy river ; and we made an immediate 
 
 push for that place. We traveled all night expecting to 
 
 get something to eat when we got there. We arrived 
 
 about sunrise, and near the place prepared for battle. 
 
 (95) 
 
96 * TOWN BURNT. 
 
 We Ttere all so furious, that even the certainty of a pretty 
 hard fight could not have restrained us. We made a fu- 
 rious charge on the toTvn ; but to our great mortification 
 and surprise, there was not a human being in it. The 
 Indians had all run off and left it. We burned the town, 
 however, but, melancholy to tell, vre found no provision 
 whatever. We then turned about, and went back to the 
 camp we had left the night before, as nearly starved as 
 any set of poor fellows ever were in the world. 
 
 We staid there only a. little while, when we divided 
 our regiment; and Major Childs, with his men, went 
 back the way we had come for a considerable distance, 
 and then turned to Baton-Kouge, where they joined 
 General Jackson and the main army on their return from 
 Orleans. Major Russell and his men struck for Eort 
 Decatur, on the Talapoosa river. Some of our friendly 
 Indians, who knew the country, went on ahead of us, as 
 we had no trail except the one they made to follow. 
 With them we sent some of our ablest horses and men, 
 to get us some provisions, to prevent us from absolutely 
 starving to death. As the army marched, I hunted 
 every day, and would kill every hawk, bird, and squirrel 
 that I could find. Others did the same ; and it was a 
 rule with us, that when we stop'd at night, the hunters 
 would throw all they had killed in a pile, and then we 
 would make a general division among all the men. One 
 evening I came in, having killed nothing that day. I 
 had a very sick man in my mess, and I wanted something 
 for him to eat, even if I starved myself. So I went to 
 the fire of a Captain Cowen, who commanded my com- 
 pany after the promotion of Major Russell, and informed 
 
FAMINE. 97 
 
 him tliat I "was on the hunt of something for a sick man 
 to eat. I know'd the captain was as bad off as the rest 
 of us, but I found him broiling a turkey's gizzard. He 
 said he had divided the turkey out among the tick, that 
 Major Smiley had killed it, and that nothing else had 
 been killed that day. I immediately went to Smiley' s 
 fire, where I found him broiling another gizzard. I told 
 him that it was the first turkey I had ever seen have two 
 gizzards. But so it was, I got nothing for my sick man. 
 And now, seeing that every fellow must shift for himself, 
 I determined that in the morning I would come up miss- 
 ing; so I took my mess, and cut out to go ahead of the 
 army. We know'd that nothing more could happen to 
 us if we went than if we staid, for it looked like it was 
 to be starvation any way ; we therefore determined to go 
 on the old saying, root hog or die. "We passed two 
 camps, at which our men, that had gone on before us, 
 had killed Indians. At one they had killed nine, and at 
 the other three. About daylight we came to a small 
 river, which I thought was the Scamby ; but we continued 
 on for three days, killing little or nothing to eat ; till, at 
 last, we all began to get nearly ready to give up the 
 ghost, and lie down and die ; for we had no prospect of 
 provision, and we knew we couldn't go much further 
 without it. 
 
 We came to a large prairie, that was about six miles 
 across it, and in this I saw a trail which I knowed was 
 made by bear, deer, and turkeys. We went on through 
 it till we came to a large creek, and the low grounds 
 were all set over with wild rye, looking as green as a 
 
98 SUCCESS IN HUNTING. 
 
 wheat field. AVe here made a halt, unsaddled our horses, 
 and turned them loose to graze. 
 
 One of my companions, a Mr. Vanzant, and myself, 
 then went up the low grounds to hunt. We had gone 
 some distance, finding nothing; when, at last, I found a 
 squirrel, which I shot, hut he got into a hole in the tree. 
 The game was small, hut necessity is not very particu- 
 lar ; so I thought I must have him, and I climbed that 
 tree thirty feet high, without a limb, and pulled him out 
 of his hole. I shouldn't relate such small matters, only 
 to show what lengths a hungry man will go to, to get 
 something to eat. I soon killed two other squirrels, and 
 fired at a large hawk. At this a large gang of turkeys 
 rose from the cane brake, and flew across the creek to 
 where my friend was, who had just before crossed it. 
 He soon fired on a large gobler, and I heard it fall. By 
 this time, my gun was loaded again, and I saw one sit- 
 ting on my side of the creek, which had flew over when 
 he fired; so I blazed away, and down I brought him. I 
 gathered him up, and a fine turkey he was. I now 
 begai^ to think we had struck a breeze of luck, and almost 
 forgot our past suff'erings, in the prospect of once more 
 having something to eat. I raised the shout, and my 
 comrade came to me, and we went on to our camp with 
 the game we had killed. While we were gone, two of 
 our mess had been out, and each of them had found a 
 bee tree. We turned into cooking some of our game, 
 but we had neither salt nor bread. Just at this moment, 
 on looking down the creek, we saw our men, who had 
 gone on before us for provisions, coming to us. They 
 came up, and measured out to each man a cupful! of 
 
BEE TREES. 99 
 
 flour. Witli this, we tliickened our soup, when our 
 turkey was cooked, and our friends took dinner with us, 
 and then went on. 
 
 We now took our tomahawks, and went out and cut 
 our bee trees, out of which we got a fine chance of honey ; 
 though we had been starving so long that we feared 'to 
 eat much at a time, till, like the Irish by hanging, we 
 got used to it again. We rested that night without mov- 
 ing our camp ; and the next morning myself and Vanzant 
 again turned out to hunt. We had not gone far, before 
 I wounded a fine buck very badly ; and while pursuing 
 him, I was walking on a large tree that had fallen down, 
 when from the top of it a large bear broke out and ran 
 ofi". I had no dogs, and I was sorry enough for it; for 
 of all the hunting I ever did, I have always delighted 
 most in bear hunting. Soon after this, I killed a large 
 buck; and we had just gotten him to camp, when our 
 poor starved army came up. They told us, that to 
 lessen their sufi'erings as much as possible. Captain Wil- 
 liam Russell had had his horse led up to be shot for them 
 to eat, just at the moment that they saw our men re- 
 turning, who had carried on the flour. 
 
 We were now about fourteen miles from Fort Decatur, 
 and we gave away all our meat and honey, and went on 
 with the rest of the army. When we got there, they 
 could give us only one ration of meat, but not a mouth- 
 ful of bread. I immediately got a canoe, -and taking 
 my gun, crossed over the river, and went to the Big 
 Warriors' town. I had a large hat, and I offered an 
 Indian a silver dollar for my hat full of corn. He told 
 me that his corn was all ''shioestea,'* which in English 
 
100 CIIOCKETT BUYS CORN. 
 
 means, it was all gone. But lie showed me where an 
 Indian lived, wlio, lie said, had corn. I went to him and 
 made the same offer. He could talk a little broken 
 English, and said to me, "You got any powder? You 
 got bullet?" I told him I had. He then said, "Me 
 swap my corn for powder and bullet." I took out about 
 ten bullets, and showed him ; and he proposed to give 
 me a hat full of corn for them. I took him up mighty 
 quick. I then offered to give him ten charges of powder 
 for another hat full of corn. To this he agreed very 
 willingly. So I took off my hunting shirt, and tied up 
 my corn ; and though it had cost me very little of my 
 powder and lead, yet I wouldn't have taken fifty silver 
 dollars for it. I returned to the camp, and the next 
 morning we started for the Hickory Ground, which was 
 thirty miles off. It was here that General Jackson met 
 the Indians, and made peace with the body of the nation. 
 
 We got nothing to eat at this place, and we had yet 
 to go forty-nine miles, over a rough and wilderness coun- 
 try, to Fort Williams. Parched corn, and but little even 
 of that, was our daily subsistence. When we reached 
 Fort Williams, we got ono ration of pork, and one of 
 flour, which was our only hope until we could reach Fort 
 Strother. 
 
 The horses were now giving out, and I remember to 
 have seen thirteen good horses left in one day, the sad- 
 dles and bridles being thrown away. It was thirty-nine 
 miles to Fort Strother, and we had to pass directly by 
 Fort Talladega, where we first had the big Indian battle 
 with the eleven hundred painted warriors. We went 
 through the old battle ground, and it looked like a great 
 
CROCKETT RETURNS HOME. 101 
 
 gourd patcli ; the skulls of the Indians who were killed, 
 still lay scattered all about, and many of their frames were 
 still perfect, as the bones had not separated. Eut about 
 five miles before we got to this battle ground, I struck a 
 trail, which I followed until it led me to one of their 
 towns. Here I swapp'd some more of my powder and 
 bullets for a little corn. 
 
 I pursued on, by myself, till some time after night, 
 when I came up to the rest of the army. That night 
 my company and myself did pretty well, as I divided out 
 my corn among them. The next morning we met the 
 East Tennessee troops, who were on the road to Mobile, 
 and my youngest brother was with them. They had 
 plenty of corn and provisions, and they gave me what I 
 wanted for myself and my horse. I remained with them 
 that night, though my company went across the Coosa 
 river to the fort, where they also had the good fortune 
 to find plenty of provisions. Next morning, I took leave 
 of my brother and all my old neighbours, for there were 
 a good many of them w^ith him, and crossed over to my 
 men at the fort. Here I had enough to go on, and after 
 remaining a few days, cut out for home. Nothing more, 
 worthy of the reader's attention, transpired till I was 
 safely landed at home once more with my wife and child- 
 ren. I found them all well and doing well ; and though 
 I was only a rough sort of backwoodsman, they seemed 
 mighty glad to see me, however little the quality folks 
 might suppose it. For I do reckon we love as hard m 
 the backwood country, as any people in the whole creation. 
 
 Eut I had been home only a few days, when we re- 
 ceived orders to start again, and go on to the Elack 
 
102 END OF THE "WAR. 
 
 Warrior and Cahawba rivers, to see if there was no In- 
 dians there. I know'd well enough there was none, and 
 I wasn't willing to trust my craw any more where there 
 was neither any fighting to do, nor anything to go on ; 
 and so I agreed to give a young man, who wanted to go, 
 the balance of my wages if he would serve out my time, 
 which was about a month. He did so, and when they 
 returned, sure enough they hadn't seen an Indian, any 
 more than if they had been all the time chopping wood 
 in my clearing. This closed my career as a warrior, and 
 I am glad of it, for I like life now a heap better than I 
 did then ; and I am glad all over that I lived to see these 
 times, which I should not have done if I had kept fooling 
 along in war, and got used up at it. When I say L am 
 glad, I just mean I am glad that I am alive, for there 
 is a confounded heap of things I an't glad of at all. I 
 an't glad, for example, that the "government" moved 
 the deposites, and if my military glory should take such 
 a turn as to make me president after the general's time, 
 I'll move them back; yes, I, the "government" will 
 "take the responsibility," and move them back again. 
 If I don't, I wish I may be shot. 
 
 But I am glad that I am now through war matters, 
 and I reckon the reader is too, for they have no fun in 
 them at all ; and less, if he had had to pass through them 
 first, and then write them afterwards. But for the dull- 
 ness of their narrative, I must try to make amends by 
 relating some of the curious things that happened to me 
 in private life, and when forced to become a public man, 
 as I shall have to be again, if ever I consent to take the 
 presidential chair. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Death of Mrs. Crockett — His family — Crockett courts a soldier's 
 widow — Marries again — New family — Emigrates — Perilous jour- 
 ney — Sickness — Eeturns home — Second sickness — Crockett settles 
 on Shoal Creek — Regulators — Crockett a magistrate — Amusing 
 account of his proceedings — Learning how to make out written 
 warrants, and keep a docket — His success as a magistrate. 
 
 I CONTINUED at home now, working my farm for two 
 years, as the war finally closed soon after I quit the ser- 
 vice. The battle at New Orleans had already been 
 fought, and treaties were made with the Indians, which 
 put a stop to their hostilities. 
 
 But in this time, I met with the hardest trial which 
 ever falls to the lot of man. Death, that cruel leveler 
 of all distinctions, — to whom the prayers and tears of 
 husbands, and of even helpless infancy, are addressed in 
 vain, — entered my humble cottage, and tore from my 
 children an affectionate good mother, and from me a ten- 
 der and loving wife. 
 
 It is a scene long gone by, and one which it would be 
 supposed I had almost forgotten ; yet when I turn my 
 memory back on it, it seems as but the work of yester- 
 day. It was the doing of the Almighty, whose ways are 
 always right, though we sometimes think they fall heavily 
 on us ; and as painful as is even yet the remembrance of 
 
 her sufferings, and the loss sustained by my little child- 
 
 (103) 
 
104 DEATH OF MRS. CROCRETT. 
 
 ren and myself, yet I have no wisli to lift up the voice 
 of complaint. I was left with three children ; the two 
 eldest were sons, the youngest a daughter, and, at that 
 time, a mere infant. It appeared to me, at that moment, 
 that my situation was the worst in the world. I couldn't 
 bear the thought of scattering my children, and so I got 
 my youngest brother, who was also mai^d, and his 
 family to live with me. They took as good care of my 
 children as they well could, but yet it wasn't all like the 
 care of a mother. And though their company was to 
 me m every respect like that of a brother and sister, yet 
 it fell far short of being like that of a wife. So I came 
 to the conclusion it wouldn't do, but that I must have 
 another wife. 
 
 There lived in the neighborhood, a widow lady whose 
 husband had been killed in the war. She had two child- 
 ren, a son and daughter, and both quite small, like my 
 own. I began to think, that as we were both in the 
 same situation, it might be that we could do something 
 for each other ; and therefore began to hint a little around 
 the matter, as we were once in a while together. She 
 ■was a good industrious woman, and owned a snug little 
 farm, and lived quite comfortable. I soon began to pay 
 my respects to her in real good earnest ; but I was as 
 ,sly about it as a fox when he is going to rob a hen-roost. 
 I found that my company wasn't at all disagreeable to 
 her ; and I thought I could treat her children with so 
 much friendship as to make her a good stepmother to 
 mine, and in this I wasn't mistaken, as we soon bargained, 
 and got married, and then went ahead. In a great deal 
 of peace we raised our first crop of children, and they 
 
NEW FAMILY. 105 
 
 are all married and doing well. But we had a second 
 crop together ; and I shall notice them as I go along, as 
 mj wife and myself both had a hand in them, and they 
 therefore belong to the history of my second marriage. 
 
 The next fall after this marriage, three of my neigh- 
 bors and myself determined to explore a new country. 
 Theii names were Kobinson, Frazier, and Rich. We 
 set out for the Creek country, crossing the Tennessee 
 river ; and after having made a day's travel, we stopp'd 
 at the house of one of my old acquaintances, who had 
 settled there after the war. Resting here a day, Frazier 
 turned out to hunt, being a great hunter ; but he got 
 badly bit by a very poisonous snake, and so we left him 
 and went on. We passed through a large rich valley, 
 called Jones's Valley, where several other families had 
 settled, and continued our course till we came near to 
 the place where Tuscaloosa now stands. Here we 
 camped, as there were no inhabitants, and hobbled out 
 our horses for the night. About two hours before day, 
 we heard the bells on our horses going back the way we 
 had come, as they had started to leave us. As soon as 
 it was daylight, I started in pursuit of them on foot, 
 and carrying my rifle, which was a very heavy one. I 
 went ahead the whole day, wading creeks and swamps, 
 and climbing mountains; but I couldn't overtake our 
 horses, though I could hear of them at every house they 
 passed. I at last found I couldn't catch up with them, 
 and so I gave up the hunt, and turned back to the last 
 house I had passed, and staid there till morning. . From 
 the best calculation we could make, I had walked over 
 fifty miles that day ; and the next morning I was so 
 
106 PERILOUS JOURNEY. 
 
 sore, and fatigued, that I felt like I couldn't walk any 
 more. But I was anxious to get back to where I had 
 left my company, and so I started and went on, but 
 mighty slowly, till after the middle of the day. I now 
 began to feel mighty sick, and had a dreadful headache. 
 My rifle was so heavy, and I felt so weak, that I lay 
 down by the side of the trace, in a perfect wilderness 
 too, to see if I wouldn't get better. In a short time 
 some Indians came along. They had some ripe melons, 
 and wanted me to eat some, but I was so sick I couldn't. 
 They then signed to me, that I would die, and be buried ; 
 a thing I was confoundedly afraid of myself. But I 
 asked them how near it was to any house ? By their 
 signs, again, they made me understand it was a mile 
 and a half. I got up to go ; but when I rose, I reeled 
 about like a cow with the blind staggers, or a fellow who 
 had taken too many " horns." One of the Indians pro- 
 posed to go with me, and carry my gun. I gave him 
 half a dollar, and accepted his offer. "We got to the 
 house, by which time I was pretty far gone, but was 
 kindly received, and got on to a bed. The woman did 
 all she could for me with her warm teas, but I still con- 
 tinued bad enough, with a high fever, and generally out 
 of my senses. The next day two of my neighbors were 
 passing the road, and heard of my situation, and came 
 to where I was. They were going nearly the route I 
 had intended to go, to look at the country ; and so they 
 took me first on one of their horses, and then on the 
 other, till they got me back to where I had left my com- 
 pany. I expected I would get better, and be able to go 
 on with them, but, instead of this, I got worse and 
 
SICKNESS. 107 
 
 "worse ; and when we got there, I wasn't able to sit up at 
 all. I thought now the jig was mighty nigh up with 
 me, but I determined to keep a stiff upper lip. They 
 carried me to a house, and each of my comrades bought 
 him a horse, and they all set out together, leaving me 
 behind. I knew but little that was going on for about 
 two weeks ; but the family treated me with every pos- 
 sible kindness in their power, and I shall always feel 
 thankful to them. The man's name was Jesse Jones. 
 At the end of two weeks I began to mend without the 
 help of a doctor, or of any doctor's means. In this 
 time, however, as they told me, I was speechless for five 
 days, and they had no thought that I would ever speak 
 again, — in Congress or anywhere else. And so the 
 woman, who had a bottle of Bateman's drops, thought 
 if they killed me, I would only die any how, and so she 
 would try it with me. She gave me the whole bottle, 
 which throwed me into a sweat that continued on me 
 all night ; when at last I seemed to wake up, and spoke, 
 and asked her for a drink of water. This almost alarmed 
 her, for she was looking every minute for me to die. 
 She gave me the water, and, from that time, I began 
 slowly to mend, and so kept on till I was able at last 
 to walk about a little. I might easily have been mis- 
 taken for one of the Kitchen Cabinet, I looked so much 
 like a ghost. I have been particular in giving a history 
 of this sickness, not because I believe it will interest 
 any body much now, nor, indeed, do I certainly know 
 that it ever will. But if I should be forced to take the 
 "white house," then it will be a good history; and 
 every one will look on it as important. And I can't, 
 
108 RETUKN HOME. 
 
 for my life, help laughing now, to think, that when all 
 my folks get around me, wanting good fat offices, how. 
 so many of them will say, " What a good thing it was 
 that that kind woman had a bottle of drops that saved 
 President Crockett's life,— the second greatest and 
 best" ! ! ! ! ! Good, says I, my noble fellow ! You take 
 the post office ; or the navy ; or the war office ; or, may 
 be, the treasury. But if I give him the treasury, there's 
 no devil if I don't make him agree first to fetch back 
 them deposites. And if it's even the post office, I'll 
 make him promise to keep his money 'counts without 
 any figuring, as that throws the whole concern heels 
 over head in debt, in little or no time. 
 
 But when I got so I could travel a little, I got a 
 wagoner who was passing along to haul me to where he 
 lived, which was a-bout twenty miles from my house. I 
 still mended as we went along, and when we got to his 
 stopping place, I hired one of his horses, and went on 
 home. I was so pale, and so much reduced, that my 
 face looked like it had been half soled with brown paper. 
 
 When I got there, it was to the utter astonishment 
 of my wife ; for she supposed I was dead. My neigh- 
 bors who had started with me had returned and took my 
 horse home, which they had found with theirs ; and they 
 reported that they hdd seen men who had helped to bury 
 me ; and who saw me draw my last breath. I know'd 
 this was a whopper of a lie, as soon as I heard it. My 
 wife had hired a man, and sent him out to see what had 
 become of my money and other things ; but I had missed 
 the man as I went in, and he didn't return until some 
 time after I got home, as he went all the way to where 
 
SETTLES ON SHOAL CREEK. 109 
 
 I lay sick, before he heard that I was still in the land 
 of the living and a-kicking. 
 
 The place on which I lived was sickly, and I was de- 
 termined to leave it. I therefore set out the next fall to 
 look at the country which had been purchased of the 
 Chickesaw tribe of Indians. I went on to a place called 
 Shoal Creek, about eighty niiles from where I lived, and 
 here again I got sick. I took the ague and fever, which 
 I supposed was brought on by my camping out. I re- 
 mained here for some time, as I was unable to go farther ; 
 and in that time I became so well pleased with the 
 country about there, that I resolved to settle in it. It 
 was just only a little distance in the purchase, and no 
 order had been established there; but I thought I could 
 get along without order as well as anybody else. And 
 so I moved and settled myself down on the head of Shoal 
 Creek.. We remained here some two or three years, 
 without any law at all ; and so many bad characters 
 began to flock in upon us, that we found it necessary to 
 set up a sort of temporary government of our own. I 
 don't mean that we made any president, and called him 
 the "government," but we met and made what we called 
 a corporation ; and I reckon we called it wrong, for it 
 wasn't a bank, and hadn't any deposites; and now they 
 call the bank a corporation. But be this as it may, we 
 lived in the backwoods, and didn't profess to know much, 
 and no doubt used many wrong words. But we met, and 
 appointed magistrates and constables to keep order. We 
 didn't fix any laws for them, though ; for we supposed they 
 would know law enough, whoever they might be ; and 30 
 we left it to themselves to fix the laws. 
 
110 CROCKETT A MAGISTRATE. 
 
 I was appointed one of the magistrates ; and when a 
 man owed a debt, and wouldn't pay it, I and my consta- 
 ble ordered our warrant, and then he would take the 
 man, and bring him before me for trial. I would give 
 judgment against him, and then an order for an execu- 
 tion would easily scare the debt out of him. If any one 
 was charged with marking his neighbor's hogs, or with 
 stealing anything, — which happened pretty often in those 
 days, — I would have him taken, and if there were tole- 
 rable grounds for the charge, I would have him well 
 whipp'd and cleared. We kept this up till our Legislature 
 added us to the white settlements in Giles county, and 
 appointed magistrates by law, to organize matters in the 
 parts where I lived. They appointed nearly every man 
 a magistrate who had belonged to our corporation. I 
 was then, of course, made a squire, according to law; 
 though now the honor rested more heavily on 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 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 huck- 
 leberry over my persimmon. I had a pretty well in- 
 formed constable, however, and he aided me very much 
 in this business. Indeed, I had so much confidence in 
 him, that I told him, when we should happen to be out 
 
SUCCESS AS A MAGISTRATE. Ill 
 
 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 pre- 
 pare my warrants, and keep my record book 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. 
 
CHAPTEH X. 
 
 Captain Matthew's intrigue— Crockett a candidate for military oflBce 
 — Matthew's artful dodge — Detected by Crockett, who defeats 
 him, and is elected Colonel — Crockett a candidate for the Legisla- 
 ture — On the stump — Electioneering — Hunting party— Speech- 
 making tough work — Tells anecdotes — Gains his election — Colonel 
 Polk— The judiciary — Loss of property— Failure — Gives up all to 
 his creditors. 
 
 About the time we were getting under good headway 
 in our new government, a Captain Matthews came to me 
 and told me he was a candidate for the office of colonel 
 of a regiment, and that I musjt run for first major in the 
 same regiment. I objected to this, telling him that I 
 thought I had done my share of fighting, and that I 
 wanted nothing to do with military appointments. 
 
 He still insisted, until at last I agreed, and of course 
 had every reason to calculate on his support in my elec- 
 tion. He was an early settler in that country, and made 
 rather more corn than the rest of us ; and knowing it 
 would afford him a good opportunity to electioneer a 
 little, he made a great corn husking, and a great frolic, 
 and gave a general treat, asking everybody over the 
 whole country. Myself and my family were, of course, 
 invited. When I got there, I found a very large collec- 
 tion of people, and some friend of mine soon informed 
 
 me that the captain's son was going to offer against me 
 (112) 
 
CROCKETT ELECTED COlOXEL. 113 
 
 for the office of major, whicli he had stsemed so anxious 
 for me to get. I cared nothing about the office, but it 
 put my dander up high enough to see, that after he had 
 pressed me so hard to offer, he was countenancing, if not 
 encouraging, a secret plan to beat me. 
 
 I took the old gentleman out, and asked him about it. 
 He told me it was true his son was going to run as a 
 candidate, and that he hated worse to run against me 
 than any man in the county. I told him his son need 
 give himself no uneasiness about that ; that I shouldn't 
 run against liim for major, but against his daddy for 
 colonel. He took me by the hand, and we went into the 
 company. He then made a speech and informed the 
 people that I was his opponent. I mounted up for a 
 speech too. I told the people the cause of my opposing 
 him, remarking that as I had the whole family to run 
 against any way, I was determined to levy on the head 
 of the mess. When the time for election came, his son 
 was opposed by another man for major ; and he and his 
 daddy were both badly beaten. I just now began to take 
 a rise, as in a little time I was asked to offer for th^ 
 Legislature in the counties of Lawrence and Heckman. 
 
 I offered my name in the month of February, ani 
 
 started about the first of March with a drove of horses 
 
 to the lower part of the State of North Carolina. This 
 
 was in the year 1821, and I was gone upwards of three 
 
 months. I returned, and set out electioneering, which 
 
 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 knowed nothing more about than I did about Latin, 
 8 
 
114 CKOCKETT ELECnONEERS. 
 
 and law, and such things as that. I have said before 
 that in those days none of us called General Jackson the 
 government, nor did he seem in as fair a way to become 
 so as I do now ; but I knowed so little about it, that if 
 any one had told me 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. But over 
 all my difficulties, it seems to me I was born for luck, 
 though it would be hard for any one to guess what sort. 
 I will, however, explain that hereafter. 
 
 I went first into Heckman county, to see what I could 
 do among the people as a candidate. 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 knowed 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- 
 committaV* 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 dinner, and a 
 general treat, was all to be paid for by the party having 
 taken the fewest scalps. I joined one side, taking the 
 place of one of the hunters, 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 every thing to eat and drink that 
 could be furnished in so new a country, and much fun 
 and good humor prevailed. But before the regular frolic 
 commenced, I mean the dancing, I was called on to make 
 
TOUGH WORK. 115 
 
 a speech as a candidate ; wliicli was a business I was 
 as ignorant of as an outlandish negro. 
 
 A public document I had never seen, nor did I know 
 there were such things ; and how to begin I couldn't tell. 
 I made many apologies, and tried to get ofi", for I know'd 
 I had a man to run against who could speak prime, and 
 I knoAv'd, too, that I wasn't able to shufSe and cut with 
 him. He was there, and knowing my ignorance as well 
 as I did myself, he also 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 backwoods 
 bear hunter. But I foimd I couldn't get off, and so I de- 
 termined just 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 govern- 
 ment. I tried to speak about something, and I cared 
 very little what, until I choaked 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 would 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 near the road-side, when a traveler, 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 
 
116 TELLS STOEIES. 
 
 if there was any tlien, but if there was lie 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 tlmt I was as dry as a powder-horn, 
 and that I thought it was time for us all to wet our 
 whistles a little ; and so I put ofi" to the liquor stand, 
 and was followed by the greater part of the crowd. 
 
 I felt certain this was necessary, for I knowed 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 sub- 
 ject, and 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. 
 
 Their court commenced on the next Monday, as the 
 barbecue was on a Saturday, and the candidates for 
 Governor and for Congress, as well as my competitor 
 and myself, all attended. 
 
 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 
 
COLONEL POLK. 117 
 
 niece. But as good luck would have it, these big can- 
 didates 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, dou- 
 bling my competitor, and nine votes over. 
 
 A short time after this, I was in 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 ; and in a large com- 
 pany he said to me, " Well, colonel, I suppose we shall 
 have a radical change of the judiciary at the next ses- 
 sion 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 knowed 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 knoT^' 
 how ignorant I was about it. 
 
 When the time for meeting of the Legislature arrived, 
 I went on, and before I had been there long, I could 
 have told what the judiciary was, and what the govern- 
 ment was too ; and many other things that I had known 
 nothing about before. 
 
 * Subsequently President of the United States. 
 
118 FAILURE. 
 
 About tills time I met with a very severe misfortune, 
 Avhicli 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 upwards of three thou- 
 sand 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 — not blown up sky high, as you 
 would guess, by my powder establishment — but swept 
 away all to smash by a large fresh, 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 every- 
 body 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 alreadv. 
 
 And so, you see, I determined not to break full 
 hdnded, but thought it better to keep a good conscience 
 with an empty purse, than to get 9, bad opinion of my- 
 self, with a full one. I therefore ^ave up all I had, and 
 took a bran-fire new start. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Colonel Crockett emigrates again — Difficult journey — ^'Visit to Mr. 
 Owens — Boating — Hunting — PJa^^^'ns' — The Fall's hunt — Periloua 
 winter journey to get a cask of powder — Success. 
 
 Having returned from the Legislature, I determined 
 to make another move, and so I took my eldest son with 
 me, and a young man by the name of Abram Henry, 
 and cut out for the Obion. I selected a spot when I 
 got there, where I determined to settle ; and the nearest 
 house to it was seven miles, the next nearest was fifteen, 
 and so on to twenty. It was a complete wilderness, and 
 full of Indians who were hunting. Game was plenty 
 of almost every kind, which suited me exactly, as I was 
 always fond of hunting. The house which was nearest 
 me, and which, as I have already stated, was seven miles 
 off, and on the different side of the Obion river, belonged 
 to a man by the name of Owens ; and I started to go 
 there. I had taken one horse along, to pack our provi- 
 sion, and when I got to the water I hobbled him out to 
 graze, until I got back ; as there was no boat to cross 
 the river in, and it was so high that it had overflowed all 
 the bottoms and low country near it. 
 
 "\Ye now took water like so many beavers, notwith- 
 standing it was mighty cold, and waded on. The water 
 would sometimes be up to our necks, and at others not 
 
 (IIP) 
 
120 DIFFICULT JOURNEY. 
 
 SO deep ; but I went, of course, before, and carried a 
 pole, with wliicb I would feel along before me, to see 
 how deep it was, and to guard against falling into a 
 slough, as there w^as many in our way. When I would 
 come to one, I would take out my tomahawk and cut a 
 small tree across it, and then go ahead again. Fre- 
 quently my little son would have to swim, even where 
 myself and the young man could wade ; but we worked 
 on till at last we got to tLe channel of the river, which 
 made it about half a mile we had waded from where we 
 took water. I saw a large tree that had fallen into the 
 river from the other side, but it did not reach across. 
 One stood on the same bank where we were, that I 
 thought I could fall, so as to reach the other ; and so at 
 it we went with my tomahawk, cutting away till we got 
 it down ; and, as good luck would have it, it fell right, 
 and made us a way that we could pass. 
 
 When we got over this, it was still a sea of water as 
 far as our eyes could reach. We took into it again, and 
 went ahead, for about a mile, hardly ever seeing a single 
 spot of land, and sometimes very deep. At last we 
 came in sight of land, which was a very pleasing thing ; 
 and when we got out, we went but a little way, before 
 we came in sight of the house, which was more pleasing 
 than ever ; for we were wet all over, and mighty cold. 
 I felt mighty sorry when I would look at my little boy, 
 and see him shaking like he had the worst sort of an 
 ague, for there was no time for fever then. As we got 
 near to the house, wc saw Mr. Owens and several men 
 that were with him, just starting away. They saw us, 
 and stopp'd, but looked much astonished until we got 
 
VISIT TO MR. OWENS. 121 
 
 up to tliem, and I made myself known. The men who 
 were with him were the owners of a boat which was the 
 first that ever went that far up the Obion river ; and 
 some hands he had hired to carry it about a hundred 
 miles still further up, by water, though it was only about 
 thirty by land, as the river is very crooked. 
 
 They all turned back to the house with me, where I 
 found Mrs. Owens, a fine, friendly old woman ; and 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. The old gentleman set out his bottle to us, 
 and I concluded that if a horn wasn't good then, there 
 was no use for its invention. So I swigg'd off about a 
 half a pint, and the young man was by no means bashful 
 in such a case ; he took a strong pull at it too. I then 
 gave my boy some, and in a little time we felt pretty 
 welj. We dried ourselves by the fire, and were asked to 
 go on board the boat that evening. I agreed to do so, 
 but left my son with the old lady, and myself and the 
 young man went to the boat with Mr. Owens and the 
 others. The boat was loaded with whiskey, flour, sugar, 
 coffee, salt, castings, and other articles suitable for the 
 country ; and they were to receive five hundred dollars 
 to land the load at McLemore's Bluff, beside the profit 
 they could make on their load. This was merely to show 
 that boats could get up to that point. We staid all night 
 with them, and had 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. In the morning, we 
 concluded to go on with the boat to where a great harri- 
 cane had crossed the river, and blowed all the timber 
 
122 BOATING. 
 
 down into it. Yt^hen we got there, we found the river 
 was falling fast, and concluded we couldn't get through 
 the timber without more rise ; so we dropp'd down oppo- 
 site Mr. Owens' again where they determined to wait for 
 more water. 
 
 The next day it rained rip-roariously, and the river 
 rose pretty considerable, but not enough yet. And so I 
 got the boatsmen all to go out with me to where I was 
 going to settle, and we slapped up a cabin in little or no 
 time. I got from the boat four barrels of meal, and one 
 of salt, and about ten gallons of whiskey. 
 
 To pay for these, I agreed to go with the boat up the 
 river to their landing place. I got also a large middling 
 of bacon, and killed a fine deer, and left them for my 
 young man and my little boy, who were to stay at my 
 cabin till I got back, which I expected would be in six 
 or seven days. We cut out and moved up to the hurri- 
 cane, where we stopp'd for the night. In the morning, 
 I started about daylight intending to kill a deer, as I had 
 no thought they would get the boat through the timber 
 that day. I had gone but a little way before I killed a 
 fine buck, and started to go back to the boat ; but on the 
 way I came on the tracks of a large gang of elks, and so 
 I took after them. I had followed them only a little 
 distance when I saw them, and directly after I saw two 
 large bucks. I shot one down, and the other wouldn't 
 leave him ; so I loaded my gun and shot him down too. 
 I hung them up, and went ahead again after my elks. I 
 pursued on till after the middle of the day before I saw 
 them again ; but they took the hint bqforc I got in shoot- 
 ing distance, and run off. I still pursued on till late in 
 
HUNTiNa. 128 
 
 the evening, -when I found I was about four miles from 
 where I had left the boat, and as hungry as a wolf, for I 
 nadn't eaten a bite that day. 
 
 I started down the edge of the river low grounds giv- 
 ing out the pursuit of my elks, and hadn't gone hardly 
 any distance at all, before I saw two more bucks, very 
 large fellows too. I took a blizzard at one of them and 
 up he tumbled. The other ran off a few jumps and 
 stopp'd ; and stood there till I loaded again, and fired at 
 him. I knock' d his trotters from under him, and then 
 I hung them both up. I pushed on again, and about sun- 
 set I saw three other bucks. I down'd with one of them 
 and the other two ran off. I hung this one up also, hav- 
 ing now killed six that day. I then pushed on till I got 
 to the harricane, and at the lower edge of it, about where 
 I expected the boat was. Here I hollered as hard as I 
 coulvi roar, but could get no answer. I fired off my gun, 
 and the men on the boat fired one too ; but quite con- 
 trary to my expectation, they had got through the tim- 
 ber, and were about two miles above me. It was now 
 dark, and I had to crawl through the fallen timber the 
 best way I could ; and if the reader don't know it was 
 bad enough, I am sure I do. For the vines and briers 
 had grown all through it, and so thick that a good fat 
 coon coTildn't much more than get along. I got through 
 at last, and went on near to where I had killed my last 
 deer, and once more fired off my gun, which was again 
 answered from the boat which was still a little above me. 
 I moved on as fast as I could, but soon came to water ; 
 and not knowing how deep it was I halted, and hollered 
 till they came to me with a skiff. I now got to the boat, 
 
124 PLANTING. 
 
 without furtlier difficulty ; but tlie briers had worked on 
 me at such a rate that I felt like I wanted sewing up all 
 over. I took a pretty stiff horn, which soon made me 
 feel much better ; but I was so tired that I could hardly 
 work my jaws to eat. 
 
 In the morning, myself and a young man started and 
 brought in the first buck I had killed, and after break- 
 fast we went and brought in the last one. The boat 
 then started, but we again went and got the two I had 
 killed just as I turned down the river in the evening ; 
 and we then pushed on and overtook the boat, leaving 
 the other two hanging in the woods, as we had now as 
 much as we wanted. 
 
 We got up the river very well, but quite slowly, and 
 we landed on the eleventh day at the place the load was 
 delivered at. They here gave me their skiff, and my- 
 self and a young man by the name of Flavins Harris, 
 who had determined to go and live with me, cut out down 
 the river for my cabin, which we reached safely enough. 
 
 We turned in, and cleared a field and planted our 
 corn ; but it was so late in the spring we had no time to 
 make rails, and therefore we put no fence around our 
 field. There was no stock, however, nor anything else 
 to disturb our corn except the wild varments, and the old 
 serpent himself, with a fence to help him, couldn't keep 
 them out. I made corn enough to do me, and during 
 that spring I killed ten bears, and a great abundance of ' 
 deer. But in all this time, we saw the face of no white 
 person in that country, except Mr. Owens' family and a 
 very few passengers, who went out there looking at the 
 country. Indians, though, were still plenty enough. 
 
THE falls' hunt. 125 
 
 Haying laid by my crap, I went home, "wliicli was a dis- 
 tance of about a hundred and fifty miles, and when I got 
 there I was met by an order to attend a call-session of 
 our Legislature. I attended at, and served out my time, 
 and then returned and took my family and what little 
 plunder I had, and moved to where I had built my cabin, 
 and made my crap. 
 
 I gathered my corn, and then set out for my Fall's 
 hunt. This was in the last of October, 1822. I found 
 bear very plenty, and, indeed, all sorts of game and wild 
 varments, except buffalo. There was none of them. 
 I hunted on till Christmas, having supplied my family 
 very well all along with wild meat, at which time my powder 
 gave out ; and I had none either to fire Christmas guns, 
 which is very common in that country, or to hunt with. 
 I had a brother-in-law who had now moved out and set- 
 tled about six miles west of me, on the opposite side of 
 Kutherford's fork of the Obion river, and he had brought 
 me a keg of powder, but I had never gotten it home. 
 There had just been another of Noah's freshes, and the 
 low grounds were flooded all over with water. I know'd 
 the stream was at least a mile wide which I would have 
 to cross, as the water was from hill to hill, and yet I de- 
 termined to go on over in some way or other, so as to 
 get my powder. I told this to my wife, and she imme- 
 diately opposed it with all her might. I still insisted, 
 telling her we had no powder for Christmas, and, worse 
 than all, we were out of meat. She said, we had as well 
 starve as for me to freeze to death or to get drowned, 
 and one or the other was certain if I attempted to go. 
 
 But I didn't believe the half of this ; and so I took 
 
126 PERILOUS WINTER JOURNEY. 
 
 my woolen wrappers, and a pair of moccasins, and put 
 tliem on, and tied up some dry clothes, and a pair of 
 shoes and stockings, and started. But I didn't before 
 know how much anybody could suffer and not die. This, 
 and some of my other experiments in water, learned me 
 something about it, and I therefore relate them. 
 ' The snow was about four inches deep when I started ; 
 and when I got to the water, which was only about a 
 quarter of a mile off, it looked like an ocean. I put in, 
 and waded on till I come to the channel, where I crossed 
 that on a high log. I then took water again, having my 
 gun and all my hunting tools along, and waded till I 
 came to a deep slough, that was wider than the river 
 itself. I had crossed it often on a log ; but behold, when 
 I got there, no log was to be seen. I knowed of an 
 island in the slough, and a sapling stood on it close to 
 the side of that log, which was now entirely under water. 
 I knowed further, that the water was about eight or ten 
 feet deep under the log, and I judged it to be about 
 three feet deep over it. After studying a little what I 
 should do, I determined to cut a forked sapling, which 
 stood near me, so as to lodge it against the one that 
 stood on the island, in which I succeeded very well. I 
 then cut me a pole, and then crawled along on my sap- 
 ling till I got to the one it was lodged against, which 
 was about six feet above the water. I then felt about 
 with my pole till I found the log, which was just about 
 as deep under the water as I had judged. I ' then 
 crawled back and got my gun, which I had left at the 
 stump of the sapling I had cut, and again made my way 
 t'O the place of lodgment, and then climbed down the 
 
NARROW ESCAPE. 127 • 
 
 other sapling so as to get on the log. I then felt my 
 "way along with my feet, in the water, about waist deep, but 
 it was a mighty ticklish business. However, I got over, • 
 and by this time I had very little feeling in my feet and 
 legs, as I had been all the time in the water, except 
 what time I was crossing the high log over the river, and 
 climbing my lodged sapling. ^ 
 
 I went but a short distance before I came to another \ 
 slough, over which there was a log, but it was floating on 
 the water. I thought I could walk it, and so I mounted 
 on it ; but when I had got ahout the middle of the deep 
 water, somehow or somehow else, it turned over, and in 
 I went up to my head. I waded out of this deep water, 
 and went ahead till I came to the highland, where I 
 stopp'd to pull off my wet clothes, and put on the others, 
 which I had held up with my gun, above the water, when 
 I fell in. I got them on, but my flesh had no feeling in 
 it, I was so cold. I tied up the wet ones, and hung 
 them up in a bush. I now thought I would run, so as 
 to warm myself a little, but I couldn't raise a trot for 
 some time ; indeed, I couldn't step more than half the 
 length of my foot. After a while I got better, and went 
 on five miles to the house of my brother-in-law, having 
 not even smelt fire from the time I started. I got there 
 late in the evening, and he was much astonished at see- 
 ing me at such a time. I staid all night, and the next 
 morning was most piercing cold, and so they persuaded 
 me not to go home that day. I agreed, and turned out 
 and killed him two deer ; but the weather still got worse 
 and colder, instead of better. I staid that night, and in 
 the morning they still insisted I couldn't get home,, I 
 
128 COLONEL CROCKETT GETS THE POWDER. 
 
 knowed tlie water would be frozen over, but not hard 
 enough, to bear me, and so I agreed to stay that day. I 
 went out hunting again, and pursued a big he-hear all 
 day, but didn't kill him. The next morning was bitter 
 cold, but I knowed my family was without meat, and I 
 determined to get home to them, or die a-trying. 
 
 I took my keg of powder, and all my hunting tools, 
 and cut out. When I got to the water, it was a sheet 
 of ice as far as I could see. I put on to it, but hadn't 
 got far before it broke through with me ; and so I took 
 out my tomahawk, and broke my way along before me 
 for a considerable distance. At last I got to where the 
 ice would bear me for a short distance, and I mounted 
 on it, and went ahead ; but it soon broke in again, and I 
 had to wade on till I came to my floating log. I found 
 it so tight this time, that I know'd it couldn't give me 
 another fall, as it was frozen in with the ice. I crossed 
 over it without much difiiculty, and worked along till I 
 got to my lodged sapling, and my log under the water. 
 The swiftness of the current prevented the water from 
 freezing over it, and so I had to wade, just as I did when 
 I crossed it before. When I got to my sapling, I left 
 my gun, and climbed out with my powder keg first, and 
 then went back and got my gun. By this time I was 
 nearly frozen to death, but I saw all along before me, 
 where the ice had been fresh broke, and I thought it 
 must be a bear straggling about in the water. I, therefore, 
 fresh primed my gun, and, cold as I was, I was deter- 
 mined to make war on him, if we met. But I followed 
 the trail till it led me home, and I then found it had been 
 
MIGHTY NEAR DEAD. 129 
 
 made by my young man that lived with me, who had 
 been sent by my distressed wife to see, if he could, what 
 had become of me, for they all believed that I was dead. 
 When I got home, I wasn't quite dead, but mighty nigh 
 it ; but had my powder, and that was what I went for.* 
 
 * This incident of the difficult and perilous journey, for the purpose 
 of obtaining a cask of powder, is one of the most remarkable and 
 cliaractcrislic in tlie whole narrative. It exhibits that determined 
 and resolute perseverance which raised Crockett from the humblest 
 station to a position, which attracted the notice and the admiration 
 of the whole country. How important tlie acquisition of this pow- 
 der was, will appear in the sequel. 
 
 9 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 All hands turn out for a hunt — Colonel Crockett goes after Bear* — 
 Kills two wild turkeys — Encounters a very big Bear — Three shots 
 fired — Bear killed — AVeighs 600 lbs — Difficulty in getting him 
 home — Colonel Crockett supplies his family with provisions by 
 hunting. 
 
 That niglit there fell a heavy rain, and it turned to a 
 sleet, In the morning all hands turned out hunting. 
 My young man, and a brother-in-law who had lately set- 
 tled close by me, went down the river to hunt for tur- 
 keys ; but I was for larger game. I told them I had 
 dreamed the night before of having had a hard fight with 
 a big black nigger, and I know'd it was a sign that I 
 was to have a battle with a bear ; for in a bear country, 
 I never know'd such a dream to fail. So I started to 
 go up above the hurricane, determined to have a bear. 
 I had two pretty good dogs, and an old hound, all of 
 which I took along. I had gone about six miles up the 
 river, and it was then about four miles across to the main 
 Obion ; so I determined to strike across to that, as I had 
 found nothing yet to kill. I got on to the river, and 
 turned down it ; but the sleet was still getting worse and 
 worse. The bushes were all bent down and locked to- 
 gether with ice, so that it was almost impossible to get 
 
 along. In a little time my dogs started a large gang of 
 (130) 
 
COLONEL CROCKETT KILLS TURKEYS. 131 
 
 old turkey gobblers, and I killed two of them of the big- 
 gest sort. I shouldered them up, and moved on, until I 
 got through the hurricane, when I was so tired that I 
 laid mj gobblers down to rest, as they were confounded 
 heavy, and I was mighty tired. While I was resting, 
 my old hound went to a log, and smelt it awhile, and 
 then raised his eyes towards the sky, and cried out. 
 Away he went, and my other dogs with him, and I 
 shouldered up my turkeys again, and followed on as hard 
 as I could drive. They were soon out of sight, and in a 
 very little time I heard them begin to bark. When I 
 got to them they were barking up a tree, but there was 
 no game there. I concluded it had been a turkey, and 
 that it had flew away. 
 
 When they saw me coming, away they went again ; 
 and, after a little time, began to bark as before. When 
 I got near them, I found they were barking up the 
 wrong tree again, as there was no game there. They 
 served me in this way three or four times, until I was so 
 infernal mad, that I determined, if I could get near 
 enough, to shoot the old hound at least. With this in- 
 tention, I pushed on the harder, till I came to the edge 
 of an open prairie, and looking on before my dogs, I 
 saw in and about the biggest bear that ever was seen in 
 America. He looked, at the distance he was from me, 
 like a large black bull. My dogs were afraid to attack 
 him, and that was the reason they had stopp'd so often, 
 that I might overtake them. They were now almost up 
 with him, and I took my gobblers from my back and hung 
 them up in a sapling, and broke like a quarter horse 
 after my bear, for the sight of him had put new springs 
 
132 ENCOUNTER WITH A BIG BEAR. 
 
 m me. I soon got near to tliem, but tliey>were just 
 getting into a roaring thicket, and so I couldn't run 
 through it, but had to pick mj way along, and had close 
 work even at that. 
 
 In a little time I saw the bear climbing up a large 
 black oak tree, and I crawled on until I got within about 
 eighty yards of him. He was setting with his breast to 
 me ; and so I put fresh priming in my gun, and fired at 
 liim. At this he raised one of his paws and snorted 
 loudly. I loaded again as quick as I could, and fired as 
 near the same place in his breast as possible. At the 
 crack of my gun here he came tumbling down; and the 
 moment he touched the ground, I heard one of my best 
 dogs cry out. I took my tomahawk in one hand, and 
 my big butcher-knife in the other, and run up within 
 four or five paces of him, at which he let my dog go, and 
 fixed his eyes on me. I got back in all sorts of a hurry, 
 for I knowed if he got hold of me, he would hug me 
 altogether too close for comfort. I went to my gun and 
 hastily loaded her again, and shot him the third time, 
 which killed him good. 
 
 I now began to think about getting him home, but I 
 didn't know how far it was. So I left him and started; 
 and in order to find him again, I would blaze a sapling 
 every little distance, Avhich would show me the way back. 
 I continued this until I got within about a mile of home, 
 for there I knowed very well where I was, and that I 
 could easily find my way back to my blazes. When I 
 got home, I took my brother-in-law, and my 3^oung man, 
 and four horses, and went back. We got there just 
 before dark, and struck up a fire, and commenced butch- 
 
BEAR KILLED. 133 
 
 ering my bear. It was some time in the niglit before 
 we finished it ; and I can assert, on my honor, that I 
 believe he would have weighed six hundred pounds. It 
 was the second largest I ever saw. I killed one, a few 
 years after, that weighed six hundred and seventeen 
 pounds. I now felt fully compensated for my sufferings 
 in going after my powder; and well satisfied that a dog 
 might sometimes be doing a good business, even when he 
 seemed to be havhing up the wrong tree. \Ye got our 
 meat home, and I had the pleasure to know that we now 
 had plenty, and that of the best ; and I continued through 
 the winter to supply my family abundantly with bear- 
 meat and venison from the woods.* 
 
 * The bear appears to have been the Colonel's favorite game. 
 Indeed, with the exception of the deer and the wild turkey, it seems 
 there was no other large game to be found in that part of Tennessee 
 where he was settled. Buffaloes were only to be found farther to the 
 west, and panthers were very rare. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Colonel Croclcett sells Ins peltry — Meets influential politicians at 
 Jackson — Is invited to become a candidate for the Legislature — 
 Declines — Is advertised for the office without his consent — Deter- 
 mines to run — Meets his opponent — His amusing and character- 
 istic description of his manner of electioneering — Two other can- 
 didates proposed — Colonel Crockett is elected — ^Votes against 
 General Jackson for Senator — Colonel Crockett proposed as a 
 candidate for Congress — He is defeated — Proposed again for the 
 next Congress. 
 
 I HAD on hand a great many skins, and so, in the 
 month of February, I packed a horse with them, and 
 taking my eldest son along with me, cut out for a little 
 town called Jackson, situated about forty miles off. We 
 got there well enough, and I sold my skins, and bought 
 me some coffee, and sugar, powder, lead, and salt. I 
 packed them all up in readiness for a start, which I in- 
 tended to make early the next morning. Morning came, 
 but I concluded, before I started, I would go and take a 
 horn with some of my old fellow-soldiers that I had m-et 
 with at Jackson. 
 
 I did so ; and while we were engaged in this, I met 
 with three candidates for the Legislature. A Doctor 
 Butler, who was, by marriage, a nephew to General 
 Jackson, a Major Lynn, and a Mr. ]\tcEver, all first-rate 
 men. We all took a horn together, and some person 
 
 (134) 
 
ELECTIONEERIIfG. 186 
 
 present said to me, " Crockett, you raust offer for the 
 Legislature." I told him 1 lived at least forty miles 
 from any white settlement ; and had no thought of be- 
 coming a candidate at that time. So we all parted, and 
 I and my little boy went on home. 
 
 It was about a week or two after this, that a man came 
 to my house, and told me I was a candidate. I told 
 him not so. But he took out a newspaper from his 
 pocket, and showed me where I was announced. I said 
 to my wife that this was all a burlesque on me, but I 
 was determined to make it cost the man who had put it 
 there at least the value of the printing, and of the fun 
 he wanted at my expense. So I hired a young man to 
 work in my place on my farm, and turned out myself 
 electioneering. I hadn't been out long, before I found 
 the people began to talk very much about the bear hunter, 
 the man from the cane; and the three gentlemen, who I 
 have akeady named, soon found it necessary to enter 
 into an agreement to have a sort of caucus at their 
 March court, to determine which of them was the 
 strongest, and the other two was to withdraw and support 
 him. As the court came on, each one of them spread 
 himself, to secure the nomination; but it fell on Dr. 
 Eutler, and the rest backed out. The doctor was a 
 clever fellow, and I have often said he was the most 
 talented man I ever run against for any office. His being 
 related to General Jackson also helped him on very 
 much ; but I was in for it, and I was determined to push 
 ahead and go through, or stick. Their meeting was held 
 in Madison county, which was the strongest in the repre- 
 sentative district, which was composed of eleven counties, 
 
136 ELECTIONEERING. 
 
 ^nd the J seemed bent on having the member from 
 there. 
 
 At this time Colonel Alexander was a candidate for 
 Congress, and attending one of his public meetings one 
 day, I walked to where he was treating the people, and 
 he gave me an introduction to several of his acquaint- 
 ances, and informed them that I was out electioneering. 
 In a little time my competitor, Doctor Butler, came 
 along ; he passed by without noticing me, and I supposed, 
 he did not recognize me. But I hailed him, as I was for 
 all sorts of fun ; and when he turned to me, I said to 
 him, " Well, doctor, I suppose they have weighed you 
 out to me ; but I should like to know why they fixed 
 your election for March instead of August? This is," 
 said I, " a branfire new way of doing business, if a caucus 
 is to make a representative for the people!" He now 
 discovered who I was, and cried out, " D — n it, Crockett, 
 is that you?" "Be sure it is," said I, "but I don't 
 want it understood that I have come electioneering. I 
 have just crept out of the cane, to see what discoveries I 
 could make among the white folks." I told him that 
 when I set out electioneering, I would go prepared to 
 put every man on as good a footing when I left him as 
 I found him on. I would therefore have me a large 
 buckskin hunting-shirt made, with a couple of pockets 
 holding about a peck each ; and that in one I would carry 
 a great big twist of tobacco, and in the other my bottle 
 of liquor ; for I knowed when I met a man and offered 
 him a dram, he would throw out his quid of tobacco to 
 take one, and after he had taken his horn, I would out 
 Tyith my twist, and give him another chew. And in this 
 
CROCKETT ELECTED. 1ST 
 
 ■way he would not be worse off than when I found him ; 
 and I would be sure to leave him in a first-rate good 
 humor. He said I could beat him electioneering all 
 hollow. I told him I would give him better evidence of 
 that before August, notwithstanding he had many advan- 
 tages over me, and particularly in the way of money : 
 but I told him I would go on the products of the country ; 
 that I had industrious children, and the best of coon- 
 dogs ; and they would hunt every night till midnight to 
 support my election ; and when the coon fur wasn't good, 
 I would myself go a wolfing, and shoot down a wolf, and 
 skin his head, and his scalp would be good to me for 
 three dollars, in our State Treasury money ; and in this 
 way I would get along on the big string. He stood like 
 he was both amused and astonished, and the whole crowd 
 was in a roar of laughter. From this place I returned 
 home, leaving the people in a first-rate way, and I was 
 sure I would do a good business among them. At any 
 rate, I was determined to stand up to my lick-log, salt or 
 no salt. 
 
 In a short time there came out two other candidates, 
 a Mr. Shaw and a Mr. Brown. We all ran the race 
 through ; and when the election was over, it turned out 
 that I beat them all by a majority of two hundred and 
 forty-seven votes, and was again returned as a member 
 of the Legislature from a new region of the country, 
 without losing a session. This reminded me of the old 
 saw — "A fool for luck, and a poor man for children." 
 
 I now served two years in that body from my new dis- 
 trict, whicn was the years 1823 and 1824. At the ses- 
 
138 CROCKETT VOTES AGAINST JACKSON. 
 
 sion of 1823, I had a small trial of my independence, 
 and whether I would forsake principle for party, or for 
 the purpose of following after big men. 
 
 The term of Col. John Williams had expired, who was 
 a senator in Congress from the State of Tennessee. He 
 was a candidate for another election, and was opposed by 
 Pleasant M. Miller, Esq., who it was believed, would not 
 be able to beat the Colonel. Some two or three others 
 were spoken of, but it was at last concluded that the 
 only man who could beat him was General Jackson. So, 
 a few days before the election was to come on, he was 
 sent for to come and run for the senate. He was then 
 in nomination for the presidency ; but sure enough he 
 came, and did run as the opponent of Colonel Williams, 
 and beat him too, but not by my vote. The vote was, 
 for Jackson, tliirty-five ; for Williams, twenty-jive. I 
 thought the Colonel had honestly discharged his duty, 
 and even the mighty name of Jackson couldn't make me 
 vote against him. 
 
 But voting against the old chief was found a mighty 
 up-hill business to all of them except myself. I never 
 would, nor never did, acknowledge I had voted wrong ; 
 and I am more certain now that I was right than ever. 
 
 I told the people it was the best vote I ever gave ; that 
 I had supported the public interest, and cleared my con- 
 science in giving it, instead of gratifying the private 
 ambition of a man. 
 
 I let the people know as early as then, that I wouldn't 
 take a collar around my neck. 
 
 During these two sessions of the Legislature, nothing 
 
CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS. 139 
 
 else turned up wliicli I think it wortli wliile to mention ; 
 andj indeed, I am fearful that I am too particular about 
 many small matters ; but if so, my apology is, that I 
 ■want the world to understand my true history, and how 
 I worked along to rise from the cane-brake to my present 
 station in life. 
 
 Col. Alexander was the representative in Congress of 
 the district I lived in, and his vote on the tariff law of 
 1824 gave a mighty heap of dissatisfaction to his people. 
 They therefore began to talk pretty strong of running 
 me for Congress against him. At last I was called on 
 by a good many to be a candidate. I told the people 
 that I couldn't stand that; it was a step above my 
 knowledge, and I know'd nothing about Congress 
 matters. 
 
 However, I was obliged to agree to run, and myself 
 and two other gentlemen came out. But Providence 
 was a little against two of us this hunt, for it was the 
 year that cotton brought twenty-five dollars a hundred ; 
 and so Colonel Alexander would get up and tell the peo- 
 ple, it was all the good effect of this tariff law ; that it 
 had raised the price of their cotton, and that it would 
 raise the price of every thing else they made to sell. I 
 might as well have sung ijsalms over a dead horse, as to 
 try to make the people believe otherwise ; for they know'd 
 their cotton had raised, sure enough, and if the colonel 
 hadn't done it, they didn't know what had. So he rather 
 made a mash of me this time, as he beat me exactly two 
 votes, as they counted the polls, though I have always 
 believed that many other things had been as fairly done 
 as that same count. 
 
140 CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS AGAIN. 
 
 He went on, and served out his term, and at tlie end 
 of it cotton was down to six or eight dollars a hundred 
 again ; and I concluded I would try him once more, and 
 see how it would go with cotton at the common price, 
 and so I became a candidate.* 
 
 * It is cei'tainly a very curious phase of Araerican and especially 
 of western character, wliich is exhibited in the ease and promptness 
 with wliich the colonel pusses from one act of the singular drama of 
 his life to another. Yesterday, a rough bear-hunter, to-day, a mem- 
 ber of the legislature ; to-morrow about to become a member of Con- 
 gress, and the fearless opponent of his old commander, General Jack- 
 son. Such sudden and successfid advances in life are scarcely seen 
 except in our own country,' where perfect freedom opens a boundless 
 field to enterprise and perseverance. 
 
CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 Colonel Crockett engap^es in a LumlDcr Speculation — Boat Building 
 — Bear Hunting — The Grubber — More Bear Hunting — Bear at- 
 tacked in a cane brake — Bear attacked in a hollow tree — Three 
 Bears killed — Cutting up the Bears and salting them. 
 
 But the reader, I expect, would have no ohjection to 
 know a little about my employment during the two years 
 while my competitor was in Congress. In this space I 
 had some pretty tough times, and will relate some few 
 things that happened to me. So here goes, as the boy 
 said when he run by himself. 
 
 In the fall of 1825, I concluded I would build two 
 large boats, and load them with pipe staves for market. 
 So I went down to the lake, which was about twenty-five 
 miles from where I lived, and hired some hands to assist 
 me, and went to work ; some at boat building, and others 
 to getting staves. I worked on with my hands till the 
 bears got fat, and then I turned out to hunting, to lay in 
 a supply of meat. I soon killed and salted doAvn as 
 many as was necessary for my family ; but about this 
 time, one of my old neighbors who had settled down on 
 the lake about twenty-five miles from me, came to my 
 house and told me he wanted me to go down and kill 
 some bears about in iiis parts. He said they were ex- 
 tremely fat, and very plenty. I knowed that when they 
 
 cm) 
 
142 BEAR HUNTING. 
 
 were fat they were easily taken, for a fat bear can't 
 run fast or long. But I asked a bear no favors, no way, 
 further than civility, for I now had eight large dogs, and 
 as fierce as painters, so that a bear stood no chance at 
 all to get away from them. So I went home with him 
 and then went on down towards the Mississippi and com- 
 menced hunting. 
 
 We were out two weeks, and in that time killed fifteen 
 bears. Having now supplied my friend with plenty of 
 meat, I engaged occasionally again with my hands in our 
 boat building, and getting staves. But I at length 
 couldn't stand it any longer without another hunt. So 
 I concluded to take my little son and cross over the 
 lake, and take a hunt there. We got over, and that 
 evening turned out and killed three bears in little or no 
 time. The next morning we drove up four forks, and 
 made a sort of scaffold, on which we salted up our meat, 
 so as to have it out of the reach of the wolves, for as 
 soon as we would leave our camp, they would take pos- 
 session. We had just eat our breakfast, when a com- 
 pany of hunters came to our camp who had fourteen 
 dogs, but all so poor, that when they would bark they 
 would almost have to lean up against a tree and take a 
 rest. I told them their dogs couldn't run in smell of a 
 bear, and they had better stay at my camp and feed them 
 on the bones I had cut out of my meat. I left them 
 there and cut out ; but I hadn't gone far, when my dogs 
 took a first rate start after a very large fat old he-bear, 
 which run right plump towards my camp. I pursued on, 
 but my other hunters had heard my dogs coming, and 
 met them and killed the bear before I got up with him. 
 
BEAR HUNTINa. 148 
 
 I gave him to them, and cut out again for a creek called 
 Big Clover, which wasn't very far off. Just as I got 
 there, and was entering a cane brake, my dogs all broke 
 and went ahead, and in a little time they raised a fuss in 
 the cane, and seemed to be going every way. I lis- 
 tened a while, and found my dogs was in two companies, 
 and that both was in a snorting fight. I sent my little 
 son to one and I broke for t'other. I got to mine first, 
 and found my dogs had a two-year-old bear down a-wool- 
 ing away on him, so I just took out my big butcher, and 
 went up and slapp'd it into him, and killed him without 
 shooting. There was five of the dogs in my company. 
 In a short time I heard my little son fire at his bear ; 
 when I went to him he had killed it too. He had two 
 dogs in his team. Just at this moment we heard my 
 other dog barking a short distance off, and all the rest 
 immediately broke to him. We pushed on too, and when 
 we got there, we found that he had still a larger bear 
 than either of them we had killed, treed by himself. We 
 killed that one also, which made three we had killed in 
 less than half an hour. We turned in and butchered 
 them, and then started to hunt for water and a good 
 place to camp. But we had no sooner started, than our 
 dogs took a start after another onp, and away they went 
 like a thundergust and was out of hearing in a minute. 
 We followed the way they had gone for some time, but 
 at length we gave up the hope of finding them, and 
 turned back. As we were going back, I came to where 
 a poor fellow was grubbing, and he looked like the very 
 picture of hard times. I asked him what he was doing 
 away there in the woods by himself ? He said he was 
 
144 CROCKETT PATRONIZES A GRUBBER. 
 
 grubbing for a man who intended to settle there ; and 
 tne reason wlij he did it was, tliat he had no meat for 
 his family, and he was Tvorking for a little. 
 
 I was mighty sorry for the poor fellow, for it was not 
 only a hard but a very slow way to get meat for a hun- 
 gry family ; so I told him if he would go with me, I 
 w^ould give him more meat than he could get by grubbing 
 in a month. I intended to supply him with meat, and 
 also to get him to assist my little boy in packing and 
 salting up my bears. He had never seen a bear killed 
 in his life. I told him I had six killed then, and my 
 dogs were hard after another. He went off to his little 
 cabin, which was, a short distance in the brush, and his 
 wife Avas very anxious he should go with me. So we 
 started and went to where I had left my three bears, and 
 made a camp. We then gathered my meat, and salted 
 and scaffold it, as I had done the other. Night now 
 came on, but no word from my dogs yet. I afterwards 
 found they had treed the bear about five miles off, near 
 to a man's house, and had barked at it the whole endu- 
 ring night. Poor fellows ! many a time they looked for 
 me, and wondered why I didn't come, for they know'd 
 there was no mistake in me, and I know'd they were as 
 good as ever fluttered. In the morning, as soon as it 
 was light enough to see, the man took his gun and went 
 to them, and shot the bear and killed it. My dogs, how- 
 ever, wouldn't have anything to say to this stranger ; so 
 they left him, and caaie early in the morning back to 
 me. 
 
 Wo got our breakfiist and cut out again, and we killed 
 four large and very fat bears that day. We hunted out 
 
MORE BEAR HUNTING. 145 
 
 the week, and in that time we killed seventeen, all of 
 them first rate. When we closed onr hunt, I gave the 
 man over a thousand weight of fine, fat bear-meat, which 
 pleased him mightily, and made him feel as rich as a 
 Jew. I saw him the next fall, and he told me he had 
 plenty of meat to do him the whole year from his week's 
 hunt. My son and me now went home. This was the 
 v>'eek between Christmas and New Year, that we made 
 this hunt. 
 
 -^ When I got home, one of my neighbors was out of 
 meat, and wanted me to go back, and let him go with 
 me, to take another hunt. I couldn't refuse ; but I told 
 him I was afraid the bear had taken to house by that 
 time, for after they get very fat in the fall and early 
 part of the winter, they go into their holes, in large 
 hollow trees, or into hollow logs, or their cane-houses, 
 or the harricanes ; and lie there till spring, like frozen 
 snakes. And one thing about this will seem mighty 
 strange to many people. From about the first of Janu- 
 ary to about the last of April, these varments lie in 
 their holes altogether. In all that time they have no 
 food to eat ; and yet when they come out, they are not 
 an ounce lighter than when they went to house. I don't 
 know the cause of this, and still I know it is a fact ; 
 and I leave it for others who have more learning than 
 myself to account for it. They have not a particle of 
 food with them, but they just lie and suck the bottom 
 of their paw all the time. I have killed many of them 
 in their trees, which enables me to speak positively on 
 this subject. However, my neighbor, whose name was 
 McDaniel, and my little son and me, went on down to 
 10 
 
146 BEAR IN A CANE BRAKE. 
 
 tlie lake to my second camp, where I had killed my 
 .seventeen bears the week before, and turned out to 
 hunting. But we hunted hard all day without getting 
 a single start. We had carried but little provisions 
 with us, and the next morning was entirely out of meat. 
 I sent my son about three miles off, to the house of an 
 old friend, to get some. The old gentleman was much 
 pleased to hear I was hunting in those parts, for the 
 year before the bears had killed a great many of his 
 hogs. He was that day killing his bacon hogs, and so 
 he gave my son some meat, and sent word to me that I 
 must come in to his house that evening, that he would 
 have plenty of feed for my dogs, and some accommoda- 
 tions for ourselves ; but before my son got back, we had 
 gone out hunting, and in a large cane brake my dogs 
 found a big bear in a cane-house, which he had fixed for 
 his winter-quarters, as they sometimes do. 
 
 When my lead dog found him, and raised the yell, all 
 the rest broke to him, but none of them entered his 
 house until we got up. I encouraged my dogs, and they 
 knowed me so well, that I could have made them seize 
 the old serpent himself, with all his horns and .heads, 
 and cloven foot and ugliness into the bargain, if he would 
 only have come to light, so that they could have seen 
 him. They bulged in, and in an instant the bear fol- 
 lowed them out, and I told my friend to shoot him, as 
 he Avas mighty wrathy to kill a bear. He did so, and 
 killed him prime. We carried him to our camp, by 
 which time my son had returned ; and after we got our 
 dinners we packed up, and cut for the house of my old 
 friend, whose name was Davidson. 
 
BEAR IX A HOLLOW TREE. 147 
 
 We got tliere, and staid with him that night ; and tlio 
 next morning, having salted up our meat, we left it with 
 him, and started to take a hunt between the Obion lake 
 and^ the J^jed^-^^e-olTlake ; as there had been a dreadful 
 liarricane, which passed between them, and I was sure 
 there must be a heap of bears in the fallen timber. We 
 had gone about five miles without seeing any sign at all : 
 but at length we got on some high cany ridges, and, as 
 we rode along, I saw a hole in a hiro;e black oak, and 
 on examining more closely, I discovered that a bear had 
 clomb the tree. I could see his tracks going up, but 
 none coming down, and so I was sure he was in there. 
 A person who is acquainted with bear-hunting, can tell 
 easy enough when the varment is in the hollow ;' for as 
 they go up they don't slip a bit, but as they come down 
 they make long scratches with their nails. 
 
 My friend was a little ahead of me, but I called him 
 back, and told him there was a bear in that tree, and I 
 must have him out. So we lit from our horses, and I 
 found a small tree which I thought I could fall so as to 
 lodge against my bear tree, and we fell to w^ork chop- 
 ping it with our tomahawks. I intended, when we 
 lodged the tree against the other, to let my little son go 
 up, and look into the hole, for he could climb like a 
 squirrel. We had chopp'd on a little time and stopp'd 
 to rest, when I heard my dogs barking mighty severe 
 at some distance from us, and I told my friend I knowed 
 they had a bear ; for it is the nature of a dog, when he 
 finds you are hunting bears, to hunt for nothing else ; 
 he becomes fond of the meat, and considers other game 
 
148 THIRD BEAR KILLED. 
 
 as "not wortli a notice/' as old Jolmson said of tlie 
 devil. 
 
 We concluded to leave our tree a bit, and went to my 
 dogs, and wlien we got there, sure enough they had an 
 eternal great big fat bear up a tree, just ready for 
 shooting. My friend again petitioned me for liberty to 
 shoot this one also. I had a little rather not, as the 
 bear was so big, but I couldn't refuse ; an^ so he blazed 
 away, and down came the old fellow like some great log 
 had fell. I now missed one of my dogs, the same that 
 I before spoke of as having treed the bear by himself 
 sometime before, when I had started the three in the 
 cane brake. I told my friend that my missing dog had 
 a bear somewhere, just as sure as fate ; so I left them 
 to butcher the one we had just killed, and I went up on 
 a piece of high ground to listen for my dog. I heard 
 him barking with all his might some distance off, and I 
 pushed ahead for him. My other dogs hearing him 
 broke to him, and when I got there, sure enough again 
 he had another bear ready treed ; if he hadn't, I wish 
 I may be shot. I fired on him, and brought him down ; 
 and then went back, and help'd finish butchering the 
 one at which I had left my friend. We then packed 
 both to our tree where we had left my boy. By this 
 time, the little fellow had cut the tree down that we in- 
 tended to lodge, but it fell the wrong way ; he had then 
 feather' d in on the big tree, to cut that, and had found 
 that it was nothing but a shell on the outside, and all 
 doted in the middle, as too many of our big men are in 
 these days, having only an outside appearance. My 
 friend and my son cut away on it, and I went ofi* about 
 
CUTTING UP THE BEARS. 149 
 
 a hundred yards with my dogs to keep them from run- 
 nine; under the tree when it shouhl fjilL " On lookino; 
 back at the hole, I saw the bear's head out of it, look- 
 ing down at them as they were cutting. I hollered to 
 them to look up, and they did so ; and McDaniel catched 
 up his gun, but by this time the bear was out, and com- 
 ing down the tree. He fired at it, and as soon as it 
 touched the ground the dogs were all round it, and they 
 had a roll-and-tumble fight to the foot of the hill, where 
 they stopp'd him. I ran up, and putting my gun 
 against the bear, fired and killed him. We had now 
 three, and so we made our scafibld and salted them up.'^ 
 
 * One cannot help admiring the ease and nonchalance with which 
 the colonel disposes of his bears as they present themselves, one after 
 another. Ordinarily a bear fight is a pretty serious aflPair ; but Col- 
 onel Crockett makes nothing of killing several in a day. 
 
CIIxVPTER XV. 
 
 More bear hunting — Shooting a bear — Crockett benighted in the 
 woods — Night encounter with a bear — Crockett nearly frozen to 
 death — Dreadful earthquake — Ten bears killed during this hunt. 
 
 In the morning I left my son at tiie camp, and we 
 
 started on towards the harricane ; and when we had 
 
 Avent about a mile, we started a very large bear, but we 
 
 got along mighty slow on account of the cracks in the 
 
 earth occasioned by the earthquakes. We, however, 
 
 made out to keep in hearing of the dogs for about three 
 
 miles, and then we come to the harricane. Here we had 
 
 to quit our horses, as old Nick himself couldn't have 
 
 got through it without sneaking it along in the form that 
 
 he put on, to make a fool of our old grandmother Eve. 
 
 By this time several of my dogs had got tired and come 
 
 back ; but we went ahead on foot for some little time in 
 
 the harricane, when we met a bear coming straight to 
 
 us, and not more than twenty or thirty yards off. I 
 
 started my tired dogs after him, and McDaniel pursued 
 
 them, and I went on to where my other dogs were. I 
 
 had seen the track of the bear they were after, and 1 
 
 knowed he was a screamer. I followed on to about the 
 
 middle of the harricane, but my dogs pursued him so 
 
 close, that they made him climb ^ an old stump about 
 
 twenty feet high. I got in shooting distance of him 
 ' (150) 
 
SHOOTING A BEAR. 151 
 
 and fired, but I was all over in such a flutter from fatigue 
 and running, that I couldn't hold steady; but, however, 
 I broke his shoulder, and he fell. I run up and loaded 
 my gun as quick as possible, and shot him again and 
 killed him. When I went to take out my knife to 
 butcher him, I found I had lost it in coming through the 
 harricane. The vines and briers was so thick that I 
 would sometimes have to get down and crawl like a var- 
 ment to get through at all; and a vine had, as I sup- 
 posed, caught in the handle and pulled it out. While I 
 was standing and studying what to do, my friend came 
 to me. He had followed my trail through the harricane, 
 and had found my knife, which was mighty good news 
 to me ; as a hunter hates the worst in the world to lose 
 a good dog, or any part of his hunting tools. I now 
 left McDaniel to butcher the bear, and I went after our 
 horses, and brought them as near as the nature of the 
 case would allow. I then took our bags, and went back- 
 to where he was ; and when we had skinned the bear, 
 we fleeced off the fat and carried it to our horses at 
 several loads. We then packed it up on our horses, and 
 had a heavy pack of it on each one. We now started 
 and went on till about sunset, when I concluded we must 
 be near our camp ; so I hollered and my son answered 
 me, and we moved on in the direction to the camp. We 
 had gone but a little way when I heard my dogs make 
 a warm start again ; and I jumped down from my horse 
 and gave him up to my friend, and told him I would 
 follow them. He went on to the camp, and I went 
 ahead after my dogs with all my might for a consider- 
 able distance, till at last night came on. The woods 
 
152 BENIGHTED I]^ THE WOOBS. 
 
 "were very rough and liillj, and all covered over witli 
 cane. 
 
 I now was compelled to move on more slowly; and 
 was frequently falling over logs, and into the cracks 
 made by the earthquakes, so that I was very much afraid 
 I would break my gun. However, I went on about three 
 miles, when I came to a good big creek,' which I waded. 
 It was very cold, and the creek was about knee-deep ; 
 but I felt no great inconvenience from it just then, as I 
 was all over wet with sweat from running, and I felt hot 
 enough. After I got over this creek and out of the 
 cane, which was very thick on all our creeks, I listened 
 for my dogs. I found they had either treed or brought 
 the bear to a stop, as they continued barking in the same 
 place. I pushed on as near in the direction of the noise 
 as I could, till I fomid the hill was too steep for me to 
 climb, and so I backed and went down the "creek some 
 distance, till I came to a hollow, and then took up that, 
 till I came to a place where I could climb up the hill. 
 It was mighty dark, and was difficult to see my way, or 
 anything else. When I got up the hill, I found I had 
 passed the dogs ; and so I turned and went to them. I 
 found, when I got there, they had treed the bear in a 
 large forked poplar, and it was setting in the fork. 
 
 I could see the lump, but not plain enough to shoot 
 with any certainty, as there was no moonlight; and so I 
 set in to hunting for some dry brush to make me a light; 
 but I could find none, though I could find that the ground 
 was torn mightily to pieces by the cracks. 
 
 At last I thought I could shoot by guess, and kill 
 him ; so I pointed as near the lump as I could, and fired 
 
NIGHT FIGHT WITH A BEAR. 153 
 
 away. But tlie bear didn't come, lie only dumb up 
 higher, and got out on a limb, which helped me to see 
 him better. I now loaded up again and fired, but this 
 time he didn't move at all. I commenced loading for a 
 third fire, but the first thing I knowed, the bear was 
 down among my dogs, and they Avere fighting all around 
 me. I had my big butcher in my belt, and I had 
 a pair of dressed buckskin breeches on. So I took out 
 my knife, and stood, determined, if he should get hold 
 of me, to defend myself in the best way I could. I 
 stood there for some time, and could now and then see a 
 white dog I had, but the rest of them, and the bear, 
 which were dark colored, I couldn't see at all, it was so 
 miserable dark. They still fought around me, and some- 
 times within three feet of me ; but, at last, the bear got 
 down into one of the cracks that the earthquakes had 
 made in the ground, about four feet deep, and I could 
 tell the biting end of him by the hollering of my dogs. 
 So I took my gun and pushed the muzzle of it about, till 
 I thought I had it against the main part of his body, and 
 fired; but it happened to be only the fleshy part of his 
 foreleg. With this he jumped out of the crack, and he 
 and the dogs had another hard fight around me, as be- 
 fore. At last, however, they forced him back into the 
 crack again, as he was when I had shot. 
 
 I had laid down my gun in the dark, and I now began 
 to hunt for it; and, while hunting, I got hold of a pole, 
 and I concluded I would punch him awhile with that. 1 
 did so, and when I would punch him, the dogs would 
 jump in on him, when he would bite them badly, and 
 they would jump out again. I concluded, as he would 
 
154 CROCKETT NEARLY FROZEN. 
 
 take puncliing so patiently, it might be that he would 
 lie still enough for me to get down in the crack, and 
 feel slowly along till I could find the right place to give 
 him a dig with my butcher. So I got down, and my 
 dogs got in before him and kept his head towards them, 
 till I got along easily up to him ; and placing my hand 
 on his rump, felt for his shoulder, just behind which I 
 intended to stick him. I made a lunge with my long 
 knife, and fortunately stuck him right through the heart, 
 at which he just sank down, and I crawled out in a 
 hurry. In a little time my dogs all come out too, and 
 seemed satisfied, w^hich was the way they always had of 
 telling me that they had finished him. 
 
 I suffered very much that night with cold, as my 
 leather breeches, and everything else I had on, was wet 
 and frozen. But I managed to get my bear out of this 
 crack after several hard trials, and so I butchered him 
 and laid down to try to sleep. But my fire was very bad, 
 and I couldn't find anything that would burn well to 
 make it any better; and so I concluded I should freeze, 
 if I didn't warm myself in some way by exercise. So I 
 got up and hollered awhile, and then I would just jump 
 up and down with all my might, and throw myself into 
 all sorts of motions. But all this wouldn't do; for my 
 blood was now getting cold, and the chills coming all 
 over me. I was so tired, too, that I could hardly walk; 
 but I thought I would do the best I could to save my 
 life, and then, if I died, nobody would be to blame. So 
 I went to a tree about two feet through, and not a limb 
 on it for thirty feet, and I would climb up to the limbs, 
 
AN EARTHQUAKE. 155 
 
 and tlicn lock my arms together around it, and slide 
 down to the bottom again. This would make the insides 
 of my legs and arms feel mighty warm and good. I 
 continued this till daylight in the morning, and how often 
 I dumb up my tree and slid down I don't know, but I 
 reckon at least a hundred times. 
 
 In the morning I got my bear hung up so as to be 
 safe, and then set out to hunt for my camp. I found it 
 after awhile, and McDaniel and my son were very much 
 rejoiced to see me get back, for they were about to give 
 me up for lost. We got our breakfasts, and then secured 
 our meat by building a high scaffold, and covering it 
 over. We had no fear of its spoiling, for the weather 
 was so cold that it couldn't. 
 
 We now started after my other bear, which had caused 
 me so much trouble and suffering; and before we got 
 him, we got a start after another, and took him also. 
 We went on to the creek I had crossed the night before, 
 and camped, and then went to where my bear was that 
 I had killed in the crack. When we examined the place, 
 McDaniel said he wouldn't have gone into it, as I did, 
 for all the bears in the woods. 
 
 We then took the meat down to our camp and salted 
 it, and also the last one we had killed; intending in the 
 morning, to make a hunt in the harricane again. 
 
 We prepared for resting that night, and I can assure 
 the reader I was in need of it. We had laid down by 
 our fire, and about ten o'clock there came a most terri- 
 ble earthquake, which shook the earth so, that we were 
 rocked about like we had been in a cradle. We were 
 
156 TENTH BEAR KILLED. 
 
 very mucli alarmed; for tliougli we were accustomed to 
 feel earthquakes, we were now right in the region which 
 had been torn to pieces by them in 1812, and we thought 
 it might take a notion and swallow us up, like the big fish 
 did Jonah. 
 
 In the morning we packed up and moved to the harri- 
 cane, where we made another camp, and turned out that 
 evening and killed a very large bear, which made eight 
 we had now killed in this hunt. 
 
 The next morning we entered the harricane again^ 
 and in a little, or no time my dogs were in full cry. We 
 pursued them, and soon came to a thick cane-brake, in 
 which they had stopp'd their bear. We got up close to 
 him, as the cane was so thick that we couldn't see more 
 than a few feet. Here I made my friend hold the cane 
 a little open with his gun till I shot the bear, which was 
 a mighty large one. I killed him dead in his tracks. 
 We got him out and butchered him, and in a little time 
 started another and killed him, which now made ten we 
 had killed ; and we knowed we couldn't pack any more 
 home, as we had only five horses along ; therefore we 
 returned to the camp and salted up all our meat, to be 
 ready for a start homeward next morning. 
 
 The morning came, and we packed our horses with the 
 meat, and had as much as they could possibly carry, and 
 sure enough cut out for home. It was about thirty 
 miles, and we reached home the second day. I had now 
 accommodated my neighbor with meat enough to do him, 
 and had killed in all, up to that time, fifty-eight bears, 
 during the fall and winter. 
 
 As soon as the time come for them to quit their houses 
 
ONE HUNDRED A^^D FIVE BEARS KILLED. 157 
 
 and come out again in the spring, I took a notion to 
 hunt a little more, and in about one month I killed 
 forty-seven more, which made one hundred and five 
 bears which I had killed in less than one year from 
 that time.* 
 
 ^ These boar hunts of the Colonel euth-ely surpass anything on re- 
 cord. Mr. Gordon Cmnming's record of his fights with lions, ele- 
 phants, girafifes, hippopotamuses, and African buffaloes, is full of ex 
 citement and interest ; but in real peril and adventure, they by no 
 means surpass Colonel Crockett's bear fights. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Colonel Crockett attends to bis lumber speculations — Goes down the 
 ]Mi^sis?ippi with his lumber — Ditficnlt navig-ation — Boats swamped 
 — Narrow escape of the Colonel from drowning — Result of the 
 speculation a total loss. 
 
 Having now closed my Imnting for that Avinter, I re- 
 tui'ned to mv hands, who were engaged about my boats 
 and staves, and made ready for a trip down the river. 
 I had two boats and about thirty thousand staves, and 
 so I loaded with them, and set out for New Orleans. I got 
 out of the Obion river, in which I had loaded my boats, very 
 well ; but when I got into the Mississippi, I found all my 
 hands were bad scared, and in fact I believe I was scared 
 a little the worst of any ; for I had never been doAvn the 
 river, and I soon discovered that my pilot was as igno- 
 rant of the business as myself. I hadn't gone far before 
 I determined to lash the two boats together ; we did so, 
 but it made them so heavy and obstinate, that it was 
 next akin to impossible to do an^^thing at all with them, 
 or to guide them right in the river. 
 
 That evening we fell in company with some Ohio 
 
 boats ; and about night we tried to land, but we could 
 
 not. The Ohio men hollered to us to go on and run all 
 
 night. We took their advice, though we had a good 
 
 (158) 
 
a'HE devil's elbow. 159 
 
 deal rather not ; but -we couldn't do any otlier Tray. In 
 a sliort distance ^\e got into ^vliat is called tlie " DeviVs 
 Elbow ;'' and if any place in the wide creation has its 
 own proper name, I thought it was this. Here we had 
 about the hardest work that I ever was engaged in, in 
 my life, to keep out of danger ; and even then we Avcre 
 in it all the while. We twice attempted to land at 
 Wood-yards, which we could see but couldn't reach. 
 
 The people would run out with lights, and try to in- 
 struct us how to get to shore; but all. in vain. Our 
 boats were so heavy that we couldn't take them much 
 any way, except the way they wanted to go, and just 
 the way the current would carry them. At last we quit 
 trying to land, and concluded just to go ahead as well 
 as we could, for we found we couldn't do an}^ better. 
 Some time in the night I was down in the cabin of one 
 of the boats, sitting by the fire, thinking on what a hob- 
 ble we had got into ; and how much better bear-hunting 
 was on hard land, than floating along on the water, when 
 a fellow had to go ahead whether he was exactly willing 
 or not. 
 
 The hatchway into the cabin came slap down, right 
 through the top of the boat ; and it was the only way out 
 except a small hole in the side, which we had used for 
 putting our arms through to dip up water before we 
 lashed the boats together. 
 
 We Avere now floating sideways, and the boat I was 
 in was the hindmost as we went. All at once I heard 
 the hands begin to run over the top of the boat in great 
 confusion, and pull with all their might ; and the first 
 thing I know'd after this we went broadside full tilt 
 
160 NARROW ESCAPE FROM DROWNING. 
 
 against tlie head of an island wliere a large raft of drift 
 timber had lodged. The nature of such a place would 
 be, as everybody knows, to suck the boats down, and turn 
 them right under this raft ; and the uppermost boat would, 
 of course, be suck'd down and go under first. As soon 
 as we struck, I bulged for my hatchway, as the boat w^as 
 turning under sure enough. But when I got to it, the 
 water w^as pouring through in a current as large as the 
 hole would let it, and as strong as the weight of the 
 river would force it. I found I couldn't get out here, 
 for the boat was now turned down in such a way, that it 
 was steeper than a house-top. I now thought of the 
 hole in the side, and made my way in a hurry for that. 
 With difficulty I got to it, and when I got there, I foulid 
 it was too small for me to get out by my own power, and 
 I began to think that I was in a worse box than ever. 
 But I put my arms through and hollered as loud as I 
 could roar, as the boat I was in hadn't yet quite filled 
 with water up to my head, and the hands who were next 
 to the raft, seeing my arms out, and hearing me holler, 
 seized th'. i, and began to pull. I told them I was sink- 
 ing, and to pull my arms off, or force me through, for 
 now I know'd well enough it was neck or nothing, come 
 out or sink. 
 
 By a violent effort they jerked me through ; but I was 
 in a pretty pickle when I got through. I had been 
 sitting without any clothing over my shirt ; this was torn 
 off, and I was literally skin'd like a rabl)it. I was, how- 
 ever, well pleased to get out in any way, even without 
 shirt or hide ; as before I could straighten myself on the 
 boat next to the raft, the one they pull'd me out of went 
 
MEETS WITH A FRIEND. 161 
 
 entirely under, and I have never seen it any more to tliis 
 day. We all escaped on to the raft, where we were com- 
 pelled to sit all night about a mile from land on either 
 side. Four of my company were bareheaded, and three 
 barefooted ; and of that number I was one. I reckon I 
 looked like a pretty cracklin ever to get to Congress ! ! ! 
 
 We had now lost all our loading ; and every particle 
 of our clothing, except what little we had on ; but over 
 all this, while I was setting there, in the night, floating 
 about on the drift, I felt happier and better off than I 
 had ever had in my life before, for I had just made such 
 a marvellous escape, that I had forgot almost every thing 
 else in that ; and so I felt prime. 
 
 In the morning about sunrise, we saw a boat coming 
 down, and we hailed her. They sent a large skiff, and 
 took us all on board, and carried us down as far as 
 Memphis. Here I met with a friend, that I never can 
 forget as long as I am able to go ahead at anything ; it 
 was a Major Winchester, a merchant of that place : he let 
 us all have hats, and shoes, and some little money to go 
 upon, and so we all parted. 
 
 A young man and myself concluded to go on down to 
 Natchez, to see if we could hear anything of our boats ; 
 for we supposed they would float out from the raft, and 
 keep on down the river. We got on a boat at Memphis, 
 that was going down, and so cut out. Our largest boat, 
 we were informed, had been seen about fifty miles below 
 where we stove, and an attempt had been made to land 
 her, but without success, as she was as hard headed as 
 ever. 
 
 This was the last of my boat5, and of my boating ; for 
 
162 CROCKETT RETURNS HOME. 
 
 it went so badly with me, along at the first, that I had 
 not much mind to try it any more. I now returned 
 home again, and as the next August was the Congressional 
 election, I began to turn my attention a little to that 
 matter, as it was beginning to be talked of a good deal 
 among the people.* 
 
 * Every thing of the speculative or business sort seems to have 
 turned out badly with the Colonel. 'He had no talent for that sort 
 of thing. His real forte in the way of exertion, was war and bear- 
 hunting. Politics was rather an amusement ; and yet on the whole 
 he was successful in this line. His stump speeches, made off hand, 
 pleased the people more than the elaborate performances of highly 
 educated orators, and his course in Congress gained him the respect 
 of the first statesmen of his time, as we shall see in the sequel of hia 
 narrative. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Colonel Crockett enters on a new canvass for Congress — A friend 
 supplies " the Sinews of war" — Electioneering — A Stump speech — 
 Incident of the Guinea-fowls turned to a good account — Crockett 
 elected — Serves in Congress during Adams' administration — Re- 
 elected to Congress — Yotes against the Indian bill — Political per- 
 secution — Crockett proposed for Congress again — Defeated— 
 Crockett's district Gerrymandered to keep him out of Congress — 
 He is elected. 
 
 I HAVE, heretofore, informed the reader that I had de- 
 termined to run this race to see what effect the pi'iee of 
 cotton would have again on it. I now had Colonel Alex- 
 ander to run against once more, and also General William 
 Arnold. 
 
 I had difficulties enough to fight against this time, as 
 every one will suppose ; for I had no money, and a very 
 bad prospect, so far as I know'd, of getting any to help 
 me along. I had, however, a good friend, who sent for 
 me to come and see him. I went, and he was good 
 enough to offer me some money to help me out. I bor- 
 rowed as much as I thought I needed at the start, and 
 went ahead. My friend also had a good deal of business 
 about over the district at the different courts ; and if he 
 now and then slipp'd in a good word for me, it is no- 
 body's business. We frequently met at different places, 
 and, as he thought I needed, he would occasionally hand 
 
 (163) 
 
164 ELECTED TO CONGRESS. 
 
 me a little more cash ; so I was able to buy a little of 
 " the creature^'' to put my friends in a good hmnor, as 
 well as the other gentlemen, for they all treat in that 
 country ; not to get elected, of course — for that would be 
 against the law ; but just, as I before said, to make them- 
 selves and their friends feel their keeping a little. 
 
 ISTobody ever did know how I got money to get along 
 on, till after the election was over, and I had beat my 
 competitors twenty-seven hundred and forty-eight votes. 
 Even the price of cotton couldn't save my friend Aleck 
 this time. My rich friend, who had been so good to me 
 in the way of money, now sent for me, and loaned me a 
 hundred dollars, and told me to go ahead; that that 
 amount would bear my expenses to Congress, and I must 
 then shift for myself. I came on to Washington, and 
 draw'd two hundred and fifty dollars, and purchased with 
 it a check on the bank at Nashville, and enclosed it to 
 my friend ; and I may say, in truth, I sent this money 
 with a mighty good will, for I reckon nobody in this 
 world loves a friend better than me, or remembers a 
 kindness longer. 
 
 I have now given the close of the election, but I 
 havG skipp'd entirely over the canvass, of which I will 
 say a very few things in this place ; as I know very well 
 how to tell the truth, but not much about placing them 
 in book order, so as to please critics. 
 
 Col. Alexander was a very clever fellow, and principal 
 surveyor at that time ; so much for one of the men I had 
 to run against. My other competitor was a major-gene- 
 ral in the militia, and an attorney-general at the law, 
 and quite a smart, clever man also ; and so it will be seen 
 
A STUMP SPEECH. 165 
 
 I had war work as well as law trick to stand up under. 
 Taking both together, they make a pretty considerable 
 of a load for any one man to carry. But for war claims, 
 I consider myself behind no man except "the govern- 
 ment," and mighty little, if any, behind him; but this 
 the people will have to determine hereafter, as I reckon 
 it won't do to quit the work of " reform and retrench- 
 ment" yet for a spell. 
 
 But my two competitors seemed some little afraid of 
 the influence of each other, but not to think me in their 
 way at all. They, therefore, were generally working 
 against each other, while I was going ahead for myself, 
 and mixing among the people in the best way I could. 
 I was as cunning as a little red fox, and wouldn't risk 
 my tail in a " committal trap." 
 
 I found the sign was good, almost every where I went. 
 On one occasion, while we were in the eastern counties 
 of the district, it happened that we all had to make a 
 speech, and it fell on me to make the first one. I did 
 so after my manner, and it turned pretty much on the 
 old saying, " A short horse is soon curried," as I spoke 
 not very long. Colonel Alexander followed me, and 
 then General Arnold come on. 
 
 The general took much pains to reply to Alexander, 
 but didn't so much as let on that there was any such 
 candidate as myself at all. He had been speaking for a 
 considerable time, when a large flock of guinea-fowls 
 came very near to where he was, and set up the most 
 unmerciful chattering that ever was heard, for they are 
 a noisy little brute any way. They so confused the 
 general, that he made a stop, and requested that they 
 
166 THE GUINEA FOWLS. 
 
 might be driven away. I let him finish his speenh, and 
 then walking up to him, said aloud, " Well, colonel, you 
 are the first man I ever saw that understood the language 
 of fowls." I told him that he had not had the politeness to 
 name me in his speech, and that when my little friends, the 
 guinea-fowls, had come up and began to holler, " Crock- 
 ett, Crockett, Crockett," he had been ungenerous enough 
 to stop, and drive tliem all away. This raised a univer- 
 sal shout among the people for me, and the general 
 seemed mighty bad plagued. But he got more plagued 
 than this at the polls in August, as I have stated before. 
 This election was in 1827, and I can say, on my con- 
 science, that I was without disguise, the friend and sup- 
 porter of General Jackson, upon his principles as he had 
 laid them down, and as '^ I imderstood them," before his 
 election as President. During my two first sessions in 
 Congress, Mr. Adams was president, and I worked along 
 with what was called the Jackson party pretty well. I 
 was re-elected to Congress in 1829, by an overwhelming 
 majority ; and soon after the commencement of this sec- 
 ond term, I saw, or thought I did, that it was expected 
 of me that I would bow to the name of Andrew Jackson, 
 and follow him in all his motions, and windings, and turn- 
 ings, even at the expense of my conscience and judg- 
 ment. Such a thing was new to me, and a total stran- 
 ger to my principles. I know'd well enough, though, 
 that if I didn't "hurra" for his name, the hue and cry 
 was to be raised against me, and I was to be sacrificed, 
 if possible. His famous, or rather I should say his in- 
 famous, Indian bill was brought forward, and I opposed 
 it from the purest motives in the worfd. Several of my 
 
POLITICAL PERSECUTIOX. 1G7 
 
 colleagues got around me, and told me liow well thej 
 loved me, and that I was ruining myself. They said 
 this was a favorite measure of the president, and I ought 
 to go for it. I told them I believed it was a wicked, 
 unjust measure, and that I should go against it, let the 
 cost to myself be what it might ; that I was willing to 
 go with General Jackson in everything that I believed 
 was honest and right ; but, further than this, I wouldn't 
 go for him, or any other man in the whole creation ; that 
 I would sooner be honestly and politically d — nd, than 
 hypocritically immortalized. I had been elected by a 
 majority of three thousand five hundred and eighty-five 
 votes, and I believed they were honest men, and wouldn't 
 want me to vote for any unjust notion, to please Jack- 
 son or any one else ; at any rate, I was of age, and de- 
 termined to trust them. I voted against this Indian bill, 
 and my conscience yet tells me that 1 gave a good hon- 
 est vote, and one that I believe will not make me 
 ashamed in the day of judgment. I served out my term, 
 and though many amusing things happened, I am not 
 disposed to swell my narrative by inserting them. 
 
 When it closed, and I returned home, I found the 
 storm had raised against me sure enough ; and it was 
 echoed from side to side, and from end to end of my dis- 
 trict, that I had turned against Jackson. This was con- 
 sidered the unpardonable sin. I was hunted down like 
 a wild varment, and in this hunt every little newspaper 
 in the district, and every little pin-hook lawyer was en- 
 gaged. Indeed, they were ready to print anything and 
 everything that the ingenuity of man could invent against 
 me. Each editor was furnished with the journals of 
 
168 CROCKETT DEFEATED. 
 
 Congress from head-quarters ; and hunted out every vote 
 I had missed in four sessions, whether from sickness or 
 not, no matter : and each one was charged against me at 
 eight dollars. In all I had missed about seventy votes, 
 which they made amount to five hundred and sixty dol- 
 lars ; and they contended that I had swindled the gov- 
 ernment out of this sum, as I received my pay, as other 
 members do. I was now again a candidate in 1830, 
 while all the attempts were making against me ; and 
 every one of these little papers kept up a constant war 
 on me, fighting with every scurrilous report they could 
 catch. 
 
 Over all I should have been elected, if it hadn't been 
 that but a few w^eks before the election, the little four- 
 pence-ha'-penny limbs of the law fell on a plan to defeat 
 me, which had the desired effect. They agreed to spread 
 out over the district, and make appointments for me to 
 speak almost everywhere to clear up the Jackson ques- 
 tion. They would give me no notice of these appoint- 
 ments, and the people would meet in great crowds to 
 hear what excuse Crockett had to make for quitting 
 Jackson. 
 
 But instead of Crockett's being there, this small-fry 
 of lawyers would be there, with their saddle-bags full of 
 the little newspapers and their journals of Congress, and 
 would get up and speak, and read their scurrilous attacks 
 on me, and would then tell the people that I was afraid 
 to attend ; and in this way would turn many against me. 
 All this intrigue was kept a profound secret from me, 
 till it was too late to counteract it ; and when the elec- 
 tion came, I had a majority in seventeen counties, put- 
 
Crockett's district gerrymandered. 169 
 
 ting all their votes together, but the eighteenth beat me ; 
 and so I was left out of Congress during those two years. 
 The people of my district were^ induced, by these tricks, 
 to take a stay on me for that time ; but they have since 
 found out that they were imposed on, and on re-consid- 
 ering my case, have reversed that decision, which, as the 
 Dutchman said, "is as fair a ding as eber was." 
 
 AYhen I last declared myself a candidate, I knew that 
 the district would be divided by the Legislature before 
 the election would come on ; and I moreover knew, that 
 from the geographical situation of the country, the 
 county of Madison, which was very strong, and which 
 was the county that had given the majority that had 
 beat me in the former race, should be left off from my 
 district. 
 
 But when the Legislature met, as I had been informed, 
 and I have no doubt of the fact, Mr. Fitzgerald, my com- 
 petitor, went up and informed his friends in that body, 
 that if Madison county was left off, he wouldn't run ; for 
 " that Crockett could beat Jackson himself in those 
 parts, in any way they could fix it." 
 
 The liberal Legislature you know, of course, gave him 
 that county ; and it is too clear to admit of dispute, that 
 it was done to make a mash of me. In order to make 
 my district in this way, they had to form the southern 
 district of a string of counties around three sides of mine, 
 or very nearly so. Had my old district been properly 
 divided, it would have made two nice ones in convenient 
 nice form. But as it is, they are certainly the most un- 
 reasonably laid off of any in the State, or perhaps in the 
 nation, or even in the tetotal creation. 
 
170 CROCKETT ELECTED. 
 
 However, when the election came on, the people of the 
 district and of Madison county among the rest, seemed 
 disposed to prove to Mr. Fitzgerald and the Jackson Le- 
 gislature, that they were not to be transferred like hogs, 
 and horses, and cattle in the market ; and they deter- 
 mined that I shouldn't be broke down, though I had to 
 carry Jackson, and the enemies of the bank, and the 
 legislative works all at once. I had Mr. Fitzgerald, it 
 is true, for my open competitor, but he was helped along 
 by all his little lawyers again, headed by old Black Hawk, as 
 he is sometimes called, (alias) Adam Huntsman, with all 
 his talents for writing " Chronicles,'' and such like fool- 
 ish stuff. 
 
 But one good thing was, and I must record it, the pa- 
 pers in the district were now beginning to say " fair play 
 a little," and they would publish on both sides the ques- 
 tion. The contest was a warm one, and the battle well 
 fought ; but I gained the day, and the Jackson horse was 
 left a little behind. When the polls were compared, it 
 turned out I had beat Fitz just two hundred and two 
 votes, having made a mash of all their intrigues. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Colonel Crockett commences his tour to the Northern States — Enter- 
 tained at Barnum's Hotel in Baltimore — Passage to Philadelphia 
 — Crockett's Toast — Grand Reception at Philadelphia — Arrival 
 at United States Hotel — Crockett's Speech — Walk round the 
 Quaker City at night — Visited by distinguished citizens — Visit to 
 the Water Works, the Mint, and the Asylum for the Insane — 
 Crockett's Speech at the Exchange — Great Applause — Goes to the 
 Walnut Street Theatre — Crockett presented with a Watch-Seal, 
 and Rifle — Visits tlie Navy Yard — Takes a ride with Colonel Ree- 
 side — Takes a supper with Mr. Dorrance, and makes a call on Col- 
 onel Saint. 
 
 During the session of this Congress, I thought I 
 would take a travel through the Northern States. I had 
 braved the lonely forests of the West, I had shouldered 
 the warrior's rifle in the far South ; but the North and 
 East I had never seen. I seemed to like members of 
 Congress who came from these parts, and wished to know 
 what kind of constituents they had. These considera- 
 tions, in addition to my physician's advice to travel a 
 little for my health, induced me to leave Washington on 
 the 25th day of April, 1834, and steer for the North. 
 
 I arrived the same evening at Barnum's Hotel, in Bal- 
 timore. Uncle Davy, as he is often called, was right 
 glad to see me, perhaps, because we were namesakes ; or 
 
 may-be he always likes to see folks patronize his house. 
 
 (171) 
 
172 CROCKETT TRAVELS NORTH. 
 
 He has a pleasant face, any how, and his acts don't belie 
 it. No one need look for better quarters ; if they do, it 
 ■will be because they don't know when they are satis- 
 fied. 
 
 Shortly after I arrived, I was called upon and asked 
 to eat supper with a number of gentlemen. I went and 
 passed the evening pleasantly with my friend Wilkes and 
 others. 
 
 Early next morning, I started for Philadelphia, a 
 place where I had never been. I sort of felt lonesome 
 as I went down to the steamboat. The idea of going 
 among a new people, where there are tens of thousands 
 who would pass me by without knowing or caring who I 
 was, who are all taken up with their own pleasures or 
 their own business, made me feel small ; and, indeed, if 
 any one who reads this book has a grand idea of his own 
 importance, let him go to a big city, and he will find that 
 he is not higher valued than a coon-skin. 
 
 The steamboat was the Carroll of Carrollton, a fine 
 craft, with the rum old commodore Chaytor for head 
 man. A good fellow he is — all sorts of a man— bowing 
 and scraping to the ladies, nodding to the gentlemen, 
 cursing the crew, and his right eye broad-cast upon the 
 *' opposition line," all at the same time. "Let go!" 
 said the old one, and ofi" we walked in prime style. 
 
 We immediately came past Fort McHenry, justly cel- 
 ebrated for its gallant defence under Armistead, Stew- 
 art, Nicholson, Newcomb, and others, during the last 
 war ; and shortly after we passed North Point, where 
 the British landed to make, what they never dared, an 
 attack on Baltimore. 
 
chockett's toast. 173 
 
 Our passage down the Chesapeake bay was very plea- 
 sant ; and in a very short run we came to the place 
 where we were to get on board of the railroad cars. 
 
 This was a clean new sight to me ; about a dozen big 
 stages hung on to one machine, and to start up hill. 
 After a good deal of fuss, we all got seated and moved 
 slowly off, the engine wheezing as if she had the tizzick. 
 By-and-by she began to take short breaths, and away we 
 went with a blue streak after us. The whole distance is 
 seventeen miles, and it was run in fifty-five minutes. 
 
 "While I was whizzing along, I burst out a laughing. 
 One of the passengers asked me what it was at. " Why,** 
 says I, ''it's no wonder the fellow's horses run off." A 
 Carolina wagoner had just crossed the rail-road, from 
 Charleston to Augusta, when the engine hove in sight 
 with the cars attached. It was growing dark, and the 
 sparks were flying in all directions. His horses ran off, 
 broke his wagon, and smashed his combustibles into 
 items. He run to a house for help, and when they 'asked 
 him what scared his horses, he said he did not jist know, 
 but it must be hell in harness. 
 
 At Delaware City, I again embarked on board of a 
 splendid steamboat, which ran to Philadelphia. 
 
 When dinner was ready, I set down with the rest of 
 the passengers ; among them was the Rev. 0. B. Brown 
 of the Post Ofiice Department, who sat near me. During 
 dinner, the parson called for a bottle of wine, and calle-d 
 on me for a toast. Not knowing whether he intended to 
 compliment me, or abash me among so many strangers, 
 or have some fun at my expense, I concluded to go 
 ahead, and give him and his likes a blizzard. So our 
 
174 KECEPTION AT PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 glasses being filled, the word went round, " a toast from 
 Colonel Crockett." I gave it as follows: " Here's wish- 
 ing the bones of tyrant kings may answer in hell, in 
 place of gridirons, to roast the souls of Tories on." At 
 this the parson appeared as if he was stump't. I said, 
 *' Never heed; it was meant for where it belonged." 
 He did not repeat his invitation, and I eat my dinner 
 quietly. 
 
 After dinner I went up on the deck, and saw the captain 
 hoisting three flags. Says I, ''What does that mean?" 
 He replied, that he was under promise to the citizens of 
 Philadelphia, if I was on board, to hoist his flags, as a 
 friend of mine had said he expected I would be along 
 soon. 
 
 We went on till we came in sight of the city ; and as 
 we advanced towards the wharf, I saw the whole face of 
 the earth covered with people, all anxiously looking on 
 towards the boat. The captain and myself were stand- 
 ing on the bow-deck ; he pointed his finger at me, and 
 people slung their hats, and huzzaed for Colonel 
 Crockett. It struck me with astonishment, to hear a 
 strange people huzzaing for me, and made me feel sort 
 of queer. It took me so uncommon unexpected, as I 
 had no idea of attracting attention. But I had to meet 
 it, and so I stepped on to the wharf, where the folks 
 came crowding around me, saying, " Give me the hand 
 of an honest man." I did not know what all this meant : 
 but some gentleman took hold of me, and pressing 
 through the crowd, put me into an elegant barouche, 
 drawn by four fine horses ; they then told me to 
 bow to the people : I did so, and with much difficulty 
 
CROCKETT'S SPEECH. 175 
 
 Tve moved off. The streets were crowded to a great dis- 
 tance, and the windows full of people, looking out I sup- 
 posed, to see the wild man. I thought I had rather be 
 in the wilderness with mj gun and dogs, than to be at- 
 tracting all that fuss. I had never seen the like before, 
 and did not know exactly what to say or do. After 
 some time we reached the United States Hotel in Ches- 
 nut Street. 
 
 The crowd had followed me, filling up the street, and 
 pressing into the house to shake hands. I was con- 
 ducted up stairs, and walked out on a platform, drew off 
 my hat, and bowed round to the people. They cried 
 out from all quarters, "A speech, a speech, Colonel 
 Crockett." 
 
 After the noise had quit, so I could be heard, I said 
 to them the following words : 
 
 " Gentlemen op Philadelphia : — My visit to your 
 city is rather accidental. I had no expectation of at- 
 tracting any uncommon attention. I am traveling for 
 my health, without the least wish of exciting the people 
 in such times of high political feeling. I do not wish to 
 encourage it. I am unable at this time to find language 
 suitable to return my gratitude to the citizens of Phila- 
 delphia. However, I am almost induced to believe it 
 flattery — perhaps a burlesque. This is new to me, yet 1 
 see nothing but friendship in your faces ; and if your 
 curiosity is to hear the backwoodsman, I will assure you 
 I am illy prepared to address this most enlightened peo- 
 ple. However, gentlemen, if this is a curiosity to you, 
 if you will meet me to-morrow, at one o'clock, I will en- 
 
176 VISITS THE WATER WORKS. 
 
 aeavor to address you in my plain manner.'* So I 
 made my obeisance to them, and retired into the house. 
 
 After night, when I could walk out unknown, I went 
 up street or down, I don't know which, but took good 
 care not to turn any corners, for fear I might get lost. 
 I soon found that the streets were laid off square. This I 
 thought was queer enough for a Quaker city, for they don't 
 generally come up square to nothing ; even their coats 
 have a kind of slope, at least so they have cut Mister 
 Penn's coat in the capitol. This may be wrong, too, for 
 I was told that when the man who made him, first 
 knocked off "the kivers" of the house where he worked 
 at him, he had cut out Mister Penn with a regular built 
 continental cocked hat on ; and it was so much laughed 
 at, to see such a hat on a Quaker, that as soon as Con- 
 gress rose, he cut off his head, and worked on a new one, 
 with a rale sloped broad brim. Which is the honest 
 George Fox hat, I leave for Philadelphia lawyers and 
 persons to decide. 
 
 AYhen I went to my room, and got to bed, I could not 
 sleep, thinking over all that passed, and my promise 
 also to speak the next day ; but at last I composed my- 
 self with the reflection that I had got through many a 
 scrape before, so I thought I'd trust again to good luck. 
 
 Next morning I had the honor of being called on by 
 some old friends whom I knew at Washington — Judge 
 Baldwin, Judge Hemphill, John Sergeant, and others, 
 and I took it right kind in them to do so. 
 
 Early after breakfast I was taken to the Water-works, 
 where I saw several of the gentlenien managers. This 
 is a grand sight, and no wonder the Philadelphians ask 
 
THE MINT. 177 
 
 everyone that comes, "Have you seen the Water-works?" 
 Just think of a few wheels throwing up more water than 
 five hundred thousand people can use : yes, and waste, 
 too ; for such scrubbing of steps, and even the very 
 pavements under your feet, I never saw. Indeed, I 
 looked close to see if the house-maids had not web-feet, 
 they walked so well in water ; and as for a fire, it has 
 no chance at all; they just screw on a long hollow 
 leather with a brass nose on it, dash up stairs, and seem 
 to draw on Noah's flood. 
 
 The next place I visited was the Mint. Here I saw 
 them coining gold and silver in abundance, and they 
 were the rale " e pluribus unum ;" not this electioneering 
 trash, that they sent out to cheat the poor people, telling 
 them they would all be paid in gold and silver, when the 
 poor deceived creatures had nothing coming to them. A 
 chip with a spit on the back of it, is as good currency 
 as an eagle, provided you can't get the image of the 
 bird. It's all nonsense. The President, both cabinets 
 and Congress to boot, can't enact poor men into rich. 
 Hard knocks, and plenty of them, can only build up a 
 fellow's self. 
 
 I asked if the workmen never stole any of the coin. 
 They said not : they got used to it. Well, I thought 
 that was what my parson would call heterodox doctrine ; 
 that the longer a man was in temptation, the more he 
 would not sin. But I let it pass, for I had heard that 
 they had got ''new lights" in this city, and, of course, 
 new and genuine doctrines — so that the Bible-doxy 
 stood no chance. I could not help, barring the doctrine, 
 giving these honest men great credit ; especially when 
 12 
 
178 mSANE ASYLUM. 
 
 I recollected an old sanctimoniouslyfied fellow, wlio made 
 nis negroes whistle while they were picking cherries, for 
 fear thej should eat some. 
 
 From the Mint I was taken to the Asylum for insane 
 persons, went through different apartments, saw men 
 and women, some quite distracted, others not so bad. 
 This was a very unpleasant sight. I am not able, nor 
 do I wish I was able, to describe it. I felt monstrous 
 solemn, and could not help thanking God I was not one 
 of them ; and I felt grateful in their stead to that city 
 for caring for those who could not take care of them- 
 selves, and feeding them that heeded not the hand and 
 heart that provided for them. 
 
 On returning to the hotel, the hour had nearly arrived 
 when I was to visit the Exchange. I asked Colonel 
 Dorrance, the landlord, to go with me. He is a very 
 clever man, and made me feel quite at home in his house. 
 Whoever goes there once, will go back again. So he 
 agreed, and off we started. 
 
 I had made set speeches in Congress, and especially 
 on my Tennessee land bill, when all my colleagues were 
 against me ; I had made stump speeches at home, in the 
 face of all the little office yelpers who were opposed to 
 me ; but, indeed, when I got within sight of the Ex- 
 change, and saw the strsets crowded, I most wished to 
 take back my promise ; but I was brought up by hearing 
 a youngster say, as I passed by, " Go ahead, Davy 
 Crockett." I said to myself, " I have faced the energy; 
 these are friends. I have fronted the savage red man 
 of the forest ; these are civilized. I'll keep cool, and 
 let them have it." 
 
SPEECH AT THE EXCHANGE. 179 
 
 I was conducted to the house of a Mr. Neil ; where I 
 met several gentlemen, and took some refreshment, not 
 passing by a little Dutch courage. Of the latter there 
 was plenty ; and I observed the man of the house, when 
 he asked me to drink, he didn't stand by to see what T 
 took, but turned away, and told me to help myself. 
 That's what I call genteel. 
 
 Arrived at the Exchange, I crowded through, went 
 up to the second floor, and walked out on the porch, 
 drew oj0f my hat, and made my bow ; speaking was out 
 of the question, the huzzas for Crockett were so loud 
 and so long. 
 
 The time had come when my promise must be kept. 
 There must have been more than five thousand people, 
 and they were still gathering from all parts. I spoke 
 for about half an hour. 
 
 Three times three cheers closed the concern, and I 
 came down to the door, where it appeared as if all the 
 world had a desire to shake hands with me. I stood on 
 the door-step, and, as Major Jack Downing said, shook 
 hands as hard as I could spring for near an hour. After 
 this I returned to the hotel, and remained until night, 
 when I was asked to visit the theatre in Walnut street. 
 The landlord, Dorrance, and others, were to go with me, 
 to see Jim Crow. While we were talking about it, one 
 of them said he could go all over the world '' To crow 
 juicy." Some laughed very hearty, and others did not. 
 I was among the latter, for I considered it a dry joke, 
 although there was something /zm*??/ in it. Some of them 
 said it was Latin ; and that proved to me the reason 
 why I did not laugh — I was tired of the "old Roman." 
 
180 GOES TO THE THEATRE. 
 
 But these PhiladelpMans are eternally cutting up jokes 
 on words ; so I puts a conundrum to them ; and says I, 
 ^' Can you tell me why the sacking of Jerusalem was 
 like a cider-mill?" Well, they all were stumped, and 
 gave it up. ^'Because it made the Jews fly." Seeing 
 them so much pleased with this, says I, " Why is a cow 
 like a razor-grinder?" No one could answer. "Well," 
 ss^yo I, ^' I thought you could find that out, for I don't 
 know myself." 
 
 We started for the theatre, and found a very full 
 house, and Jim a playing for the dear life. Jim makes 
 as good a nigger as if he was clean black, except the 
 bandy legs. 
 
 Everybody seemed pleased, particularly when I 
 laughed ; they appeared to act as if I knew exactly when 
 to laugh, and then they all followed. 
 
 What a pity it is that these theatres are not contrived 
 that everybody could go ; but the fact is, backwoodsman 
 as I am, I have heard some things in them that was a 
 leetle too tough for good women and modest men ; and 
 that's a great pity, because there are thousands of scenes 
 of real life that might be exhibited, both for amusement 
 and edification, without offending. Folks pretend to 
 say that high people don't mind these things. Well, it 
 may be that they are better acquainted with vice than 
 we plain folks ; but I am yet to live and see a woman 
 polished out of the natural feelings, or too high not to 
 do things that ain't quite reputable in those of low 
 degree. 
 
 Their fiddling was pretty good,, considering every 
 fellow played his own piece ; and I would have known 
 
PRESENTS FROM FRIENDS. 181 
 
 more about it, if tliey had played a tune, but it was all 
 twee-wee-tadlum-tadlum-tum-tum, tadle-leedle-tadle-lee- 
 dle-lee. The "Twenty-second of February," or the 
 " Cuckoo's Nest," would have been a treat. 
 
 I do not think, however, from all I saw, that the 
 people enjoyed themselves better than we do at a country 
 frolic, where we dance till daylight, and pay off the 
 score by giving one in our turn. It would do you good 
 to see our boys and girls dancing. None of your strad- 
 ling, mincing, sadying; but a regular sifter, cut-the- 
 buckle, chicken-flutter set-to. It is good wholesome ex- 
 ercise ; and when one of our boys puts his arm round his 
 partner, it is a good hug, and no harm in it. 
 
 Next morning I was waited on by some gentlemen, 
 who presented me with a seal for my watch-chain, which 
 cost forty dollars. I told them I always accepted a 
 present, as a testimony of friendship. The engraving on 
 the stone represents the great match race, two horses in 
 full speed, and over them the words '' Go ahead." It is 
 the finest seal I ever saw ; and when I returned to Wash- 
 ington, the members almost used it up, making copies to 
 send all over the country. 
 
 I was hardly done making my bow to these gentlemen, 
 before Mr. James M. Sanderson informed me that the 
 young whigs of Philadelphia had a desire to present me 
 with a fine rifle, and had chosen him to have her made 
 agreeable to my wishes. I told him that was an article 
 that I knew somewhat about, and gave him the size, 
 weight, &c. 
 
 You can't imagine how I was crowded to get through 
 every thing. Colonel Pulaski called to take me in his 
 
182 VISIT TO THE NAVY YARD. 
 
 carriage to the Naval Hospital, where thej stow away 
 the old sailors on dry land, and a splendid building it is ; 
 all made of marble. I did not like the situation : but I 
 suppose it was the best they could get, with so much 
 ground to it. 
 
 From there we went to the Navy Yard, and examined 
 the largest ship ever made in the United States. She 
 was what they called ^' in the stocks." 
 
 I then surveyed the artillery, and the balance of the 
 shipping, not forgetting to pay my respects to the officers 
 of the yard, and then returned home with the colonel, 
 where I was kindly treated, both in eating and drinking ; 
 and so ended another day. 
 
 The next morning the land admiral. Colonel Keeside, 
 asked me to call on him and take a ride. I did so ; and 
 he carried me out to the rail-road and Schuylkill bridge. 
 I found that the rail-road was finished near a hundi-ed 
 miles into the interior of the State, and is only one out 
 of many ; and yet they make no fuss about it. 
 
 We drove in past the Girard school — that old man 
 that gave so many millions to Philadelphia, and cut out 
 his kin with a crumb. Well, thinks I, blood is thicker 
 than water, and t-he remembrance of friends better than a 
 big name. I'd have made them all rich, and give away the 
 balance. But, maybe, French people don't think like me. 
 
 This being my last night in Philadelphia, Dorrance 
 gave me what they call a "pick knick" supper; which 
 means as much as me and all my company could eat and 
 drink, and nothing to pay. 
 
 I had forgot to say that I had spent part of the even- 
 ing before this with Colonel Saint. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Colonel Crockett starts for Xew York— The passage — Grand recep- 
 tion — Committee of young whigs invite him to go to the American 
 Hotel — Goes to the Park Tlieatre — Sees Fanny Kemble — His 
 opinion of that actress — The colonel goes to a fire— Makes a speech 
 at the Exchange— Goes to Peale's Museum and the City Hall — 
 Dines with Col. Draper — Invited to a supper by the Young Whigs 
 — Has a ride with Col. Jackson— Visits the five Points — His 
 opinion of the strange sights there — Introduced to Albert Gallatin 
 — Preparations for building the Astor House— Celebration at the 
 Battery — General Morton — Gideon Lee— Castle Garden — Goes to 
 the Bowery Theatre— Colonel Mapes — Grant Thorburn — Rifle 
 Shooting— The Colonel gives a Specimen. 
 
 Next morning, Wednesday the 29th, I was invited by 
 Captain Jenkins, of the steamboat New Philadelphia, to 
 go on with him to New York, I accepted his oiFer and 
 started. I saw nothing very particular along the Dela- 
 ware river, except the place where all the hard stone 
 coal comes to, from the interior of Pennsylvania ; where, 
 I am told, they have mountains of it. After some time, 
 we got upon a rail-road where they say we run twenty- 
 five miles to the hour. I can only judge of the speed by 
 putting my head out to spit, which I did and overtook it 
 so quick that it hit me smack in the face. We soon 
 arrived at Amboy, and took the water again ; and soon 
 came in si^jht of the great city of New York, and a bulger 
 
 aS3) 
 
184 BECEPTION IN NEW YORK. 
 
 of a place it is. The number of the ships beat me all 
 hollow, and looked for all the world like a big clearing 
 in the West, with the dead trees all standing. 
 
 When we swung round to the wharf, it was covered 
 with people, who inquired if I was on board ; and when 
 the captain told them I was, they slung their hats and 
 gave three cheers. 
 
 Immediately a committee came on board, representing 
 the young whigs, and informed me they were appointed 
 to wait upon me, and invite me to the American Hotel. 
 I accepted their offer, and went with them to the hotel, 
 where I was friendly received ; conducted to a large par- 
 lor, where I was introduced to a great many gentlemen. 
 
 I was invited to visit the new and elegant fire-engine, 
 and took some refreshment with the managers, and re- 
 turned in time to visit the Park theatre, and see Miss 
 Fanny Kemble play in grand style. The house was 
 better filled, and the fixings looked nicer than the one in 
 Philadelphia ; but any of them is good enough, if they 
 have such pretty play-actors as Miss Kemble. In fact, 
 she is like a handsome piece of changeable silk ; first one 
 color, then another, but always the clean thing. 
 
 I returned home, as I am told all great folks do, after 
 the lady actor was done ; and, sitting with my friends, 
 the cry of "fire, fire," struck my ear. I bounced from 
 my chair, and ran for my hat. " Sit down, colonel," 
 said one of the gentlemen, ''it's not near us." A'n't 
 you going to help put it out?" "No," said he, laugh- 
 ing, " we have fire comp<anies here, and we leave it to 
 them." Well, to me this seemed qijecr enough, for at 
 
VISITS THE NEAYSPAPER OFFICES. 185 
 
 home I would have jumped on the first horse at hand, 
 and rode full flight bare-backed, to help put out a fire. 
 
 I forgot that I was in a city where you may live, as 
 they tell me, years, and not know who lives next door to 
 you : still, I felt curious to see how they managed ; 
 and Colonel Jackson went with me. As it was late, the 
 engines were only assembling when we got there ; but 
 when they began to spirt, they put out a four story house 
 that was all in a blaze, in less than no time. I asked 
 the colonel where they got so much water from. He 
 said it was raised by the Manhattan Bank, out of a 
 charter got by Aaron Burr. 
 
 Next morning I was invited by Colonel Mapes to walk 
 down to some of the newspaper offices. I proposed to go 
 to the Courier and Enquirer and Star offices : we did so. 
 I like Webb, for he comes out plump with what he has 
 to say. Mr. Noah has another way of using a fellow up : 
 he holds him uneasy ; laughs at him, and makes other 
 folks do so ; teazes him ; roasts him, until he don't know 
 what ails him, nor what hurt him, but he can't help 
 limping. 
 
 We went into Pearl street; and I could not help won- 
 dering if they had as many boxes and bags and things 
 inside of the houses as they had out. Elegant place for 
 a lame man to walk, for every one is like him — first up, 
 then down ; then one side, then another, like a pet in a 
 squirrel box. Shortly we came to the Exchange — the 
 place where the merchants assemble every day at one 
 o'clock, to hear all they can, and tell as little as possible ; 
 and where two lines from a knowing correspondent, pru- 
 dently used, may make a fortune. 
 
186 SPEECH AT NEW YORK EXCHANGE. 
 
 I liad not been long here "before I was surrounded, and 
 called on for a speech. I made many apologies, but 
 none seem'd to hit right ; and was so hard pressed, that 
 I had no corner to get into : so, taking mj stand upoa 
 the steps above them, I spoke awhile. 
 
 I returned to the hotel, where I found a great many 
 gentlemen waiting to see the wild man from the far West. 
 After spending some time with them, I was taken to 
 Peale's museum. I shall not attempt to describe the 
 curiosities here ; it is above my bend. I could not help, 
 however, thinking what pleasure or curiosity folks could 
 take in sticking up whole rows of little bugs, and such 
 like varmints. I saw a boy there that had been born 
 without any hands or arras ; and he took a pair of scissors 
 in his toes, and cut his name in full, and gave it to me. 
 This I called a miracle. 
 
 From thence I went to the City Hall, and was intro- 
 duced to the mayor of the city and several of the alder- 
 men. The mayor is a plain, common-sense-looking man. 
 I was told he had been a tanner : that pleased me ; for I 
 thought both him and ta.e had dumb up a long .way from 
 where we had started: and it is truly said, "Honor and 
 fame from no condition rise." It's the grit of a fellow 
 that makes the man. 
 
 On my return, I received an invitation from Colonel 
 Draper to dine with him, informing me also, that the rale 
 Major Jack Downing was expected to be there. When 
 the hour arrived, I started to walk there, as it was but a 
 short distance. On my way I saw a white man who was 
 in a great rage, cursing a white man-servant. I stopped, 
 and said to him, " Hellow, mister ! if you was to talk 
 
DINNER WITH COLONEL DRAPER. 187 
 
 that way to a white man in my country, he'd give you 
 first rate hell." He looked at me and said nothing, but 
 walked off. Sure enough, when I got to Colonel Dra- 
 per's I was introduced to the major. We sat down to a 
 splendid dinner, and amused ourselves with some good 
 jokes. But as this was a private party, I don't think it 
 gentlemanly to tell what was said at this time, and espe- 
 cially as this was not the only communication I had with 
 the major. One observation, however, was made by him, 
 and I gave him an answer which could not offend any- 
 body. ^' Colonel," says he, " what d'ye sort o' think 
 about gineral matters and things in purticlur?" Know- 
 ing him to be a Yankee, I tried to answer him in his own 
 way. So says I, " Major, the Ginneral's matters are all 
 wrong ; but some purticklar things are very well : such, 
 for instance, as the honor I have in dining with you at 
 Colonel Draper's." ^' Good," says the major, "and 
 we'll talk about them there matters some other time." 
 "Agreed," says I, "major, always at your sarvice." 
 
 I found a large company waiting for me when I got 
 back to the hotel, and invitation to sup with the young 
 AVhigs. Well, now, thinks I, they had better keep some 
 of these things to eat for somebody else, for I'm sure I'm 
 as full as a young cub. But right or wrong, I must go 
 in. There I met the honorable Augustus S. CLayton, 
 of Georgia, and was right glad to s'ee him, for I knew I 
 could get him to take some of the speaking off of me. 
 He speaks prime, and is always ready, and never goes 
 off half-cock. 
 
 Upwards of one hundred sat down to supper. They 
 were going to toast me, but I told some of them near me 
 
188 WHIG SUPPER. 
 
 to toast Judge Clayton first ; that there should be more 
 rejoicing over one that was lost and found again, than 
 over ninety and nine such as me, that had never strayed 
 away. They did so ; and he made a speech that fairly 
 made the tumblers hop. He rowed the Tories up and 
 over Salt River. 
 
 Then they toasted me as *' the undeviating supporter 
 of the constitution and laws." I made a short speech, 
 and concluded with the story of the ''Red Cow," which 
 was, that as long as General Jackson went straight, I 
 followed him ; but when he began to go this way, and 
 that way, and every way, I wouMn't go after him ; like 
 the boy whose master ordered him to plough across the 
 field to the red cow. Well, he began to plough and she 
 began to walk ; and he ploughed all forenoon after her. 
 So when the master came, he swore at him for going so 
 crooked. "Why, sir," said the boy, ''you told me to 
 plough to the red cow, and I kept after her, but she al- 
 ways kept moving." 
 
 Next morning being the first day of May, I went to 
 some of the newspaper offices, read the news, and re- 
 turned to take a ride with Colonel S. D. Jackson, in an 
 elegant barouche. We drove up to the city, and took a 
 view of the improvements and beautiful houses in the 
 new part. By the time we returned down Broadway, it 
 seemed to me that the city was flying before some awful 
 calamity. "Why," said I, " Colonel, what under hea- 
 ls the matter ? Everybody appears to be pitching out 
 their furniture, and packing it off." He laughed, and 
 said this was the general " moving day." Such a sight 
 nobody ever saw unless it was in this same city. It 
 
VISITS THE FIVE POINTS. 189 
 
 seemed a kind of frolic, as if they were changing houses 
 just for fun. Every street was crowded with carts, 
 drays, and people. So the world goes. It would take a 
 good deal to get me out of my log-house ; but here, I 
 understand, many persons '' move " every year. 
 
 Having alighted, and taken some refreshment, I asked 
 Colonel Webb to go with to the "Five Points," a noted 
 pLace near the centre of the city. This is the place 
 where Van Buren's warriors came from during the elec- 
 tion, when the wild Irish, with their clubs and bludgeons, 
 knocked down every one they could find that would not 
 huzza for Jackson. However, I had a great curiosity 
 to see them ; and on we went, the major and me, and in 
 the midst of that great city we came to a place where 
 five streets all come together ; and from this it takes the 
 name of the "Five Points." The buildings are little, 
 old, frame houses, and looked like some little country 
 village. The houses all had cellars ; and as that day 
 was fashionable to move, they were moving too. The 
 streets looked like a clearing, in my part of the world, 
 as they were emptying and burning the straw out of their 
 beds. It appeared as if the cellars were jam full of peo- 
 ple ; and such fiddling and dancing nobody ever before 
 saw in this world. I thought they were the true " hea- 
 ven-boms." Black and white, white and black, all hug- 
 emsnug together, happy as lords and ladies, sitting some- 
 times round in a ring, with a jug of liquor between them : 
 and I do think I saw more drunken folks, men and wo- 
 men, that day than I ever saw before. This is part of 
 what is called by the Regency the "glorious sixth 
 ward " — the regular Yan Buren ground-floor. I thought 
 
190 THE FIVE POINTS. 
 
 I woula rather risk myself in an Indian jBght tlian ven- 
 ture among these creatures after night. I said to the 
 colonel, "God deliver me from such constituents, or from 
 a party supported by such. In my country, when you 
 meet an Irishman, you find a first rate gentleman ; but 
 these are worse than savages ; they are too mean to swab 
 hell's kitchen." He took me to the place where the elec- 
 tion was held. It appeared to me that all the place 
 round was made ground, and that there was more room in 
 the houses under ground than above : and I suppose there 
 must have been a flood of rain during the election, which 
 forced those rats out of their holes. There is more people 
 stowed away together here than any place I ever saw. I 
 heard a story, and it is asserted to be true, that about here, 
 some years ago, a committee visited all the houses, to 
 see how they were coming on. One house, that was four 
 stories high, and four rooms on a floor, had sixteen fa- 
 milies in it, and four in the garret, which was divided 
 into four parts by a streak of charcoal. An old lady, 
 that was spinning uj) there, was asked how they made 
 out. She said, pretty well; and that they would be 
 quiet enough if it was not for the old woman in the op- 
 posite cornev, and she took boarders, and they often 
 made a noise. I believe it is true. What a miserable 
 place a city is for poor people : they are half starved, 
 poorly clothed, and perished for fire. I sometimes won- 
 der they do not clear out to a new country, where every 
 skin hangs by its own tail : but I suppose they think an 
 hour's indulgence in vice is sweet enough for the bitter 
 of the rest. 
 
 Coming home, I took notice that the rear of the City 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 191 
 
 Hall was of brown stone, while the front and sides were 
 of white marble. I asked the Colonel why that was so. 
 He said the Poor House stood behind when they built 
 the Hall. That is like many a great man : if he gets a 
 fine breast to his jacket, he will make the back of fus- 
 tian — and like thousands of great people, who think that 
 any thing will do for poor folks to look at, or eat, or 
 wear. Another thing seemed queer to me, afid that was 
 a bell hanging outside of the steeple of the Hall. It was 
 so big that they could not get it in, and rather than lose 
 the money, they hung it outside ; never reflecting that 
 even a backwoodsman must laugh at such a Dutch blun- 
 der. 
 
 On the same walk I was introduced to the honorable 
 Albert Gallatin. He had an old straw hat in his hand, 
 and like every body else, was "mooving," and said he 
 was sorry not to have more time to be acquainted with 
 me. He pointed to the house he was leaving, and said 
 it and several others were to be torn down to build a big 
 tavern. It was a very fine house, fit for any man to live 
 in; but in a few hours I saw men on the top of it, and 
 before the next evening the daylight was through it. 
 This tavern is to be near the park, and is building by 
 John Jacob Astor. It is to cost seven hundred thousand 
 dollars, and covers a whole square. Mr. Astor, I am 
 told, begun business in New York as a dealer in furs, 
 and is now worth millions. Lord help the beavers and 
 otters ! they must have most got used to getting skinned 
 by this time. And what a meeting of friends and kin 
 there must have been in his warehouse. "Farewell," 
 Baid the otter to the beaver, " I never expect to see you 
 
192 GE]S"ERAL MOllTON. 
 
 again, mj dear old friend." "Never mind, my dear fel- 
 low," said the beaver, "don't be too much distressed, 
 we'll soon meet at the hatter's shop." 
 
 This day a new flag was to be hoisted, down on the 
 J3attery, and I was invited to attend. The artillery, 
 under command of General Morton, paraded ; and he 
 invited many of his friends to be present : among the 
 rest, the mayor, Gideon Lee, was there, and addressed 
 the people. Among other things he told them that that 
 flag-staff was placed where the old one stood when the 
 British evacuated New York ; that they left the flag fly- 
 ing, and greased the pole, so that it could not be dim 
 up ; but at last a sailor got up and tore it down, and 
 hoisted the American flag in its place ; and when he 
 came down, the people filled his hat with money. 
 
 General Morton is a revolutioner, and an ofiicer in the 
 society of old soldiers, called the " Cincinnati Society," 
 and wears its badge on his breast. He gave an entertain- 
 ment to his friends on this occasion ; for you must know 
 that nobody thinks any thing well done in this place, 
 without eating and drinking over it. 
 
 This battery a'n't a place, as its name looks like, for 
 keeping and shooting off cannon. It might have been 
 so, long ago ; but it is a beautiful meadow of a place, all 
 measured off, with nice walks of gravel between the grass 
 plats, full of big shade-trees, and filled with people and a 
 great many children, that come there to get the fresh air 
 that comes off the water of the bay. This is a beautiful 
 place ; and you can see Long Island, and Staten Island, 
 and many others from it. Here is likewise Castle Gar- 
 den, and the bridge that Van Buren wanted to drown 
 
GOES TO THE THEATRE. 193 
 
 tlie president off of, Tvlien him and Major Jack most fell 
 in. The fact is, the plan was well enough, but General 
 Jackson did not know of it. It was concluded, you see, 
 that the president should make all his big secretaries and 
 Colonel Reeside go before, and him come after; and then 
 slam should go the bridge, with the old fellow on it. But 
 he went foremost, and when it fell, thej didn't catch any 
 but Governor Cass, secretary of war ; and he only lost 
 his hat and wig, which they say the porpusses carried 
 off and gave to the sea serpent, so that he might be on 
 their side in the next oyster war. 
 
 After all this, I went that same day to see my young 
 friend Walden, and enjoyed myself with some friends till 
 evening. 
 
 When I got back to the hotel, I found the bill for the 
 Bowery theatre ; and it stated I was to be there. Now 
 I knew I had never given the manager any authority to 
 use my name, and I determined not to go. After some 
 time, I was sent for, and refused; and then the head 
 manager came himself. I told him I did not come for a 
 show ; I did not come for the citizens of New York to 
 look at, I come to look at them. However, my friends 
 said it would be a great disappointment, and might harm 
 the managers ; and so I went, and was friendly received. 
 I remained a short time, and returned. So ended the 
 first day of May, 1834 ; and I should like to see any 
 l)ody who saw more sights in once waking up. In fact, 
 when I got to bed and begun to think them over, I found 
 it would take me to daylight ; so I just broke off, and 
 went to sleep. 
 
 Next morning. Colonel Mapes told me he was requested 
 13 
 
194 EIFLE SHOOTING. 
 
 to invite me to come over to Jersey City, to see some 
 shooting with a rifle. In the mean time, I had been 
 very kindly invited by Captain Comstock to go that day. 
 at half-past three o'clock, with him to Boston. I con- 
 cluded to go, as I might never have another opportunity, 
 and it took only eighteen hours to go there. 
 
 I went with the colonel to see little Thawburn's* seed 
 store ; and a great place it is, for he has got all kinds 
 of thino;s there ; and for fear his bird-seed should not 
 be fresh, he keeps a few hundred birds to eat it up in 
 short order ; and to prove that his flower-seed is prime, 
 he keeps thousands of little pots growing, and mostly 
 gits five times as much for the proof as he does for the 
 seed. He is a little, old, weezened-up man, talks broad 
 Scotch, and is as active as a terrier dog. 
 
 I now started to Jersey City, where I found a great 
 many gentlemen shooting rifles, at the distance of one 
 hundred yards with a rest. One gentleman gave me his 
 gun, and asked me to shoot. I raised up, off'-hand, and 
 cut within about two inches of the centre. I told him 
 my distance was forty yards, off-hand. He loaded his 
 gun, and we walked down to within forty yards, wdien I 
 fired, and was deep in the paper. I shot a second time, 
 and did the same. Colonel Mapes then put up a quarter 
 of a dollar in the middle of a black spot, and asked me 
 to shoot at it. I told him he had better mark the size 
 of it and put his money in his pocket. He said, ^' Fire 
 away." I did so, and made slight-of-hand work with 
 his quarter. It was now time to return, and prepare for 
 my trip to Boston. 
 
 * Thoi-burn, the original of Gault's " Lowrie Todd." 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The Colonel starts for Boston — Passes Hell Gate, and Point Juda — 
 First impressions of New England scenery — Captain Silsbee — Ar- 
 rives at Tremont House — Mr. Boyden — Visit to the gallery of the 
 artists, Chester Hardiug— Sits for his portrait — Faneuil Hall — 
 General Davis — Quincy Market — India Eub^er Factory — Colonel 
 Perkins — Carpet Factory — Sups with the young Whigs — Bunker 
 Hill — Whig Dinner — Chantrey's statue of Washington — Asylum 
 for the Blind. 
 
 At three o'clock I left the hotel, and went over to 
 where the steamboat lay. When I went on board, the 
 captain showed me into a splendid state-room, which I 
 was to occupy for the voyage. So, when I had made 
 toilet (as great folks say), that is, combed my hair, and 
 taken a glass of brandy and water, I went on deck. 
 There I saw almost as many people as were when I 
 landed ; and they kept gathering until the whole ground 
 w^as covered ; and when we started, they cheered me for 
 some time ; and all I could do was to stand and bow to 
 them. This brought me into new trouble ; for the pas- 
 sengers found I was on board, and came round me, so 
 ttat I missed seeing the city until we got past it. 
 
 Soon, however, we came to the place called Hell's 
 
 Gate ; so called, I suppose, because the welter boils, and 
 
 foams, and bounces, about as if it was in a pot. I don't 
 
 think, however, that this is a good name for it, because 
 
 (195) 
 
x96 HELL GATE. 
 
 we are told in the good book, that hell's gate is a mighty 
 slick place, and easy to get into. Here I first saw a 
 large square-sailed British merchant ship, under full sail. 
 She was coming in through the channel, and I was glad 
 to see that, for when we were voting for an appropria- 
 tion for a fort to defend this place, I heard it said that 
 no foreign ship ever attempted coming in that way. But 
 these are the kind of arguments used most generally by 
 those who oppose internal improvements, harbors, &c., 
 &c. ; they fancy things, and speak them for truth. 
 
 We went on very pleasantly till night ; and the captain 
 told me if I would rise at daylight, we would be out of 
 sight of land. So I went to bed, and rose as soon as I 
 could see. I walked out on deck, and sure enough, 
 there was no land to be seen. We were coming near 
 Fort Juda, a place where, the captain informed me, peo- 
 ple on board was often very sea- sick. So I set myself 
 down for a case, but was disappointed ; it was quite 
 calm, and a clear fine morning, and when the sun rose, 
 it came up like a ball of fire out of the water, and looked, 
 for all the world, as if it had been made for the first 
 time. AYe went around Point Juda, and kept in sight 
 of land on our left hand. There was very little timber 
 to be seen ; the whole country appeared to be laid ofi* in 
 fields, divided by stone fences. These were a great 
 curiosity to me, and I could not help thinking that their 
 cattle must be well schooled here ; for one of my cows 
 would pitch over a dozen such fences, without flirting her 
 tail. 
 
 We went by the great fort at the Naraganset bay, and 
 landed at Newport for a short time. From thence wo 
 
NEW ENGLAND. 19^ 
 
 took our way again to Providence. There I met a large 
 number of the citizens. They cheered me on my arrival, 
 and wanted me to stay and partake of a dinner with 
 them. I declined, and took my seat in the fast stage. 
 The driver was ordered to go ahead, and sure enough he 
 did. It was forty miles to Boston, and we run it down 
 in four hours. 
 
 What mighty hard land it is on this road, and seems 
 as if the whole face of the earth had been covered over 
 with stones, as thick as Kentuck land titles ; but they 
 have got them strung up into fences, as many as they 
 can, by picking of them off; but they won't stay picked, 
 for every time they plough, a new crop comes up. 
 
 It was somewhere away long here that the pilgrims 
 landed at Plymouth, and begun to people this part of the 
 world ; and a hard time they must have had of it in this 
 barren country ; and it seems odd that they should come 
 all the way across the sea, and not look out for good 
 land. However, I suppose it was all right, or God would 
 have given them better pilots. If they had had fine 
 land, they would not have ventured so much on the 
 ocean, and would have had less necessity to work hard, 
 and bring up their children to industry, and give them 
 such cute teaching as makes them know how to make 
 ducks and drakes of us out yonder, when they come 
 among us. 
 
 You would be as much struck as I was with the hand- 
 some houses and nice farms ; but when I came to find 
 all out, I didn't wonder so much. This was Captain A, 
 and that B's, house ; and they made money on sea, and 
 spent it on land ; that's the truth ; for Adam himself 
 
198 TREMONT HOUSE. 
 
 could not have made it out of the hind. So I found out 
 that the most of them owned a little plantation on shore, 
 and the run of the sea to work on besides. 
 
 One of the passengers, who came from beyond Boston, 
 while we were talking over these things, asked me if I 
 knew Captain Silsbee. I told him no. "I guess jou 
 do," says he, "he's our senator in Congress; but to 
 home, we old folks call him captain." I told him, cer- 
 tainly I did, but never knew him by that title. " Well, 
 we know that none on 'em boxed a compass longer nor 
 better, and he made a powder of money, and during the 
 last war planked up more gold and silver to lend the 
 government than Benton ever counted." 
 
 But I must quit philosophy, and tell yon where I 
 stopped in Boston — and that was just wdiere any one 
 that has plenty of cash, and plenty of good-will for 
 pleasure, w^ould like — in a clean street, with a tavern on 
 one side, and the theatre on the other, and both called 
 Tremont. Mr. Boj^den did not know me, nor me him ; 
 but when I told him my name, where they put it on the 
 bar-book, he treated me like an old friend, and continued 
 to do so all the time I was there. He gave me a good 
 room and nice bed ; and did not, like many landlords, 
 let a stranger take care of himself, but attended to me 
 the kindest in the world. I had seen a great many fine 
 taverns ; but take this out and out, and Tremont House 
 is a smart chance ahead. It is lately built, and has 
 every new arrangement ; and for a house with a couple 
 of hundred people about it, is the quietest I ever was 
 in. His head man of the gap, in the bar, has eyes all 
 round him ; and Will Scarlet, as he is called by a friend 
 
BOSTON HOSPITALITY. 199 
 
 of mine, has the sound of every bell in the house by 
 heart. ^Vhen I arrived, I lj:new no one, but in a short 
 time I made many acquaintances, and, indeed, was very 
 kindly treated by every person I met. There is a great 
 deal of friendly feeling with the eastern people ; and 
 folks need not go out of Boston to find rale hospitality. 
 
 Next morning I was invited by Mr. Harding to visit 
 his gallery of paintings, where he had a great many 
 specimens of the fine arts ; and finally he asked me to 
 sit for him until he could get my likeness, which I did, 
 during my stay, and he has it now, hung up among the 
 rest of the fine arts. From there I went to Faneuil 
 Hall, where General Davis showed me all the accoutre- 
 ments of war for several companies of infantry and 
 riflemen, that was deposited in it. These are in snug 
 rooms on each side of the second story; and in the 
 middle is the parade-room, where, summer and winter, 
 the companies meet to drill. This is doing things in 
 true style, that is all for use, and no show about it. So, 
 instead of hearing a great fuss with volunteers, and 
 drilling, and all that, wheeling and marching, handle 
 cartridge, eyes right — you see a squad of fine soldiers 
 coming out of this same place, and squared up as if they 
 were the rale breed. 
 
 General Davis informed me this was the house that 
 was called the "cradle of liberty." I reckon old king 
 George thought they were thundering fine children thiit 
 was rocked in it, and a good many of them ; and that 
 no wonder his red-coats were licked, when the children 
 came out with soldier clothes on, and muskets in their 
 
200 QUINCY MARKET. 
 
 hands. God grant that tlie liberty- tree bough on "U'hich 
 this cradle rocks may never break. 
 
 From here I went to the market, which is a small cir- 
 cumstance ahead of anything I ever saw, and just where 
 it should be. Now, in Philadelphia, it looks like a long 
 feeding-trough, stuck up in the middle of the city. 
 And how d'ye think it was done ? Why, they put a 
 man of head in, as mayor, who laid all his plans, counted 
 the cost, cyphered out the profits, and so forth, and then 
 made one pitch right "ahead:" and before the ninnies 
 and scarey folks had half done telling their long stories 
 about the dreadful expense, Mayor Quincy's hammers 
 were keeping time on the big granite stones, and the 
 beautiful pillars were rising up as if he had just ordered 
 them. In this market-house everything looks like so 
 many different shops or stores, and you are quite in- 
 doors, instead of sellers and buyers both being exposed 
 to wet, heat, and cold. The market appeared to be 
 a^bundantly supplied, but, as I thought, rather dear. 
 
 After returning home, I was invited over to Roxbo- 
 rough, where they make the Indian-rubber clothing, 
 shoes, &c. This is done by dissolving the rubber, and 
 putting it on silk and other cloth, which entirely turns 
 the rain, and still is pliable, and not heavy. The pro- 
 prietor made me a present of a hunting coat, which I 
 have tried, and would risk my powder under it for forty 
 days and nights. It was a great curiosity to see the 
 young ladies cutting out the clothes, and sticking them 
 tog-ether without sewino; them. I went also throu2;h the 
 shoe factory, where they make shoes in the same way 
 without stitching them. I could not help thinking of 
 
COLONEL PERKINS. 201 
 
 the PhiladelpMa girls — tliouglit they ought to have them, 
 to keep their feet dry. 
 
 We often wonder how things are made so cheap among 
 the Yankees. Come here, and you will see women doing 
 men's work, and happy and cheerful as the day is long : 
 and why not ? Is it not much better for themselves and 
 fiimilies, instead of sitting up all day busy about nothing? 
 It ain't hard work, neither, and looked as queer to me 
 as it would to one of my countrywomen to see a man 
 milking the cows, as they do here. 
 
 After I had seen all that was to be seen here, I was 
 taken to Colonel Perkins' carpet factory. There I saw 
 the widest web I ever saw, and they were glossing and 
 stamping it in handsome style. I was quite friendly 
 received by the colonel. He is said to be a very rich 
 man ; is quite old, but firm and healthy in appearance ; 
 and uses his riches in the best possible way — by keeping 
 a great many people busy. And he is not one of those 
 foolish people, neither, that strive all their days to see 
 how rich they can die : for he gives with his hands open. 
 I saw one house in Boston which he gave to keep the 
 blind in, and was told it was worth fifty thousand dollars. 
 What a comfort the old gentleman must have when he 
 looks at his great possessions, and is calculating, not 
 how much he can hoard up, but how much he can give 
 away. God never made such men to be envied, or I 
 could begrudge him a few of his blessings from the poor 
 and destitute. 
 
 At the invitation of the owners of the Indian-rubber 
 factory, I met a number of the citizens of Roxborough, 
 and passed a short time with them very pleasantly. 
 
202 CROCKETT ON BUNKER'S HILL. 
 
 When I returned to the Tremont, I received an invi- 
 tation from the young AYhigs, to sup with them at eight 
 o'clock. I accepted their invitation, and then "went over 
 to the Navy Yard, at Charlestown. I saw many fine 
 ships, and among them was the splendid old Constitu- 
 tion. She was lying in dry dock, and had been new 
 timbered in grand style. The likeness of Andrew 
 Jackson was placed on her for a figure-head. I w^as 
 asked if it was a good likeness. I said I had never 
 seen him misrepresented ; but that they had fixed him 
 just where he had fixed himself, that was, before the 
 Constitution. 
 
 We then went up to the old battle-ground on Bunker's 
 hill,' where they were erecting a monument to those who 
 fell in that day-break battle of our rising glory. I felt 
 as if I wanted to call them up, and ask them to tell me 
 how to help to protect the liberty they bought for us with 
 their blood ; but as I could not do so, I resolved on that 
 holy ground, as I had done elsewhere, to go for my coun- 
 try, always and everywhere. 
 
 When I came back from Bunker's hill, I received 
 about a half a dozen invitations from distinguished citi- 
 zens of Boston, to dine or sup with them, so that it was 
 impossible to attend to all of them unless I had the di- 
 gestion of a cassowary. I must here state that the citi- 
 zens generally of Boston are uncommon kind and civil ; 
 and if they understand the art of making money they 
 know how to spend it. I was entertained like a prince, 
 and could have lived there, I suspect, on the same terms 
 for much longer. They appear to me to live generally 
 ir Sfew England more snugly, and have more kind feel- 
 
WHia DINNER. 203 
 
 ings to one anotlier, and live in more peace and harmony 
 than an}^ people I ever was among. And another good 
 thing — they don't forget one another when they are 
 among strangers ; old New England binds them hard to- 
 gether ; and this gives them, as it ought to do, strength 
 and confidence, and influence ; and with us in the South 
 Yankee cunning is assuming the true name — Yankee 
 knowledge of business, and perseverance in whatever 
 they undertake. 
 
 During the afternoon many gentlemen came to see me, 
 and we spent our time pleasantly until the time came for 
 me to attend upon the young "Whigs. A coach and four 
 fine horses was sent for me. This I considered as too 
 much honor ; but as I take all things as they come, and 
 everything for the best, I stepped into it, and off they 
 whirled with the backwoods hunter. Which way they 
 drove I did not know, nor did I care. I knew they 
 would not eat supper till I got there ; and that they 
 would not serve me as Lafaj^ette was served at a certain 
 place wliere he was expected to land and dine. The 
 steamboat went wrong and he did not arrive; so they eat 
 their dinners and took out the frolic. About sundoAvn, 
 the boat came up, the orator of the day was called for ; 
 he was as blind as a pup ; but the moment the old gen- 
 eral touched the ground, he put at him with abundance 
 of welcomes and compliments about his heroism, until he 
 got up in the pathetics, when he said, " Glorious Lafa- 
 yette, the blood joii have shed, and the trcapuies you 
 expended in defence of the liberties of this country, call 
 for our gratitude. I want words to convey my ideas ; in 
 
204 VIEWS THE CITY. 
 
 fact, (striking liis hand on his belly instead of his heart) 
 I'm too full to proceed." The old gentleman seized his 
 hand, gave it a hearty shake, and so the oration ended. 
 
 We came to the appointed place, where I was taken in 
 and introduced to about one hundred 3'Oung gentlemen, 
 true chips of the old block, ready to be rocked in the old 
 cradle, whether for fight or frolic, war or electioneering. 
 They gave me a hearty welcome, and made me feel all as 
 one of themselves. So down we sat to an elegant sup- 
 per, with the best of wines, and the champagne foaming 
 up as if you were supping fog out of speaking-trum- 
 pets. 
 
 After the cloth was removed and several toasts drank, 
 they toasted me very warmly. I rose and addressed 
 them. 
 
 Early -next morning I got up, and my health being 
 much improved, I felt just like I was in peace with my- 
 self and all the world. After breakfast, I took a long 
 walk through the city, and passed through the Mall. 
 This is a beautiful green of something like forty acres, I 
 should judge, and looks refreshing in the midst of a city. 
 From the top of the State-house I had a fine view of the 
 city, and was quite amused to see the representation of 
 a large codfish hung up in the House of Assembly, or 
 General Court, as they call it — to remind them either 
 that they depended a good deal on it for food, or made 
 money by the fisheries. This is quite natural to me, for 
 at home I have on one end of my house the antlers of a 
 noble buck, and the her^vy paws of a bear. 
 
 I did not like the statue of General Washington in the 
 
chantrey's statue. 205 
 
 State-house. Tliej have a Roman gown* on him, and he 
 was an American ; this ain't right. They did the thing 
 better at Richmond, in Virginia, where they have him 
 in the old blue and buff. He belonged to this country — 
 heart, soul, and body, and I don't want any other to 
 have any part of him — not even his clothes. 
 
 I return the officers in the State-house my thanks for 
 their civility. I can't remember all their names, and 
 therefore I won't name any of them. 
 
 When I returned to Tremont house, a gentleman in- 
 vited me to walk with him to the old State-house. 
 When I reached that I saw a great crowd. General Da- 
 vis conducted me into the house, and we went up stairs, 
 where there was a platform. I drew off my hat, and 
 bowed to the people ; they immediately cheered me, and 
 called for a speech which I had to make. 
 
 Here now comes a poser. I was invited to dine out ; 
 but if I can mind the gentleman's name I wish I may be 
 shot. He lived near Tremont ; and I hope, if he has 
 curiosity enough to read this here book, that he will write 
 me a letter, so that in my second edition, I may give his 
 name as large as life, and I beg him to recollect that it 
 ain't every one that signs a letter that makes himself 
 known. Let him write it plain — none of your hierogly- 
 phics — or I won't put him in. 
 
 Some would say that they were mortified that they for- 
 got this gentleman's name. I ain't ; I'm sorry — but the 
 
 * This is a mistake of the Colonel. Chantrey's statue of Washing- 
 ton represents him in the costume of the Revolution with a militar j 
 cloak. 
 
206 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. 
 
 truth is, I saw so many folks, and so many ne^v 
 thinojs, that it's no wander I should not mind everv- 
 thing. He was a clever fellow, and I know he will for- 
 give me. 
 
 When I went home, there I met a young man that was 
 stone blind. "Well," says you, " that's no new thing." 
 Stoj), if you please : that puts me in mind of an old par- 
 son and a scolding woman that belonged to his church. 
 She told him, in one of her tantrums, that she could 
 preach as well as he could, and he might select the text. 
 "Well," said the old man, "I'll give you one, and you 
 can study over it — 'It is better to dwell on the 
 house-top than in a wide house with a brawling wo- 
 man.' " "You good-for-nothing, impudent, old — what 
 shall I say ? do you go for to call me a brawling 
 woman ?" " Dear mistress," said the good old man, 
 " you'll have to study a while longer, for you come to 
 the application of the text before you discuss the doc- 
 trine." 
 
 Now it was not that I met a blind boy in Tremont 
 house that was any curiosity, but it was his errand. He 
 inquired of the barkeeper for me, as I was standing by 
 him, and said he was sent by the teacher of the blind, to 
 invite me to visit the institution, and that he would show 
 me the way. 
 
 I was told by the gentlemen present that he could go 
 all over Boston. A gentleman accompanied me, and we 
 went on till we came to a fine house where the institution 
 was kept. We went, and were introduced to the teach- 
 er. He asked me if I wished to hear some of them read. 
 
ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. 207 
 
 I said I did, and he ordered a little girl, perliaps ten or 
 twelve years old, to get her book, asked her to find a 
 certain chapter in the Old Testament, and read it. She 
 took up the book and felt with her fingers until she found 
 it. He then told her to read, and she did so, with a 
 clear, distinct voice. This was truly astonishing ; but on 
 examining their books I found that the letters were 
 stamped on the under side of the paper, so as to raise 
 them above the surface of the upper side ; and such was 
 the keenness of their touch that, by passing the end of 
 the finger over the word, it served them for sight, and 
 they pronounced the word. There was a little boy 
 learning to cipher in the same way. The teacher put 
 several questions to him aloud ; and putting his fingers 
 together and working with them for a short time, he an- 
 swered all the questions correctly. 
 
 That kind of education astonished me more than any- 
 thing I ever saw. There were a great many -of them. 
 Some were learning to play on the piano-forte ; and 
 many of them were busy making pretty little baskets, 
 such as are carried by the ladies. 
 
 They asked me if I would like to hear them sing ; and 
 telling them it would please me very much, a number of 
 them came up, and some had musical instruments : one 
 had a large thing which I never saw before, nor did I ask 
 the name ; one had a clarionet, and one had a flute. 
 They played and sung together beautifully, and, indee.l, 
 I never saw happier people in my life. I remained some 
 time with them going over the establishment. This is 
 the house that I mentioned before was given by Colonel 
 
208 ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. 
 
 Perkins to tlie blind. There is not sucli a grand house 
 owned bj any person in Washington. What a satisfac- 
 tion it must be to this old gentleman and others who 
 have helped these unfortunates, to see them surrounded 
 with so many comforts I* 
 
 ^ Colonel Thomas Handaside Perkins, the gentleman referred to in 
 Colonel Crockett's narrative, was one of the '' merchant princes " of 
 Boston. His liberal donations to public institutions were very nume- 
 rous. Many years since, he presented an estate worth fifty thousand 
 dollars to the Boston Atheneum. The property which he gave to the 
 Asylum for the Blind, was valued at fifty thousand dollars ; and it was 
 given ou condition that the citizens of Boston should raise by subscrip- 
 tion fifty thousand dollars in thirty days, to be given to the Asylum, 
 which condition was promptly complied with. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Colonel Crockett is invited to yisit Harvard University — Is afraid 
 they will make him a Doctor of Laws, and declines going there — 
 Visits the Tremont Theatre — Visit to Lowell — The Colonel is de- 
 lighted with the Factories and the Factory Girls — His remarks on 
 Free Labor— The Sea-serpent— The Tariff— The South— ^Ir. Law- 
 rence presents the Colonel with a suit of broadcloth of Lowell man- 
 ufacture, from Mississippi wool — The Colonel dines with the young 
 gentlemen of Lowell — New England Hospitality — The Colonel re- 
 turns to Boston — Spends an evening with Lieutenant Governor 
 Armstrong — Eeturns to Providence, New York, and Philadelphia 
 — Visit to Camden, New Jersey — Loses his Pocket-book and mo- 
 ney — Eeturns to Baltimore and Washington. 
 
 When I returned, there were some gentlemen that in- 
 vited me to go to Cambridge, where the big college or 
 university is, where they keep ready-made titles or nick- 
 names to give people. I would not go, for I did not 
 know but they might stick an LL. D. on me before they 
 let me go ; and I had no idea of changing " Member of 
 the House of Representatives of the United States,'* for 
 what stands for "lazy lounging dunce," which I am sure 
 my constituents would have translated my new title to 
 be, knowing that I had never taken any degree, and did 
 not own to any except a small degree of good sense not 
 to pass for what I was not — I would not go it. There 
 had been one doctor made from Tennessee already, and 
 
 I had no wish to put on the cap and bells. I recollect 
 14 (209) 
 
210 THEATRE. 
 
 the story of a would-be-great man ^Yho put on his sign 
 after his name, in large capitals, D. Q. M. G., which 
 stood for Deputy Quarter Master General ; but, which 
 one of his neighbors, to the great diversion of all the 
 rest, and to his mortification, translated into "damn'd 
 quick made gentleman." No, indeed, not me — anything 
 you please but Granny Crockett ; I leave that for others, 
 I'll throw that in to make chuck full the measure of their 
 country's glory. 
 
 I told them I did not go to this branding school ; I 
 d'd not want to be tarred with the same stick ; one dig- 
 nitary was enough from Tennessee ; thiit as far as \\\y 
 learning vrent, I would stand over it, and spell a strive 
 or two with any of them, from a-h-ah to crucifix^ which 
 v/as where I left off at school. 
 
 This day I dined out again ; but I'm most tired talk- 
 ing of dinners, especially after I have eaten them. I 
 went to the theatre that night. The acting was pretty 
 considerable, considering that one actress, who, it was 
 very plain, was either a married woman or " had ought 
 to be," as they say there, was playing in the character 
 of a young lady ; and one fellow tried to sing that was 
 not half up to a Mississippi boat horn. 
 
 We got a little dry or so, and wanted a horn, but this 
 was a temperance house, and there was nothing to treat 
 a friend to that was worth shaking a stick at, so says I, 
 '' When there was a famine in the land of Canaan, there 
 v,-as plenty of corn in Egypt ; let us go over to the Tre- 
 mont, Boyden keeps stuff that runs friends together, and 
 makes them forget which is which." Over we went, and 
 soon forgot all about the theatre. 
 
THE SEA SERPENT. 211 
 
 I had promised next morning to go to Lowell with Mr. 
 Lawrence, Mr. Harding, and others ; but when I woke 
 up it was pouring down rain, so that kept me in the house 
 all day. 
 
 I was not idle, for I had a heap of talk with the folks 
 in the house. One gentleman asked me to come and see 
 him ; but he gave me so many directions about getting 
 to where he lived that I asked him to write it down, and 
 told him if ever he came to my part of the country, I 
 hoped he would call and see me. '' Well," said he, "how 
 will I find where you live ?" " Why, sir, run down the 
 Mississippi till you come to the Obion river, run a small 
 streak up that, jump ashore anywhere and inquire for 
 me." 
 
 Says I to one of them, " Do you believe in the sea- 
 sarpint ?" " If I don't, there's no snakes. I believe it 
 to be as much true as there is lie in our deacon when he says 
 his red face ain't made by drinking 'New England.' " 
 "Do you consider him dangerous, or is he peaceable?" 
 " Well, now, to keep the truth, I never saw^ him ; but 
 Capting Hodijah Folger said as how he considered the 
 critter as a sort o' so, and a sort o' not." "Had he a 
 long tail ?" " Tail, did you say ? You'd a died to hear 
 Didge tell about that verming. Didge said he was like 
 skying a copper — head or tail — but you had to guess 
 which. Ses Didge to me, 'Don't you mind,' ses he, 
 ' that are angel what stood vfith one leg on the sea, and 
 t'other on the dry land ?' 'I guess I do.' ' Well,' ses 
 he to me, ' that are sarpint's skin was long enough to a 
 queued his hair.' " 
 
 I was asked to sup with a Mr. Richards, whom I had 
 
212 THE SOUTH. 
 
 seen at Wasliington. He had a house full of ladies and 
 gentlemen, collected to see me : so I was on my manners, 
 and I hope they were all as much gratified as I was. 
 We had a fine supper, plenty of conversation, and some 
 fun. I don't think the northern ladies talk as much 
 publicly as they do in the south and west. In private 
 conversation they are ready enough. 
 
 When 1 got back, I saw my old cock again. " Well," 
 says I, "what do you think of nullification up here?" 
 "Why, they say, some of them, that it was got and 
 bred by the tarifi". Squire Williams, my neighbor, said 
 he didn't think so : it was a kind of come-by-chance, 
 that was too wicked to know its own kin ; and he thought 
 it was a very ugly thing." "Well," says I to him, 
 "squire, setting a case as how the Congress of Jackson- 
 men should pass a law taxing of all the looms and spin- 
 dles, and letting cottons and woolens come in from 
 foreign parts, free of duty — what should we do?" 
 "Why, ask 'em to repeal it." "Suppose they would 
 not do it ; and when we were growing poorer and poorer, 
 the tax-gatherer should come to sell you out, stock and 
 fluke." "Why, I'd dispute his authority desperately; 
 and if that would not do, I'd fight him, by the blue 
 blazes." " And so would I : but airu't that nullifying, 
 or something mighty like it?" "Why," ses he, "the 
 toe that's tramped on feels most ; and a man that don't 
 swear, had better try a stumpy field with a young yoke 
 of cattle." "Well," ses I, "them there people down 
 there fought desperate in the old war. They whipi^ed 
 Captain Cornwallis, and scared Sir .Harry Clinton out 
 and out ; and I reckon then no more nor now they don't 
 
LOWELL FACTOEIES. 213 
 
 like nobody to wrong them out of tlieir rights. But I'm 
 glad it's all over : and I tell you wliat I think ; you 
 don't work hard enough in the south, and take good 
 care of your grounds, and cattle, and so on ; at least, I 
 hearn Josiah Norton say so, when he come home from 
 down to south, where he had been pedling a spell. Si 
 ses to me, ses he, ' Please goodness ! but that's a poor 
 country down yander ; it makes the tears come into the 
 kildear's eyes when they fly over the old fields. Dod 
 drot me, if you can ever get a drink of cider ! ! They 
 ain't got no apples but little runts of things, about as 
 big us your thumb, and so sour, that when a pig sticks 
 his tooth into 'em, he lays back his jaw, and hollers, you 
 might hear him a mile : but it's ' eat, pig, or die' — for 
 it's all he's got. And then again they're great for 
 huntin of foxes ; and if you were to see their hounds ! 
 lean, lank, labber-sided pups, that are so poor they have 
 to prop up agin a post-and-rail fence, 'fore they can 
 raise a bark at my tin-cart. It's the poorest place was 
 ever made.' " " So," said I, '' stranger, you had better 
 come down and judge for yourself, both as to principles 
 and habits : you would be as much pleased, I am sure, 
 as I have been in coming north." 
 
 Next morning I rose early, and started for Lowell in 
 a fine carriage, with three gentlemen Vfho had agreed to 
 accompany me. I had heard so much of this place that 
 I longed to see it ; not because I had heard of the 
 "mile of gals ;" no, I left that for the gallantry of the 
 president, who is admitted, on that score, to be abler 
 than myself: but I wanted to see the power of the ma- 
 chinery, wielded by the keenest calculations of human 
 
214 FREE LABOR. 
 
 skill ; I wanted to see liow it was that tliese northerners 
 could buy our cotton, and carry it home, manufacture 
 it, bring it back, and sell it for half nothing ; and, in 
 the mean time, be well to live, and make money besides. 
 
 Vie stopped at the large stone house at the head of 
 the falls of the Merrimac river, and having taken a 
 little refreshment, went down among the factories. The 
 dinner bells were ringing, and the folks pouring out of 
 the houses like bees out of a gum. I looked at them as 
 they passed, all well dressed, lively, and genteel in their 
 appearance ; indeed, the girls looked as if they were 
 coming from a quilting frolic. We took a turn round, 
 and after dining on a fine salmon, again returned, and 
 entered the factories. 
 
 The out-door appearance was fully sustained by the 
 wdiole of the persons employed in the different rooms. 
 I went in among the young girls, and talked with many 
 of them. Not one expressed herself as tired of her 
 employment, or oppressed with work : all talked well, 
 and looked healthy. Some of them were very hand- 
 some ; and I could not help observing that they kept 
 the prettiest inside, and put the homely ones on the out- 
 side rows. 
 
 I could not help reflecting on the diiference of condi- 
 tion between these females, thus employed, and those of 
 other populous countries, where the female character is 
 degraded to abject slavery. Here were thousands, use- 
 ful to others, and enjoying all the blessings of freedom, 
 with the prospect before them of future comfort and 
 respectability : and however we, who. only hear of them, 
 may call their houses workshops and prisons, I assure 
 
LOWELL. 215 
 
 mj nelglibors there is eyery enjoyment of life realized 
 by these persons, and there can be but few who are not 
 happy. It cannot be otherwise : respectability depends 
 upon being neighbor-like : here everybody works, and 
 therefore no one is degraded by it ; on the contrary, 
 these who don't work are not estimated. 
 
 There are more than five thousand females employed 
 in Lowell ; and when you come to see the amount of 
 labor performed by them, in superintending the different 
 machinery, you will be astorftshed. 
 
 Twelve years ago, the place where Lowell now rises 
 in all its pride was a sheep-pasture. It took its name 
 from Francis C. Lowell, the projector of its manufac- 
 tories, and was incorporated in 1826 — then a mere 
 village. The fall, obtained by a canal from the Merri- 
 mac river, is thirty-two feet, affording two levels for 
 mills, of thirteen and seventeen feet ; and the whole 
 water of the river can be used. 
 
 There are about fourteen thousand inhabitants. It 
 contains nine meeting-houses ; appropriates seven thou- 
 sand five hundred dollars for free schools ; provides in- 
 struction for twelve hundred scholars, daily ; and about 
 three thousand annually partake of its benefits. It 
 communicates with Boston by the Middlesex canal (the 
 first ever made in the United States) ; and in a short 
 time the railroad to Boston will be completed, affording 
 every facility of intercourse to the seaboard. 
 
 This place has grown by, and must depend on, its 
 manufactures. Its location renders it important, not 
 only to the owners, but to the nation. Its consumption 
 not only employs the thousands of its own population, 
 
liO A PRESENT. 
 
 but many tlioiisands far away from them. It is calcu- 
 lated not only to give individual happiness and prosperity, 
 but to add to our national wealth and independence ; and 
 instead of depending on foreign countries, to have our 
 own material worked up in our own country. 
 
 Some of the girls attended three looms ; and they 
 make from one dollar seventy-five cents to three dollars 
 per week, after paying their board. ' These looms weave 
 fifty-five yards per day ; so that one person makes one 
 hundred and sixty-five yards per day. Everything 
 moves on like clock-work, in all the variety of employ- 
 ments ; and the whole manufacture appears to be of the 
 very best. 
 
 The owner of one of the mills, Mr. Lawrence, presented 
 me with a suit of broadcloth, made out of wool bought 
 from Mark Cockral, of Mississippi, who sold them about 
 four thousand pounds, and it was as good cloth as the 
 best I ever bought for best imported. 
 
 The calico made here is beautiful, and of every variety 
 of figure and color. To attempt to give a description of 
 the manner in which it is stamped and colored is far be- 
 yond my abilities. One thing I must state, that after 
 the web is wove, and before they go further, it is actually 
 passed over a red-hot cylinder^ to scorch off the furze. 
 The number of different operations is truly astonishing ; 
 and if one of my country-women had the whole of the 
 persons in her train that helped to make her gown, she 
 should be like a captain on a field muster : and yet, when 
 you come to look at the cost, it would take a trunk full 
 of them to find these same people in living for one day. 
 
 I never witnessed such a combination of industry, and 
 
A SUPPE]?. 217 
 
 perhaps never will agnin. I saw the wliolc process, from 
 the time tlicy put in the raw material, until it came out 
 completely finished. In fact, it almost came up to the 
 old story of a fellow walking into a patent machine with 
 a hundle of wool under his arm, and coming out at the 
 other end with a new coat on. 
 
 Nothing can be more agreeable than the attention that 
 is paid by every one connected with these establishments. 
 Nothing appears to be kept secret — every process is 
 shown and with great cheerfulness. I regret that more 
 of our southern and western men do not go there, as it 
 would help much to do away with their prejudices against 
 these manufactories. 
 
 I met the young gentlemen of Lowell, by tlu^r partic- 
 ular request, at supper. About one hundred sat down. 
 Everything was in grand order, and went off well. They 
 toasted me, and I enlightened thcni by a speech as good 
 as I could make ; arid, indeed, I considered them a good 
 set of fellows, and as well worth speaking to as any onot: 
 I had met with. The old saying, " tliem that don't work 
 should not eat," don't apply to them, for they are rale 
 workies, and know how to act genteel, too ; for I assure 
 you I was not more kindly, and hospitably, and liber- 
 ally treated any where than just by these same people. 
 
 After supper I went to my lodgings for the niglit. 
 Next morning I took another range round the tOAvn and 
 returned to Boston. 
 
 Part of tliis evening I spent at Lieutenant Governor 
 Armstrong's,* where I met a number of ladies and gentle- 
 znen. Tart of it went off very })leasantly with my wortliy 
 
 * Siiuiucl T. Annstrong, im ouiinont. buokscllor ol" IJoston. 
 
218 NEW ENGLAND HOSPITALITY. 
 
 landlord in his private rooms ; and I do him the justice to 
 say, that while he supplied his visiters with every thing that 
 was nice, he had also picked out for himself as pretty a 
 little bird as ever fluttered, and is in good keeping with 
 everything about the establishment. 
 
 Having been invited to the theatre, I went over and 
 sat a short time to be looked at. I was very genteel and 
 quiet, and so I suppose I disappointed some of them, who 
 expected to see a half horse half alligator sort of fellow. 
 
 This was my last night in Boston, and I am sure, if I 
 never see the place again, I never can forget the kind 
 and friendly manner in which I was treated by them. It 
 appeared to me that every body was anxious to serve me, 
 and make my time agreeable. And as a proof that comes 
 home — when I called for my bill next morning, I was told 
 there was no charge to be paid by me, and that he was 
 very much delighted that I had made his house my home. 
 I forgot to mention that they treated me so in Lowell — 
 but it is true. This was, to me, at all events, proof 
 enough of Yankee liberality; and more than they gener- 
 ally get credit for. In fact, from the time I entered 
 New England, I was treated with the greatest friendship ; 
 and I hope never shall forget it ; and I wish all who read 
 this book, and who never were there, would take a trip 
 among them. If they don't learn how to make money, 
 they will know how to use it ; and if they don't learn in- 
 dustry, they will see how comfortable every body can be 
 that turns his hands to some employment. 
 
 Next day the stage called for me at seven .o'clock, and 
 I took my departure from Boston, and went to Provi- 
 dence in Rhode Island. Here I was invited to dine at 
 
VISIT TO CAMDEN. 219 
 
 two of the hotels, but declined both. In fact, I was 
 tired ont, and wanted a day or two to get rested ; and 
 my face being turned towards Washington and my busi- 
 ness, I thought I had better go ahead. 
 
 We had, from Providence, what they call a p-etty con- 
 siderable of a run, and landed safely in New York that 
 city of eternal din and confusion. 
 
 I spent that evening with some ladies and gentlemen, 
 
 and rode out with , in his carriage, faster than 
 
 I ever was driven by horse power, for twenty-five miles. 
 
 Next morning I took my leave of the city of New 
 York, and arrived safely in Philadelphia. 
 
 Having promised Mr. Hoy of Camden to call and see 
 him on my return, and having fixed the time, I went 
 over accompanied by several gentlemen, to the Jersey 
 shore, where there were a great many people waiting to 
 receive me. They gave me the hand of friendship, and 
 appeared pleased that I had come over to see them. We 
 proceeded to Mr. Hoy's, and then I took a walk around 
 through Camden. On returning to Mr. Hoy's I took 
 some refreshments, and was called on for a toast, but 
 begged off, as I expected to be called on for one at dinner. 
 
 Some time after this we were asked in to dinner, and 
 heard some one say he had lost his pocket-book. And 
 in a few minutes a second cry was raised, that another 
 man had lost his pocket-book. I then felt for mine, but 
 I felt in vain — it was gone, with one hundred and sixty- 
 eiglit dollars in it. I told them there was another gentle- 
 man that had his deposits removed, and it must be a 
 Jackson man who did it, as it was all on their own j^lan. 
 But as I was among my friends, I knew I was not just a 
 
220 TRIP TO BALTIMORE. 
 
 broke man, and therefore I sliut pan on the subject, and 
 fell to eating my dinner. "VYe had every thing that was 
 good to eat, and abundance of fine wine, so we soon for- 
 got the ills of life. After the table was cleared and 
 some toasts drunk, they toasted me in a very handsome 
 manner, complimenting me highly for the course I had 
 taken as a public servant. I returned my gratitude in a 
 speech of about half an hour ; but which, as is said 
 in certain advertisements, would be too tedious to 
 insert. 
 
 After spending a pleasant afternoon, I returned to 
 Philadelphia in the horse-boat ; the very one, I suppose, 
 the fellow told of when crossing over. He said they had 
 put in a couple of colts, and being very wild, they pitched 
 ahead, ran off with the boat down the river and never 
 stopped till they came up jam against the breakwater. 
 
 Next morning I was invited to go on to Baltimore in 
 the People's Line of steamboats. I accepted the proposal, 
 and started in the Ohio steamboat. What is a little re- 
 markable is this, that the rail-road line had always here- 
 tofore beat the People's Line until that day, when we 
 passed them, and came into port sometime before them. 
 Whether this was because they had me on board or not, 
 I do not pretend to say. Some said, if I could tow a 
 boat up the Mississippi, it was no wonder I could help 
 one along on the Chesapeake bay. 
 
 Many of my friends met me on the wharf at Baltimore, 
 and escorted me to Barnum's, where there was a great 
 crowd of people. They called on me for a speech. I 
 made a great many apologies, but none seemed to fit the 
 
RETUEN TO WASHIXGTON. 221 
 
 riglit place, and I was compelled once more to play the 
 orator. 
 
 As usual, when there is some speaking going on, there 
 is a good deal of eating and drinking ; so I eat and drank 
 generously, and retired. 
 
 Several friends called on me, and requested me to 
 visit Major James P. Heath, member of Congress from 
 Baltimore. I did so, and staid a short time at his house, 
 and then returned to uncle Davie's. 
 
 Next morning I took the stage for Washington. ,When 
 I arrived at the capitol, I found nothing new, more than 
 they had just got through the appropriation bill, and was 
 taking the vote to postpone Mr. Boone's resolution, set- 
 ting the day of adjournment. I went in while the clerk 
 was calling the ayes and noes, and when he came to my 
 name, and I answered, every one was astonished to find 
 me at my post. ''Did not I tell you," said I, "that I 
 would not vote on the appropriation bill, but when you 
 came to any thing else, I was ' Charley on the spot ?' " 
 I walked about the house, saw my friends, and sat out 
 the Congress. When the House adjourned for good and 
 all, I started for home, by the way of Philadelphia. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Breaking np of Congress — Crockett at Philadelphia — Presentation 
 of thePifle— The Colonel's Speech— Visit to the Fish House— Cele- 
 bration of the Fourth of July — The Colonel's Speech at Chesnut 
 Street Theatre — Present of Gunpowder ri'oni ]\Ir. Diipont — Croc- 
 kett at Pittsburg — His advice to 'IViniessee — C(iiivei>ati(»n with 
 Captain Stone — Passage to Cincinnali and Louisville — S])eech at 
 Louisville — Return Hume — Shooting for Beef. 
 
 Did you, my good reader, ever -witness a breaking up 
 of Congress ? If not, you had better come and see for 
 yourself. The fir^t thing that is done is, to be sure tliat 
 Sunday shall be one of the last days. That is because 
 we get paid for Sunday; and then, as they generally 
 fix, at the end of long sessions, on Monday to break up, 
 a good many can start on Saturday evening or Sunday 
 morning, with tAvo days' extra pay in hand, as they never 
 calculate on much to be done on the last day of the ses- 
 sion, except to send messages to the senate and president 
 that they are ready to adjourn, &c., &c. We generally 
 lounge or squabble the greater part of the session, and 
 crowd into a few days of the last of the term three or 
 four times the business done during as many preceding 
 months. You may therefore guess at the deliberations 
 of Congress, when you can't hear, for the soul of you, 
 what's going on, nor no one knows .what it is, but three 
 or four, and when it's no use to try to know. Woe 
 
BREAKING UP or CONGRESS. 223 
 
 betide a bill tliat is opposed ! It is laid aside for further 
 time, and that never comes, ■s^'^iis is considered, how- 
 ever, by some of the great men as good legislation ; to 
 reject every claim, as if the American people was a herd 
 of scoundrels, and every petitioner a cheat, and therefore 
 they are doing the country service to reject every thing. 
 Most of these worthies are content to vote no, and will 
 not trouble themselves to investigate. I don't know 
 what they are made of, for to me nothing is more de- 
 lightful than to vote for a claim which, I think, is justly 
 du:3, and make them feel as if the government cared for 
 them and their concerns, and would pay what vras justly 
 due. What do you think would a petitioner care about 
 going to fight for his country who had been dinging at 
 the doors of Congress, ever since the last w^ar, for some 
 claim or other justly due him, but driven from post to 
 pillar, because he does not come within the spirit or let- 
 ter of some general law, or because if you pay him, you 
 must others like him ? This an't the way with private 
 people ; they must pay, or be called unjust, and be sued 
 into the bargain. ^_^-— -—""- "^ 
 
 When I arrived in Philadelphia, I put up at the United 
 States, where I felt a kind of being at home. 
 
 Next morning I was informed that the rifle gun which 
 was to be presented to me by the young men of Philadel- 
 phia, was finished, and would be delivered that evening ; 
 and that a committee had been appointed to wait on me 
 and conduct me to where I was to receive it. So, ac- 
 cordingly, in the evening the committee came, and I 
 walked with them to a room nearly foment the old state- 
 house : it was crowded full, and there was a table in the 
 
22-1 EirLE FRESEXTED. 
 
 centre, wltli tlie gun, a tomaliawk, and butclier-knife, 
 both of fine razor metal, with all the accoutrements ne- 
 cessary to the gun — the most beautiful I ever saw, or 
 any body else ; and I am now happy to add, as good as 
 they are handsome. My friend, John M. Sanderson, Esq. , 
 who had the whole management of getting her made, was 
 present, and delivered the gun into my hands. Upon 
 receiving her, I addressed the company as follows : 
 
 " Gentlemen : I receive this rifle from the young men 
 of Philadelphia, as a testimony of friendship, which I 
 hope never to live to forget. This is a favorite article 
 w^ith me, and would have been my choice above all pre- 
 sents that could have been selected. I love a good gun, 
 for it makes a man feel independent, and prepared either 
 for war or peace. 
 
 " This rifle does honor to the gentleman that made it. 
 I must say, long as I have been accustomed to handle a 
 gun, I have never seen anything that could come near a 
 comparison to her in beauty. I cannot think that ever 
 such a rifle was made, either in this, or any other coun- 
 try; and how, gentlemen, to express my gratitude to 
 you for your splendid present, I am at loss. This much, 
 however, I will sa}^, that myself and my sons will not 
 forget you while we use this token of your kindness for 
 our amusement. If it should become necessary to use 
 her in defence of the liberty of our country, in my time, 
 I will do as I have done before ; and if the struggle 
 should come when I am buried in the dust, I will leave 
 her in the hands of some who will honor your present, 
 in company with your sons, in standing for our country's 
 rights. 
 
THE FISH HOUSE. L^-Jo 
 
 " Accept my sincere thanks, therefore, gentlemen, for 
 your valuable present — one of which I will keep as a 
 testimony of your friendship, so long as I am in exis- 
 tence." 
 
 I then received the gun and accoutrement?, and re- 
 turned to the hotel, where I made an agreement with 
 Mr. Sanderson and Colonel Pulaski, to go with them the 
 next day to Jersey shore, at Camden, and try my gun. 
 
 Next morning we went out. I had been long out of 
 practice, so that I could not give her a fair trial. I shot 
 tolerable well, and was satisfied that when we became 
 better acquainted, the fault would be mine if the var- 
 mints did not suffer. 
 
 I was invited the next day to go up and spend the day 
 at the Fish House on the Schuylkill, where the fathers 
 of our country, in ancient days, used to assemble and 
 spend the day in taking their recreation and refresh- 
 ments. It has been a noted jDlace ever since, and is as 
 beautiful as you can imagine. It is called the twenty- 
 fifth state. They have regular officers, and keep up the 
 old customs with a great deal of formalitj'-. We amused 
 ourselves shooting, and catching perch. We had a nice 
 refreshment, and abundance of the best to drink. Every 
 gentleman took a hand in cooking ; and the day was 
 truly spent in harmony and peace. 
 
 The next morning was the Fourth of July, and I had 
 received an invitation, while at Washington, to take din- 
 ner in the first district, at the Hermitage, with the 
 Whigs, and had accepted the invitation. 
 
 At an early hour I was invited to the Musical Fund 
 
 Hall, where an oration was to be delivered ; and went 
 15 
 
lil'O CELEBRATION OF THE FOURTH OF JULY. 
 
 with the honorable Messrs. Webster, Poindexter, Man 
 gum, Ewing, and Robbins, senators, and Mr. Denny, of 
 the House of Representatives. We were conducted up 
 to a gallery in the first story of an immense building, 
 crowded below to overfloAving, with ladies and gentlemen. 
 
 After the address of the orator, the audience was also 
 addressed by all the senators, and I was then called on. 
 "A speech from Colonel Crockett," was the cry all over 
 the house. I was truly embarrassed to succeed so many 
 great men, and where I saw so many ladies ; but I found 
 no excuse would do, and so spoke. 
 
 I then returned to the hotel, where I was w^aited on in 
 a short time by a committee, with a splendid carriage, 
 and was conveyed to the Hermitage, where I met a large 
 concourse of people ; and when it was made known that 
 I had arrived, I was received with loud and repeated 
 cheers, and peals of cannon. I was conveyed to a large 
 and cool shade, and introduced to a vast number of citi- 
 zens, who all appeared glad to see me. I partook of 
 cool drinks of various kinds, and amused myself among 
 the people till near the dinner hour. We were then 
 asked to walk out and take our seats on the stand, 
 where the Declaration of Independence was read, and a 
 most appropriate address was delivered by the orator of 
 the day. 
 
 1 was then called on by the crowd for a speech ; but 
 dinner was ready, and we agreed to postpone further 
 speaking until after dinner. 
 
 The dinner, in elegance and variety, did honor to the 
 person who prepared it. After the cloth was removed, 
 
SPEECH AT CHESXUT STREET THEATRE. 227 
 
 and the regular toasts given, I was complimented with a 
 toast. 
 
 I rose and requested the company to do me the favor 
 to repair to the stand, and I would endeavor to address 
 them from it, as the crowd was so great, it would be im- 
 possible for me to make them hear at the table, and if I 
 had to speak, I desired to gratify all. When we got out, 
 I found a great many ladies surrounding the stand. I 
 made my way to it among the crowd, who were loudly 
 calling out for my speech, and addressed them. 
 
 I then thanked the people for their attention, and we 
 repaired to the table, filled our glasses, and drank my 
 toast. 
 
 By this time, Mr. Webster, Mr. Robbins, and Mr. 
 Denny arrived, and each were severally toasted, and each 
 made a speech. The whole of the day was delightfully 
 spent ; everybody seemed pleased, and I enjoyed myself 
 much. 
 
 Shortly after this the committee returned with me, 
 and we went to the Chesnut street theatre. Here I met 
 a great concourse of people, all in a fine Fourth of July 
 condition. Immediately upon its being announced that I 
 had arrived, I was called on from all quarters for a speech. 
 I rose, and made an apology that I was so hoarse, speaking 
 so much, that I could hardly be heard. However, no 
 excuse would be taken ; so I was conveyed to the centre 
 of the crowd, and made them a short address. They 
 gave me two or three thunders like you hear on the 
 stage, and then went on with the show. 
 
 I soon left them and returned to the hotel, and really 
 was worn out with the scenes of the day, and making three 
 
228 PRESENT FROM MR. DUPONT. 
 
 off-hand speeches ; and I have often thought since, that 
 nothing could have induced me to have done so, if it had 
 not been in Philadelphia, and on the Fourth of July. I 
 was stimulated by being in sight of the old State-house, 
 and Independence square, where the fathers of our coun- 
 try met, as it were, with halters on their necks, and sub- 
 scribed their names to that glorious Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 Next morning, I was introduced to the great powder- 
 maker, Mr. Dupont, who said to me, that he had been 
 examining my fine gun, and that he had wished to make 
 me a present of half a dozen canisters of his best sports- 
 man's powder. I thanked him, and he went off, and in 
 a short time returned with one dozen, nicely boxed up 
 and directed to me. I then made my arrangements to 
 start the next morning. 
 
 While walking about that evening with a friend, we 
 called in at a China importer's store. I was introduced 
 to him ; and after looking at his splendid collection for 
 some time, he told me he had a wish to present me with 
 a large pitcher. I thought the gentleman was joking, at 
 first ; but he assured me, that if I would accept it, he 
 would pack it up in a box so that it could not break, 
 and I could carry it home safely. I thanked him sin- 
 cerely for his friendship. It was sent to me, and I 
 carried it home and gave it to my Avife, telling her that, 
 when I was away, that pitcher should remind her that 
 folks get thirsty, and the same spirit which prompted 
 the gentleman to give, should make us use it. I am 
 sorry I forgot his name. 
 
 Early next morning I set out for Pittsburg, by the 
 
CONVERSATION WITH A JACKSON MAN. 229 
 
 fast line, and had a very pleasant trip over tlie moun- 
 tains. I attracted much attention as I passed through 
 Pennsylvania, where it was known who I was. Afcju^j 
 the middle of the State I met with an old man m a 
 tavern, and asked him who was his representati'e in 
 Congress. "Why," says he, "Dunlap." I tjld him 
 that could not be, there was but one of that name in, 
 and he was from Tennessee. ''Well," says he, "it 
 must be Crawford." No, I told him, thv^re was no 
 Crawford in the House. " Well, hang it, chen, it must 
 be George Chambers." "Ah, now you're right; I 
 know him well, he's a good fellow — walks the planks 
 straight. I hope you will re-elect him." "Well, I 
 expect we will ; I know nothing against him, only he 
 isn't on our side." " What side are you on ?" " Wedl, 
 I'm for Jackson." "Wh}^," said I, "I thought that 
 was no side at all; he's 07i top.'' The old man looked 
 at me right hard. Says I, "Mister, what makes you 
 for Jackson ?" " Why," says he, " he licked the British 
 at New Orleans, and paid off the national debt." 
 "Mister," says I, "who was the officers and- soldiers 
 that fought at New Orleans besides General Jackson ?" 
 He said he did not know. "Well," says I, "they 
 ought to have a part of the glory, any how — now tell 
 me whose money pays off the national debt?'" "Why, 
 I suppose, old Jackson's, as they keep so much talk 
 about it." " Well, now, my good old friend, suppose 
 part of it was yours, and part mine, and part every- 
 body's else ; and suppose he would have been broke of 
 his office if he had not paid out what a law of Congress, 
 made twenty years ago, provided for paying, what is the 
 
230 CROCKETT AT PITTSBURG. 
 
 glory of the whole of this?" He looked kind of 
 stumped. I bid him good bye, and told him that he 
 ought to read both sides. 
 
 I arrived in Pittsburg in the night, and early in the 
 morning went down to the wharf to inquire for a steam- 
 boat. I soon found Captain Stoue, who commanded 
 the Hunter. He said he had been waiting a day, think- 
 ing that I would like to go with him. That was true, 
 and I found him all sorts of a clever man. We were to 
 start at ten o'clock. I returned to the tavern where I 
 had put up, and a great many gentlemen called to see 
 me, and, among others, Mr. Grant, brother-in-law of 
 Governor Carroll, of Tennessee. He invited me to walk 
 through the city, and to visit his house, which I did, 
 arfd he introduced me to a great many of the citizens. 
 I returned, and prepared for a start. 
 
 My acquaintance in this place was very limited. I 
 had been there before, but my name had not made such 
 a noise then^s now. 
 
 The marks of industry and enterprise are very visible 
 in Pittsburg. It is a perfect workshop, and is increasing 
 every year in extent, beauty, and population. The 
 aqueduct, and other splendid works terminating the 
 great canal from Philadelphia, speaks highly for Penn- 
 sylvania foresight and perseverance. What signifies the 
 debt incurred by her ? but it is no debt, in my mind. 
 It is a noble, imperishing, and increasing investment for 
 posterity ; and they will, to remotest ages, bleir the 
 men who have sustained so much abuse by the pack out 
 of office, and will consider them as the greatest bene- 
 factors of their State and of the nation. I say of the 
 
PITTSBUaa. 231 
 
 nation; for tMs canal is a new artery in the body 
 politic, tliroiigli whicli tlie life-blood of its future pros- 
 perity and union will flow for ever. Its present facili- 
 t'es have brought a part of the State of Ohio, in point 
 of cost of transportation, within two days' drive with a 
 wagon of the city of Philadelphia, and it will be lovver 
 still. Is not this national in its operation ? Who can 
 Toubt it ? 
 
 I had heard it said, particularly in New York, that 
 this same canal never could get along, because their 
 great western canal would carry ail the produce and 
 merchandize; and I took some pains to hear a little 
 about it, and am fully persuaded such is not the fact, 
 and never can be. I was informed that the trade on 
 this Pennsylvania canal was four or five times what it 
 was when the first year ended, and in a few years would 
 be a profit to the State ; and to me it seems clear, that 
 no one south of Pittsburg, in Ohio, and elsewhere, are 
 going to send their merchandize way round by the New 
 York canal, and run the risks of the lake, when they 
 can put them snug into a boat at Philadelphia, and land 
 them safe, without risk, in Pittsburg. I wish I could 
 agree with the Pennsylvanians as well in other respects 
 as I do on internal improvements. What will she not 
 do for her inhabitants in a few years, when her twenty 
 odd millions, invested in all her vast and various im- 
 provements, shall yield but a moderate profit ! Her 
 roads will all be paved ; her rivers and creeks made 
 navigable ; her schools be free for high and low, and 
 her, inhabitants free from taxation ! ! I Reader, these 
 events ai-e sure to come. 
 
232 ADVICE TO TENNESSEE. 
 
 And here, let me address a "syord to my own State. 
 Go on with what little you have begun, and never rest 
 until you have opened every facility to every part of our 
 State. Though we are divided into east and west, we 
 are all Tennessee. Give a ^'long pull, and a strong 
 pull, and a pull altogether," and every difficulty will 
 vanish. Give our inhabitants a chance among the rest 
 of the States, and you'll not hear so much of Alabama, 
 or Arkansas, or Texas. 
 
 Well, I've got a long slipe off from my steamboat, the 
 Hunter, and I had better look up the captain. So off 
 I starts, trunk, gun-case, old lady's pitcher, and all. 
 "How's the water. Captain Stone?" "Why, colonel, 
 the river is pretty considerable for a run, but the water 
 is as cool as Presbyterian charity, and the old Monon- 
 gahela is a leetle of the remains of what Abigail, the 
 wife of old Nabal, carried as a present to David. Clear 
 off the coal-dust out of your wizzand, and give us a 
 yarn about your tower." "Why, captain, may I be 
 shot if you mightn't run with this same craft of yourn 
 down, through, and out of Symmes's lower hole, and 
 back again, afore I could get through half what I've 
 seen ; I've been clean away amongst the Yankees, where 
 they call your name Stunn.'' "Me, Stunn ! well, it's 
 hard that as slick a fellow as me should go by such 
 nick-names. Livin gingers ! what d'ye suppose, colonel, 
 they call me in Orlanes ?" "I dare say, some hard 
 name." " Only think of the parly vous ; some call me 
 Mr. Peer, and some, by jingo, call me Mr. Peter ; and 
 you can't beat it out of them. Only think of Sam Gun, 
 the fireman ; he took a spree with som,e of them Char- 
 
CONVERSATION WITH CAPTAIN STONE. 233 
 
 lies, in Orlanes, and they begun to call him Mounsheer 
 Fusil. Well, Sam bore it a good while ; but at last he 
 told Joe Head, the engineer, that the first fellow who 
 miscalled his father's name, should have a tip of his 
 daddle. 'Good,' says Joe; says he, 'Sam, only take 
 care of their caitiff s, as how they call them long knives.' 
 Well, it wasn't long before Sam peeled the bark ofi" of a 
 parly's knowledge-box, and so Joe and him had it with 
 a cabin full of th^m. So Sam he got ojff to the boat, 
 but the calaboos men got Joe ; so Joe he sends for me, 
 and when they cum for me, they passed the word that 
 Mr. Tate had sent for me. Well, off I goes to the 
 police, and they axed me if I would go bail for Moun- 
 sheer Tate. 'No,' says I; Mon't know him.' 'Yes, 
 but you do, captain,' said some one inside ; and when I 
 went in, who should it be but Joe Head ! transmogrified 
 into Mounsheer Tate ! ! Well, we got the matter ex- 
 plained, and they all laughed and drunk friends. Well, 
 colonel, here's to you ; I'm sure you didn't get anything 
 better anywhere ; and afore w^e quit, just tell me, did 
 you see the sea-sarpint ?" "No, indeed, I did not, 
 although I spoke for him not to be out of the way." 
 " Well, colonel, I wonder at them Yankee fellows, they 
 are monstrous cute ; but I suspect they don't know 
 much about snaking. I think with me in the Hunter 
 here, you with your rifle, and one of these 'long shore 
 Spaniards with his lasso, we would give him a little of 
 the hurricane tipp'd with thunder." " If we didn't 
 catch him," says I, "we could scare him out of his skin, 
 and that's all they want at the museum." 
 
 So we passed our time till we arrived opposite Wheel- 
 
234 PASSAGE TO CINCINNATI AND LOUISVILLE. 
 
 ing. I walked up into tlie town, and was soon sur- 
 rounded by many of the citizens, and in a short time was 
 waited on by a committee, and invited to partake of a 
 dinner that day at three o'clock. This kind invitation I 
 was obliged to decline, lest I should lose my passage. 
 So they treated me handsomely, and asked the captain, 
 before he started, to run a short distance up the river, 
 and as he came past they would give him a salute. He 
 did so. I got on the hurricane deck, took off my hat, 
 and returned their salute. They continued to cheer un- 
 til we got out of hearing. All went on well, and we ar- 
 rived at the mouth of Guyandotte, where we took on 
 board Messrs. Hardin, Tompkins, and Beaty, three of the 
 members of Congress from Kentucky. We went on plea- 
 santly until we arrived at Cincinnati. Our boat was 
 fine, and the Captain a clever fellow. It was night when 
 we arrived ; so, early next morning I called to see my 
 two friends, Messrs. Smiths and families, spent a short 
 time with them, and returned to the boat. By this time 
 it was ascertained that I was on board, and a committee 
 waited on me, and invited me to partake of a cold cut at 
 three o'clock that day, and make them a speech. I 
 agreed to do so. 
 
 I remained over night and took the packet boat next 
 morning for Louisville, where I arrived the day after. 
 My friends had provided for me at the Louisville hotel, 
 the finest public house I have been in west of the moun- 
 tains. I was asked to make a speech to the people next 
 day, which I agreed to, as I had no hope of getting off in a 
 boat for a few days. It was published that I was to 
 speak on the next evening ; so I was sent for in the 
 
SPEECH AT LOUISVILLE. 235 
 
 morning to visit Jeffersonville Springs, in Indiana, across 
 the river. I went, and found a number of ladies and 
 gentlemen, and after being introduced to the company, 
 I was asked to make a speech, to which I had but little 
 objection, as I wished to discuss the question of the Pres- 
 ident vetoing the Wabash appropriation, and yet signing 
 the Van Buren, New York, Hudson river bill. This I 
 did, and the people appeared well pleased. I partook of 
 some of the good things of this life with them, exhorting 
 all Jackson Van Buren men to turn from the evil of their 
 ways, and took myself off for the other side of the 
 river. 
 
 In the evening I attended at the court-house, and met 
 the largest concourse of people that ever has been assem- 
 bled in Louisville since it has been settled. This I was 
 told by a gentleman who had resided there for upwards 
 of twenty years. The people all appeared to be excited 
 with curiosity or something else. I had no idea of at- 
 tracting so much attention ; but there I was in the thick 
 of them. I discovered there were a great many ladies 
 amongst the audience, and among them the celebrated 
 Mrs. Drake. A stand had been erected for me in the 
 court-house yard, on which I stood and addressed the 
 crowd. 
 
 I then returned to the hotel, and in a short time a 
 committee of the young men waited on me and invited 
 me to a dinner on Thursday, as a testimony in favor of 
 my political course. I gave a conditional acceptance, 
 and no boat arriving, I attended and partook of them 
 with a splendid dinner. I was toasted, and made a speech, 
 complimenting the young men for their zeal in the cause 
 
236 RETURN HOME. 
 
 of their country. If I had the powers of General Lafa- 
 yette, I would have written out all my speeches ; but I 
 have not, and therefore omit this one. All passed off 
 pleasantly, and next day I took the steamboat Scotland, 
 commanded by Captain Buckner, a gentleman, every 
 inch of him. After a fine run, we arrived at Mills' 
 Point on the 22d day of July. Here I once more touched 
 the soil of Tennessee, and found my son William waiting 
 to carry me home, which was distant thirty-five miles. 
 
 When I landed and took out my fine gun, the folks ga- 
 thered round me to see the great curiosity. A large fel- 
 low stepped up, and asked me why all the members did 
 not get such guns given them ? I told him I got that 
 gun for being honest, in supporting my country instead 
 of bowing doAvn and worshiping an idol. He looked at 
 me and said, that was very strong. " No stronger than 
 true, my friend," said I. 
 
 In a short time I set out for my own home : yes, my 
 own home, my own soil, my own humble dwelling, my 
 own family, my own hearts, my ocean of love and affec- 
 tion which neither circumstances nor time can dry up. 
 Here, like the wearied bird, let me settle down for awhile, 
 and shut out the world. * * * * 
 
 In the course of a few days, I determined to try my 
 new gun upon the living subject. I started for a hunt, 
 and shortly came across a fine buck. He fell at the dis- 
 tance of one hundred and thirty steps. Not a bad shot, 
 you will say. I say, not a bad gun either. After a little 
 practice with her, she came up to the eye prime, and I 
 determined to try her at the first shooting-match for 
 beef. 
 
SHOOTING FOR BEEF. 237 
 
 As this is a novelty to most of mj readers, I will 
 endeavor to give a description of this western amuse- 
 ment. 
 
 In the latter part of summer our cattle get very fat, 
 as the range is remarkably fine ; and some one, desirous 
 of raising money on one of his cattle, advertises that on 
 a particular day, and at a given place, a first-rate beef 
 will be shot for. 
 
 When the day comes, every marksman in the neigh- 
 borhood will meet at the appointed place, with his gun. 
 After the company has assembled, a subscription paper 
 is handed round, with the following heading : 
 
 ''A. B. oifers a beef worth twenty dollars, to be shot 
 for, at twenty-five cents a shot." Then the names are 
 put down by each person, thus : 
 
 D. C. puts in four shots, . . . $1 00 
 
 E. F. " eight " . . . . 2 00 
 G. H. " two " ... 50 
 And thus it goes round, until the price is made up. 
 Two persons are then selected, who have not entered 
 
 for shots, to act as judges of the match. Every shooter 
 gets a board, and makes a cross in the centre of his tar- 
 get. The shot that drives the centre, or comes nearest 
 to it, gets the hide and talloio, which is considered the 
 first choice. The next nearest gets his choice of the 
 hind quarters ; the third gets the other hind quarter ; 
 the fourth takes choice of the fore quarters ; the fifth the 
 remaining quarter ; and the sixth gets the lead in the 
 tree against which we shoot. 
 
 The judges stand near the tree, and when a man fires 
 they cry out, " Who shot? " and the shooter gives in his 
 
238 ' SHOOTING FOR BEEF. 
 
 name ; and so on, till all have shot. The judges then 
 take all the boards, and go off by themselves, and decide 
 what quarter each man has won. Sometimes one will 
 get nearly all. 
 
 This is one of our homely amusements — enjoyed as 
 much by us, and perhaps more, than most of your refined 
 entertainments. Here each man takes a part, if he 
 pleases, and no one is excluded, unless his improper con- 
 duct renders him unfit as an associate. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Electioneering — Stump speech — Price of Popularity — Treating— Tha 
 Coon skin Trick — The Yankee Merchant, outwitted — Offer of Com« 
 pensation on the part of the Colonel refused — Adam Huntsman, 
 the Colonel's Opponent. 
 
 I BEGIN this chapter on the 8th day of July, 1835, at 
 Home, Weakley county, Tennessee. I have just re- 
 turned from a two weeks' electioneering canvass, and T 
 have spoken every day to large concourses of people 
 with my competitor. I have him badly plagued, for he 
 does not know as much about ^Hhe Government," the 
 deposites, and the Little Flying Dutchman, whose life I 
 wrote, as I can tell the people ; and at times he is as 
 much bothered as a fly in a tar pot to get out of the 
 mess. A candidate is often stumped in making stump 
 speeches. His name is Adam Huntsman ; he lost a leg 
 in an Indian fight, they say, during the last war, and the 
 Government run him on the score of his military services. 
 I tell him in my speech that I have great hopes of writ- 
 ing one more book, and that shall be the second fall of 
 Adam, for he is on the Eve of an almighty thrashing. 
 He relishes the joke about as much as a doctor does his 
 own physic. I handle the administration without gloves, 
 and I do believe I will double my competitor, if I have 
 
 a fair shake, and he does not work like a mole in tho 
 
 (239) 
 
240 STUMP SPEECH. 
 
 dark. Jacksonism is dying here faster than it ever 
 sprung up, and I predict that " the Government " will 
 be the most unpopular man, in one year more, that ever 
 had any pretensions to the high place he now fills. Four 
 weeks from to-morrow will end the dispute in our elec- 
 tions, and if old Adam is not beaten out of his hunting 
 shirt, my name isn't Crockett. 
 
 While on the subject of election matters, I will just 
 relate a little anecdote about myself, which will show 
 the people to the east, how we manage these things on 
 the frontiers. It was when I first run for Congress ; I 
 was then in favor of the Hero, for he had chalked out 
 his course so sleek in his letter to the Tennessee legisla- 
 ture, that, like Sam Patch, says I, " there can be no 
 mistake in him," and so I went ahead. No one dreamt 
 about the monster and the deposites at that time, and so, 
 as I afterward found, many, like myself, were taken in 
 by these fair premises, which were worth about as much 
 as a flash in the pan when you have a fair shot at a fat 
 bear. 
 
 But I am losing sight of my story. Well, I started 
 off to the Cross Roads, dressed in my hunting shirt, and 
 my rifle on my shoulder. Many of our constituents had 
 assembled there to get a taste of the quality of the can- 
 didates at orating. Job Snelling, a gander-shanked 
 Yankee, who had been caught somewhere about Plymouth 
 Bay, and been shipped to the west with a cargo of cod- 
 fish and rum, erected a large shantee, and set up shop 
 for the occasion. A large posse of the voters had as- 
 sembled before I arrived, and my opponent had already 
 made considerable headway with his speechifying and 
 
PRICE OF POPULARITY. 241 
 
 his treating, when they spied me about a rifle shot from 
 the camp, sauntering along as if I was not a party in 
 business. "There comes Crockett," cried one. "Let 
 us hear the colonel," cried another, and so I mounted 
 the stump that had been cut down for the occasion, and 
 began to bushwhack in the most approved style. 
 
 I had not been up long before there was such an up- 
 roar in the crowd that I could not hear my own voice, 
 and some of my constituents let me know, that they could 
 not listen to me on such a dry subject as the welfare of 
 the nation, until they had something to drink, and that 
 I must treat them. Accordingly I jumped down from 
 the rostrum, and led the way to the shantee, followed 
 by my constituents, shouting, "Huzza for Crockett," 
 and " Crockett for ever ! " 
 
 When we entered the shantee. Job was busy dealing 
 out his rum in a style that showed he was making a good 
 day's work of it, and I called for a quart of the best, but 
 the crooked oritur returned no other answer than by point- 
 ing to a board over the bar, on which he had chalked in 
 large letters, ' ' Pay to-day and trust to-morrow. ' ' Now that 
 idea brought me up all standing ; it was a sort of corner- 
 ing in which there was no back out, for ready money m 
 the west, in those times, was the shyest thing in all na- 
 tur, and it was most particularly shy with me on that 
 occasion. 
 
 The voters seeing my predicament, fell off to the other 
 side, and I was left deserted and alone, as the Govern- 
 ment will be, when he no longer has any offices to bestow. 
 I saw, as plain as day, that the tide of popular opinion 
 was against me, and that, unless I got some rum speedily, 
 16 
 
342 TREATING. 
 
 I should lose my election as sure as there are snakes in 
 Virginnj, — and it must be done soon, or even burnt 
 brandy -wouldn't save me. So I walked away from the 
 sbantee, but in another guess sort from the way I entered 
 it, for on this occasion I had no train after me, and not 
 a voice shouted, "Huzza for Crockett." Popularity 
 sometimes depends on a very small matter indeed ; in 
 this particular it was worth a quart of New England 
 rum, and no more. 
 
 Well, knowing that a crisis was at hand, I struck into 
 the woods with my rifle on my shoulder, my best friend 
 in time of need, and as good fortune would have it, I had 
 not been out more than a quarter of an hour before I 
 treed a fat coon, and in the pulling of a trigger, he lay 
 dead at the root of the tree. I soon whipped his hairy 
 jacket off his back, and again bent my steps towards the 
 shantee, and walked up to the bar, but not alone, for this 
 time I had half a dozen of my constituents at my heels. 
 I threw down the coon skin upon the counter, and called 
 for a quart, and Job, though busy in dealing out rum, 
 forgot to point at his chalked rules and regulations, for 
 he knew that a coon was as good a legal tender for a 
 quart, in the west, as a New York shilling, any day in 
 the year. 
 
 My constituents now flocked about me, and cried, 
 " Huzza for Crockett," " Crockett for ever," and find- 
 ing the tide had taken a turn, I told them several yarns, 
 to get them in a good humor, and having, soon dispatched 
 the value of the coon, I went out and mounted the stump, 
 without opposition, and a clear majority of the voters 
 followed me to hear what I had to offer for the good 
 
COON SKIN TRICK. 243 
 
 of tte nation. Before I was half through, one of my 
 constituents moved that they would hear the balance ox 
 my speech, after they had washed down the first part 
 with some more of Job Snelling's extract of cornstaFi 
 and molassess, and the question being put, it was carriel 
 unanimously. It wasn't considered necessary to tell the 
 yeas and nays, so we adjourned to the shantee, and on 
 the way I began to reckon that the fate of the nation 
 pretty much depended upon my shooting another coon. 
 
 While standing at the bar, feeling sort of bashful while 
 Job's rules and regulations stared me in the face, I cast 
 down my eyes, and discovered one end of the coon skin 
 sticking between the logs that supported the bar. Job 
 had slung it there in the hurry of business. I gave it a 
 sort of quick jerk, and it followed my hand as natural as 
 if I had been the rightful owner. I slapped it on the 
 counter, and Job, little dreaming that he was barking 
 up the wrong tree, shoved along another bottle, which 
 my constituents quickly disposed of with great good 
 humor, for some of them saw the trick, and then we 
 withdrew to the rostrum to discuss the afiairs of the na- 
 tion. 
 
 I don't know how it was, but the voters soon became 
 dry again, and nothing would do, but we must adjourn 
 to the shantee, and as luck would have it, the coon skin 
 was still sticking between the logs, as if Job had flung it 
 there on purpose to tempt me. I was not slow in raising 
 it to the counter, the rum followed of course, and I wish 
 I may be shot, if I didn't, before the day was over, get 
 ten quarts for the same identical skin, and from a fellow, 
 
M4 YANKEE MERCHANT. 
 
 too, who in those parts was considered as sharp as a steel 
 trap, and as bright as a peiyter button. 
 
 This joke secured me mj election, for it soon circu- 
 lated like smoke among my constituents, and thej al- 
 lowed, with one accord, that the man who could get the 
 whip hand of Job Snelling in fair trade, could outwit Old 
 Nick himself, and was the real grit for them in Con- 
 gress. Job was by no means popular ; he boasted of 
 always being wide awake, and that any one who could 
 take him in, was free to do so, for he came from a stock, 
 that sleeping or waking had always one eye open, and 
 the other not more than half closed. The whole family 
 were geniuses. His father was the inventor of wooden 
 nutmegs, by which Job said he might have made a for- 
 tune, if he had only taken out a patent and kept the bu- 
 siness in his own hands ; his mother Patience manufac- 
 tured the first white oak pumpkin seeds of the mammoth 
 kind, and turned a pretty penny the first season ; and 
 his aunt Prudence was the first to discover that corn 
 husks, steeped into tobacco water, would make as hand- 
 some Spanish wrappers as ever came from Havana, and 
 that oak leaves would answer all the purpose of filling, 
 for no one could discover the difierence except the man 
 who smoked them, and then it would be too late to make 
 a stir about it. Job, himself, bragged of having made 
 some useful discoveries ; the most profitable of which was 
 the art of converting mahogany sawdust into cayenne 
 pepper, which he said was a profitable and safe business ; 
 for the people have been so long accustomed to having 
 dust thrown in their eyes, that there ^wasn't much dan- 
 ger of being found out. 
 
WHO PAID THE RUM. 245 
 
 The -way I got to the blind side of the Yankee mer- 
 chant, was pretty generally known before election day, 
 and the result was, that my opponent might as well have 
 whistled jigs to a milestone, as attempt to beat up for 
 votes in that district. I beat him out and out, quite 
 back into the old year, and there was scarce enough left 
 of him, after the canvass was over, to make a small grease 
 spot. He disappeared without even leaving a mark be- 
 hind ; and such will be the fate of Adam Huntsman, if 
 there is a fair fight and no gouging. 
 
 After the election was over, I sent Snelling the price 
 of the rum, but took good care to keep the fact from 
 the knowledge of my constituents. Job refused the 
 money, and sent me word, that it did him good to be 
 taken in occasionally, as it served to brighten his ideas ; 
 but I afterwards learnt when he found out the trick that 
 had been played upon him, he put all the rum I had 
 ordered, in his bill against my opponent, who, being ela- 
 ted with the speeches he had made on the affairs of the 
 nation, could not descend to examine into the particulars 
 of a bill of a vender of rum in the small way. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 The Colonel loses his election — How it happened — Political perse- 
 cution and corruption — The Colonel's opinions and sentiments on 
 political affairs — Where the public money goes— Anecdote — The 
 Colonel's parting blessing to his constituents — He resolves to go 
 to 'i^exas, and engage in the war for its Independence — Specimen 
 of the Colonel's poetry. 
 
 August 11, 1835. I am now at home in Weakley 
 countj. My canvass is over, and the result is known. 
 Contrary to all expectation, I am beaten two hundred 
 and thirty votes, from the best information I can get ; 
 and in this instance, I may say, bad is the best. My 
 mantle has fallen upon the shoulders of Adam, and I 
 hope he may wear it with becoming dignity, and never 
 lose sight of the welfare of the nation, for the purpose 
 of elevating a few designing politicians to the head of the 
 heap. The rotten policy pursued by " the Government" 
 cannot last long ; it will either work its own downfall, 
 or the downfall of the republic, soon, unless the people 
 tear the seal from their eyes, and behold their danger 
 time enough to avert the ruin. 
 
 I wish to inform the people of these United States 
 what I had to contend against, trusting that the expose 
 I shall make, will be a caution to the people not to re- 
 pose too much power in the hands of a single man, 
 
 though he should be " the greatest and the best." I had, 
 (246) 
 
POLITICAL PERSECUTION. 247 
 
 as I liave already said, Mr. Adam Huntsman for my 
 competitor, aided by the popularity of both Andrew 
 Jackson and Governor Carroll, and the whole strength 
 of the Union Bank at Jackson. I have been told by 
 good men, that some of the managers of the bank on the 
 days of the election were heard say, that they would 
 give twenty-five dollars a vote for votes enough to elect 
 Mr. Huntsman. This is a pretty good price for a vote, 
 and in ordinary times a round dozen might be got for 
 the money. 
 
 I have always believed, since Jackson removed the 
 deposites, that his whole object was to place the treasury 
 where he could use it to influence elections ; and I do 
 believe he is determined to sacrifice every dollar of the 
 treasury, to make the Little Flying Dutchman his suc- 
 cessor. If this is not my creed, I wish I may be shot. 
 For fourteen years since I have been a candidate, I never 
 saw such means used to defeat any candidate, as were 
 put in practice against me on this occasion. There was 
 a disciplined band of judges and officers to hold the elec- 
 tions at almost every poll. Of late years they begin to 
 find out that there's an advantage in this, even in the 
 west. Some officers held the election, and at the same 
 time had nearly all they were worth bet on the election. 
 Such judges, I should take it, are like the handle of a jug, all 
 on one side ; and I am told it doesn't require much school- 
 ing to make the tally list correspond to a notch with the 
 ballot box, provided they who make up the returns have 
 enough loose tickets in their breeches pockets. I have 
 no doubt that I was completely rascalled out of my elec- 
 
248 POLITICAL COKRUPTIOI!T. 
 
 tion, and I do regret that duty to myself and to my 
 country compels me to expose such villainy. 
 
 Well might Governor Poindexter exclaim — " Ah ! my 
 country, what degradation thou hast fallen into !" An- 
 drew Jackson was, during my election canvass, franking 
 the extra Globe with a prospectus in it to every post- 
 office in this district, and upon one occasion he had my 
 mileage and pay as a member drawn up and sent to this 
 district, to one of his minions, to have it published just a 
 few days before the election. This is what I call small 
 potatoes and a few of a hill. He stated that I had 
 charged mileage for one thousand miles and that it was 
 but seven hundred and fifty miles, and held out the idea 
 that I had taken pay for the same mileage that Mr. 
 Fitzgerald had taken, when it was well known that he 
 charged thirteen hundred miles from here to Washington, 
 and he and myself both live in the same county. It is 
 somewhat remarkable how this fact should have escaped 
 the keen eye of '^ the Government." 
 
 The general's pet, Mr. Grundy, charged for one thou- 
 sand miles from Nashville to Washington, and it was 
 sanctioned by the Legislature, I suppose because he would 
 huzza! for Jackson; and because I think proper to re- 
 frain from huzzaing until he goes out of office, when I 
 shall give a screamer, that will be heard from the Missis- 
 sippi to the Atlantic, or my name's not Crockett — for 
 this reason he came out openly to electioneer against me. 
 I now say, that the oldest man living never heard of the 
 President of a great nation to come down to open elec- 
 tioneering for his successor. It is treating the nation as 
 if it was the property of a single individual, and he had 
 
CROCKETT'S POLITICAL SENTIMENTS. 249 
 
 the right to bequeath it to whom he pleased — the same 
 as a patch of land for which he had the patent. It is 
 plain to be seen that the poor superannuated old man is 
 surrounded bj a set of horse leeches, who will stick to 
 him while there is a drop of blood to be got, and their 
 maws are so capacious that they will never get full 
 enough to drop off. The Land office, the Post office, and 
 the Treasury itself may all be drained, and we shall still 
 find them craving for more. They use him to promote 
 their own private interests, and for all his sharp sight, 
 he remains as blind as a dead lion to the jackals who are 
 tearing him to pieces. In fact, I do believe he is a per- 
 fect tool in their hands, ready to be used to answer any 
 purpose to promote either their interest or gratify their 
 ambition. 
 
 I came within two hundred and thirty votes of being 
 elected, notwithstanding I had to contend against " the 
 greatest and the best," with the whole power of the 
 Treasury againsf me. The Little Flying Dutchman will 
 no doubt calculate upon having a true game cock in Mr. 
 Huntsman, but if he doesn't show them the white feather 
 before the first session is over, I agree never to be set 
 down for a prophet, that's all. I am gratified that I have 
 spoken the truth to the people of my district regardless 
 of consequences. I would not be compelled to bow down 
 to the idol for a seat in Congress during life. I have 
 never known what it was to sacrifice my own judgment 
 to gratify any party, and I have no doubt of the time 
 being close at hand when I will be rewarded for letting 
 my tongue speak what my heart thinks. I have suffered 
 myself to be politically sacrificed to save my country 
 
250 CROCKETT MEETS HIS CONSTITUENTS. 
 
 from ruin and disgrace, and if I am never again elected, 
 I Avill have the gratification to know that I have done my 
 duty. Thus much I say in relation to the manner in 
 which my downfall w^as effected, and in laying it before 
 the public, " I take the responsibility." I may add in 
 the words of the man in the play, '' Crockett's occupa- 
 tion's gone." 
 
 Two weeks and more have elapsed since I wrote the 
 foregoing account of my defeat, and I confess the thorn 
 still rankles, not so much on my own account as the na- 
 tion's, for I had set my heart on following up the travel- 
 ing deposites until they should be fairly gathered to 
 their proper nest, like young chickens, for I am aware 
 of the vermin that are on the constant look out to pounce 
 upon them, like a cock at a blackberry, which they would 
 have done long since, if it had not been for a few such 
 men as Webster, Clay, and myself. It is my parting 
 advice, that this matter be attended to without delay, for 
 before long the little chickens will take wing, and even 
 the powerful wand of the magician of Kinderhook will 
 be unable to point out the course they have flown. 
 
 As my country no longer requires my services, I have 
 made up my mind to go to Texas. My life has been 
 one of danger, toil, and privation, but these difficulties 
 I had to encounter at a time when I considered it noth- 
 ing more than right good sport to surmount them ; but 
 now I start anew upon my own hook, and God only grant 
 that it may be strong enough to support the v/eight 
 that may be hung upon it. I have a new row to hoe, a 
 long and rough one, but come what will I'll go ahead. 
 
 A few days ago I went to a meeting of my constitu- 
 
WHERE THE PUBLIC MONEY GOES. 251 
 
 ents. Mj appetite for politics was at one time just 
 about as sharp set as a saw mill, but late events have 
 given me something of a surfeit, more than I could well 
 digest; still habit they say is second natur, and so I 
 went, and gave them a piece of my mind touching " the 
 Government" and the succession, by way of a codicil to 
 what I have often said before. 
 
 I told them to keep a sharp lookout for the deposites, 
 for it requires an eye as insinuating as a dissecting knife 
 to see what safety there is in placing one million of the 
 public funds in some little country shaving shop with no 
 more than one hundred thousand dollars capital. This 
 bank, we will just suppose, without being too particular, 
 is in the neighborhood of some of the public lands, where 
 speculators, who have every thing to gain and nothing to 
 lose, swarm like crows about carrion. They buy the 
 United States' land upon a large scale, get discounts 
 from the aforesaid shaving shop, which are made upon a 
 large scale also upon the United States' funds ; they 
 pay the whole purchase money with these discounts, 
 and get a clear title to the land, so that when the 
 shaving shop comes to make a Flemish account of her 
 transactions, "the Government" will discover that he 
 has not only lost the original deposite, but a large 
 portion of the public lands to boot. So much for 
 taking the responsibility. 
 
 I toM them that they were hurrying along a broad 
 M'Adamized road to make the Little Flying Dutchman 
 the successor, but they would no sooner accomplish that 
 end than they would be obliged to buckle to, and drag 
 the Juggernaut through many narrow and winding and 
 
252 ANECDOTE. 
 
 out-of-the-way patlis, and hub deep in the mire. That 
 they reminded me of the Hibernian, who bet a glass of 
 grog with a hod carrier that he could not carry him in 
 his hod up a ladder to the third story of a new building. 
 He seated himself in the hod, and the other mounted the 
 ladder with his load upon his shoulder. He ascended to 
 the second story pretty steadily, but as he approached 
 the third his strength failed him, he began to totter, and 
 Pat was so delighted at the prospect of winning his bet, 
 that he clapped his hands and shouted, "By the powers, 
 the grog's mine," and he made such a stir in the hod, 
 that I wish I may be shot if he didn't win it, but he 
 broke his neck in the fall. And so I told my constitu- 
 ents that they might pdssibly gain the victory, but in 
 doing so, they would ruin their country. . 
 
 I told them, moreover, of my services, pretty straight 
 up and down, for a man may be allowed to speak on 
 such subjects when others are about to forget them ; and 
 I also told them of the manner in which I had been 
 knocked down and dragged out, and that I did not con- 
 sider it a fair fight any how they could fix it. I put the 
 ingredients in the cup pretty strong I tell you, and I con- 
 cluded my speech by telling them that I was done with 
 politics for the present, and that they might all go to 
 hell, and I would go to Texas. 
 
 When I returned home I felt a sort of cast down at 
 the change that had taken place in my fortunes, And sor- 
 row, it is said, will make even an oyster feel poetical. 1 
 never tried my hand at that sort of writing, but on this 
 particular occasion such was my state of feeling, that I 
 
CROCKETT'S PARTING BLESSING. 253 
 
 began to fancy myself inspired, so I took pen in hand, 
 and as usual I went ahead. When I had got fairly 
 through, my poetry looked as zigzag as a worm fence ; 
 the lines wouldn't tally no how ; so I showed them to 
 Peleg Longfellow, who has a first rate reputation with us 
 for that sort of writing, having some years ago made a 
 carrier's address for the Nashville Banner, and Peleg 
 lopped off some lines, and stretched out others ; but I 
 wish I may be shot if I don't rather think he has made 
 it worse than it was when I placed it in his hands. It 
 being my first, and, no doubt, last piece of poetry, I will 
 print it in this place, as it will serve to express my feel- 
 ings on leaving my home, my neighbors, and friends and 
 country, for a strange land, as fully as I could in plain 
 prose. 
 
 Farewell to the mountains whose mazes to me 
 Were more beautifal far than Eden could be ; 
 No fruit was forbidden, but Nature had spread 
 Her bountiful board, and her children were fed. 
 The hills were our garners — our herds wildly grew, 
 And Nature was shepherd and husbandman too. 
 I felt like a monarch, yet thought like a man, 
 As I thanked the Great Giver, and worshiped his plan. 
 
 The home I forsake where my oJBTspring arose ; 
 The graves I forsake where my children repose. 
 The home I redeemed from the savage and wild : 
 The home I have loved as a father his child ; 
 The corn that I planted, the fields that I cleared, 
 The flocks that I raised, and the cabin I reared ; 
 The wife of my bosom — Farewell to ye all ! 
 In the land of the stranger I rise or I fall. 
 
254 CROCKETT A POET. 
 
 Farewell to my country !— I fought for thee well, 
 
 When the savage rushed forth like the demons from hell. 
 
 In peace or in war I have stood by thy side — 
 
 My country, for thee I have lived — would have died ! 
 
 But I am cast off — my career now is run 
 
 And I wander abroad like the prodigal son — 
 
 Where the wild savage roves, and the broad prairies spread, 
 
 The fallen — despised — will again go ahead !* 
 
 * The Colonel's resolution to go to Texas was the nataral result of 
 his defeat in the election canvass. His experience of public life, and 
 his brilliant triumphs in the IS'orth, had given him an appetite for dis- 
 tinction and applause. Defeated in his expectations of returning to 
 Congress, he now sought a new field of usefulness and renown. The 
 sequel gave him additional glory, but he did not survive to witness 
 the triumph of the Texans, or to reap, like General Houston, the re- 
 wards of his courage and public spirit. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 The Colonel starts for Texas — Amusing incident of the man fight- 
 ing with his own shadow — Crockett arrives at Little Rock — The 
 Puppet showman — Disappointment — Threats of Lynch Low — The 
 Bookseller who becomes Fiddler to the Puppet show — Moral of a 
 Puppet show. 
 
 In my last chapter I made mention of my determina- 
 tion to cut and quit the States until such time as honest 
 and independent men should again work their way to the 
 head of the heap ; and as I should probably have some 
 idle time on hand before that state of affairs shall be 
 brought about, I promised to give the Texians a helping 
 hand on the high road to freedom. Well, I was always 
 fond of having my spoon in a mess of that kind, for if 
 there is anything in this world particularly worth living 
 for, it is freedom ; anything that would render death to 
 a brave man particularly pleasant, it is freedom. 
 
 I am now on my journey, and have already tortled 
 
 along as far as Little Rock, on the Arkansas, about one 
 
 hundred and twenty-five miles from the mouth. I had 
 
 promised to write another book, expecting, when I made 
 
 that promise, to write about politics, and use up " the 
 
 Government," his successor, the removal of the depos- 
 
 ites, and so on, matters and things that come as natural 
 
 to me as bear hunting ; but being rascalled out of my 
 
 (255) 
 
256 STARTS FOR TEXAS. 
 
 election, I am taken all aback, and I must now strike 
 into a new path altogether. Still I will redeem my pro- 
 mise and make a book, and it shall be about my adven- 
 tures in Texas, hoping that my friends, Messrs. Webster, 
 and Clay, and Biddle, will keep a sharp lookout upon 
 *'the Government " during my absence — I am told that 
 every author of distinction writes a book of travels now- 
 a-days. 
 
 My thermometer stood somewhat below the freezing 
 point as I left my wife and children ; still there was 
 some thawing about the eyelids, a thing that had not 
 taken place since I first ran away from my father's house 
 when a thoughtless vagabond boy. I dressed myself in 
 a clean hunting shirt, put on a new fox-skin cap with the 
 tail hanging behind, took hold of my rifle Betsey, which 
 all the world knows was presented to me by the patri- 
 otic citizens of Philadelphia, as a compliment for my un- 
 flinching opposition to the tyrannic measures of "the 
 Government," and thus equipped, I started ofi" with a 
 heavy heart for Mill's Point, to take steamboat down the 
 Mississippi, and go ahead in a new world. 
 
 AVhile walking along, and thinking whether it was al- 
 together the right grit to leave my poor country at a 
 time she most needed my services, I came to a clearing, 
 and I was slowly rising a slope, when I was startled by 
 loud, profane, and boisterous voices, (as loud and profane 
 as have been heard in the White House of late years,) 
 which seemed to proceed from a thick covert of under- 
 growth, about two hundred yards in advance of me, and 
 about one hundred to the right of my road. 
 
 " You kin, kin you ?" 
 
GREAT ALARM. 25T 
 
 " Yes, I kin, and am able to clo it ! Boo-oo-oo I — ! 
 wake snakes, and walk your chalks ! Brimstone and 
 
 . fire ! Don't hold me, Nick Stoval ! The fight's 
 
 made up, and let's go at it. my soul if I don't 
 
 jump down his throat and gallop every chitterling out 
 of him, before you can say 'quit !' " 
 
 " Now, Nick, don't hold him ! Jist let the wild cat 
 come, and I'll tame him. Ned will see me a fair fight — 
 won't you, Ned?" 
 
 " Oh ! yes, I'll see you a fair fight ; blast my old 
 shoes if I don't." 
 
 " That's sufficient, as Tom Haynes said, when he saw 
 the elephant. Now let him come." 
 
 Thus they went on, with countless oaths interspersed, 
 which I dare not even hint at, and with much that I 
 could not distinctly hear. 
 
 In mercy's name ! thought I, what a band of ruffians 
 is at work here ! I quickened my gait, and had come 
 nearly opposite to the thick grove whence the noise pro- 
 ceeded, when my eye caught indistinctly, through the 
 foliage of the dwarf oaks and hickories that intervened, 
 glimpses of a man or men, who seemed to be on a vio- 
 lent struggle ; and I could occasionally catch those deep- 
 drawn, emphatic oaths, wdiich men in conflict utter, when 
 they deal blows. I hurried to the spot, but before I 
 reached it, I saw the combatants come to the ground, 
 and after a short struggle, I saw the uppermost one (for 
 I could not see the other) make .a heavy plunge with both 
 his thumbs, and at the same instant I heard a cry in the 
 accent of keenest torture, "Enough! my eye is out!" 
 
 I stood completely horror-struck for a moment. The 
 17 
 
258 GEEAT FIGHT. 
 
 accoinplices in the brutal deed had all fled at my ap- 
 proach ; at least I supposed so, for they were not to be 
 seen. 
 
 " Now, blast your corn-shucldng soul," said the victor, 
 a lad of about eighteen, as he rose from the ground, 
 *'come cuttin' your shines 'bout me agin, next time I 
 come to the Court House, will you ? Get your owl-eye 
 in- agin, if you can." 
 
 At this moment he saw me for the first time. He 
 looked as though he couldn't help it, and was for making 
 himself particularly scarce, when I called to him, " Come 
 back, you brute, and assist me in relieving the poor 
 crittur you have ruined for ever." 
 
 Upon this rough salutation, he sort of collected him- 
 self, and with a taunting curl of the nose he replied, 
 " You needn't kick before you're spurr'd. There ain't 
 nobody there, nor hain't been, nother. I was jist a 
 seein' how I could a fout." So saying, he bounded to 
 his plough, which stood in the corner of the fence about 
 fifty yards from the battle ground. 
 
 Now would any man in his senses believe that a 
 rational being could make such a darned fool of himself? 
 but I wish I may be shot, if his report was not as true 
 as the last post-ofiice report, every word, and a little 
 more satisfactory. All that I had heard and seen was 
 nothing more nor less than what is called a reheari:al 
 of a knock-down and drag-out fight, in which the young 
 man had played all the parts, for his own amusement, 
 and by way of keeping his hand in. I v^ent to the 
 ground from which he had risen, and there were the 
 prints of his two thumbs, plunged up to the balls in the 
 
ARRIVES AT LITTLE ROCK. 259 
 
 mellow earth, about tlie distance of a man's eyes npart, 
 and the ground around was broken up, as if two stags 
 had been engaged upon it. 
 
 As I resumed my journey I laughed outright at this 
 adventure, for it reminded me of Andrew Jackson's 
 attack upon the United States Bank. He had magnified 
 it into a monster, and then began to rip and tear, and 
 swear and gouge, until he thought he had the monster 
 on its back ; and when the fight was over, and he got 
 up to look about for his enemy, he could find none for 
 the soul of him, for his enemy was altogether in his 
 heated imagination. These fighting characters are never 
 at peace, unless they have something to quarrel with, 
 and rather than have no fight at all, they will trample 
 on their own shadows. 
 
 The day I arrived at Little Rock, I no sooner quit 
 the steamer than I streaked it straight ahead for the 
 principal tavern, which is nothing to boast of, no how, 
 unless a man happens to be like the member of Congress 
 from the south, who was converted to Jacksonism, and 
 then made a speech as long as the longitude about his 
 political honesty. Some men, it seems, take a pride in 
 saying a great deal about nothing — like w^indmills, their 
 tongues must be going whether they have any grist to 
 grind or not. This is all very well in Congress, where 
 every member is expected to make a speech, to let his 
 constituents know that some things can be done as well 
 as others ; but I set it down as being rather an imposi- 
 tion upon good nature to be compelled to listen, without 
 receiving the consideration of eight dollars per day, be- 
 gides mileage, as we do in Congress. Many members 
 
i'ljO PUPPET SHOW. 
 
 "^dll do nothing else for their pay but listen, day in and 
 day out, and I wish I may be shot, if they do not earn 
 every penny of it, provided they don't sleep, or Benton 
 or little Isaac Hill will spin their yarns but once in a 
 week. No man who has not tried it can imagine what 
 dreadful hard work it is to listen. Splitting gum logs 
 in the dog days is child's play to it. I've tried both, 
 and give the preference to the gum logs. 
 
 Well, as I said, I made straight for the tavern, and 
 as I drew nigh, I saw a considerable crowd assembled 
 before the door. So, thought I, they have heard that 
 Colonel Crockett intended to pay a visit to their settle- 
 ment, and they have already got together to receive 
 him in due form. I confess I felt a little elated at the 
 idea, and commenced ransacking the lumber room of 
 my brain, to find some one of my speeches that I might 
 furbish up for the occasion ; and then I shouldered my 
 Eetsey, straightened myself, and walked up to the door, 
 charged to the muzzle and ready to let fly. 
 
 But, strange as it may seem, no one took any more 
 notice of me, than if I had been Martin Van Buren, or 
 Dick Johnson, the celebrated wool grower. This took 
 me somewhat aback, and I inquired what was the mean- 
 ing of the gathering ; and I learnt that a traveling 
 showman had just arrived, and was about to exhibit for 
 the first time the wonderful feats of Harlequin, and 
 Punch, and Judy, to the impatient natives. It was 
 drawing towards nightfall, and expectation was on tip- 
 toe : the children were clinging to their mothers' aprons, 
 with their chubby faces dimpled with delight, and asking, 
 **What is it like? When will it begin?" and similar 
 
THREAT OF LYNCHING. 261 
 
 questions, while the women, as all good wives are in 
 duty bound to do, appealed to their husbands for infor- 
 mation ; but the call for information was responded to 
 in this instance, as is sometimes the case in Congress ; 
 their husbands understood the matter about as well as 
 '' the government" did the post-office accounts. 
 
 The showman at length made his appearance, with a 
 countenance as wo-begone as that of ''the government" 
 when he found his batch of dirty nominations rejected 
 by the Senate, and mentioned the impossibility that any 
 performance should take place that evening, as the lame 
 fiddler had overcharged his head, and having but one 
 leg at best, it did not require much to destroy his equi- 
 librium. And, as all the world knows, a puppet show 
 without a fiddle is like roast pork and no apple sauce. 
 This piece of intelligence was received with a general 
 murmur of dissatisfaction ; and such was the indignation 
 of his majesty, the sovereign people, at being thwarted 
 in his rational amusements, that according to the estab- 
 lished custom in such cases made and provided, there 
 were some symptoms of a disposition to kick up a row, 
 break the show, and finish the amusements of the day 
 by putting Lynch's law in practice upon the poor show- 
 man. There is nothing like upholding the dignity of 
 the people, and so Lieut. Randolph thought, when with 
 his cowardly and sacrilegious hand he dared to profane 
 the anointed nose of " the £]^overnment," and brine;; the 
 whole nation into contempt. If I had been present, 
 may disgrace follow my career in Texas, if I wouldn't 
 have become a whole hog Jackson man upon the spot, 
 for the time being, for the nose of " the government'^ 
 
262 THE BOOKSELLER. 
 
 should be held more sacred than any other member, that 
 it may be kept in good order to smell out all the corrup- 
 tion that is going forward— ^not a very pleasant oilice, 
 and by no means a sinecure. 
 
 The indignant people, as I have already said, were 
 about to exercise their reserved rights upon the unlucky 
 showman, and Punch and Judy too, when, as good for- 
 tune* would have it, an old gentleman drove up to the 
 tavern door in a sulky, with a box of books and pam- 
 phlets of his own composition — (for he was an author, 
 like myself) — thus being able to vouch for the moral 
 tendency of every page he disposed of. Very few book- 
 sellers can do the same, I take it. His linen and flan- 
 nels, w'hich he had washed in the brooks by the wayside, 
 were hanging over the back of the crazy vehicle to dry, 
 while his own snuffy countenance had long bid defiance 
 to sun, wind, and water, to bleach it. 
 
 His jaded beast stopped instinctively upon seeing a 
 crowd-, wdiile the old man remained seated for some mo- 
 ments before he could recall his thoughts from the world 
 of imaghiation, where they were gleaning for the benefit 
 of mankind. He looked, it must be confessed, more 
 like a lunatic than a moral lecturer ; but being conscious 
 of his own rectitude, he could not conceive how^ his out- 
 ward Adam could make him ridiculous in the eyes of 
 another; but a fair outside is everything to the world. 
 The tulip flower is highly prized, although indebted for 
 its beauty to the corruption engendered at the root ; and 
 so it is with man. 
 
 "We occasionally meet with one pjossessing sufficient 
 philosophy to look upon life as a pilgrimage, and not as 
 
THE BOOKSELLER, 263 
 
 ?t. nicrc round of pleasure: — \Yho, trcji^Ing tlus woi-Ll as 
 a place of probation, is read}^ to encounter sufierii;g, 
 and not expecting tlie sunshine of prosperity, escapes 
 being overclouded by disappointment. Such is the cha- 
 racter of the old preacher, -whose ridiculous appearance 
 in the eyes of the thoughtless and ignorant is only ex- 
 ceeded by the respect and veneration of those vrlio are 
 capable of estimating his real worth. I learnt that he 
 was educated for the church, but not being able to 
 obtain a living, he looked upon the whole earth as his 
 altar, and all mankind as his fiock. He was penniless, 
 and therefore had no predilection for this or that section 
 of the globe, for wherever he might be, his journey of 
 probation still continued, and in every spot he found 
 that human nature was the same. His life was literally 
 that of a pilgrim. He was an isolated being, though his 
 heart overflowed with the milk of human kindness ; for 
 being indiscriminate in his aifection, very few valued it. 
 He who commences the world with a general love for 
 mankind, and suffers his feelings to dictate to his reason, 
 runs a great hazard of reaping a plentiful harvest of 
 ingratitude, and of closino; a tedious existence in misan- 
 thropy. But it was not so with the aged preacher. 
 
 Being unable to earn his bread as an itinerant lec- 
 turer, — for in those cases it is mostly poor preach and 
 worse pay — he turned author and wrote histories which 
 contained but little information, and sermons which, like 
 many others, had notlilng to boast of, beyond being strictly 
 orthodox. He succeeded in obtaining a sulky, and a 
 horse to drag it, by a plea of mercy, which deprived the 
 hounds of their food, and with these he traveled over iho 
 
U64 DISINTERESTED BENEVOLENCE. 
 
 Trestern states, to dispose of tlie product of liis brain ; 
 and when poverty was deprived of the benefit of his la- 
 bor, in the benevolence of his heart he would deliver a 
 moral lecture, which had the usual weight of homilies on 
 this subject. A lecture is the cheapest thing that a man 
 can bestow in charity, and many of our universal philan- 
 thropists have made the discovery. 
 
 The landlord now made his appearance, and gave a 
 hearty welcome to the reverend traveler, and shaking 
 him by the hand, added, that he never came more oppor- 
 tunely in all his life. 
 
 " Opportunely ! " exclaimed the philosopher. 
 
 ^' Yes," rejoined the other; "you have a heart and 
 head that labor for the benefit of us poor mortals." 
 
 " Oh ! true, an excellent market for my pamphlets," 
 replied the other, at the same time beginning to open the 
 trunk that lay before him. 
 
 "You misunderstand me," added the landlord. "A 
 poor showman with a sick wife and five children has ar- 
 rived from New Orleans " 
 
 " I will sell my pamphlets to relieve their wants, and 
 endeavor to teach them resimation." 
 
 o 
 
 " He exhibits to-night in my large room : you know 
 the room, sir — I let him have it gratis." 
 
 " Y"ou are an honest fellow. I will witness his show, 
 and add my mite to his assistance." 
 
 "But," replied the innkeeper, "the lame fiddler is 
 fond of the bottle, and is now snoring in the hayloft." 
 
 "Degrading vice!" exclaimed the old man, and tak- 
 ing "God's Revenge against Drunkenness" from the 
 trunk, and standing erect in the sulky, he commenced 
 
FIDDLING. 265 
 
 reading to his astonished audience. The innkeeper inter- 
 rupted him by observing that the homily would not fill 
 the empty purse of the poor showman, and unless a fid- 
 dler could be obtained, he must depend on charity, or go 
 supperless to bed. And moreover, the people, irritated 
 at their disappointment, had threatened to tear the show 
 to pieces. 
 
 " But what's to be done ? " demanded the parson. 
 
 ''Your reverence shakes an excellent bow," added the 
 innkeeper, in an insinuating tone. 
 
 "I!" exclaimed the parson; "I fiddle for a jDuppet 
 show !" 
 
 " Not for the puppet show, but for the sick wife and 
 five hungry children." 
 
 A tear started into the eyes of the old man, as he 
 added in an under tone, " If I could be concealed from 
 the audience " 
 
 "Nothing easier," cried the other; "we W"ill place 
 you behind the scenes, and no one will ever dream that 
 you fiddled at a puppet show." 
 
 The matter being thus settled, they entered the house, 
 and shortly afterward the sound of a fiddle squeaking 
 like a giggling girl, tickled into ecstasies, restored mirth 
 and good humor to the disappointed assemblage, who 
 rushed in, helter-skelter, to enjoy the exhibition. 
 
 All being seated, and silence restored, they waited in 
 breathless expectation for the rising of the curtain. At 
 length Harlequin made his appearance, and performed 
 astonishing feats of activity on the slack rope-; turning 
 somersets backward and forward, first on this side, and 
 then on that, with as much ease as if he had been a poll 
 
2(36 MORAL OF A PUPPST SHOW. 
 
 tician all liis life, — tlie parson salving v'goroiislj on*liis 
 fid. He all the time. Punch followed, and set tlie audience 
 in a roar with his antic tricks and jests ; but when Judy 
 entered with her broomstick, the burst of applause was 
 as great as ever I heard bestowed upon one of Benton's 
 slang-whang speeches in Congress, and I rather think 
 quite as well merited. 
 
 As the plot thickened, the music of the parson became 
 more animated ; but unluckily in the warmth of his zeal 
 to do justice to his station, his elbow touched the side 
 scene, which fell to the floor, and exposed him, working 
 away in all the ecstasies of little Isaac Hill, while read- 
 ino; one of his Ions' orations about thino;s in general to 
 empty benches. No ways disconcerted by the accident, 
 the parson seized upon it as a fine opportunity of con- 
 veying a lesson to those around him, at the same time 
 that he might benefit a fellow mortal. He immediately 
 mounted the chair upon which he was seated, and ad- 
 dressed the |udlence to the following effect: 
 
 " Many of you have come here for amusement, and 
 others no doubt to assist the poor man, who is thus strug- 
 o-lins: to obtain a subsistence for his sick wife and chil- 
 dren. Lo ! the moral of a puppet show ! But is this 
 all ? Has he not rendered unto you your money's worth ? 
 This is not charity. If you are charitably inclined, here 
 is an object fully deserving of it." 
 
 He preached upon this text for full half an hour, and 
 concluded with taking his hat to collect assistance from 
 Ids hearers for the friendless showman and his family. 
 
 The next morning, when his sulky was brought to the 
 
MORAL OF A PUPPET SHOW. 267 
 
 door, tlie showmnn and his T\ife came out to tliank their 
 benefactor. The old man pkiced his trunk of pampnlets 
 before him, and proceeded on his pilgrimage, the little 
 children following him through the village with bursts 
 of gratitude. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Crockett oflPered a public diuner by the citizeus of Little Rock — 
 Thinks he will decline — The landlord shows him his larder — The 
 Colonel accepts — Rifle shooting — Cute trick — The Dinner — The 
 Colonel's speech — He tells the Little Rock politicians how to get 
 office — A jolly evening. 
 
 The public mind having been quieted by tbe exbibi- 
 tion of the puppet show, and allowed to return to its 
 usual channel, it was not long before the good people of 
 Little Rock began to inquire what distinguished stranger 
 had come among them ; and learning that it was neither 
 more nor less than the identical Colonel Crockett, the 
 champion of the fugitive deposites, than straight they 
 went ahead at getting up another tempest in a teapot ; 
 and I wish I may be shot, if I wasn't looked upon as 
 almost as great a sight as Punch and Judy. 
 
 Nothing would answer, but I must accept of an invita- 
 tion to a public dinner. Now as public dinners have 
 become so common, that it is enough to take away the 
 appetite of any man, who has a proper sense of his 
 own importance, to sit down and play his part in the 
 humbug business, I had made up my mind to write a letter 
 declining the honour, expressing my regret, and winding 
 up with a flourish of trumpets about the patriotism of the 
 citizens of Little Rock, and all that sort of thing ; when 
 (268) 
 
THE LAEDER. 2Q9 
 
 the landlord came in, and says he, " Colonel, just oblige 
 me by stepping into the back yard a moment." 
 
 I followed the landlord in silence, twisting and turning 
 over in my brain, all the while, what I should say in my 
 letter to the patriotic citizens of Little Rock, who were 
 bent on eating a dinner for the good of their country ; 
 when he conducted me to a shed in the yard, where I 
 beheld, hanging up, a fine fat cub bear, several haunches 
 of venison, a wild turkey as big as a young ostrich, and 
 small game too tedious to mention. " Well, Colonel, 
 what do you think of my larder?" says he. ''Fine!" 
 says I. "Let us liquor." We walked back to the bar. 
 I took a horn, and without loss of time I w-rote to the 
 committee, that I accepted of the invitation to a public 
 dinner with pleasure, — that I would be always found 
 ready to serve my country, either by eating or fasting; 
 and that the honor the patriotic citizens of Little Rock 
 had conferred upon me, rendered it the proudest moment 
 of my eventful life. The chairman of the committee 
 w^as standing by while I wrote the letter, which I handed 
 to him ; and so this im.portant business was soon settled. 
 
 As there was considerable time to be killed, or got rid 
 of in some way, before the dinner could be cooked, it 
 was proposed that we should go beyond the village, and 
 shoot at .a mark, for they had heard I was a first-rate 
 shot, and they wanted to see for themselves, whether 
 fame had not blown her trumpet a little too strong in 
 my favor : for since she had represented " the Govern - 
 m.ent" as being a first-rate statesman, and Colonel Ben- 
 ton as a first rate orator, they could not receive such re- 
 
270 RIFLE SHOOTING. 
 
 ports without proper allowance, as Congress thought of 
 the Post Office report. 
 
 Well, I shouldered my Betsey, and she is just ahont as 
 beautiful a piece as ever came out of Philadelphia, and I 
 went out to the shooting ground, followed by all the 
 leading men in Little Rock, and that was a clear major- 
 ity of the town, for it is remarkable, that there are al- 
 ways more leading men in small villages than there are 
 followers. 
 
 I was in prime order. My eye was as keen as a liz- 
 ard, and my nerves were as steady and unshaken as the 
 political course of Henry Clay ; so at it we went, the 
 distance, one hundred yards. The principal marksmen, 
 and such as had never been beat, led the way, and there 
 was some pretty fair shooting, I tell you. At length it 
 came to my turn. I squared myself, raised my beautiful 
 Betsey to my shoulder, took deliberate aim, and smack 
 I sent the bullet right into the centre of the bull's eye. 
 '' There's no mistake in Betsey," said I, in a sort of care- 
 less way, as they were all looking at the target, sort of 
 amazed, and not at all over pleased. 
 
 "That's a chance shot. Colonel," said one who had 
 the reputation of being the best marksman in those parts. 
 
 "Not as much chance as there was," said I, "when 
 Dick Johnson took his darkie for better for worse. I 
 can do it five times out of six any day in the week." 
 This I said in as confident a tone as " the Government" 
 did, when he protested that he forgave Colonel Benton 
 for shooting him, and he was now the best friend he had 
 in the world. I knew it was not altogether as correct 
 as it might be, but when a man sets about going the big 
 
CUTE TRICK. 271 
 
 figure, halfway measures won't answer no how ; and 'Hhe 
 greatest and the best" had set me the example, that 
 swaggering will answer a good purpose at times. 
 
 They now proposed that we should have a second 
 trial ; but knowing that I had nothing to gain and every 
 thing to lose, I was for backing out and fighting shy ; 
 but there was no let-off, for the cock of the village, 
 tliough whipped, determined not to stay whipped ; so to 
 it aga,in we went. They were now put upon their mettle, 
 and they fired much better than the first time ; and it 
 was what might be called pretty sharp shooting. When 
 it came to my turn, I squared myself, and turning to the 
 prime shot, I gave him a knowing nod, by way of show- 
 ing my confidence ; and says I, " Look out for the bull's 
 eye, stranger." I blazed away, and I wish I may be 
 shot if I didn't miss the target. They examined it all 
 over, and could find neither hair nor hide of my bullet, 
 and pronounced it a dead miss ; when says I, " Stand 
 aside and let me look, and I warrant you I get on the 
 right trail of the critter." They stood aside, and I ex- 
 amined the. bull's eye pretty particular, and at length 
 cried out, '' Here it is ; there is no snakes if it ha'n't fol- 
 lowed the very track of the other." They said it was 
 utterly impossible, but I insisted on their searching the 
 hole, and I agreed to be stuck up as a mark myself, 
 if they did not find two bullets there. They searched 
 for my satisfaction, and sure enough it all come out just 
 as I had told them ; for I had picked up a bullet that 
 had been fired, and stuck it deep into the hole, without 
 any one perceiving it. They were all perfectly satisfied, 
 that fame had not made too great a flourish of trumpets 
 
272 THE DINNER. 
 
 wlien speaking of me as a marksman ; and tkey all said 
 thej had enough of shooting for that day, and they 
 moved, that we adjourn to the tavern and liquor. 
 
 We had scarcely taken drinks round before the land- 
 lord announced that dinner was ready, and I was es- 
 corted into the dining room by the committee, to the 
 tune of " See the conquering hero comes," played upon 
 a drum, which had been beaten until it got a fit of the 
 sullens, and refused to send forth any sound ; and it was 
 accompanied by the wheazing of a fife that was sadly 
 troubled with a spell of the asthma. I was escorted into 
 the dining room, I say, somewhat after the same fashion that 
 " the Government" was escorted into the different cities 
 when he made his northern tour ; the only difference was, 
 that' I had no sycophants about me, but true hearted 
 hospitable friends, for it was pretty well known that I 
 had, for the present, abandoned all intention of running 
 for the Presidency against the Little Flying Dutchman. 
 
 The dinner was first rate. The bear meat, the venison, 
 and wild turkey would have tempted a man who had 
 given over the business of eating altogetlier ; and every 
 thing was cooked to the notch precisely. The enter- 
 prising landlord did himself immortal honor on this mo- 
 mentous occasion ; and the committee, thinking that he 
 merited public thanks for his patriotic services, handed 
 his name to posterity to look at in the lasting columns 
 of the Little Rock Gazette ; and when our children's 
 children behold it, they will think of the pure patriots who 
 sat down in good fellowship to feast on the bear meat and 
 venison ; and the enthusiasm the occasion is calculated to 
 awaken will induce them to bless tKe patriot who, in a 
 
DINNER SPEECH. 273 
 
 cause so glorious, spared no pains in cooking the dinner 
 and serving it in a becoming manner. And this is fame ! 
 
 The fragments of the meats being cleared off, we went 
 through the customary evolution of drinking thirteen 
 regular toasts, after every one of which our drum with 
 the loose skin grumbled like an old horse with an empty 
 stomach ; and our asthmatic fife squeaked, like a stuck 
 pig, a spirit-stirring tune, which we put off christening 
 until we should come to prepare our proceedings for pos- 
 terity. The fife appeared to have but one tune in it ; 
 possibly it might have had more, but the j)oor fifer, with 
 all his puffing and blowing, his too-too-tooing, and shak- 
 ing his head and elbow, could not, for the body and soul 
 of him, get more than one out of it. If the fife had had 
 an extra tune to its name, sartinit wouldn't have been quite 
 so hide bound on such an occasion, but have let us have 
 it, good, bad, or indifferent. We warn't particular by no 
 means. 
 
 Having gone through with the regular toasts, the 
 president of the day drank, " Our distinguished guest, 
 Col. Crockett," which called forth a prodigious clatter- 
 ing all around the table, and I soon saw that nothing 
 would do, but I must get up and make them a speech. 
 I had no sooner elongated my outward Adam, than they 
 at it again, with renewed vigor, which made me sort of 
 feel that I was still somebody, though no longer a mem- 
 ber of Congress. 
 
 In my speech I went over the whole history of the 
 
 present administration ; took a long shot at the flying 
 
 deposites, and gave an outline, a sort of charcoal sketch, 
 
 of the political life of "the Government's" heir-presump- 
 
 18 
 
274 HOW TO GET OFFICE. 
 
 tive. I also let them know hovr I had been rascalled 
 out of my election, because I refused to bow down to the 
 idol ; and as I saw a number of young politicians around 
 the table, I told them, that I would lay down a few 
 rules for their guidance, which, if properly attended to, 
 could not fail to lead them on thehigliway to distinction 
 and public honor. I told them, that I was an old hand 
 at the business, and as I Avas about to retire for a time, 
 I would give them a little instruction gratis, for I was 
 up to all the tricks of the trade, though I had practiced 
 but few. 
 
 "Attend all public meetings," says I, "and get some 
 friends to move that you take the chair ; if you fail in 
 this attempt, make a push to be appointed secretary; 
 tlie proceedings of course will be published, and your 
 name is introduced to the public. But should you fail 
 iu both undertakings, get two or three acquaintances, 
 over a bottle of whiskey, to pass some resolutions, no 
 ^ matter on wliat subject; publish them even if you pay 
 t:ie printer — it will answer the purpose of breaking the 
 ico, which is the main point in these matters. Intiigue 
 until you are elected an officer of the militia; this is the 
 second step towards promotion, and can be accomplished 
 vrith ease, as I know an instance of an election being ad- 
 vertised, and no one attending, the innkeeper at whose 
 house it was to be held, having a military turn, elected 
 himself colonel of his regiment." Says I, "You may 
 not accomplish your ends with as little difficulty, but do 
 not be discouraged — RomiC wasn't built in a day. 
 
 " If your ambition or circumstances compel you to 
 serve your country, and earn three dollars a day, by be- 
 
HOW TO GET OFFICE. 275 
 
 coming a member of the legislature, you must first pub- 
 licly avoAv that the constitution of the state is a shackle 
 upon free and liberal legislation ; and is, therefore, of as 
 little use in the present enlightened age, as an old 
 almanac of the year in which the instrument was framed. 
 There is policy in this measure, for by making the 
 constitution a mere dead letter, your headlong proceed- 
 ings will be attributed to a bold and unshackled mind ; 
 whereas, it might otherwise be thought they arose from 
 sheer mulish ignorance. ' The Government' has set the 
 example in his attack upon the constitution of the United 
 States, and who should fear to follow where ' the Gov- 
 ernment' leads ? 
 
 " When the day of election approaches, visit your con- 
 stituents far and wide. Treat liberally, and drink free- 
 ly, in order to rise in their estimation, though you fall in 
 your own. True, you may be called a drunken dog by 
 some of the clean shirt and silk stocking gentry, but the 
 real rough necks will style you a jovial fellow, their 
 votes are certain, and frequently count double. Do all 
 you can to appear to advantage in the eyes of the wo- 
 men. That's easily done — you have but to kiss and 
 slabber their children, wipe their noses, and pat them on 
 the head ; this cannot fail to please their mothers, and 
 you may rely on your business being done in that 
 quarter. 
 
 " Promise all that is asked," said I, " and more if you 
 can think of any thing. Offer to build a bridge or a 
 church, to divide a county, create a batch of new offices, 
 make a turnpike, or any thing they like. Promises cost 
 
276 now TO get office. 
 
 nothing, therefore deny nobody who has a vote or suffi- 
 cient influence to obtain one. 
 
 " Get up on all occasions, and sometimes on no occa- 
 sion at all, and make long-winded speeches, though com- 
 posed of nothing else than wind — talk of your devotion 
 to your country, your modesty and disinterestedness, or 
 on any such fanciful subject. Rail against taxes of all 
 kinds, office-holders, and bad harvest weather ; and wind 
 up with a flourish about the heroes ^ho fought and bled 
 for our liberties in the times that tried men's souls. To 
 be sure you run the risk of being considered a bladder of 
 w^ind, or an empty barrel, but never mind that, you will 
 find enough of the same fraternity to keep you in coun- 
 tenance. 
 
 " If any charity be going forward, be at the top of it, 
 provided it is to be advertised publicly ; if not, it isn't 
 worth your wdiile. None but a fool would place his can- 
 dle under a bushel on such an occasion. 
 
 "These few directions," said I, "if properly attended 
 to, will do your business ; and when once elected, why a 
 fig for the dirty children, the promises, the bridges, the 
 churches, the taxes, the offices, and the subscriptions, for 
 it is absolutely necessary to forget all these before you 
 can become a thorough-going politician, and a patriot of 
 the first water." 
 
 My speech w^as received with three times three, and all 
 that; and we continued speechifying and drinking until 
 nightfall, when it was put to vote, that we would have 
 the puppet show over again, which was carried iiein. con. 
 The showman set his wires to work, just as " the Govern- 
 ment" does the machinery in his big' puppet show; and 
 
A JOLLY EVENING. 271 
 
 "we spent a delightful and rational evening. We raised 
 a subscription for the poo'r showman ; and I went to bed, 
 pleased and gratified with the hospitality and kindness 
 of the citizens of Little Rock. There are some first-rate 
 men there, of the real half horse half alligator breed, 
 with a sprinkling of the steamboat, and such as grow no- 
 where on the face of the universal earth, but just about 
 the back bone of North America. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Western Hospitality — The Colonel takes leave of his Little liock 
 friends — Escorted on his way towards Texas — Tries for recruits for 
 the Texan war, without success— Whimsical adventure of the fid- 
 dling bookseller — Great utility of fiddling — Account of Arkansas — 
 Eloquence of the parson — The parting — Specimen of impertinent 
 curiosity baffled — Job Snelliiig— Arrival at Fulton. 
 
 The day after our public dinner I determined to leave 
 my hospitable friends at Little Rock, and cross Arkansas 
 to Fulton on the Red River, a distance of about one hun- 
 dred and tAventj miles. Thej wanted me to stay longer; 
 and the gentleman who had the reputation of being the 
 best marksman in those parts was most particularly anxi- 
 ous that we should have another trial of skill ; but says 
 I to mj^self " Crockett, you've had just about glory 
 enough for one day, so take my advice and leave well 
 enough alone." I declined shooting, for there was 
 nothing at all to be gained by it, and I might possibly 
 lose some little of the reputation I had acquired. I have 
 always found that it is a very important thing for a man 
 who is fairly going ahead, to know exactly how far to go, 
 and when to stop. Had " the Government" stopped be- 
 fore he meddled with the constitution, the deposites, and 
 " taking the responsibility," he would have retired from 
 office with almost as much credit as he entered upon it, 
 (278) 
 
WESTERN HOSPITALITY. 279 
 
 which is as much as any public man can reasonably ex- 
 pect. But the General is a whole team, and when fairly 
 started, will be going ahead ; and one might as well at- 
 tempt to twist a streak of lightning into a true lover's 
 knot as to stop him. 
 
 Finding that I was bent on going, for I became impa- 
 tient to get into Texas, my kind friends at Little Rock 
 procured me a good horse to carr}^ me across to Ked Ri- 
 ver. There are no bounds to the good feeling of the 
 pioneers of the west ; they consider nothing a trouble 
 that will confer a favor upon a stranger that they chance 
 to take a fancy to : true, we are something like chesnut 
 burs on the outside, rather prickly if touched roughly, 
 but there's good fruit within. 
 
 My horse was brought to the door of the tavern, 
 around which many of the villagers was assembled. The 
 drum and fife were playing what was intended for a lively 
 tune, but the skin of the drum still hung as loose as the 
 hide of a fat man far gone in a consumption ; and the 
 fife had not yet recovered from the asthma. The music 
 sounded something like a fellow singing, '' Away with 
 melancholy," on the way to the gallows. I took my 
 leave of the landlord, shook hands with the showman, 
 w^ho had done more than an average business, kissed his 
 wife, who had recovered, and bidding farewell to all my 
 kind hearted friends, I mounted my horse and left the 
 village, accompanied by four or five gentlemen. The 
 drum and fife now appeared to exert themselves, and 
 made more noise than usual, while the crowd sent foitli 
 three cheers to encourage me on my way. 
 
 I tried to raise some recruits for Texas among my 
 
280 GOING TO TEXAS. 
 
 companions, but they said they had their own affairs to 
 attend to, which would keep them at home for the pre- 
 sent, but no doubt they would come over and see us as 
 soon as the disturbances should be settled. They looked 
 upon Texas as being part of the United States, though 
 the Mexicans did claim it ; and they had no doubt the 
 time was not very distant when it would be received into 
 the glorious Union. 
 
 My companions did not intend seeing me farther on 
 my way than the Washita river, near fifty miles. Con- 
 versation was pretty brisk, for we talked about the affairs 
 of the nation and Texas ; subjects that are by no means 
 to be exhausted, if one may judge by the long speeches 
 made in Congress, wdiere they talk year in and year out, 
 and it would seem that as much still remains to be said 
 as ever. As we drew nigh to the Washita, the silence 
 was broken alone by our own talk and the clattering of 
 our horses' hoofs, and we imagined ourselves pretty much 
 the only travelers, when we were suddenly somewhat 
 startled by the sound of music. We checked our horses, 
 and listened, and the music continued. " What can all 
 that mean?" says I. "Blast my old shoes if I know, 
 Colonel," says one of the party. We listened again, and 
 we now heard, " Hail Columbia, happy land !" played 
 in first rate style. "That's fine," says I. "Fine as 
 silk. Colonel, and a leetle finer," says the other; "but 
 hark, the tune's changed." We took another spell of 
 listening, and now the musician struck up in a brisk and 
 lively manner, "Over the water to Charley." "That's 
 mighty mysterious," says one; "Can't cipher it out no 
 how," says another; "A notch beyant my measure," 
 
FIDDLER IN DAXGER. 281 
 
 says a third. " Then let us go ahead," says I, and off 
 ■we dashed at a pretty rapid gait, I tell you — by no means 
 slow. 
 
 As we approached the river, we saw to the right of 
 the road a new clearing on a hill, where several men 
 were at work, and they running down the hill like wild 
 Indians, or rather, like the office-holders in pursuit of the 
 deposites. There appeared to be no time to be lost, so 
 they ran, and we cut ahead for the crossing. The music 
 continued in all this time stronger and stronger, and the 
 very notes appeared to speak distinctly, " Over the wa- 
 ter to Charley." 
 
 When we reached the crossing, we were struck all of 
 a heap, at beholding a man seated in a sulky in the mid- 
 dle of the river, and playing for life on a fiddle. The 
 horse was up to his middle in the water, and it seemed 
 as if the flimsy vehicle was ready to be swept aw^ay by 
 the current. Still the fiddler fiddled on composedly, as 
 if his life had been insured, and he was nothing more 
 than a passenger. AVe thought he was mad, and shouted 
 to him. He heard us, and stopped his music. " You 
 have missed the crossing," shouted one of the men from 
 the clearing. " I know^ I have," returned the fiddler. 
 ^'If you go ten feet farther you will be drowned." "I 
 know I shall," returned the fiddler. " Turn back," said 
 the man. " I can't," said the other. " Then how^ the 
 devil win you get out ?" " I'm sure I don't know : come 
 you and help me." 
 
 The men from the clearing, w^ho understood the river, 
 took our horses and rode up to the sulky, and after some 
 difficulty succeeded in bringing the traveler safe to shore. 
 
282 USE OF FIDDLING. 
 
 Tvhen we recognised the worthy parson who had fiddled 
 for us at the puppet show at Little Rock. They told 
 him that he had had a narrow escape, and he replied that 
 he had found that out an hour ago. He said he had been 
 fiddling to the fishes for a full hour, and had exhausted 
 all the tunes that he could play without notes. We then 
 asked him what could have induced him to think of fid- 
 dling at a time of such peril ; and he replied, that he had 
 remarked in his progress through life, that there was no- 
 thing in univarsal natur so well calculated to draw peo- 
 ple together as the sound of a fiddle ; and he knew that 
 he might bawl until he was hoarse for assistance, and no 
 one would stir a peg ; but they would no sooner hear the 
 scraping of his catgut, than they would quit all other 
 business, and come to the spot in flocks. We laughed 
 heartily at the knowledge the parson showed of human 
 natur. And he was right. 
 
 Having fixed up the old gentleman's sulky right and 
 tight, arid after rubbing down his poor jaded animal, the 
 .'cornpany insisted on having a dance before we separa- 
 ted. We all had our flasks of w^hiskey ; we took a drink 
 all round, and though the parson said he had about 
 enough fiddling for one day, he struck up with great 
 good humor; at it we went and danced straight fours 
 for an hour and better. We all enjoyed ourselves very 
 much, but came to the conclusion that dancing wasn't 
 altogether the thing without a few 23etticoats to give it 
 variety. 
 
 ■■ The dance being over, our new friends pointed out the 
 right fording, and assisted the parson across the river. 
 We took another drink all around, and after shaking 
 
ARKANSAS. 283 
 
 each other cordially by the hand, we separated, wishing 
 each other all the good fortune that the rugged lot that 
 has been assigned us will afford. My friends retraced 
 the road to Little Rock, and I pursued my journey ; and 
 as I thought of their disinterested kindness to an entire 
 stranger, I felt that the world is not quite as heartless 
 and selfish as some grumblers would have us think. 
 
 The Arkansas is a pretty fine territory, being about 
 five hundred and fifty miles in length from east to west, 
 with a mean width of near two hundi-ed, extending over 
 an area of about one hundred thousand square miles. 
 The face of the country from its great extent is very 
 much diversified. It is pretty well watered, being inter- 
 sected by the Arkansas river, and branches of the Red, 
 Washita, and White rivers. The Maserne mountains, 
 which rise in Missouri, traverse Arkansas, and extend 
 into Texas. That part of the Territory to the south- 
 east of the Masernes is for the most part low, and in 
 many places liable to be overflowed annually. To the 
 north-west of the mountains, the country presents gen- 
 erally an open expanse of prairie without wood, except 
 near the borders of the streams. The seasons of the 
 year partake of those extremes of heat and cold, which 
 might be expected in so great an extent, and in a coun- 
 try which affords so much difference of level. The sum- 
 mers are as remarkable as the winters for extreme of 
 temperature. The soil exhibits every variety, from the 
 most productive to the most sterile. The forest trees 
 are numerous and large ; such as oak, hickory, sycamore, 
 cotton-wood, locust, and pine. The cultivated fruit trees 
 are the apple, pear, peach, plum, nectarine, cherry, «nd 
 
284 ELOQUENCE OF THE PARSON. 
 
 quince ; and the various kinds of grains, such as wheat, 
 rye, oats, barley, and Indian corn, succeed amazing well. 
 Cotton, Indian corn, flour, peltry, salted provisions, and 
 lumber, are the staples of this territory. Arkansas was 
 among the most ancient settlements of the French in 
 Louisiana. That nation had a hunting and trading post 
 on the Arkansas river, as early as the beginning of the 
 eighteenth century. Arkansas, I rather reckon, will b€ 
 admitted as a state into the Union during the next ses 
 sion of Congress ; and if the citizens of Little Rock aro 
 a fair sample of her children, she cannot fail to go ahead. 
 I kept in company with the parson until we arrived at 
 Greenville, and I do say, he was just about as pleasant 
 an old gentleman to travel with, as any man who wasn't 
 too darned particular, could ask for. We talked about 
 politics, religion, and nature, farming, and bear hunting, 
 and the many blessings that an all bountiful Providence 
 has bestowed upon our happy country. He continued 
 to talk upon this subject, traveling over the whole 
 ground as it were, until his imagination glowed, and his 
 soul became full to overflowing ; and he checked his 
 horse, and I stopped mine also, and a stream of eloquence 
 burst forth from his aged lips, such as I have seldom lis- 
 tened to : it came from the overflowing fountain of a pure 
 and grateful heart. We were alone in the wilderness, 
 but as he proceeded, it seemed to me as if the tall trees 
 bent their tops to listen ; — that the mountain stream 
 laughed out joyfully as it bounded on like some living 
 thing; that the fading flowers of autumn smiled, and 
 sent forth fresher fragrance, as if conscious that they 
 would revive in spring, and even the st-erile rocks seemed 
 
THE PARTING. 285 
 
 to be endued witli some mysterious influence. We Trere 
 alone in the wilderness, but all things told me that God 
 was there. The thought renewed my strength and cour- 
 age. I had left my country, felt somewhat like an out- 
 cast, believed that I had been neglected and lost sight 
 of: but I was now conscious that there was still one 
 watchful Eye over me ; no matter whether I dwelt in the 
 populous cities, or threaded the pathless forest alone ; no 
 matter whether I stood in the high places among men, 
 or made my solitary lair in the untrodden wild, that Eye 
 was still upon me. My very soul leaped joyfully at the 
 thought ; I never felt so grateful in all my life ; I never 
 loved my God so sincerely in all my life. I felt that I 
 still had a friend. 
 
 When the old man finished, I found that my eyes were 
 wet with tears. I approached and pressed his hand, and 
 thanked him, and says I, " ISTow let us take a drink." I 
 set him the example, and he followed it, and in a style 
 too that satisfied me, that if he had ever belonged to the 
 Temperance society, he had either renounced mem- 
 bership, or obtained a dispensation. Having liquored, 
 we proceeded on our journey, keeping a sharp look-out 
 for mill-seats and plantations as we rode along. 
 
 I left the worthy old man at Greenville, and sorry 
 enough I was to part with him, for he talked a great 
 deal, and he seemed to know a little about everything. 
 He knew all about the history of the country ; was well 
 acquainted with all the leading men ; knew where all the 
 good lands lay in most of the western states, as well as 
 the cutest clerk in the Land Office ; and had traced most 
 of the rivers to their sources. He was very cheerful and 
 
286 CURIOSITY. 
 
 happj, thougli to fill appearances very poor. I tlion;^ht 
 that he would make a first-rate agent for taking up lands, 
 and mentioned it to him; he smiled, and pointing above, 
 said, " M J wealth lies not in this world." 
 
 I mounted my horse and pushed forward on my road 
 to Fulton. When I reached Washington, a village a 
 few miles from the Red river, I rode up to the Black 
 Bear tavern, when the folloAving conversation took place 
 between me and the landlord, which is a pretty fair sam- 
 ple of the curiosity of some folks : — 
 
 " Good morning, mister — I don't exactly recollect your 
 name now," said the landlord as I alighted. 
 
 "It's of no consequence," said I. 
 
 *'I'm pretty sure I've seen you somewhere." 
 
 "Ver}^ likely you may, I've been there frequently." 
 
 ^'I was sure 'twas so; but strange I should foi-get 
 your name," says he. 
 
 "It is indeed somewhat strange that^you should forget 
 what you never knew," says I. 
 
 " It is unaccountable strange. It's what I'm not often 
 in the habit of, I assure you. I have, for the most part, 
 a remarkably detentive memory. In the power of peo- 
 ple that pass along this way, I've scarce ever made, as 
 the doctors say, a slapsus sUnkuyn of this kind afore." 
 
 "Eh heh !" I shouted, while the critter continued. 
 
 " Traveling to the western country, I presume, mis- 
 ter?" 
 
 "Presume anytliing you please, sir," said I; "but 
 don't trouble me with your presumptions." 
 
 "0 Lord, no, sir — I won't do that, I've no ideer of 
 
QUESTIONING. 287 
 
 that — not the least ideer in the world," says he ; "I sup- 
 poise you've been to the westward afore now?" 
 
 "Well, suppose I have?" 
 
 " Why, on that supposition, I was going to say you 
 must be prett}^ VvcU — that is to say, you must know some- 
 thing about the place." 
 
 ''Eh heh!" I ejacuLated, looking sort of mazed full 
 in his face. The tarnal critter still went ahead. 
 
 " I take it you're a married man, mister ?" 
 
 " Take it as you will, that is no affair of mire," 
 says I. 
 
 " Well, after all, a married life is the most happiest 
 way of living ; don't you think so, mister ?" 
 
 ^'Very possible," says I. 
 
 " I conclude you have a family of children, sir ?" 
 
 " I don't know what reason you have to conclude so." 
 
 " Oh, no reason in the world, mister, not the least," 
 says he ; " but I thought I might just take the liberty 
 to make the presumption, you know ; that's all, sir. I 
 take it, mister, you're a man about my age ?" 
 
 "Eh heh!" 
 
 " How old do you call yourself, if I may be so bold?" 
 
 " You're bold enough, the devil knows," says I ; and 
 as I spoke rather sharp, the varment seemed rather 
 staggered, but he soon recovered himself, and came up 
 to the chalk again. 
 
 " No offence I hope — I — I — I — wouldn't be thought 
 uncivil, by any means ; I always calculate to treat every- 
 body with civility." 
 
 " You have a very strange way of showing it." 
 
 *' True, as you say, I ginerally take my own way in 
 
288 CURIOSITY BAFFLED. 
 
 these ere matters. Do you practice law, mister, or 
 farming, or mechanicals ?" 
 
 ''Perhaps so," says I. 
 
 "Ah, I judge so ; I was pretty certain it must be the 
 case. Well, it's a^ good business as any there is fol- 
 lowed now-a-days." 
 
 "Eh heh !" I shouted, and my lower jaw fell in 
 amazement at his perseverance. 
 
 "I take it you've money at interest, mister?" con- 
 tinued the varment, without allowing himself time to 
 take breath. 
 
 " Would it be of any particular interest to you to find 
 out?" says I. 
 
 " Oh, not at all, not the least in the world, sir; I'm 
 not at all inquisitive about other people's matters; I 
 minds my own business — that's my way." 
 
 "And a very odd way you have of doing it, too." 
 
 " I've been thinking what persuasion you're of — whe- 
 ther you're a Unitarian or Baptist, or whether you 
 belong to the Methodisses." 
 
 "Well, what's the conclusion?" 
 • '' Why, I have concluded that I'm pretty near right 
 in my conjectures. Well, after all, I'm inclined to think 
 they're the nearest right of any persuasion — though some 
 folks think differently." 
 
 " Eh heh !" I shouted again. 
 
 "As to pollyticks, I take it, you — that is to say, I 
 suppose you " 
 
 "Very likely." 
 
 "Ah ! I could have sworn it was so from the moment 
 I saw you. I have a knack at finding out a man's sen- 
 
JOB SNELLINQ. 289 
 
 timents. I dare say, mister, you're a justice in your 
 own country ?" 
 
 "And if, I may return the compliment, I should say 
 you're a just ass everywhere." By this time I began 
 to get weary of his impertinence, and led my horse to 
 the trough to water^ but the darned critter followed me 
 up. 
 
 " Why, yes," said he, '' I'm in the commission of the 
 peace, to be sure — and an officer in the militia — though, 
 between you and I, I wouldn't wish to boast of it." 
 
 My horse having finished drinking, I put one foot in 
 the stirrup, and was preparing to mount. "Any more 
 inquiries to make?" said I. 
 
 "Why, no, nothing to speak on," said he. "When 
 do you return, mister?" 
 
 "About the time I come back," said I; and leaping 
 into the saddle, galloped off. The pestiferous varment 
 baAvled after me, at the top of his voice, — 
 
 "Well, I shall look for ye, then. I hope you won't 
 fail to call." 
 
 Now, who in all natur do you reckon the critter wa?, 
 who afforded so fine a sample of the impertinent curi- 
 osity that some people have to pry into other people's 
 affairs ? 
 
 I knew him well enough at first sight, though ho 
 seemed to have forgotten me. It was no other than Job 
 Sneli'ng, the manuuicturer of cayenne pepper out cf 
 mahogany sawdust, and upon whom I played the trick 
 with the coon skin. I pursued my journey to Fulton, 
 and laughed heartily to think what a swither I had left 
 poor Job in, at not gratifying his curiosity ; for I knew 
 19 
 
290 ARRIVES AT FULTON. 
 
 lie was one of tliose fellows wlio would peep down yonr 
 throat just to ascertain what you had eaten for dinner. 
 
 When I arrived at Fulton, I inquired for a gentleman 
 to whom my friends at Little Rock had given me a letter 
 of introduction. I was received in the most hospitable 
 manner ; and as the steamboat did not start for Natchi- 
 toches until the next day, I spent the afternoon in seeing 
 all that was to be seen. I left the horse with the gen- 
 tleman, who promised to have him safely returned to 
 the owner ; and I took the steamboat, and started on 
 my way down the Red river, right well pleased with my 
 reception at Fulton. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Departure from Fulton — Game of tliimblerig on the steamboat — 
 Sleight of hand — The Colonel makes Thimblerig treat tne com- 
 pany — The Colonel's toast — His speech — His opinion of Yan 
 Buren — Great applause. 
 
 There was a considerable number of passengers on 
 board the boat, and our assortment was somewhat like 
 the Yankee merchant's cargo of notions, pretty parti- 
 cularly miscellaneous, I tell you. I moved through the 
 crowd from stem to stern, to see if I could discover any 
 face that was not altogether strange to me ; but after a 
 general survey, I concluded that I had never seen one 
 of them before. There were merchants, and emigrants, 
 and gamblers, but none who seemed to have embarked 
 in the particular business that for the time being occu- 
 pied my mind — I could find none who were going to 
 Texas. All seemed to have their hands full enough of 
 their own affairs, without meddling with the cause of 
 freedom. The greater share of glory will be mine, 
 thought I, so go ahead, Crockett. 
 
 I saw a small cluster of passengers at one end of the 
 boat, and hearing an occasional burst of laughter, thinks 
 I, there's some sport started in that quarter, and having 
 nothing better to do, I'll go in for my share of it. Ac- 
 cordingly I drew nigh to the cluster, and seated on the 
 
 (291) 
 
292 THIMBLERIG. 
 
 chest was a tall, lank, sea-sarpent looking blackleg, wlio 
 had crawled over from Natchez under the hill, and was 
 amusing the passengers with his skill at thimblerig ; at 
 the same time he was picking up their shillings just 
 about as expeditiously as a hungry gobbler would a pint 
 of corn. He was doing what might be called an average 
 business in a small way, and lost no time in gathering 
 up the fragments. 
 
 I watched the whole process for some time, and found 
 that he had adopted the example set by the old tempter 
 himself, to get the weathergage of us poor weak mortals. 
 He made it a point to let his victims win always the 
 first stake, that they might be tempted to go ahead ; and 
 then, when they least suspected it, he would come down 
 upon them like a hurricane in a cornfield, sweeping all 
 before it. 
 
 I st(^od looking on, seeing him pick up the chicken 
 feed from the green horns, and thought if men are such 
 darned fools as to be cheated out of their hard earnino-s 
 by a fellow who has just brains enough to pass a pea 
 from one thimble to another, with such sleight of hand, 
 that you could not tell under which he had deposited it, 
 it is not astonishing that the magician of Kinderhook 
 should play thimblerig upon the big figure, and attempt 
 to cheat the whole nation. I thought that ^' the Govern- 
 ment" was playing the same game with the deposites, 
 and with such address, too, that before long it will be a 
 hard matter to find them under any of the thimbles 
 where it is supposed they have been originally placed. 
 
 The thimble conjurer saw me looking on, and eyeing 
 me as if he thought I would be a good subject, said care- 
 
SLEIGHT OF HAND. 293 
 
 lesslj, " Come, stranger, won't you take a cliance ?" the 
 whole time passing the pea from one thimble to the other, 
 by way of throwing out a bait for the gudgeons to bite 
 at. "I never gamble, stranger," says I, " principled 
 against it ; think it a slippery way of getting through 
 the world at best." ^' Them are my sentiments to a 
 notch," says he; "but this is not gambling by no means. 
 A little innocent pastime, nothing more. Better take a 
 hack by way of trying your luck at guessing." All this 
 time he continued working with his thimbles ; first put- 
 ting the pea under one, which was plain to be seen, and 
 then uncovering it, would show that the pea w^as there ; 
 he would then put it under the second thimble, and do 
 the same, and then under the third ; all of which he did 
 to show how easy it would be to guess where the pea was 
 deposited, if one would only keep a sharp look-out. 
 
 "Come, stranger," says he to me again, "you had 
 better take a chance. Stake a trifle, I don't care how 
 small, just for the fun of the thing." 
 
 "I am principled against betting money," says I, 
 " but I don't mind going in for drinks for the present 
 company, for I'm as dry as one of little Isaac Hill's re- 
 gular set of speeches." 
 
 "I admire your principles," says he, " and to show 
 that I play with these here thimbles just for the sake 
 of pastime, I will take that bet, though I am a whole hog 
 temperance man. Just say when, stranger." 
 
 He continued all the time slipping the pea from one 
 thimble to another ; my eye was as keen as a lizard's, 
 and when he stopped, I cried out, " Now ; the pea is un 
 der the middle thimble." He was going to raise it to 
 
294 DRINKS ALL ROUND. 
 
 show that it wasn't there, when I interfered, and said, 
 " Stop, if you please," and raised it myself, and sure 
 enough the pea was there ; but it mought have been 
 otherwise if he had had the uncovering of it. 
 
 " Sure enough you've won the bet," says he. " You've 
 a sharp eye, but I don't care if I give you another 
 chance. Let us go fifty cents this bout ; I'm sure you'll 
 win." 
 
 " Then you're a darned fool to bet, stranger," says I; 
 "and since that is the case, it would be little better than 
 picking your pocket to bet with you; so I'll let it alone." 
 
 "I don't mind running the risk," said he. 
 
 "But I do," says I; " and since I always let well 
 eifough alone, and I have had just about glory enough 
 for one day, let us all go to the bar and liquor." 
 
 This called forth a loud laugh at the thimble conjurer's 
 expense ; and he tried hard to induce me to take just 
 one chance more, but he mought just as well have sung 
 psalms to a dead horse, for my mind was made up ; and 
 I told him, that I looked upon gambling as about the 
 dirtiest way that a man could adopt to get through this 
 dirty world ; and that I would never bet any thing beyond 
 a quart of whisky upon a rifle shot, which I considered 
 a legal bet, and gentlemanly and rational amusement. 
 "But all this cackling," says I, "makes me very 
 thirsty, so let us adjourn to the bar and liquor." 
 
 He gathered up his thimbles, and the whole company 
 followed us to the bar, laughing heartily at the conjurer ; 
 for, as he had won some of their money, they were sort 
 of delighted to see him beaten with his own cudgel. He 
 tried to laugh too, but his laugh wasn't at all pleasant, 
 
THE TREAT. 295 
 
 and rather forced. The barkeeper placed a big-bellied 
 bottle before us ; and after mixing our liquor, I was 
 called on for a toast, bj one of the company, a chap just 
 about as rough hewn as if he had been cut out of a gum 
 log with a broad-axe, and sent into the market without 
 even being smoothed off with a jack plane ; one of them 
 chaps who, in their journey tlu'ough life, are always 
 ready for a fight or a frolic, and don't care the toss of a 
 copper which. 
 
 " Well, gentlemen," says I, ''being called upon for a 
 toast, and being in a slave-holding state, in order to 
 avoid giving offence and running the risk of being 
 lynched, it may be necessary to premise that I am 
 neither an abolitionist nor a colonizationist, but simply Col- 
 onel Crockett of Tennessee, now bound for Texas." Yfhen 
 they heard my name, they gave three cheers for Colonel 
 Crockett ; and silence being restored, I continued, " Now, 
 gentlemen, I will offer you a toast, hoping, after what I 
 have stated, that it will give offence to no one present ; 
 but should I be mistaken, I must imitate the ' old Ro- 
 man,' and take the responsibility. I offer, gentlemen. 
 The abolition of slavery : let the work first begin in the 
 two houses of Congress. There are no slaves in the 
 country more servile than the party slaves in Congress. 
 The wink or the nod of their masters is all-sufficient for 
 the accomplishment of the most dirty work." 
 
 They drank the toast in a style that satisfied me that 
 the little Magician might as well go to a pigsty for wool, 
 as to beat round in that part for voters : they were all 
 either for Judge White or Old Tippecanoe. The thim- 
 ble conjurer having asked the barkeeper how much there 
 
296 THE TOAST. 
 
 was to pay, was told that there were sixteen smallers, 
 which amounted to one dollar. He was about to lay 
 down the blunt, but not in Benton's metallic currency, 
 which I find has already become as shy as honesty with 
 an office-holder, but he planked down one of Biddle's 
 notes, when I interfered, and told him that the barkeeper 
 had made a mistake. 
 
 " How so ?" demanded the barkeeper. 
 
 " How much do you charge," said I, "when you re- 
 tail your liquor?" 
 
 " A fip a glass." 
 
 "Well, then," says I, "as Thimblerig here, who be- 
 longs to the temperance society, took it in wholesale, I 
 reckon you can afford to let him have it at half price ?" 
 
 Now, as they had all noticed that the conjurer went 
 what is called the heavy wet, they laughed outright, and 
 we heard no more about temperance from that quarter. 
 When we returned to the deck, the blackleg set to work 
 with his thimbles again, and bantered me to bet ; but I 
 told him that it was against my principle, and as I had 
 already reaped glory enough for one day, I would just 
 let well enough alone for the present. If the " old Ro- 
 man " had done the same in relation to the deposites and 
 "the monster," we should have escaped more difficulties 
 than all the cunning of the Little Flying Dutchman, and 
 Dick Johnson to boot, will be able to repair. I shouldn't 
 be astonished if the new Vice President's head should 
 get wool gathering before they have half unraveled the 
 knotted and twisted thread of perplexities that the old 
 General has spun, — in which case his charming spouse 
 "will no doubt be delighted, for then they will be all in the 
 
THE SPEECH. 297 
 
 family way. What a handsome display they will make 
 in the White House ! No doubt the first act of Congress 
 will be to repeal the duties on Cologne and Lavender 
 waters, for they will be in great demand about the Palace, 
 particularly in the dog days. 
 
 One of the passengers hearing that I was on board of 
 the boat, came up to me and began to talk about the af- 
 fairs of the nation, and said a good deal in favor of " the 
 Magician," and wished to hear what I had to say against 
 him. He talked loud, which is the way with all politi- 
 cians educated in the Jackson school ; and by his slang- 
 whanging drew a considerable crowd around us. Now, 
 this was the very thing I wanted, as I knew I should not 
 soon have another opportunity of making a political 
 speech ; he no sooner asked to hear what I had to say 
 against his candidate, than I let him have it, strong and 
 hot as he could take, I tell you. 
 
 " What have I to say against Martin Van Buren ? 
 He is an artful, cunning, intriguing, selfish, speculating 
 lawyer, who, by holding lucrative ofiices for more than 
 half his life, has contrived to amass a princely fortune, 
 and is now seeking the Presidency, principally for sordid 
 gain, and to gratify the most selfish ambition. His fame 
 is unknown to the history of our country, except as a 
 most adroit political manager and successful office hun^ 
 ter. He never took up arms in defence of his coun- 
 try, in her days of darkness and peril. He never con- 
 tributed a dollar of his surplus wealth to assist her in her 
 hours of greatest want and weakness. Office and money 
 have been the gods of his idolatry ; and at their shrines 
 has the ardent worship of his heart been devoted, from 
 
298 VAN BUREN. 
 
 the earliest days of his manhood to the present moment. 
 He can lay no claim to pre-eminent services as a states- 
 man ; nor has he ever given any evidences of superior 
 talent, except as a political electioneerer and intriguer. 
 As a politician, he is 'all things to all men.' He is for 
 internal improvement, and against it ; for the tariff, and 
 against it ; for the bank monopoly, and against it ; for 
 the abolition of slavery, and against it ; and for any- 
 thing else, and against anything else, just as he can best 
 promote his popularity, and subserve his own private in- 
 terest. He is so totally destitute of moral courage, that 
 he never dares to give an opinion upon any important 
 question until he first finds out whether it will be popu- 
 lar, or not. He is celebrated as the ' Little Non-Com- 
 mittal Magician,' because he enlists on no side of any 
 question, until he discovers which is the strongest party ; 
 and then always moves in so cautious, sly, and secret a 
 manner, that he can change sides at any time, as easily 
 as a juggler or a magician can play ofi" his arts of leger- 
 de-main. 
 
 " Who is Martin Van Buren ? He is the candidate 
 of the office-holders, and office expectants, who nomina- 
 ted him for the Presidency at a convention assembled in 
 the city of Baltimore, in May last. The first account we 
 have of his political life is while he was a member of the 
 Senate of New York, at the time when Mr. Clinton was 
 nominated as the federal candidate for the presidency, in 
 opposition to Mr. Madison. The support he then gave 
 Mr. Clinton afforded abundant evidence of that spirit of 
 opposition to the institutions of his country, which was 
 prominently developed in the conduct of those with whom 
 
VAN buren's votes. 299 
 
 lie was united. Shortly after tlie success of Mr. Madi- 
 son, and during the prosecution of the war, Rufus King, 
 of New York, (for whom Mr. Van Buren voted,) was 
 elected to the Senate of the United States, avowedly op- 
 posed to the administration. Upon his entrance into 
 that body, instead of devoting his energies to maintain 
 the war, he commenced a tirade of abuse against the ad- 
 ministration for having attempted relief to the oppressed 
 seamen of our gallant navy, who had been compelled by 
 British violence to arm themselves against their country, 
 their firesides, and their friends. Thus Martin Van Bu- 
 ren countenanced by his vote in the Senate of New 
 York, an opposition to that war, which, a second time, 
 convinced Great Britain that Americans could not be 
 awed into bondage and subjection. 
 
 " Subsequent to this time, Mr. Van Buren became 
 himself a member of the United States Senate, and, 
 while there, opposed every proposition to improve the 
 west, or to add to her numerical strength. 
 
 " He voted against the continuance of the national 
 road through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and against appro- 
 priations for its preservation. 
 
 '' He voted against the graduation of the price of the 
 public lands. 
 
 " He voted against ceding the refuse lands to the 
 States in which they lie. 
 
 "He voted against making donations of the lands to 
 actual settlers. 
 
 " He again voted against ceding the refuse lands, 
 not worth twenty-five cents per acre, to the new 
 
300 . GREAT APPLAUSE. 
 
 s 
 
 States for purposes of education and internal improve- 
 ment. 
 
 " He voted against the bill providing ' settlement and 
 pre-emption rights' to those who had assisted in opening 
 and improving the western country, and thus deprived 
 many an honest poor man of a home. 
 
 " He voted against donations of land to Ohio, to 
 prosecute the Miami Canal ; and, although a member 
 of the Senate, he was not present when the vote was 
 taken upon the engrossment of the bill giving land to 
 Indiana for her Wabash and Erie Canal, and was known 
 to have opposed it in all its stages. 
 
 " He voted in favor of erecting toll gates on the na- 
 tional road ; thus demanding a tribute from the west 
 for the right to pass upon her own highways, con- 
 structed out of her own money — a thing never heard of 
 before. 
 
 "After his term of service had expired in the Senate, 
 he was elected Governor of New York, by a plurality 
 of votes. He was afterwards sent to England as min- 
 ister plenipotentiary, and upon his return was elected 
 Vice President of the United States, which office he 
 now holds, and from which the office-holders are seeking 
 to transfer him to the Presidency." 
 
 My speech was received with great applause, and the 
 politician, finding that I was better acquainted with his 
 candidate than he was himself, for I wrote his life, shut 
 his fly trap, and turned on his heel without saying a 
 word. He found that he had barked up the wrong 
 tree. I afterward learnt that he was a mail contractor 
 
THE POLITICIAN. 301 
 
 in tliose parts, and that lie also had large dealings in 
 the land office, and therefore thought it necessary to 
 chime in with his penny whistle, in the universal chorus. 
 There's a large band of the same description, but I'm 
 thinking Uncle Sam will some day find out that he has 
 paid too much for the piper.* 
 
 * The Colonel's stump speech on this occasion is very interesting as 
 a reminiscence of the state of party politics more than twenty years 
 ago. Then the great bugbear was the bank of the United States on 
 the one hand, and Jackson and Van Buren on the other. MuTua^ 
 al)use and recrimination were the order of the day. The politician 
 who was most severe and unsparing towards his opponents -was .most 
 popular. They were the men to save the country, which was always 
 on the brink of ruin. The Colonel's speech, which may seem odd to 
 us at the present, is really quite a favorable specimen of what waa 
 considered political eloquence in his day. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Thiniblerig relates the events of his life to the Colonel — Thimbltrig 
 courts a planter's daughter — Uets a very broad hint to leave — i^a- 
 comes a play-actor — Refuses to perform the hind legs of the ele- 
 phant, because it is not a speaking part — Gets discharged — Becomes 
 marker in a gambling house at New Orleans — Quits — Becomes a 
 professional blackleg — Goes to Natchez under the hill — His de- 
 scription of that place — A murder — Punishment of the murderer 
 — Punishment of a gambler for cheating — Arrival of the Colonel 
 at Natchitoches. 
 
 After my speech, and setting my face against gam- 
 bling, poor Thiniblerig was obliged to break off conjuring 
 for want of customers, and call it half a day. He came 
 and entered into conversation with me, and I found him 
 a good-natured, intelligent fellow, with a keen eye for 
 the main chance. He belonged to that numerous class, 
 that it is perfectly safe to trust as far as a tailor can 
 sling a bull by the tail — but no farther. He told me 
 that he had been brought up a gentleman ; that is to 
 say, he was not instructed in any useful pursuit by 
 which he could obtain a livelihood, so that when he 
 found he had to depend upon himself for the necessaries 
 of life, he began to suspect, that dame nature would 
 have conferred a particular favor if she had consigned 
 him to the care of any one else. She had made a very 
 (302) 
 
THIMBLERIG COUETING. 303 
 
 injudicious choice wlien she selected him to sustain the 
 dignity of a gentleman. 
 
 The first bright idea that occurred to him as a speedy 
 means of bettering his fortune, would be to marry an 
 heiress. Accordingly, he looked about himself pretty 
 sharp, and after glancing from one fair object to ano- 
 ther, finally, his hawk's eye rested upon the young and 
 pretty daughter of a wealthy planter. Thimblerig run 
 his brazen face with his tailor for a new suit, for he 
 abounded more in that metallic currency than he did m 
 either Benton's mint drops or in Biddle's notes ; and 
 having the gentility of his outward Adam thus endorsed 
 by his tailor — an important endorsement, by-the-way, as 
 times go — he managed to obtain an introduction to the 
 planter's daughter. 
 
 Our worthy had the principle of going ahead strongly 
 developed. He was possessed of considerable address, 
 and had brass enough in his face to make a wash-kettle : 
 and having once got access to the planter's house, it 
 was no easy matter to dislodge him. In this he resem- 
 bled those politicians who commence life as oJ3ice-holders; 
 they will hang on, tooth and nail, and even when death 
 shakes them off, you'll find a commission of some kind 
 crumpled up in their clenched fingers. Little Van 
 appears to belong to this class — there's no beating his 
 snout from the public crib. He'll feed there while 
 there's a grain of corn left, and even then, from long 
 habit, he'll set to work and gnaw at the manger. 
 
 Thimblerig got the blind side of the planter, and 
 everything, to outward appearances, went on swim- 
 mingly. Our worthy boasted to his cronies that the 
 
804 A BROAD HINT. 
 
 business was settled, and that in a fow weeks he should 
 occupy the elevated station in society that nature had 
 designed him to adorn. He swelled like the frog in the 
 fable, or, rather, like Johnson's wife, of Kentucky, 
 when the idea occurred to her of figuring away at 
 Washington. But there's many a slip 'twixt the cup 
 and the lip, says the proverb, and suddenly Thimblerig 
 discontinued his visits at the planter's house. His 
 friends inquired of him the meaning of this abrupt ter- 
 mination of his devotions. 
 
 " I have been treated with disrespect," replied the 
 worthy, indignantly. 
 
 ''Disrespect! in what way ?" 
 
 ^' My visits, it seems, are not altogether agreeable." 
 
 " But how have you ascertained that ?" 
 
 " I received a hint to that effect ; and I can take a 
 hint as soon as another." 
 
 "A hint ! — and have you allowed a hint to drive you 
 from the pursuit? For shame. Go back again." 
 
 "No, no, never ! a hint is sufficient for a man of ray 
 gentlemanly feelings. I asked the old man for his 
 daughter." 
 
 '' Well, what followed ? what did he say ?" 
 
 *' Didn't say a word." 
 
 " Silence gives consent all the world over." 
 
 " So I thought. I then told him to fix the day." 
 
 "Well, what then?" 
 
 "Why, then, he kicked me down stairs, and ordered 
 his slaves to pump upon me. That's hint enough for 
 me, that my visits are not properly appreciated; and 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 305 
 
 blast my old shoes if I condescend to renew the acquaints 
 ance, or notice them in any way until they send for me." 
 
 As Thimblerig's new coat became rather too seedy to 
 play the part of a gentleman much longer in real life, 
 he determined to sustain that character upon the stage, 
 and accordingly joined a company of players. He be- 
 gan, according to custom, at the top of the ladder, and 
 "was regularly hissed and pelted through every gradation 
 until he found himself at the lowest rowel. "This," 
 said he, "was a dreadful check to proud ambition;" but 
 he consoled himself with the idea of peace and quietness 
 in his present obscure walk ; and though he had no pros- 
 pect of being elated by the applause of admiring multi- 
 tudes, he no longer trod the scene of mimic glory in con- 
 stant dread of becoming a target for rotten eggs and 
 oranges. "And there was much in that," said Thim- 
 bleberig. But this calm could not continue for ever. 
 
 The manager, who, like all managers who pay salaries 
 regularly, was as absolute behind the scenes as the " old 
 Roman" is in the White House, had fixed upon getting 
 up an eastern spectacle, called the Cataract of the Gan- 
 ges. He intended to introduce a fine procession, in 
 which an elephant was to be the principal feature. Here 
 a difficulty occurred. What was to be done for an ele- 
 phant? Alligators were plenty in those parts, but an 
 elephant was not to be had for love or money. But an 
 alligator would not answer the purpose, so he determined 
 to make a pasteboard elephant as large as life, and twice 
 as natural. The next difficulty was to find members of 
 the company of suitable dimensions to perform the seve- 
 ral members of the pasteboard star. The manager cast 
 20 
 
306 THE MARKEH. 
 
 hig eye upon the long, gaimt figure of the unfortunate 
 Tiiiniblerig, and cast liim for the hinder legs, the rump, 
 and p!irt of the back of the elephant. The poor player 
 expostulated, and the manager replied, that he would 
 appear as a star on the occasion, and would no doubt re- 
 ceive more applause than he had during his whole career. 
 "But I shall not be seen," said the player. "All 
 the better," replied the manager, "as in that case you 
 will have nothing to apprehend from eggs and oranges." 
 
 Thimblerig, finding that mild expostulation availed 
 nothing, swore that he would not study the part, and ac- 
 cordingly threw it up in dignified disgust. He said that 
 it was an outrage upon the feelings of the proud repre- 
 sentative of Shakespeare's heroes, to be compelled to 
 play pantomine in the hinder parts of the noblest animal 
 that ever trod the stage. If it had been the fore quar- 
 ters of the elephant, it might possibly have been made a 
 speaking part ; at any rate, he might have snorted 
 through the trunk, if nothing more ; but from the posi- 
 tion he was to occupy, damned the word could he utter, 
 or even roar with propriety. He therefore positively 
 refused to act, as he considered it an insult to his repu- 
 tation to tread the stage in such a character ; and he 
 looked upon the whole affair as a profanation of the 
 legitimate drama. The result was, our Avorthy was dis- 
 charged from the company, and compelled to commence 
 hoeing another row. 
 
 He drifted to New Orleans, and hired himself as 
 marker to a gambling table. Here he remained but a 
 foVv' months, for his idea of arithmetic differed widely from 
 those of his employer, and accordingly they had some 
 
THE BLACKLEa. 807 
 
 difficulty In balancing their casli account ; for when his 
 employer, in adding up the receipts, made it nought and 
 carry two, Thimblerig insisted tliat it should be nought 
 and carry one ; and in order to prove that he was cor- 
 rect, he carried himself off, and left nothing behind him. 
 
 He now commenced professional blackleg on his own 
 hook, and took up his quarters in Natchez under the hill. 
 Here he remained, doing business in a small way, until 
 Judge Lynch commenced his practice in that quarter, 
 and made the place too hot for his comfort. He shifted 
 his habitation, but not having sufficient capital to go the 
 big figure, he practised the game of thimblerig until he 
 acquired considerable skill, and then commenced passing 
 up and down the river in the steamboats ; and managed, 
 by close attention to business, to pick up a decent liveli- 
 hood in the small way, from such as had more pence in 
 their pockets than sense in their noddles. 
 
 I found Thimblerig to be a pleasant talkative fellow. 
 He communicated the foregoing facts with as much in- 
 difference as if there had been nothing disgraceful in his 
 care# ; and at times he would chuckle with an air of 
 triumph at the adroitness he had displayed in some of 
 the knavish tricks he had practised. He looked upon 
 this world as one vast stage, crowded with empirics and 
 jugglers ; and that he who could practise his deceptions 
 with the greatest skill was entitled to the greatest ap- 
 plause. • 
 
 I asked him to give me an acceunt of Natchez and his 
 adventures there, and I would' put it in the book I in- 
 tended to write, when he gave me the following, which 
 betrays that his feelings were somewhat irritated at being 
 
308 NATCHEZ UNDER THE HILL. 
 
 obliged to give them leg bail ^vhen Judge Lynch made 
 his appearance. I give it in his ovrn words : 
 
 "Natchez is a land of fevers, alligators, niggers, and 
 cotton bales : where the sun shines with force sufficient 
 to melt the diamond, and the word ice is expunged from 
 the dictionary, for its definition cannot be comprehended 
 by the natives : where to refuse grog before breakfast 
 would degrade you below the brute creation ; and where 
 a good dinner is looked upon as an angel's visit, and 
 voted a miracle : where the evergreen and majestic mag- 
 nolia tree, with its superb flower, unknown to the north- 
 ern climes, and its fragrance unsurpassed, calls forth the 
 admiration of every beholder ; and the dark moss hangs in 
 festoons from the forest trees, like the drapery of a funeral 
 pall : where bears, the size of young jackasses, are fon- 
 dled in lieu of pet dogs ; and knives, the length of a bar- 
 ber's pole, usurp the place of toothpicks : where the filth 
 of the town is carried off by buzzards, and the in- 
 habitants are carried off by fevers : where nigger women 
 are knocked down by the auctioneer, and knocked up by 
 the purchaser ; where the poorest slave has plenty f f yel- 
 low boys, but not of Benton's mintage ; and indeed the 
 shades of colour are so varied and mixed, that a nigger 
 is frequently seen black and blue at the same time. 
 And such is Natchez. 
 
 " The town is divided into two parts, as distinct in 
 character as they are in appearance. Natehez on the 
 hill, situated upon a high bluff overlooking the Missis- 
 sippi, is a pretty little town with streets regularly laid 
 out, and ornamented with divers handsome public build- 
 ings. Natchez under the hill, — where, oh ! where shall 
 
NATCHEZ UNDER THE HILL. 309 
 
 I find words suitable to describe the peculiarities of that 
 unholy spot? 'Tis, in fact, the jumping off place. Sa- 
 tan looks on it with glee, and chuckles as he beholds the 
 orgies of his votaries. The buildings are for the most 
 part brothels, taverns, or gambling houses, and frequently 
 the whole three may be found under the same roof. 
 Obscene songs are sung at the top of the voice in all 
 quarters. I have repeatedly seen the strumpets tear a 
 man's clothes from his back, and leave his body beauti- 
 fied with all the colors of the rainbow. 
 
 *' One of the most popular tricks is called the * Spanish 
 burial.' When a greenhorn makes his appearance among 
 them, one who is in the plot announces the death of a 
 resident, and that all strangers must subscribe to the 
 custom of the place upon such an occasion. They forth- 
 with arrange a procession ; each person, as he passes the 
 departed, kneels down and pretends to kiss the treacher- 
 ous corpse. When the unsophisticated attempts this 
 ceremony the dead man clinches him, and the mourners 
 beat the fellow so entrapped until he consents to treat 
 all hands ; but should he be penniless, his life will be en- 
 dangered by the severity of the castigation. And such 
 is Natchez under the hill. 
 
 " An odd aifair occurred w^hile I was last there," con- 
 tinued Thimblerig. '' A steamboat stopped at the land- 
 ing, and one of the hands went ashore under the hill to 
 purchase provisions, and the adroit citizens of that delec- 
 table retreat contrived to rob him of all his money. The 
 captain of the boat, a determined fellow, went ashore in 
 the hope of persuading them to refund, but that cock 
 "wouldn't fight. Without farther ceremony, assisted by 
 
310 A MURDER. 
 
 his crew and passengers, some three or four hundred In 
 number, he made fast an immense cable to the frame 
 tenement where the theft had been perpetrated, and 
 allowed fifteen minutes for the money to be forthcoming ; 
 vowed if it was not produced within that time, to put 
 steam to his boat, and drng the house into the river. 
 The money was instantly produced. 
 
 " I witnessed a sight during my stay there," continued 
 the thimble (^njuror, " that almost froze my blood with 
 horror, and will serve as a specimen of the customs of 
 the far south. A phanter, of the name of Foster, con- 
 nected with the best families of the state, unprovoked, in 
 cold blood, murdered his young and beautiful wife, a few 
 months after marriage. He beat her deliberately to 
 death in a walk adjoining his dwelling, carried the body 
 to the hut of one of his slaves, washed the dirt from her 
 person, and assisted by his negroes, buried her upon his 
 plantation. Suspicion was awakened, the body disin- 
 terred, and the villain's guilt established. He fled, was 
 overtaken and secured in prison. His trial was, by some 
 device of the law, delayed unti] ,the third term of the 
 court. At length it came on,' 'and so clear and indispu- 
 table was the evidence that not a doubt was entertained 
 of the result ; when, by an oversight on the part of the 
 sheriff, who neglected swearing into office his deputy 
 ■who summoned the jurors, the trial was abruptly discon- 
 tinued, and all proceedings against Foster were suspended, 
 or rather ended. 
 
 " There exist throughout the extreme south, bodies 
 of men who style themselves Lynchers. When an indi- 
 vidual escapes punishment by some technicality of the 
 
PUNISHMENT OF THE MURDERER. 811 
 
 laAV, or perpetrates an offence not recognized in courts of 
 justice, they seize liim, and inflict such chastisement as 
 they conceive adequate to the offence. The}^ usually act 
 at night and disguise their persons. This society at 
 Natchez embraces all the lawyers, physicians, and prin- 
 cipal merchants of the place. Foster, whom all good 
 men loathed as a monster unfit to live, was called into 
 court, and formally dismissed. But the Lynchers were 
 at hand. The moment he stept from the court-house he 
 was knocked down, his arms bound behind him, his eyes 
 bandaofed, and in this condition was marched to the rear 
 of the town, where a deep ravine afforded a fit place for 
 his punishment His clothes were torn from his back, 
 his head partially scalped, they next bound him to a tree ; 
 each Lyncher was supplied w^ith a cow-skin, and they 
 took turns at the flogging until the flesh hung in ribands 
 from his body. A quantity of heated tar -was then 
 poured over his head, and made to cover every part of 
 his person ; they finally showered a sack of feathers on 
 him, and in this horrid guise, with no other apparel than 
 a miserable pair of breeches, vnih a drummer at his heels, 
 he was paraded through the principal streets at midda3^ 
 No disguise was assumed by the Lynchers ; the very 
 lawyers employed upon his trial took part in his punish- 
 ment. 
 
 " Owing to long confinement his gait had become 
 sramped, and his movements were very faltering. By 
 the time the procession reached the most public part of 
 the town, Foster fell down from exhaustion, and was al- 
 lowed to lie there for a time, without exciting the sym- 
 pathies of any one, an object of universal detestation. 
 
312 THE GAMBLER. 
 
 The blood oozing from his stripes had become mixed 
 with the feathers and tar, and rendered his aspect still 
 more horrible and loathsome. Finding him unable to pro- 
 ceed further, a common dray was brought, and with his 
 back to the horse's tail, the drummer standing over him 
 playing the rogue's march, he was reconducted to prison, 
 the only place at which he would be received. 
 
 "A guard was placed outside of the jail to give notice 
 to the body of Lynchers when Foster might attempt to 
 escape, for they had determined on branding him on the 
 forehead and cutting his ears off. At two o'clock in the 
 morning of the second subsequent day, two horsemen 
 with a led horse stopped at the prison, and Foster was 
 with difficulty placed astride. 
 
 " The Lynchers wished to secure him ; he put spurs to 
 his beast, and passed them. As he rode by they fired 
 at him ; a ball struck his hat, which was thrown to the 
 ground, and he escaped ; but if ever found within the 
 limits of the state, he will be shot down as if a price was set 
 on his head. 
 
 " Sights of this kind," continued Thimblerig, " are by 
 no means unfrequent. I once saw a gambler, a sort of 
 friend of mine by-the-way, detected cheating at faro, at 
 a time when the bets were running pretty high. They 
 flogged him almost to death, added the tar and feathers, 
 and placed him aboard a dug-out, a sort of canoe, at 
 twelve at night ; and with no other instrument of naviga- 
 tion than a bottle of whisky and a paddle, set him adrift 
 in the Mississippi. He has never been heard of since, 
 and the presumption is, that he either died of his wounds 
 
/ 
 
 L 
 
 thimblerig's escape from vicksburg. 313 
 
 or was run down in the night by a steamer. And this 
 is what we call Lynching in Natchez." 
 
 Thimblerig had also been at Vicksburg in his time, 
 and entertained as little liking for that place as he did 
 for Natchez. He had luckily made his escape a short 
 time before the recent clearing-out of the sleight-of-hand 
 gentry ; and he reckoned some time would elapse before 
 he would pay them another visit. He said they must be- 
 come more civilized first. All the time he was talking 
 to me he was seated on a chest, and playing mechanically 
 with his pea and thimbles, as if he was afraid that he 
 would lose the sleight unless he kept his hand in constant 
 practice. Nothing of any consequence occurred in our 
 passage down the river, and I arrived at Natchitoches 
 in perfect health, and in good spirits."^ 
 
 * Thimblerig's account of Xatchez under the hill some twenty 
 years since is only too true. It was a notoriously bad place. Life and 
 property were so unsafe there that few decent persons were willing to 
 run the risk of visiting the place. Of late years it seems to have lost 
 its former bad eminence. We hear no more of riots, murders, lynch- 
 ings, and gambling broils at Natchez under the hill ; and the next 
 generation will probably doubt the credibility of the stories related of 
 this den of infamy. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Account of Nat ell i todies — The Colonel advises Tliimblen'g to reform 
 and join the Texan patriots — Thimblerig decides to do so — Curious 
 incident of the Yellow Boy — The singer and the politician — A brisk 
 conversation — The singer thrashes the politician — The bee hunter — 
 He joins the patriots — The Colonel, Thimblerig, and the Bee Hun- 
 ter set out for Nacogdoches on their way to Texas. 
 
 Natchitoches is a post town and seat of justice for 
 the parish of Natchitoches, Louisiana, and is situated on 
 the right bank of the Red river. The houses are chiejQj 
 contained in one street, running parallel to the river ; 
 and the population I should reckon at about eight hun- 
 dred. The soil in this parish is generally sterile, and 
 covered with pine timber, except near the margin of Red 
 river, where the greatest part of the inhabitants are set- 
 tled on the alluvial banks. Some other, though com- 
 paratively small, tracts of productive soil skirt tho 
 streams. An extensive body of low ground, subject to 
 annual submersion, extends along the Red river, which, 
 it is said, will produce forty bushels of frogs to the acre, 
 and alligators enough to fence it. 
 
 \ stayed two days at Natchitoches, during which time 
 
 I procured a horse to carry me across Texas to the seat 
 
 of war. Thimblerig remained with me, and I found his 
 
 conversation very amusing ; for he is possessed of humor 
 
 and observation, and has seen something of the world. 
 (3U) 
 
A FORLORN ROGUE. 315 
 
 Between whiles he would amuse himself with his thim- 
 bles, to which he appeared greatly attached, and occa- 
 sionally he would pick up a few shillings from the tavern 
 loungers. He no longer asked me to play with him, for 
 he felt somewhat ashamed to do so, and he knew it would 
 be no go. 
 
 I took him to task in a friendly manner, and tried to 
 shame him out of his evil practices. I told him that it 
 was a burlesque on human nature, that an able-bodied 
 man, possessed of his full share of good sense, should 
 voluntarily debase himself, and be indebted for subsis- 
 tence to such pitiful artifice. 
 
 ^' But what's to be done. Colonel?" says he. "I'm 
 in the slough of despond, up to the very chin. A miry 
 and slippery path to travel." 
 
 "Then hold your head up," says I, "before the slough 
 reaches your lips." 
 
 "But what's the use?" says he: "it's utterly impos- 
 sible for me to wade through ; and even if I could, I 
 should be in such a dirty plight, that it would defy all 
 the waters in the Mississippi to wash me clean again. 
 No," he added, in a desponding tone, "I should be like 
 a live eel in a frying pan. Colonel ; sort of out of my ele- 
 ment, if I attempted to live like an honest man at this 
 time o'day." 
 
 " That I deny. It is never too late to become honest," 
 said I. " But even admit what you say to be true — that 
 you cannot live like an honest man, you have at least the 
 next best thing in your power, and no one can say nay 
 to it." 
 
 "And what is that?" 
 
316 thimblerig's resolution. 
 
 ' Die like a brave one. And I kno^y not wliether, in 
 the eyes of the world, a brilliant death is not preferred 
 to an obscure life of rectitude. Most men are remem- 
 bered as they died, and not as they lived. We gaze with 
 admiration upon the glories of the setting sun, yet scarcely 
 bestOAV a passing glance upon its noonday splendor." 
 
 " You are right ; but how is this to be done ? " 
 
 "Accompany me to Texas. Cut aloof from your de- 
 grading habits and associates here, and in fighting for 
 their freedom, regain your own. 
 
 He started from the table, and hastily gathering up 
 the thimbles with which he had been playing all the time 
 I was talking to him, he thrust them into his pocket, and 
 after striding two or three times across the room, sud- 
 denly stopped, his leaden eye kindled, and grasping me 
 by the hand violently, he exclaimed with an oath, " By 
 
 , I'll be a man again. Live honestly, or die bravely. 
 
 I go with you to Texas." 
 
 I said what I could to confirm him in his resolution, 
 and finding that the idea had taken fast hold of his mind, 
 I asked him to liquor, which he did not decline, notwith- 
 standing the temperance habits that he boasted of; we 
 then took a walk on the banks of the river. 
 
 The evening preceding my departure from Natchi- 
 toches, a gentleman, with a good horse and a light wa- 
 gon, drove up to the tavern where I lodged. He was 
 accompanied by a lady who carried an infant in her arms. 
 As they alighted I recognized the gentleman to be the 
 politician at whom I had discharged my last political 
 speech, on board the boat coming down the Red river. 
 We had let him out in our passage down, as he said he 
 
A YELLOW BABY. 817 
 
 had some business to transact some distance above Nat- 
 chitoches. He entered the tavern, and seemed to be 
 rather shy of me, so I let him go, as I bad no idea of fir- 
 ing two shots at such small game. 
 
 The gentleman had a private room, and called for sup- 
 per ; but the lady, who used every precaution to keep 
 the child concealed from the view of any one refused to 
 eat supper, saying she was unwell. However, the gen- 
 tleman made a hearty meal, and excused the woman, 
 sajung, ^'My wife is subject to a pain in the stomach, 
 which had deprived her of her food." Soon after sup- 
 per the gentleman desired a bed to be prepared, which 
 being done, they immediately retired to rest. 
 
 About an hour before daybreak, next morning, the re- 
 pose of the whole inn was disturbed by the screams of 
 ■the child. This continued for some time, and at length 
 the landlady got up to see what it was ailed the noisy 
 bantling. She entered the chamber without a light, and 
 discovered the gentleman seated in the bed alone, rock- 
 ing the infant in his arms, and endeavoring to quiet it by 
 saying, "Hush, my dear — mamma will soon return." 
 However the child still squalled on, and the long absence 
 of the mother rendered it necessary that something should 
 be done to quiet it. 
 
 The landlady proposed taking up the child, to see what 
 was the reason of its incessant cries. She approached 
 the bed, and requested the man to give her the infant, 
 and tell her whether it was a son or daughter ; but this 
 question redoubled his consternation, for he was entirely 
 ignorant which sex the child belonged to ; however, with 
 
318 AN EMBAREASSING POSITION. 
 
 some difficulty, lie made the discovery, and informed tliQ 
 landlady it was a son. 
 
 She immediately called for a light, which was no sooner 
 brought than the landlady began to unfold the wrapper 
 from the child, and exclaim, " 0, what a fine big son you 
 have got ! " But on a more minute examination they 
 found to their great astonishment, and to the mortification 
 and vexation of the supposed father, that the child was 
 a mulatto. 
 
 The wretched man, having no excuse to oiFer, imme- 
 diately divulged the whole matter w^itliout reserve. He 
 stated that he had fell in with her on the road to Natcliito- 
 ches the day before, and had offered her ' a seat in his 
 vehicle. Soon perceiving that she possessed an uncom- 
 mon degree of assurance, induced him to propose that 
 they should pass as man and wife. No doubt she had 
 left her own home in order to rid herself of the sti^nma 
 which she had brought on herself by her levrd conduct ; 
 and at midnight she had eloped from the bed, leaving the 
 infant to the paternal care of her pretended husband. 
 
 Immediate search was made for the mother of the 
 child, but in vain. And, as the song says, " Single mis- 
 fortunes ne'er come alone," to his great consternation 
 and grief, she had taken his horse, and left the poor pol- 
 itician destitute of everything except a fine yellow hoy^ 
 but of a widely different description from those which 
 Ecnton put in circulation. 
 
 By this time all the lodgers in the tavern had got up and 
 dies.-ed th^^nschxs. from curiosity to know the occasion 
 of the disturbance. I descended to the street in front 
 of the inn. The stars were faintly glimmering in the 
 
THE SIXGER. 819 
 
 heavens, and the first beams of tlie morning sun were 
 strr.cTirlino: throuHi the dim clouds that skirted the east- 
 ern horizon. I thought myself alone in the street, when 
 the hush of morning was suddenly broken by a clear, 
 joyful, and musical voice, which sang, as near as I could 
 catch it, the foll'owing scrap of a song : — 
 
 " Oh, what is the time of the merry round year, 
 'I'hat is filtesl and sweetest for love? 
 Ere sucks the bee, ere buds the tree ; 
 And primroses by two, by three, 
 Faintly sh.ine in the path of tlie lonely deer, 
 Like the few stars of twilight above." 
 
 I turned towards the spot whence the sounds pro- 
 ceeded, and discovered a tall figure leaning against the 
 sign post. His eyes were fixed on the streaks of light 
 in the east ; his mind was absorbed, and he was clearly 
 unconscious of any one being near him. He continued 
 his S'jns: in so full a^ clear a tone that the street rv» 
 echoed — 
 
 " When the blackbird and thrush, at early dawn, 
 Prelude from leafy spray — 
 Amid dewy scents and blandishments, 
 Like a choir attuning their instruments, 
 Ere the curtain of nature aside be drawn 
 For the concert the live long day." 
 
 I now drew nio;h enoug-h to see him distinctly. Ho 
 was a young man, not more than twenty-two. His fig- 
 ure was light and graceful, and at the same time it indi- 
 cated strength and activity. He was dressed in a hunt- 
 ing shirty which was made with uncommon neatness, and 
 
320 THE POLITICIAN IN A RAGE. 
 
 ornamented tastily with fringe. He held a highly fin- 
 ished rifle in his right hand, and a hunting pouch 
 covered with Indian ornaments, Vv'as slung across his 
 shoulders. His clean shirt collar was open, secured only 
 by a black riband around his neck. His boots were 
 polished without a soil upon them ; and on his head was 
 a neat fur cap, tossed on in a manner which said, " I 
 
 don't care a d n," just as plainly as any cap could 
 
 speak it. I thought it must be some popinjay of a lark, 
 until I took a look at his countenance. It was hand- 
 some, bright, and manly. There was no mistake in that 
 face. From the eyies down to his breast he was sun- 
 burnt as dark as mahogany, while the upper part of his 
 high forehead was as white and polished as marble. Thick 
 clusters of black hair curled from under his cap. I 
 passed on unperceived, and he continued his song : — 
 
 " In the greeu spring-tide, all tender and bright, 
 When the sun sheds a kindly gleam 
 O'er the velvet bank, that ^^et flowers prank, 
 .; , That have fresh dews and sunbeams drank — 
 
 Softest and most chaste, as enchanted light 
 In the visions of maiden's dream." 
 
 The poor politician, whose misfortunes had roused up 
 the inmates of the tavern at such an unusual hour, now 
 returned from the stable, where he had been in search 
 of his horse and his woman ; but they were both among 
 the missing. He held a whip in his hand, and about a 
 dozen men followed him, some from curiosity to see the 
 result of the adventure, and others from better feelings. 
 As he drew nigh to the front of the tavern, chafing with 
 mortification at both his shame and his loss, his rage in- 
 
A BRISK CONVERSATION. 321 
 
 creasing to a flame as his windy exclamations became 
 louder and louder, lie chanced to espy the fantastic per- 
 sonage I have just described, still leaning against the 
 sign post, carelessly humming his song, but in a lower 
 tone, as he perceived he was not alone. 
 
 The irritated politician no sooner saw the stra.nger 
 against the sign post, whose self-satisfied air was in stri- 
 king contrast with the excited feelings of the other, than 
 he paused for a moment, appeared to recognize him ; then 
 coming up in a blustering manner, and assuming a 
 threatening attitude, he exclaimed fiercely, 
 
 ^' You're an infernal scoundrel, do you hear ? an in- 
 fernal scoundrel, sir !" 
 
 " I do ; but it's news to me," replied the other quietly. 
 
 '' News, you scoundrel ! do you call it news ?" 
 
 "Entirely so." 
 
 " You needn't think to carry it off so quietly. I say, 
 you're an infernal scoundrel, and I'll prove it." 
 
 " I beg you will not -wshouldn't like to be proved a 
 scoundrel, " replied the other, smiling with the most pro- 
 voking indifference. 
 
 " No, I dare say you wouldn't. But answer me di- 
 rectly — did you, or did you not say, in presence of cer- 
 tain ladies of my acquaintance, that I was a mere — " 
 
 " Calf ? — 0, no, sir ; the truth is not to be spoken at 
 all times." 
 
 " The truth ! Do you presume to call me a calf, 
 sir?" 
 
 "0, no, sir; I call you nothing," replied the 
 
 stranger, just as cool and as pleasant as a morning in 
 
 spring 
 
 21 
 
o'lZ A BLUSTERER. 
 
 " It's well you do ; for if jou had presumed to call 
 me " 
 
 •' A man, I should have been grossly mistaken." 
 
 '• Do you mean to say I am not a man, sir ?" 
 
 " That depends upon circumstances." 
 
 ^' What circumstances ?" demanded the other fiercely. 
 
 " If I should be called as an evidence in a court of 
 justice, I should be bound to speak the truth." 
 
 ^' And you would say I was not a man, hey ? Bo you 
 see this cow-skin ?" 
 
 " Yes ; and I have seen it with surprise ever since you 
 came up," replied the stranger, calmly, at the same time 
 handing me his rifle to take care of. 
 
 "With surprise!" exclaimed the politician, who saw 
 that his antagonist had voluntarily disarmed himself. 
 " Why,, did you suppose that I was such a coward that I 
 dare not use the article when I thought it was de- 
 manded ?" 
 
 " Shall I tell you what I tllKght ?" 
 
 "Do, if you dare." 
 
 " I thought to myself what use has a calf for a cow- 
 skin ?" He turned to me, and said, " I had forgot. Col- 
 onel, shall I trouble you to take care of this also?" 
 Saying whiclJL he drew a long hunting knife from his belt, 
 and placed it in my hand. He then resumed his care- 
 less attitude against the sign post. 
 
 " You distinctly call me a calf, then ?" 
 
 " If you insist upon it, you may." 
 
 " You hear, gentlemen," said he, speaking to the by- 
 standers. " Do you hear the insult ? What shall I do 
 with the scoundrel ?" 
 
A BLUSTEREK. 82S 
 
 "Dress lilm, dress Mm!" exclaimed twenty voices, 
 "wit^ shouts and laughter. 
 
 " That I'll do at once !" Then, turning to the stran- 
 ger, he cried out fiercely, " Come one step this way, you 
 rascal, and I'll flog you within an inch of your life." 
 
 " I've no occasion." 
 
 "You're a coward." 
 
 " Not on your word." 
 
 "I'll prove it by flogging you out of your skin." 
 
 "I doubt it." 
 
 " I am a liar, then, am I ?" 
 
 "Just as you please." 
 
 " Do you hear that, gentlemen ?" 
 
 " Ay, we hear," was the unanimous response. "You 
 can't avoid dressing him now." 
 
 " heavens ! grant me patience ! I shall fly out of 
 my skin." 
 
 " It will be so much the better for your pocket ; calf- 
 skins are in good demand." 
 
 " I shall burst." 
 
 " Not here in the street, I beg of you. It would be 
 disgusting." 
 
 " Gentlemen, can I any longer avoid flogging him ?" 
 
 "Not if you are able," was the reply. "Go at 
 him." 
 
 Thus provoked, thus stirred up, and enraged, the 
 fierce politician went like lightning at his provoking an- 
 tagonist. But before he could strike a blow he found 
 himself disarmed of his cow-skin, and lying on his back 
 under the spout of a neighboring pump, whither the 
 young man had carried him to cool his rage, and before 
 
6124 THE BEE HUNTER. 
 
 he could recover from his astonlsliment at sucli unex- 
 pected liandling, lie was as wet as a tlirice drowned rat, 
 from the cataracts of water which his laughing antago- 
 nist had liberally pumped upon him. His courage, by 
 this time, had fairly oozed out ; and he declared, as he 
 arose and went dripping away from the pump, that he 
 would never again trust to quiet appearances, and that 
 the devil himself might, the next time, undertake to cow- 
 skin such a cucumber-blooded scoundrel for him. The 
 bystanders laughed heartily. The politician now went 
 in pursuit of his horse and his woman, taking his yellow boy 
 with him ; and the landlady declared that he richly de- 
 served what he had got, even if he had been guilty of no 
 other offence than the dirty imposition he had practiced 
 on her. 
 
 The stranger now came to me, and calling me by name, 
 asked for his rifle and knife, which I returned to him. I 
 expressed some astonishment at being known to him, and 
 he said that he had heard of my being in the village, and 
 had sought me out for the purpose of accompanying me 
 to Texas. He told me that he was a bee hunter : that 
 he had travelled pretty much over that country in the 
 way of his business, and that I would find him of consid- 
 erable use in navigating through the ocean of prairies. 
 
 He told me that honey-trees are abundant in Texas, 
 and that honey of an 'excellent quality, and in any quan- 
 tity, may be obtained from them. There are persons 
 who have a peculiar tact in coursing the bee, and thus 
 discovering their deposits of the luscious food. This 
 employment is not a mere pastime, biit is profitable. 
 The wax alone, thus obtained, is a valuable article of 
 
THIMBLERIG AND THE BEE HUNTER. o2i 
 
 commerce in Mexico, and commands a higli price. It i? 
 much used in cliurclieSj where some of the candles mad? 
 use of are as long as a man's arm. It often happenr 
 that the hunters throw away the honey, and save onlj 
 the wax. 
 
 ''It is a curious fact," said the bee hunter, ''in the 
 natural history of the bee, that it is never found in a 
 wild country, but always precedes civilization, forming a 
 kind of advance guard between the white man and the 
 savage. The Indians, at least, are perfectly convinced 
 of this fact, for it is a common remark among them, 
 wdien they observe these insects, ' There come the white 
 men.' " 
 
 Thimblerig came up, and the bee hunter spoke to him, 
 calling him by name, for he had met with him in New 
 Orleans. I told him that the conjurer had determined 
 to accompany me also, at which he seemed well pleased, 
 and encouraged the poor fellow to adhere to that resolu- 
 tion ; for he would be a man among men in Texas, and 
 no one would be very particular in inquiring about his 
 fortunes in the States. If oi;ice there, he might boldly 
 stand up and feed out of the same rack with the rest. 
 
 I asked him what was his cause of quarrel with the 
 politician, and he told me that he had met him a few 
 weeks before down at Baton Rouge, where the fellow was 
 going the big figure, and that he had exposed him to 
 some ladies, which completely cut his comb, and he took 
 wmg ; that this was the first time they had met since, 
 and being determined to have his revenge, he had at- 
 tacked him without first calculating consequences. 
 
826 START FOR NACOGDOCHES. 
 
 "Witli the assistance of our new friend, wlio was a gen- 
 erous, pleasant fellow, we procured a horse and rifle for 
 Thimhlerig, and we started for Nacogdoches, which is 
 ahout one hundred and tiventj miles west of Natchito- 
 ches, under the guidance of the bee hunter. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Ronte to Nacogdoches — Accomplishments of the Bee Hunter — Story 
 of Andrew Tumlinsou — His death — Society in Texas — Arrival at 
 Nacogdoches — Account of that place — Scene between the Bee 
 Hunter and his lady-love — Departure from Nacogdoches. 
 
 Our route, which lay along what is called the old 
 Spanish road, I found to be much better defined on the 
 map than upon the face of the country. We had, in 
 many instances, no other guide to the path than the 
 blazes on the trees. The Bee hunter w^as a cheerful, com- 
 municative companion, and by his pleasant conversation, 
 rendered our journey anything but fatiguing. He knew 
 all about the country, had undergone a variety of adven- 
 ture, and described what he had witnessed with such 
 freshness, and so graphically, that if I could only remem- 
 ber one half he told me about the droves of wild horses, 
 buffalo, various birds, beautiful scenery of the wide- 
 spreading and fertile prairies, and his adventures with 
 the roving tribes of Indians, I should fill my book, I am 
 sure, much more agreeably than I shall be able to do on 
 my own hook. When he'd get tired of talking, he'd 
 commence singing, and his list of songs seemed to be as 
 long as a rainy Sunday. He had a fine, clear voice, and 
 though I have heard the Woods sing at the Park The- 
 atre, in New York, I must give the Bee hunter the pre- 
 
 (327) 
 
328 INDIAN ADVENTURE. 
 
 ference over all I have ever heard, except my friend Jim 
 Crow, who, it must be allowed, is a real steamboat at the 
 business, and goes a leetle ahead of anything that will 
 come after him. 
 
 He gave me, among other matters, the following ac- 
 count of a rencounter between one of the early settlers 
 and the Indians : — 
 
 " Andrew Tumlinson," said he, "belonged to a family 
 which the colonists of De Witt will long remember as one 
 of their chief stays in the dangers of settling those wilds 
 trod only by the children of the forest. This indefati- 
 gable champion of revenge for his father's death, who 
 had fallen some years before by Indian treachery, had 
 vowed never to rest until he had received satisfaction. 
 In order the better to accomplish his end, he was one of 
 the foremost, if possible, in every skirmish with the In- 
 dians ; and that he might be enabled to do so without 
 restraint, he placed his wife under the care of his bro- 
 ther-in-law, shouldered his rifle and headed a ranging 
 party, who were resolved to secure peace to those who 
 followed them, though purchased by their own death. 
 
 " He had been frequently victorious in the most des- 
 perate fights, where the odds were greatly against him, 
 and at last fell a victim to his own imprudence. A 
 Caddo had been seized as a spy, and threatened with 
 death, in order to compel him to deliver up his knife. 
 The fellow never moved a muscle, or even winked, as he 
 beheld the rifles pointed at him. He had been found 
 lurking in the yard attached to the house of a solitary 
 and unprotected family, and he knew that the whites 
 were exasperated at his tribe for injuries that they had 
 
DEATH OF TUMLINSON. 329 
 
 committed. When discovered lie was accompanied by 
 liis little &m. 
 
 '-'- Tumlinson spoke to lilm in Spanish, to learn what 
 had brought him there at such a time, but instead of 
 giving any satisfaction, he sprung to his feet, from the 
 log where he was seated, at the same time seizing his 
 rifle, which was lying beside him. The owner of the 
 house, with whom the Indian had been on a friendly 
 footing, expostula^ted with him, and got him to surrender 
 the gun, telling him that the whites only wished to be 
 satisfied of his friendly intentions, and had no desire to 
 injure one who might be useful in conciliating his red 
 brethren. 
 
 '' He appeared to acquiesce, and wrapping his blanket 
 more closely around his body, moved on in silence ahead 
 of the whites. Tumlinson approached him, and though 
 the rest of the party privately cautioned him not to go 
 too nigh, as they believed the Indian had a knife under 
 his blanket, he disregarded the warning, trusting for 
 safety to his rifle and dexterity. 
 
 " He continued to interrogate the captive until he 
 awakened his suspicions that his life was not safe. The 
 Indian returned no answer but a' short caustic laugh at 
 the end of every question. Tumlinson at length beheld 
 his countenance become more savage, which was followed 
 by a sudden movement of the right hand beneath his 
 blanket. He fired, and the next instant the Caddo's 
 knife was in his heart, for the savage sprung with the 
 quickness cf the wild cat upon his prey. The rifle ball 
 had passed through the Indian's body, yet his victim 
 appeared to be no more in his grasp than a sparrow in 
 
330 . SOCIETY m TEXAS. 
 
 the talons of an eagle, for lie was a man of gigantic 
 frame, and he knew that not only his own life, but that 
 of his little son, would be taken on the spot. He called 
 to the boy to fly, while he continued to plunge his knife 
 into the bosom of his prostrate victim. The rest of the 
 party leveled their rifles, and the victor shouted, with 
 an air of triumph, — ' Do your worst. I have sacrificed 
 another pale-face to the spirits of my fathers.' They 
 fired, and he fell dead across the body of the unfortu- 
 nate Tumlinson. The poor boy fell also. He had 
 sprung forward some distance, when his father was shot, 
 and was running in a zigzag manner, taught them in 
 their youth, to avoid the balls of their enemies, by ren- 
 dering it difficult for the best marksman to draw a sight 
 upon them." 
 
 In order to afford me some idea of the state of soci- 
 ety in the more thickly settled parts of Texas, the Bee 
 hunter told me that he had set down to the breakfast 
 table one morning, at an inn, at San Felipe, and among 
 the small party around the board were eleven who had 
 fled from the States charged with having committed 
 murder. So accustomed are the inhabitants to the ap- 
 pearance of fugitives from justice, that they are particu- 
 larly careful to make inquiries of the characters of 
 new-comers, and generally obtain early and circum- 
 stantial information concerning strangers. " Indeed," 
 said he, '' it is very common to hear the inquiry made, 
 ^ What did he do that made him leave home ?' or, ' What 
 have you come to Texas for ?' intimating almost an as- 
 surance of one's being a criminal. Notwithstanding this 
 Btate of things, however, the good of the public, and of 
 
REACH NACOGDOCHES. 331 
 
 each indiyidiial, is so evidently dependent on the puhlic 
 morals, that all appear ready to discountenance and 
 punish crime. Even men who have been expatriated 
 by fear of justice, are here among the last who would 
 be dis]30sed to shield a culprit guilty of a crime against 
 life or property." 
 
 Thimblerig was delighted at this favorable account of 
 the state of society, and said that it would be the very 
 place for him to flourish in ; he liked their liberal way 
 of thinking, for it did not at all tally with his ideas of 
 natural law, that a man who happened to give offence to 
 the straight laced rules of action established by a set of 
 people contracted in their notions, should be hunted out 
 of all society, even though willing to conform to their 
 regulations. He was lawyer enough, he said, to know 
 that every offence should be tried on the spot where it was 
 committed ; and if he had stolen the pennies from his 
 grandmother's eyes in Louisiana, the people in Texas 
 would have nothing to do with that affair, nohow they 
 could fix it. The dejected conjurer pricked up his ears, 
 and from that moment was as gay and cheerful as a blue 
 bird in spring. 
 
 As we approached Nacogdoches, the first object that 
 struck our view, was a flag flying at the top of a high 
 liberty pole. Drums were beating, and fifes playing, 
 giving an indication, not to be misunderstood, of the 
 spirit that had been awakened in a comparative desert. 
 The people of the town no sooner saw us than many came 
 out to meet us. The Bee hunter, who was known to 
 them, introduced me ; and it seems that they had already 
 
832 NACOGDOCHES. 
 
 received tlie news of my intended visit, and its oLject, 
 and I met with a cordial and friendly reception. 
 
 Nacogdoches is the capitol of the department of that 
 name, and it is situated about sixty miles west of the 
 river Sabine, in a romantic dell, surrounded by woody 
 bluffs of considerable eminence, within whose inner bor- 
 ders, in a semicircle embracing the town, flow the two 
 forks of the Nana, a branch of the Naches. It is a flour- 
 ishing town, containing about one thousand actual citi- 
 zens, although it generally presents twice that number 
 on account of its extensive inland trade, one-half of 
 which is supported by the friendly Indians. The 
 healthiness of this town yields to none in the province, 
 except Bexar, and to none whatsoever south of the same 
 latitude, between the Sabine and the Mississippi. There 
 was a fort established here, by the Trench, as far back 
 as the year 1717, in order to overawe the wandering 
 tribes of red men, between their borders and the colo- 
 nists of Great Britain. The soil around it is of an easy 
 nature and well adapted to cultivation. 
 
 I passed the day at Nacogdoches in getting informa- 
 tion from the principal patriots as to the grievances im- 
 posed upon them by the Mexican government ; and I 
 passed the time very pleasantly, but I rather reckon not 
 quite so much as my friend the Bee hunter. In the 
 evening, as I had missed him for several hours, while I 
 was attending the affairs of the patriots, I iDquired for 
 my companion, and was directed by the landlord, to an 
 apartment appropriated to his family, and accordingly I 
 pushed ahead. Before I reached the door, I heard the 
 
THE BEE HUNTER AND KATE. 383 
 
 joyous and musical voice of the young rover singing as 
 usual. 
 
 " I'd like to have a little farm, 
 
 And leave such scenes as these, 
 Where I could live, without a care, 
 
 Completely at my ease. 
 I'd like to have a pleasant house 
 
 Upon my little farm, 
 Airy and cool in summer time, 
 
 In winter close and warm." 
 
 " And is there nothing else you'd like to have to make 
 you happy, Edward?" demanded a gentle voice, which 
 sounded even more musical in my ear than that of the 
 Bee hunter. 
 
 " Yes, in good faith there is, my gentle Kate ; and I'll 
 tell you what it is," he exclaimed, and resumed his 
 
 " I'd like to have a little wife — 
 
 I reckon I know who ; 
 I'd like to have a little son — 
 
 A little daughter too ; 
 And when they'd climb upon my knee, 
 
 I'd like a little toy 
 To give my pretty little girl. 
 
 Another for my boy." 
 
 ■ "0, fie, for shame of you to talk so, Edward !" ex- 
 claimed the same gentle voice. 
 
 " Well, my pretty Kate, if you'll only listen, now I'll 
 tell you what I wouldn't like." 
 
 "Let me hear that, by all means." 
 
834 SCENE AT A TAVERN. 
 
 I sbou^ld not like my wife to shake 
 
 A broomstick at my head — 
 For then I might begin to think 
 
 She did not love her Ned ; 
 But I should always like to see 
 
 Her gentle as a dove ; 
 I should not like to have her scold — 
 
 But be all joy and love." 
 
 " And tliere is not mucli danger, Edward, of her ever 
 being otherwise." 
 
 "Bless your sweet lips, that I am certain of," ex- 
 claimed the Bee hunter, and I heard something that 
 sounded marvelously like a kiss. But he resumed his 
 song : — 
 
 " If I had these T would not ask 
 
 For anything beside ; 
 I'd be content thus smoothly through 
 
 The tedious world to glide. 
 My little wife and I would then 
 
 No earthly troubles see — 
 Surrounded by our little ones, 
 
 How happy we would be !" 
 
 I have always endeavored to act up to the golden rule 
 of doing as I would be done by, and as I never liked to 
 be interrupted on such occasions, I returned to the bar- 
 room, where I found Thimblerig seated on a table p/ac- 
 ticing with his thimbles, his large white Vicksburg h.. t 
 stuck up in a most independent manner on the side of 
 his head. About half a dozen men were looking on 
 with amazement at his skill, but he got no bets. When 
 he caught my eye, his countenance became sort of con- 
 fused, and he hastily thrust the thimbles into his pocket, 
 
KATE. 835 
 
 saying, as he jumped from the table, " Just amusing my- 
 self a little, Colonel, to kill time, and show the natives 
 that some things can be done as well as others. Let us 
 take an ideer." So we walked up to the bar, took a 
 nip, and let the matter drop. 
 
 My horse had become lame, and I found I would not 
 be able to proceed with him, so I concluded to sell him 
 and get another. A gentleman oiFered to give me a 
 mustang in exchange, and I gladly accepted of his kind- 
 ness. The mustangs are the wild horses, that are to be 
 seen in droves of thousands pasturing on the prairies. 
 They are taken by means of a lasso, a long rope with a 
 noose, which is thrown around their necks, and they are 
 dragged to the ground with violence, and then secured. 
 These horses, which are considerably smaller than those 
 in the States, are very cheap, and are in such numbers 
 that in times of scarcity of game the settlers and the In- 
 dians have made use of them as food. Thousands have 
 been destroyed for this purpose. 
 
 I saw nothing of the Bee hunter until bed-time, and 
 then I said nothing to him about what I had overheard. 
 The next morning, as we were preparing for an early 
 start, I went into the private apartment w4iere my com- 
 panion was, but he did not appear quite as cheerful as 
 usual. Shortly afterward, a young woman, about eigh- 
 teen, entered the room. She was as healthy and bloom- 
 ing as the wild flowers of the prairie. My companion 
 introduced me, she courtesied modestly, and turning to 
 the Bee hunter, said, "Edward, I have made you a new 
 deer-skin sack since you were last here. Will you take 
 it with you? Your old one is so soiled." 
 
833 KATE. 
 
 " "No, no, dear Kate, I shall not have leisure to gather 
 wax this time." 
 
 " I have not yet shown you the jQne large gourd that 
 I have slung for you. It will hold near a gallon of wa- 
 ter." She went to a closet, and producing it, suspended 
 it around his shoulders. 
 
 "My own kind Kate!" he exclaimed, and looked as 
 if he would devour her with his eyes. 
 
 " Have I forgotten any thing ? Ah ! yes, your 
 books." She ran to a closet, and brought out two small 
 volumes. 
 
 " One is sufficient this time, Kate — my Bible. I will 
 leave the poet with you." She placed it in his hunting 
 bag, saying, 
 
 " You will find here some biscuit and deer sinews, in 
 case you should get bewildered in the prairies. You 
 know you lost your way the last time, and were nearly 
 famished." 
 
 "Kind and considerate Kate." 
 
 I began to find out that I was a sort of fifth wheel to 
 the wagon, so I went to the front of the tavern to see 
 about starting. There was a considerable crowd there, 
 and I made them a short address on the occasion. I told 
 them, among other things, that " I will die with my Betsey 
 in my arms. No, I will not die — I'll grin down the 
 walls of the Alamo, and the Americans will lick up the 
 Mexicans like fine salt." 
 
 I mounted my little mustang, and my legs nearly 
 reached the ground. The thimble conjurer was also 
 ready ; at length the Bee hunter made his appearance, 
 followed by his sweetheart, whose eyes looked as though 
 
DEPARTURE FROM NACOGDOCHES. 337 
 
 she had been weeping. He took a cordial leave of all 
 his friends, for he appeared to be a general favorite ; he 
 then approached Kate, kissed her, and leaped upon his 
 horse. He tried to conceal his emotion by singing, care- 
 lessly, 
 
 "Saddled and bridled, and booted rode he, 
 A plume in his helmet, a sword at his knee." 
 
 The tremulous and plaintive voice of Kate took up 
 the next two lines of the song, which sounded like a- 
 prophecy : 
 
 *' But toom cam' the saddle, all bluidy to see, 
 And hame cam' the steed, but hame never cam' he." 
 
 We started off rapidly, and left Nacogdoches amid the 
 fiheering of true patriots and kind friends.* 
 
 * The story of the Bee hunfer and his lady love forms one of the 
 most agreeable episodes in this portion of the Colonel's narrative. The 
 Bee hunter is a very original and spirited character, of whom the 
 reader is destined to meet with still more interesting particulars in 
 the sequel. 
 22 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Incidents on tlie road — Tricks upon travelers — The mad dog hoax— - 
 Another curious trick — Cane brake — Wolves and game — The 
 party joined by one of Lafitte's pirates and an Indian hnntcr — 
 Scene at the dinner table — Sudden disappearance of the Bee hunter 
 —The party encounter an immense herd of buffaloes — The Colonel 
 gives chase — Gets lost — Falls in with a herd of mustangs — A race 
 ■with the mustangs — Reaches the Navasola river where the mus- 
 tangs leave him. 
 
 An hour or two elapsed before the Bee hunter recov- 
 ered his usual spirits, after parting from his kind little 
 Kate of Nacogdoches. The conjurer rallied him good- 
 humoredly, and had become quite a different man from 
 what he was on the west side of the Sabine. He sat 
 erect in his saddle, stuck his large white Vicksburger 
 conceitedly on his bushy head, carried his rifle with as 
 much ease and grace as if he had been used to the wea- 
 pon, and altogether he assumed an air of impudence and 
 independence which showed that he had now a soul above 
 thimbles. The Bee hunter at length recovered his spirits, 
 and commenced talking very pleasantly, for the matters 
 he related were for the most part new to me. 
 
 My companions, by way of beguiling the tediousness of 
 our journey, repeatedly plaj^ed tricks upon each other, 
 which were taken in good part. One of them I will re- 
 late. We had observed that the Bee hunter always dis- 
 (338) 
 
MAD DOG TRICK. 339 
 
 appeared on stopping at a house, running in to talk with 
 the inhabitants and ingratiate himself with the women, 
 leaving us to take care of the horses. On reaching our 
 stopping place at night he left us as usual, and while we 
 were rubbing down our mustangs, and hobbling them, a 
 negro boy came out of the house with orders from our 
 companion within to see to his horse. Thimblerig, who 
 possessed a good share of roguish ingenuity, after some 
 inquiries about the gentleman in the house, how he 
 looked and what he was doing, told the boy, in rather a 
 low voice, that he had better not come nearer to him than 
 was necessary, for it was possible he might hurt him, though 
 still he didn't think he would. The boy asked why he 
 need be afraid of him. He replied he did not certainly 
 know that there was any reason — he hoped there was 
 none — but the man had been bitten by a mad dog, and 
 it was rather uncertain whether he was not growing mad 
 himself. Still, he would not alarm the boy, but cautioned 
 him not to be afraid, for there might be no danger, though 
 there was something rather strange in the conduct of his 
 poor friend. This was enough for the boy ; he was al- 
 most afraid to touch the horse of such a man, and when, 
 a moment afterward, our companion came out of the 
 house, he slunk away behind the horse, and though he 
 was in a great hurry to get him unsaddled, kept his eyes 
 fixed steadily on the owner, closely watching his motions. 
 "Take off that bridle," exclaimed the impatient Bee 
 hunter, in a stern voice: and the black boy sprung off, 
 and darted away as fast as his feet could carry him, 
 much to the vexation and surprise of our companion, who 
 ran after him a little distance, but could in no way ac- 
 
840 MAD DOa TRICK.. 
 
 count for Ms singular and provoking conduct. When we 
 entered tiie house, things appeared a great deal more 
 strange ; for the negro had rushed hastily into the midst 
 of the family, and in his terrified state communicated the 
 alarming tale, that the gentleman had been bitten bj a 
 mad doo;. He, unconscious all the time of the trick that 
 was playing off, endeavored, as usual, to render himself 
 as agreeable as possible, especially to the females with 
 whom he had already formed a partial acquaintance. 
 We could see that they looked on him with apprehension, 
 and retreated whenever he approached them. One of 
 them took an opportunity to inquire of Thimblerig the 
 truth of the charge ; and his answer confirmed their fears, 
 and redoubled their caution ; though, after confessing 
 with apparent candor, that his friend had been bitten, he 
 stated that there was no certainty of evil consequences, 
 and it was a thing which of course could not be men- 
 tioned to the sufferer. 
 
 As bed time approached the mistress of the house ex- 
 pressed her fears, lest trouble should arise in the night ; 
 for the house, according to custom, contained but two 
 rooms, and was not built for security. She therefore 
 urged us to sleep between him and the door, and by no 
 mear.s to let him pass us. It so happened, however, that 
 he chose to sleep next the door, and it was with great 
 difficulty that we could keep their fears within bounds. 
 The ill-disguised alarm of the whole family was not less 
 a source of merriment to him who had been the cause, 
 than of surprise and wonder to the subject of it. What- 
 ever member of the household he approached promptly 
 withdrew, and as for the negro, whenever he was spoken 
 
• MORE TRICKS. 341 
 
 to by him, lie would- juipp and roll his eyes. In the 
 morning, when we were al out to depart, we commissioned 
 our belied companion to pay our bill; but as he ap- 
 proached the hostess she fled from, him, and shut the door 
 in his face. ''I want to pay our bill," said he. ^' Oh ! 
 if you will only leave the house," cried she, in terror, 
 " you are welcome to your lodging." 
 
 The jest, however, did not end here. The Bee hun- 
 ter found out the trick that had been j^layed upon him, 
 and determined to retaliate. As ayc were about mounting, 
 the conjurer's big white Yicksbui^ger was unaccountably 
 missing, and nowhere to be found. He was not alto- 
 gether pleased with the liberty that had been taken with 
 him, and after searching some time in vain, he tied a 
 handkerchief' around his head, sprung upon his horse, 
 and rode off with more gravity than usual. We had rode 
 about two miles, the Bee hunter bantering the other with 
 a story of his hat lying in pawn at the house we had left, 
 and urged upon him to return and redeem it ; but find- 
 ing Thimblerig out of humor, and resolved not to return, 
 he began to repent of his jest, and offered to go back and 
 bring it, on condition that the past should be forgotten 
 and there should be no more retaliation. The other 
 consented to the terms, s ) lighting a cigar with his sun 
 glass, he set off at a rapid rate on his return. He had 
 not been gone long before I presented Thimblerig with 
 his hat, for I had seen the Bee hunter conceal it, and 
 had secretly brought it along with me. It was some time 
 before o^ur absent friend overtook us, having frightened 
 all the family away by his sudden return, and searched 
 the whole, house without success. When he perceived 
 
o4L' CANE BKAKE. 
 
 the object of his ride upon the head of the conjurer, and 
 recollected the promise by which he had bound himself 
 not to have any more jesting, he could only exclaim, 
 ''•Well, it's hard, but it's fair." We all laughed heartily, 
 and good humor was once again restored. 
 
 Cane brakes are common in some parts of Texas. Our 
 way led us through one of considerable extent. The 
 frequent passage of men and horses had kept open a nar- 
 row path not wide enough for two mustangs to pass with 
 convenience. The reeds, the same as are used in the 
 northern states as fishing rods, had grown to the height 
 of about twenty feet, and were so slender, that having 
 no support directly over the path, they drooped a little 
 inward, and intermingled their tops, forming a complete 
 covering overhead. W^e rode about a quarter of a mile 
 along this singular arched avenue with the view of the 
 sky completely shut out. The Bee hunter told me that 
 the largest brake is that which lines the banks of Caney 
 Creek, and is seventy miles in length, with scarcely a 
 tree to be seen the whole distance. The reeds are eaten 
 by cattle and horses in the winter when the prairies yield 
 little or no other food. 
 
 When we came out of the brake we saw three black 
 wolves jogging like dogs ahead of us, but at too great a 
 distance to reach them with a rifle. Wild turkeys and 
 deer repeatedly crossed our path, and we saw several 
 droves of wild horses pasturing in the prairies. These 
 sights awakened the ruling passion strong within me, and 
 I longed to have a hunt upon a large scale ; for though 
 I had killed many bears and deer in my time, I had 
 never brought down a buffalo in all my life, and so I told 
 
THE INDIAN. 843 
 
 my .^-ien Jh ; but thej tried to dissuade me from it, by 
 telljog me that I would certainly lose my way, and per- 
 haps perish ; for though it appeared as a cultivated gar- 
 den to the eye, it was still a wilderness. I said little 
 more on the subject until we crossed the Trinidad river, 
 but every mile we traveled I found the temptation grow 
 stronger and stroijger. 
 
 The night after we crossed the river w^e fortunately 
 found shelter in the house of a poor woman, who had 
 little but the barest necessaries to oifer us. While we 
 were securing our horses for the night we beheld two 
 men approaching the house on foot. They were both 
 armed with rifles and hunting-knives, and though I have 
 been accustomed to the sight of men who have not stepped 
 far over the line of civilization, I must say these were 
 just about the roughest samples I had seen any where. 
 One was a man of about fifty years old, tall and raw- 
 boned. He was dressed in a sailor's round jacket, with 
 a tarpaulin on his head. His whiskers nearly covered his 
 face ; his hair was coal black and long, and there was a 
 deep scar across his forehead, and another on the back 
 of his right hand. His companion, who was consider- 
 ably younger, was bare-headed, and clad in a deer-skin 
 dress made after our fashion. Though he was not much 
 darker than the old man, I perceived that he was an In- 
 dian. They spoke friendly to the Bee hunter, for they 
 both knew him, and said they were on their way to join 
 the Texan forces, at that time near the San Antonio 
 river. Though they had started without horses, they 
 reckoned they would come across a couple before they 
 went much farther. The right of ownership to horse 
 
344 THE PIRATE. 
 
 flesh is not much regarded in Texas, for those that have 
 been taken from the wild droves are soon after turned 
 out to graze on the prairies, the owner having first 
 branded them with his mark, and hobbled them by tying 
 their fore feet together, which will enable another to 
 capture them just as readily as himself. 
 
 The old Avoman set about preparing our supper, and 
 apologized for the homely fare, which consisted of bacon 
 and fried onions, when the Indian went to a bag and 
 produced a number of eggs of wild fowls, and a brace 
 of fat rabbits, which were speedily dressed, and we made 
 as good a meal as a hungry man need wish to set down 
 to. The old man spoke very little : but the Indian, who 
 had lived much among the whites, was talkative, and 
 manifested much impatience to arrive at the army. The 
 first opportunity that occurred I inquired of the Bee 
 hunter who our new friends were, and he told me that 
 the old man had been for many years a pirate with the 
 famous Lafitte, and that the Indian was a hunter belong- 
 ing to a settler near Galveston Bay. I had seen enough 
 of land rats at Washington, but this was the first time 
 that I was ever in company with a water rat to my 
 knowledge ; however, baiting that black spot on his es- 
 cutcheon, he was a well-behaved and inoffensive man. 
 Yice does not appear so shocking when we are familiar 
 with the perpetrator of it. 
 
 Thimblerig was for taking airs upon himself after 
 learning who our companions were, and protested to me, 
 that he would not sit down at the same table with a man 
 who had outraged the laws in such, a manner ; — for it 
 was due to society that honest men should discounte- 
 
SCENE AT THE DINNER TABLE. 345 
 
 nance such unprincipled characters, and much more to 
 the same eJGfect ; when the old man speedily dissipated 
 the gambler's indignant feelings bj calmly saying, 
 *' Stranger, you had better take a seat at the table, I 
 think," at the same time drawing a long hunting-knife 
 from his belt, and laying it on the table. " I think you 
 had better take some supper with us," he added, in a 
 mild tone, but fixing his eye sternly upon Thimblerig. 
 The conjurer first eyed the knife, and then the fierce 
 whiskers of the pirate, and, unlike some politicians, he 
 wasn't long in making up his mind what course to pur- 
 sue, but he determined to vote as the pirate voted, and 
 said, " I second that motion, stranger," at the same time 
 seating himself on the bench beside me. The old man 
 then commenced cutting up the meat, for which purpose 
 he had drawn his hunting-knife, though the gambler had 
 thought it was for a different purpose ; and being re- 
 lieved from his fears, everything passed off quite soci- 
 able. 
 
 Early the following morning we compensated the old 
 woman for the trouble she had been at, and we mounted 
 our horses and pursued our journey, our new friends 
 following on foot, but promising to arrive at the Alamo 
 as soon as we should. About noon we stopped to re- 
 fresh our horses beneath a cluster of trees that stood in 
 the open prairie, and I again spoke of my longing for a 
 buffalo hunt. We were all seated on the grass, and 
 they strived hard to dissuade me from the folly of 
 allowing a ruling passion to lead me into such imminent 
 danger and difficulty as I must necessarily encounter. 
 At this time, while they were running down my weak- 
 
346 DISAPPEARANCE OF THE BEE-HUNTEE. 
 
 ness, as tliey called it, Tliimblerig was amusing liimself 
 with his eternal thimbles and pea upon the crown of his 
 big white hat. I could not refrain from laughing out- 
 right to see with wdiat gravity and apparent interest he 
 slipped the pea from one thimble to another while in the 
 midst of a desert. Man is a queer animal, and Colonel 
 Dick Johnson is disposed to make him even queerer 
 than Dame Nature originally intended. 
 
 The Bee hunter told me, that if I was determined to 
 leave them, he had in his bag a paper of ground coffee, 
 and biscuit, which little Kate of Nacogdoches had de- 
 sired him to carry for my use, which he handed to me, 
 and proposed drinking her health, saying that she was 
 one of the kindest and purest of God's creatures. We 
 drank her health, and wished him all happiness when 
 she should be his own, which time he looked forward to 
 with impatience. He still continued to dissuade me 
 from leaving them, and all the time he was talking his 
 eyes were wandering above, when suddenly he stopped, 
 sprang to his feet, looked around for a moment, then 
 leaped on his mustang, and without saying a word, 
 started off like mad, and scoured along the prairie. We 
 watched him, gradually diminishing in size, until he 
 seemed no larger than a rat, and finally disappeared in 
 the distance. I was amazed, and thought to be sure the 
 man was crazy ; and Thimblerig, who continued his 
 game, responded that he was unquestionably out of his 
 head. 
 
 Shortly after the Bee hunter had disappeared, we 
 heard a noise like the rumbling of distant thunder. The 
 sky was clear, there were no signs of a storm, and we 
 
HERD OF BUFFALOES. 347 
 
 concluded it could not proceed from that cause. On 
 turnin<i: to the west, we saw an immense cloud of dust 
 in the distance, but could perceive no object distinctly, 
 and still the roaring continued. ''What can all this 
 mean?" said I. " Burn my old shoes if I know," said 
 the conjurer, gathering up his thimbles, and at the same 
 time cocking his large Vicksburger fiercely on his head. 
 We continued looking in the direction whence the sound 
 proceeded, the cloud of dust became thicker and thicker, 
 and the roaring more distinct — much louder than was 
 ever heard in the White House at Washington. 
 
 We at first imagined that it was a tornado, but what- 
 ever it was, it was coming directly toward the spot 
 where we stood. Our mustangs had ceased to graze, 
 and cocked up their ears in evident alarm. We ran 
 and caught them, took ofi" the hobbles, and rode into the 
 ^rove of trees ; — still the noise grew louder and louder. 
 We had scarcely got under the shelter of the grove be- 
 fore the object approached near enough for us to ascer- 
 tain what it was. It was a herd of buffalo, at least four 
 or five hundred in number, dashing along as swift as the 
 wind, and roaring as if so many devils had. broke loose. 
 They passed near the grove, and if we had not taken 
 shelter there, we should have been in g^'eat danger of 
 being trampled to death. My poor little mustang shook 
 worse than a politician about to be turned out of office, 
 as the drove came sweeping by. At their head, apart 
 from the rest, was a black bull, who appeared to be their 
 leader ; he came roaring along, his tail straight on an 
 end, and at times tossing up the earth with his horns. 
 1 never felt such a desire to have a crack at anything 
 
348 CHASE or the buffaloes. 
 
 in all mj life. He drew nigh the place where I was 
 standing ; I raised my beautiful Betsey to my shoulder, 
 took deliberate aim, blazed away, and he roared and 
 suddenly stopped. Those that were near him did so 
 likewise, and the concussion occasioned by the impetus 
 of those in the rear was such, that it was a miracle that 
 some of them did not break their legs or necks. The 
 black bull stood for a few moments pawing the ground 
 after he was shot, then darted off around the cluster of 
 trees, and made for the uplands of the prairies. The 
 whole herd follow^ed, sweeping by like a tornado, and I 
 do say, I never witnessed a more beautiful sight to the 
 eye df a hunter in all my life. Bear hunting is no more 
 to be compared to it than Colonel Benton is to Henry 
 Clay. I watched them for a few moments, then clapped 
 spurs to my mustang and followed in their wake, leaving 
 Thimblerig behind me. 
 
 I followed on the trail of the herd for at least two 
 hours, by which time the moving mass appeared like a 
 small cloud in the distant horizon. Still, I followed, 
 my whole mind absorbed by the excitement of the chase, 
 until the object was entirely lost in the distance. I now 
 paused to allow my mustang to breathe, who did not 
 altogether fancy the rapidity of my movements, and to 
 consider which course I would have to take to regain the 
 path I had abandoned. I might have retraced my steps 
 by following the trail of the buffaloes, but it had alwaj^s 
 been my principle to go ahead, and so I turned to the 
 west and pushed forward. 
 
 I had not rode more than an hour before I found I 
 Vfas as completely bewildered as "the Government" was 
 
CEOCKETT LOST. 349 
 
 when lie entered upon an examination of the post-office 
 accounts. I looked around, and there was, as far as 
 the eye could reach, spread before me a country appa- 
 rently in the highest state of cultivation. Extended 
 fields, beautiful and productive, groves of trees cleared 
 from the underwood, and whose margins were as regular 
 as if the art and taste of man had been employed upon 
 them. But there was no other evidence that the sound 
 of the axe, or the voice of man, had ever here disturbed 
 the solitude of nature. My eyes would have cheated my 
 senses into the belief that I was in an earthly paradise, 
 but my fears told me that I was in a wilderness. 
 
 I pushed along, following the sun, for I had no com- 
 pass to guide me, and there was no other path than that 
 which my mustang made. Indeed, if I had found a 
 beaten track, I should have been almost afraid to have 
 followed it ; for my friend the Bee hunter had told me, 
 that once, when he had been lost in the prairies, he had 
 accidentally struck into his own path, and had traveled 
 around and around for a whole day before he discovered 
 his error. This I thought was a poor way of going 
 ahead ; so I determined to make for the first large 
 stream, and follow its course. 
 
 I had traveled several hours without seeing the trace 
 of a human being, and even game was almost as scarce 
 as Benton's mint drops, except just about election time, 
 and I began to wish that I had followed the advice of my 
 companions. I was a good deal bothered to account for 
 the abrupt manner in which the Bee hunter had abscon- 
 ded ; and I felt concerned for the poor thimble conjurer, 
 who was left alone, and altogether unaccustomed to the 
 
350 THE MUSTANGS. 
 
 difficulties that he would have to encounter. While my 
 mind was occupied with these unpleasant reflections, I 
 was suddenly startled by another novelty quite as great 
 as that I have just described. 
 
 I had just emerged from a beautiful grove of trees, 
 and was entering upon an extended prairie, which looked 
 like the luxuriant meadows of a thrifty farmer ; and as 
 if nothing should be Avanting to complete the delusion, 
 but a short distance before me, there was a drove of 
 about one hundred beautiful horses quietly pasturing. 
 It required some effort to convince my mind that man had 
 no agency in this. But when I looked around, and fully 
 realized it all, I thought of him who had preached to me 
 in the wilds of the Arkansas, and involuntarily exclaimed, 
 " God, what hast thou not done for man, and yet how little 
 he does for thee ! Not even repays thee with gratitude!" 
 
 I entered upon the prairie. The mustangs no sooner 
 espied me than they raised their heads, whinnied, and 
 bes^an coursinor around me in an extended circle, which 
 gradually became smaller and smaller, until they closely 
 surrounded me. My little rascally mustang enjoyed the 
 sport, and felt disposed to renew his acquaintance with 
 his wild companions ; first turning his head to one, then 
 to another, playfully biting the neck of this one, rubbing 
 noses with that one, and kicking up his heels at a third. 
 1 began to feel rather uncomfortable, and plied the spur 
 pretty briskly to get out of the mess, but he was as ob- 
 stinate as the " old Roman" himself, who will neither be 
 led nor driven. I kicked, and he kicked, but fortunately 
 he became tired first, and he made one start, intending 
 to escape from the annoyance if possible. As I had an 
 
A RACE. 351 
 
 annoyance to escape from likewise, I beat the devirs 
 tattoo on his ribs, that he might have some music to 
 dance to, and we went ahead right merrily, the whole 
 drove following in our wake, head up, and tail and manes 
 streaming. My little critter, who was both blood and 
 bottom, seemed delighted at being at the head of the 
 heap ; and having once got fairly started, I wish I may 
 be shot if I did not find it impossible to stop him. He 
 kept along, tossing his head proudly, and occasionally 
 neighing, as much as to say, '^ Come on, my hearties, 
 you see I ha'n't forgot our old amusement yet." And 
 they did come on with a vengeance, clatter, clatter, clat- 
 ter, as if so many fiends had broke loose. The prairie 
 lay extended before me as far as the eye could reach, 
 and I began to think that there would be no end to the 
 race. 
 
 My little animal was full of fire and mettle, and as it 
 was the first bit of genuine sport that he had had for 
 sometime, he appeared determined to make the most of 
 it. He kept the lead for full half an hour, frequently 
 neighing as if in triumph and derision. I thought of 
 John Gilpin's celebrated ride, but that was child's play 
 to this. The proverb says, " The race is not always to 
 the swift, nor the battle to the strong," and so it proved 
 in the present instance. My mustang was obliged to 
 carry weight, while his competitors were as free as nature 
 had made them. A beautiful bay, who had trod close 
 upon my heels the whole way, now came side by side 
 with my mustang, and we had it hip and thigh for about 
 ten minutes, in such style as would have delighted the 
 heart of a true lover of the turf. I now felt an interest 
 
352 NAVASOLA RIVER. 
 
 in tlie race myself, and for the credit of my bit of blood, 
 determined to win it if it was at all in the nature of 
 things. I plied the lash and spur, and the little critter 
 took it quite kindly, and tossed his head, and neighed, 
 as much as to say, " Colonel, I know what you're after — 
 Go ahead!" — and he cut dirt in beautiful style, I tell 
 you. 
 
 This could not last for ever. At length my competi- 
 tor darted ahead, somewhat the same way that Adam 
 Huntsman served me last election, except that there was 
 no gouging ; and my little fellow was compelled to clat- 
 ter after his tail, like a needy politician after an office 
 holder when he wants his influence, and which my mus- 
 tang found it quite as difficult to reach. He hung on 
 . like grim death for some time longer, but at last his am- 
 bition began to flag ; and having lost his ground, others 
 seemed to think that he was not the mighty critter he 
 was cracked up to be, no how, and they tried to outstrip 
 him also. A second shot ahead, and he kicked up his 
 heels in derision as he passed us ; then a third, a fourth, 
 and so on, and even the scrubbiest little rascal in the 
 whole drove was disposed to have a fling at their broken 
 down leader. A true picture of politicians and their 
 truckling followers, thought I. We now followed among 
 the last of the drove until we came to the banks of the 
 Navasola river. The foremost leaped from the margin 
 into the rushing stream, the others, politician like, fol- 
 lowed him, though he would lead t-hem to destruction ; 
 but my wearied animal fell on the banks, completely ex- 
 hausted with fatigue. It was a beautiful sight to see 
 them stemming the torrent, ascend the opposite bank, 
 
THE AYEARIED ANIMAL. 353 
 
 and scour over the plain, having been refreshed by the 
 "Water. I relieved my wearied animal from the saddle, 
 and employed what means were in my power to restore 
 him.* 
 
 ■* This characteristic episode in the Colonel's eventful journey to 
 Texas, will afford instruction as well as pleasure to the reader. The 
 chase of the great herd of buffaloes, and the race with the other herd 
 of mustangs, are entirely consistent with the go-ahead character of 
 Colonel Crockett. He was always ready to enter upon any perilous 
 adventure which offered itself; and not less ready, as we shall pre- 
 sently see, to meet with resolute composure the inevitable consequeD- 
 ces of his rashness. 
 23 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 The Coloners mustang apparently very ill — The Colouel has a hard 
 fight with a Cougar, and kills him — Passes the uight in a tree- 
 Loses his mustang — Breakfasts on roast goose — Falls in with a 
 party of Camanches — Ride with them — Singular recovery of his 
 mustang — A prairie on fire — Politeness of the Camanches — Meet- 
 ing with Thimblerig — Re-union of the whole party — Meeting with 
 a band of Mexicans — A fight — The Mexicans beaten and put to 
 flight — Arrival at the Alamo. 
 
 After toiling for more than an hour to get mj mus- 
 tang upon his feet again, I g?ive it up as a bad job, as 
 little Van did when he attempted to raise himself to the 
 moon by the waistband of his breeches. Night was fast 
 closing in, and as I began to think that I had just about 
 sport enough for one day, I might as well look around 
 for a place of shelter for the night, and take a fresh start 
 in the morning, by which time I was in hopes my horse 
 would be recruited. Near the margin of the river a 
 large tree had been blown down, and I thought of making 
 my lair in its top, and approached it for that purpose. 
 While beating among the branches I heard a low growl, 
 as much as to say, " Stranger, the apartments are already 
 taken." Looking about to see what sort of a bed-fellow 
 I was likely to have, I discovered, not more than five or 
 six paces from me, an enormous Mexican Cougar, eyeing 
 me as an epicure surveys the table before he selects his 
 (354) 
 
A COUGAR. 855 
 
 dish, for I have no doubt the cougar looked upon me as 
 the subject of a future supper. Eays of light darted 
 from his large eyes, he showed his teeth like a negro in 
 hysterics, and he was crouching on his haunches ready 
 for a spring ; all of which convinced me that unless I 
 was pretty quick upon the trigger, posterity would know 
 little of the termination of my eventful career, and it 
 would be far less glorious and useful than I intend to 
 make it. 
 
 One glance satisfied me that there was no time to be 
 lost, as Pat thought when falling from a church steeple, 
 and exclaimed, " This would be mighty pleasant, now, 
 if it would only last," — but there was no retreat either 
 for me or the cougar, so I leveled my Betsey and blazed 
 away. The report was followed by a furious growl, 
 (which is sometimes the case in Congress,) and the next 
 moment, when I expected to find the tarnal critter strug- 
 gling with death, I beheld him shaking his head as if no- 
 thing more than a bee had stung him. The ball had 
 struck him on the forehead and glanced off, doing no 
 other injury than stunning him for an instant, and tear- 
 ing off the skin, which tended to infuriate him the more. 
 The cougar wasn't long in making up his mind what to 
 do, nor was I neither ; but he would have it all his own 
 way, and vetoed my motion to back out. I had not re- 
 treated three steps before he sprang at me like a steam- 
 boat ; I stepped aside, and as he lit upon the ground, I 
 struck him violently with the barrel of my rifle, but he 
 didn't mind that, but wheeled around and made at me 
 again. The gun was now of no use, so I threw it away, 
 and drew my hunting knife, for I knew we should come 
 
356 FIGHT WITH A COUGAR. 
 
 to close quarters before the figlit would be over. Tliis 
 time lie succeeded in fastening on my left arm, and was 
 just beginning to amuse liimself by tearing the flesh oif 
 Vv'ith his fangs, when I ripped my knife into his side, and 
 he let go his hold much to my satisfaction. 
 
 He wheeled about and came at me with increased fury, 
 occasioned by the smarting of his wounds. I now tried 
 to blind him, knowing that if I succeeded he would be- 
 come an easy prey ; so as he approached me I watched 
 my opportunity, and aimed a blow at his eyes with my 
 knife, but unfortunately it struck him on the nose, and 
 he paid no other attention to it than by a shake of the 
 head and a low growl. He pressed me close, and as I 
 was stepping backward my foot tripped in a vine, and I 
 fell to the ground. He was down upon me like a night- 
 hawk upon a June bug. He seized hold of the outer 
 part of my right thigh, which afforded him considerable 
 amusement ; the hinder part of his body was toward* 
 my face ; I grasped his tail with my left hand, and 
 tickled his ribs with my hunting knife, which I held in 
 my right. Still the critter wouldn't let go his hold ; 
 and as I found that he would lacerate my leg dreadfully, 
 unless he was speedily shaken off, I tried to hurl him 
 down the bank into the river, for our scuffle had already 
 brought us to the edge of the bank. I stuck my knife 
 into his side, and summoned all my strength to throw 
 him over. He resisted, was desperate heavy ; but at 
 last I got him so far down the declivity that he lost his 
 balance, and he rolled over and over till he landed on the 
 margin of the river ; but in his fall he dragged me along 
 with him. Fortunately, I fell uppermost, and his neck 
 
SLEEPING IN A TREE. 35T 
 
 presented a fair mark for my hunting knife. "VYitliout 
 allowing myself time even to draw breath, I aimed one 
 desperate blow at his neck, and the knife entered his 
 gullet up to the handle, and reached his heart. He 
 struggled for a few moments, and died. I have had 
 many fights with bears, but that was mere child's play ; 
 this was the first fight ever I had with a cougar, and I 
 hope it may be the last, 
 
 I now returned to the tree-top to see if any one else 
 would dispute my lodging ; but now I could take peace- 
 able and quiet possession. I parted some of the branch- 
 es, and cut away others to make a bed in the opening ; 
 I then gathered a quantity of moss, which hung in fes- 
 toons from the trees, which I spread on the litter, and 
 over this I spread my horse blanket ; and I had as com- 
 fortable a bed as a weary man need ask for. I now took 
 another look at my mustang, and from all appearances, 
 he would not live until morning. I ate some of the cakes 
 that little Kate of Nacogdoches had made for me, and 
 then carried my saddle into my tree top, and threw my- 
 self down upon my bed with no very pleasant reflections 
 at the prospect before me. 
 
 I was wear}", and soon fell asleep, and did not awake 
 until daybreak the next day. I felt somewhat stiif and 
 sore from the wounds I had received in the conflict with 
 the cougar ; but I considered myself as having made a 
 lucky escape. I looked over the bank, and as I saw the 
 carcass of the cougar lying there, I thought that it was 
 an even chance that w^e had not exchanged conditions ; 
 and I felt grateful that the fight had ended as it did. I 
 now went to look after my mustang, fully expecting to 
 
358 A BREAKFAST. 
 
 find him as dead as tlie cougar ; but what was mj aston- 
 ishment to find that he had disappeared without leaving 
 trace of hair or hide of him ! I first supposed that some 
 beasts of prey had consumed the poor critter ; but then 
 they wouldn't have eaten his bones, and he had vanished 
 as efi'ectuallj as the deposites, without leaving any mark 
 of the course they had taken. This bothered me ama- 
 zing ; I couldn't figure it out by any rule that I had ever 
 heard of, so I concluded to think no more about it. 
 
 I felt a craving for something to eat, and looking 
 around for some game, I saw a flock of geese on the 
 shore of the river. I shot a fine, fat gander, and soon 
 stripped him of his feathers : and gathering some light 
 wood, I kindled a fire, run a long stick through my 
 goose for a spit, and put it down to roast, supported by 
 two sticks wdth prongs. I had a desire for some cofi*ee; 
 and having a tin cup with me, I poured the paper of 
 ground coffee that I had received from the bee hunter 
 into it, and made a strong cup, which was very refresh- 
 ing. Ofi" of my goose and biscuit I made a hearty meal, 
 and was preparing to depart without clearing up the 
 breakfast things, or knowing which direction to pursue, 
 w^hen I was somewhat taken aback by another of the wild 
 scenes of the west. I heard a sound like the trampling 
 of many horses, and I thought to be sure the mustangs 
 or buffaloes were coming upon me again ; but, on raising 
 my head, I beheld in the distance about fifty mounted 
 Camanches, with their spears glittering in the morning 
 sun, dashing toward the spot where I stood at full speed. 
 As the column advanced, it divided, according to their 
 usual practice, into two semicircles, and' in an instant I 
 
ET^COUNTER WITH THE CAMANCHES. 359 
 
 was surrounded. Quicker than tliouglit I sprang to my 
 rifle, but as my hand grasped it, I felt that resistance 
 against so many would be of as little use as pumping for 
 thunder in dry weather. 
 
 The chief was for making love to my beautiful Betsey, 
 but I clung fast to her, and assuming an air of compo- 
 sure, I demanded whether their nation was at war with 
 the Americans. "No," was the reply. "Do you like 
 the Americans?" "Yes; they are our friends." 
 " Where do you get your spear heads, your rifles, your 
 blankets, and your knives from?" "Get them from 
 our friends, the Americans." "Well, do you think, if 
 you were passing through their nation, as I am passing 
 through yours, they would attempt to rob you of your 
 property?" "No, they would feed me, and protect 
 me ; and the Camanche will do the same by his white 
 brother." 
 
 I now asked him what it was had directed him to the 
 spot where I was, and he told me, that they had seen 
 the smoke from a great distance, and had come to see 
 the cause of it. He inquired what had brought me there 
 alone ; and I told him that I had come to hunt, and 
 that my mustang had become exhausted, and though I 
 thought he was about to die, that he had escaped from 
 me ; at which the chief gave a low chuckling laugh, and 
 said it was all a trick of the mustang, which is the most 
 wily and cunning of all animals. But he said, that as 
 I was a brave hunter, he would furnish me with another ; 
 he gave orders, and a fine young horse was immediately 
 brought forward. 
 
 When the party approached there were three old 
 
360 RIDE WITH THE CAMANCHES. 
 
 squaws at their head, who made a noise with their 
 mouths, and served as trumpeters. I now told the chief 
 that, as I now had a horse, I would go for mj saddle, 
 which was in the place where I had slept. As I ap- 
 proached the spot I discovered one of the squaws de- 
 vouring the remains of my roasted goose, but my saddle 
 and bridle were nowhere to be found. Almost in des- 
 pair of seeing them again, I observed, in a thicket at a 
 little distance, one of the trumpeters kicking and bela- 
 boring her horse to make him move off, w^hile the saga- 
 cious beast would not move a step from the troop. I 
 followed her, and, thanks to her restive mustang, secured 
 my property, which the chief made her restore to me. 
 Some of the warriors had by this time discovered the 
 body of the cougar, and had already commenced skin- 
 ning it ; and seeing how many stabs were about it, I 
 related to the chief the desperate struggle I had had ; 
 he said, "Brave hunter, brave man," and wished me to 
 be adopted into his tribe, but I respectfully declined the 
 honor. He then offered to see me on my w^ay ; and I 
 asked him to accompany me to the Colorado river, if he 
 was going in that direction, which he agreed to do. I 
 put my saddle on my fresh horse, mounted, and we 
 darted off, at a rate not much slower than I had rode 
 the day previous with the wild herd, the old squaws at 
 the head of the troop braying like young jackasses the 
 whole way.^ 
 
 About three hours after starting we saw a drove of 
 mustangs quietly pasturing in the prairie at a distance. 
 One of the Indians immediately got his lasso ready, 
 which was a long rope made of hide plaited like whip 
 
KECOVERY OF THE MrSTANtt. 361 
 
 cord, with an iron ring at one end, through which the 
 rope was passed so as to form a noose ; and thus pre- 
 pared, he darted ahead of the troop to make a capture. 
 They allowed him to approach pretty nigh, he all the 
 time flourishing his lasso ; but before he got within 
 reaching distance, they started off at a brisk canter, 
 made two or three wide circuits around him, as if they 
 would spy out what he was after, then abruptly changed 
 their course and disappeared. One mustang out of all 
 the drove remained standing quietly ; the Indian made 
 up to him, threw thie lasso, but the mustang dodged his 
 head between his fore legs, and escaped the noose, but 
 did not attempt to escape. The Indian then rode up to 
 him, and the horse very patiently submitted while he 
 put a bridle on him, and secured him. When I ap- 
 proached, I immediately recognized in the captive the 
 pestilent little animal that had shammed sickness and 
 escaped from me the day before ; and when he caught 
 my eye he cast down his head and looked rather sheep- 
 ish, as if he were sensible and ashamed of the dirty 
 trick he had played me. I expressed my astonishment 
 to the Indian chief at the mustang's allowing himself to 
 be captured without an effort to escape ; and he told me, 
 that they are generally hurled to the ground with such 
 violence when first taken with the lasso, that they re- 
 member it ever after, and that the sight of it will sub- 
 due them to submission, though they may have run wild 
 for years. Just so with an office-holder, who, being 
 kicked out, turns patriot — shake a commission at him, 
 and the fire of his patriotism usually escapes in smoke. 
 We traveled all day, and toward evening we came 
 
862 PEAIRIE ON FIRE. 
 
 across a small drove of buffaloes ; and it was a beautiful 
 siarbt to behold with what skill the Indians hunted down 
 this noble game. There are no horsemen who ride more 
 gracefully than the Cumanches ; and they sit so closely, 
 and hold such absolute control over the horse, that he 
 seems to be part of their own person. I had the good 
 fortune to bring down a young heifer, and as it was the 
 only beef that we killed, the chief again complimented 
 me as being a brave hunter ; and while they were pre- 
 paring the heifer for our supper, I related to him many 
 of my hunting exploits, at which he manifested pleasure 
 and much astonishment for an Indian. He again urged 
 upon me to become one of the tribe. 
 
 We made a hearty supper, hobbled our mustangs, 
 which we turned into the prairie to graze, and then en- 
 camped for the night. I awoke about two hom^s before 
 daybreak, and looking over the tract of country through 
 which we had traveled, the sky was as bright and clear 
 as if the sun had already risen. I watched it for some 
 time without being able to account for it, and asked my 
 friend, the chief, to explain, who told me that the prairie 
 was on fire, and that it must have caught when we 
 cooked our dinner. I have seen hundreds of acres of 
 mountain timber on fire in my time, but this is the first 
 time that I ever saw a prairie burning. 
 
 Nothing of interest occurred until we reached the 
 Colorado, and were following the river to the place where 
 it crosses the road to Bexar, which place the Indians 
 promised to conduct me to. We saw a light column of 
 smoke ascending in the clear sky, and hastened toward 
 it. It proceeded from a small cluster of trees near the 
 
POLITEXESS OF THE CUMANCHES. 363 
 
 river. When we came witliin five liundred yards of it,- 
 the warriors extended their line around the object, and 
 the chief and myself cautiously approached it. "When 
 we came within eyeshot, what was my astonishment to 
 discover a solitary man seated on the ground near the 
 fire, so intent upon some pursuit that he did not perceive 
 our approach. We drew nigh to him, and still he was 
 unconscious of our approach. It was poor Thimblerig, 
 practicing his game of thimbles upon the crown of his 
 white Yicksburger. This is what I call the ruling pas- 
 sion most amazing strong. The chief shouted the war 
 whoop, and suddenly the warriors came rushing in from 
 all quarters, preceded by the old squaw trumpeters 
 squalling like mad. The conjurer sprang to his feet, 
 and was ready to sink into the earth when he beheld the 
 ferocious looking fellows that surrounded him. I stepped 
 up, took him by the hand, and quieted his fears. I told 
 the chief that he was a friend of mine, and I was very 
 glad to have found him, for I was afraid that he had 
 perished. I now thanked him for his kindness in guiding 
 me over the prairies, and gave him a large Bowie knife, 
 which he said he would keep for the sake of the brave 
 hunter. The whole squadron then wheeled off, and I 
 saw them no more. I have met with many polite men 
 in my time, but no one who possessed in a greatej: 
 degree what may be called true spontaneous politeness 
 than this Cumanche chief, always excepting Philip Hone, 
 Esq., of New York, whom I look upon as the politest 
 man I ever did see ; for when he asked me to take a 
 drink at his own sideboard he turned his back upon me, 
 
364 THIMBLEEIG AND THE BEE HUNTER. 
 
 that I miglitn't be ashamed to fill as much as I wanted. 
 That was what I call doing the fair thing. 
 
 Thimblerig was delighted at meeting me again, but it 
 was some time before he recovered sufficiently from the 
 cold sweat into which the sudden appearance of the In- 
 dians had thrown him to recount his adventures to me. 
 He said that he felt rather down-hearted when he found 
 himself abandoned both by the Bee hunter and myself, 
 and he knew not which course to pursue ; but after 
 thinking about the matter for two hours, he had made up 
 his mind to retrace the road we had traveled over, and 
 had mounted his mustang for that purpose, when he spied 
 the Bee hunter laden with honey. The mystery of his 
 abrupt departure was now fully accounted for ; he had 
 spied a solitary bee shaping its course to its hive, and 
 at the moment he couldn't control the ruling passion, 
 but followed the bee without reflecting for a moment up- 
 on the difficulties and dangers that his thoughtlessness 
 mio;ht occasion his friends. 
 
 I now asked him what had become of the Bee hunter, 
 and he said that he had gone out in pursuit of game for 
 their supper, and he expected that he would return 
 shortly, as he had been absent at least an hour. While 
 we were still speaking our friend appeared, bending un- 
 (Jer the weight of a wild turkey. He manifested great 
 joy at meeting with me so unexpectedly ; and desiring 
 the conjurer to pluck the feathers of the bird, which he 
 cheerfully undertook, for he said he had been accustomed 
 to plucking pigeons, we set about preparing our supper. 
 
 The position we occupied was directly on the route 
 leading to Bexar, and at the crossings of the Colorado. 
 
MEETING WITH FRIENDS. 3^65 
 
 "We were about to commence our supper, for the turkey 
 was done in beautiful style, when the sound of a horse 
 neighing startled us. "We looked over the prairie, and 
 beheld two men approaching on horseback, and both 
 armed with rifles and knives. The Bee hunter said that 
 it was time for us to be on our guard, for we should 
 meet, perhaps, more enemies than friends as soon as we 
 crossed the river, and the new comers were making di- 
 rectly for the spot we occupied ; but, as they were only 
 two, it occasioned no uneasiness. 
 
 As they drew nigh we recognized the strangers ; they 
 turned out to be the old pirate and the Indian hunter 
 who had lodged with us a few nights before. We hailed 
 them, and on seeing us they alighted and asked permis- 
 sion to join our party, which we gladly agreed to, as our 
 journey was becoming rather more perilous every mile 
 we advanced. They partook of our turkey, and as they 
 had some small cakes of bread, which they threw into the 
 general stock, we made a hearty supper : and, after a 
 battle song from the Bee hunter, we prepared to rest for 
 the night. 
 
 Early next morning we crossed the river and pushed 
 forward for the fortress of Alamo. The old pirate was 
 taciturn as ever, but his .companion was talkative and in 
 good spirits. I asked him where he had procured their 
 mustangs, and he said he had found them hobbled in 
 Burnet's Grant, just at a time that he felt very tired ; 
 and as he believed that no one would lay claim to them 
 at Bexar, he couldn't resist mounting one, and persua- 
 ding his friend to mount the other. 
 
 Nothing of interest occurred until we came within 
 
366 MEETING A BAND OF MEXICANS. 
 
 about twenty miles of San Antonio. We were in the 
 open prairie, and beheld a band of about fifteen or 
 twenty armed men approaching us at fall speed. '' Look 
 out for squalls," said the old pirate, who had not spoken 
 for an hour ; " they are a scouting party of Mexicans." 
 " And are three or four times our number," said Thimble- 
 rig. "No matter," replied the old man ; "they are con- 
 victs, jail birds, and cowardly ruffians, no doubt, who 
 w^ould tremble at a loud word as much as a mustang at 
 the sight of a lasso. Let us spread ourselves, dismount, 
 and trust to our arms." 
 
 We followed his orders, and stood beside our horses, 
 which served to protect our persons, and we awaited the 
 approach of the enemy. When they perceived this 
 movement of ours, they checked their speed, appeared 
 to consult together for a few minutes, then spread their 
 line, and came within rifle shot of us. The leader called 
 out to us in Spanish, but as I did not understand him, I 
 asked the old man what it was, who said he called upon 
 us to surrender. 
 
 " There will be a brush with those blackguards," con- 
 tinued the pirate. " Now each of you single out your 
 man for the first fire, and they are greater fools than I 
 take them for if they give us a chance at a second. 
 Colonel, as you are a good shot, just settle the business 
 for that talking fellow with the red feather ; he's worth 
 any three of the party." 
 
 " Surrender, or we fire," shouted the fellow with the 
 red feather, in Spanish. 
 
 "Fire, and be d d," returned the pirate, at the 
 
 top of his voice, in plain Englisli. 
 
TICTORY OVER THE MEXICANS. ?6T 
 
 And sure enough tliej took his advice, for the next 
 minute we were saluted with a discharge of musketry, 
 the report of which wa^s so loud that we were convinced 
 they all had fired. Before the smoke had cleared away 
 we had each selected our man, fired, and I never did see 
 such a scattering among their ranks as followed. AYe 
 beheld several mustangs running wild without their riders 
 over the prairie, and the balance of the company were 
 already retreating at a more rapid gait than they ap- 
 proached. We hastily mounted, and commenced pur- 
 suit, which we kept up until we beheld the independent 
 flag flying from the battlements of the fortress of Alamo, 
 our place of destination. The fugitives succeeded in 
 evading our pursuit, and we rode up to the gates of the 
 fortress, announced to the sentinel who we were, and the 
 gates were thrown open ; and we entered amid shouts of 
 welcome bestowed upon us by the patriots. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Description of the Alamo fortress and Bexar — Capture of the Alamc 
 by the Texan army — Account of Colonel Bowie — His stratagem 
 for deceiving the Cumanches — News of the approach of Santa 
 Anna — History of Texas — Account of Santa Anna — His ambition 
 — Anecdote — Siege of a Convent. 
 
 The fortress of Alamo is at the town of Bexar, on the 
 San Antonio river, which flows through the town. Bexar 
 is about one hundred and forty miles from the coast, and 
 contains upward of twelve hundred citizens, all native 
 Mexicans, with the exception of a few American families 
 who have settled there. Besides these there is a garrison 
 of soldiers, and trading pedlars of every description, who 
 resort to it from the borders of the Bio Grande, as their 
 nearest depot of xlmerican goods. A military outpost 
 was established at this spot by the Spanish government 
 in 1718. In 1721 the town was settled by emigrants 
 sent out from the Canary Islands by the King of Spain. 
 It became a flourishing settlement, and so continued un- 
 til the revolution in 1812, since which period the Cum- 
 anche and other Indians have greatly harassed the in- 
 habitants, producing much individual sufi'ering, and totally 
 destroying, for a season at least, the prospects of the 
 town. Its site is one of the most beautiful in the western 
 world. The air is salubrious, the water delightful, espe- 
 (368) 
 
CAPTURE OF THE ALAMO. 36& 
 
 ciallj wlien mixed "with a little of the ardent, and the 
 health of the citizens is proverbial. The soil around it 
 is highly fertile, and well calculated for cotton and grain. 
 
 The gallant young Colonel Travis, who commands the 
 Texian forces in the fortress of Alamo, received me like 
 a man ; and though he can barely muster one hundred 
 and fifty efficient men, should Santa Anna make an at- 
 tack upon us, with the whole host of ruffians that the 
 Mexican prisons can disgorge, he will have snakes to eat 
 before he gets over the wall, I tell you. But one spirit 
 appeared to animate this little band of patriots — and that 
 is liberty, or death. To worship God according to the 
 dictates of their own conscience, and govern themselves 
 as freemen should be governed. 
 
 All the world knows by this time, that the town of 
 Bexar, or, as some call it, San Antonio, was captured 
 from the Mexicans by General Burlison on the 10th day 
 of December, 1835, after a severe struggle of five days 
 and five nights, during which he sustained a loss of four 
 men only, but the brave old Colonel Milam was among 
 them. There were seventeen hundred men in the town, 
 and the Texian forces consisted of but two hundred and 
 sixteen. The Mexicans had walled up the streets lead- 
 ing from the public square, intending to make a desper- 
 ate resistance ; the Texians however made an entrance, 
 and valiantly di'ove them from house to house, until 
 General Cos retreated to the castle of Alamo, without 
 the city, and there hoisted the white flag, and sent out 
 the terms of capitulation, which were as follows : 
 
 General Cos is to retire within six days, with his offi- 
 cers, arms, and private property, on parole of honor. 
 24 
 
370 HOW WE TOOK POSSESSION. 
 
 lie is not to oppose the re-establishment of the constitu- 
 tion of 1824. 
 
 The infantry and the cavalry, the remnant of Morale's 
 battalion, and the convicts, to return, taking with them 
 ten rounds of cartridge for safety against the Indians. 
 
 All public property, money, arms, and ammunition, to 
 be delivered to General Burlison, of the Texian army, 
 with some other stipulation in relation to the sick and 
 wounded, private property, and prisoners of war. The 
 Texians would not have acceeded to them, preferring to 
 storm him in his stronghold, but at this critical juncture 
 they hadn't a single round of ammunition left, having 
 foucfht from the 5th to the 9th of the month. General 
 Ugartechea had arrived but the day before with three 
 hundred troops, and the four hundred convicts mentioned 
 above, making a reinforcement of seven hundred men ; 
 but such rubbish was no great obstacle to the march of 
 freedom. The Mexicans lost about three hundred men 
 during the siege, and the Texians had only four killed 
 and twenty wounded. The articles of capitulation being 
 signed, we marched into the town, took possession of the 
 fortress, hoisted the independent flag, and told the late 
 proprietors to pack up their moveables and clear out in 
 the snapping of a trigger, as we did not think our pockets 
 quite safe with so many jail birds around us. And this 
 is the way the Alamo came into our possession ; but the 
 way we shall maintain our possession of it will be a sub- 
 ject for the future historian to record, or my name's not 
 Crockett. I wish I may be shot if I dont't go ahead to 
 the last. 
 
 I found Colonel Bowie, of Louisiana, in the fortress, 
 
COLONEL BOWIE. 871 
 
 a man celebrated for having been in more desperate per- 
 sonal conflicts than any other in the country, and whose 
 name has been given to a knife of a peculiar construc- 
 tion, which is now in general use in the south-west. I 
 was introduced to him by Colonel Travis, and he gave 
 me a friendly welcome, and appeared to be mightily 
 pleased that I had arrived safe. While we were conver- 
 sing, he had occasion to draw his famous knife to cut a 
 strap, and I wish I may be shot if the bare sight of it 
 wasn't enough to give a man of a squeamish stomach the 
 cholic, especially before breakfast. He saw I was admi- 
 ring it, and, said he, " Colonel, you might tickle a fel- 
 lows ribs a long time with this little instrument before 
 you'd make him laugh ; and many a time have I seen a 
 man puke at the idea of the point touching the pit of his 
 stomach." 
 
 My companions, the Bee hunter and the conjurer, 
 joined us, and the colonel appeared to know them both 
 very well. He had a high opinion of the Bee hunter, for 
 turning to me, he said, " Colonel, you could not have had 
 a braver, better, or more pleasant fellow for a compan- 
 ion than honest Ned here. With fifteen hundred such 
 men I would undertake to march to the city of Mexico, 
 and occupy the seat of Santa Anna myself before three 
 months should elapse." 
 
 The colonel's life has been marked by constant peril, 
 and deeds of daring. A few years ago, he went on a 
 hunting excursion into the prairies of Texas, with nine 
 companions. They were attacked by a roving party of 
 Cumanches, about two hundred strong, and such was the 
 science of the colonel in this sort of wild warfare, that 
 
872 HIS STRATAGEM. 
 
 after killing a considerable number of the enemy, lie 
 fairly frightened the remainder from the field of action, 
 and they fled in utter dismay. The fight took place 
 among the high grass in the open prairie. He ordered 
 his men to dismount from their horses and scatter ; to 
 take deliberate aim before they fired, but as soon as they 
 had discharged their rifles to fall flat on the ground, and 
 crawl away from the spot, and reload their pieces. By 
 this scheme, they not only escaped the fire of the In- 
 dians, but by suddenly discharging their guns from an- 
 other quarter, they created the impression that their 
 party was a numerous one ; and the Indians, finding 
 that they were fighting against an invisible enemy, after 
 losing about thirty of their men, took to flight, believing 
 themselves lucky in having escaped with no greater loss. 
 But one of the colonel's party was slightly wounded, and 
 that was owlnfr to his remaining; to reload his rifle with- 
 out having first shifted his position. 
 
 Santa Anna, it is said, roars like an angry lion at the 
 disgraceful defeat that his brother-in-law. General Cos, 
 lately met with at this place. It is rumored that he has 
 recruited a large force, and commenced his march to San 
 Louis de Potosi, and he is determined to carry on a war 
 of extermination. He is liberal in applying his epithets 
 to our countrymen in Texas, and denounces them as a set 
 of perfidious wretches, whom the compassion of the gen- 
 erous Mexicans has permitted to take refuge in their 
 country ; and wdio, like the serpent in the fable, no 
 sooner warmed themselves, than they stung their bene- 
 factors. This is a good joke. By what title does Mex- 
 ico lay claim to all the territory which belonged to Spain 
 
HISTOET OF TEXAS. 873 
 
 in North America ? Eacli province or state of New 
 Spain contended separately or jointly, just as it liap- 
 pened, for their independence, as we did, and were not 
 united under a general government representing the 
 whole of the Spanish possessions, which was only done 
 afterward by mutual agreement or federation. Let it be 
 remembered that the Spanish authorities were first ex- 
 pelled from Texas by the American settlers, who, from 
 the treachery of their Mexican associates, were unable 
 to retain it ; but the second time they were more suc- 
 cessful. They certainly had as good a right to the soil 
 thus conquered by them, as the inhabitants of other pro- 
 vinces who succeeded against Spain. The Mexicans 
 talk of the ingratitude of the Americans ; the truth is, 
 that the ingratitude has been on the other side. What 
 was the war of Texas, in 1813, when the revolutionary 
 spark was almost extinguished in Mexico ? What was 
 the expedition of Mina, and his three hundred American 
 Spartans, who perished heroically in the very heart of 
 Mexico, in the vain attempt to resuscitate and keep alive 
 the spark of independence which has at this time kindled 
 such an ungrateful blaze ? If a just estimate could be 
 made of the lives and the treasures contributed by Ame- 
 rican enterprise in that cause, it would appear incredi- 
 ble. How did the Mexicans obtain their independence 
 at last ? Was it by their own virtue and courage ? No, 
 it was by the treachery of one of the king's generals; 
 who established himself by successful treason, and they 
 have been in constant commotion ever since, which proves 
 they are unfit to govern themselves, much less a free and 
 
374 SANTA ANNA. 
 
 enlightened people at a distance of twelve liiindred miles 
 from them. 
 
 The Mexican government, by its colonization laws, 
 invited and induced the Anglo- American population of 
 Texas to colonize its wilderness, under the pledged faith 
 of a Avritten constitution, that they should continue to 
 enjoy that constitutional liberty and republican govern- 
 ment to which they had been habituated in the land of 
 their birth, the United States of America. In this ex- 
 pectation they have been cruelly disappointed, as the 
 Mexican nation has acquiesced in the late changes made 
 in the government by Santa Anna, who, having over- 
 turned the constitution of his country, now offers the set- 
 tlers the cruel alternative, either to abandon their homes 
 acquired by so many privations, or submit to the most 
 intolerable of all tyranny, the combined despotism of the 
 sword and the priesthood. 
 
 But Santa Anna charges the Americans with ingrati- 
 tude ! This is something like Satan reviling sin. I have 
 gathered some particulars of the life of this moral per- 
 sonage from a gentleman at present in the Alamo, and 
 who is intimately acquainted with him, which I will copy 
 into my book exactly as he wrote it. 
 
 Santa Anna is about forty-two years of age, and was 
 born in the city of Vera Cruz. His father was a Span- 
 iard, of old Spain, of respectable standing, though poor; 
 his mother was a Mexican. He received a common ed- 
 ucation, and at the age of thirteen or fourteen was taken 
 into the military family of the then Intendant of Vera 
 Cruz, Greneral Davila, wdio took a great fancy to him. 
 and brought him up. He remained with General Davila 
 
HIS AMBITION. 875 
 
 until about the year 1820. While with Davila he was 
 made a major, and when installed he took the honors 
 very coolly, and on some of his friends congratulating 
 him, he said, " If you were to make me a god, I should 
 desire to be something greater." This trait, developed 
 at so early a period of his life, indicated the existence of 
 that vaulting ambition which has ever since characterized 
 his life. 
 
 After serving the Spanish royal cause until 1821, he 
 left Vera Cruz, turned against his old master and bene- 
 factor, and placed himself at the head of some irregular 
 troops which he raised on the sea-coast near Vera Cruz, 
 and which are called Jarochos in their language, and 
 which were denominated by him his Cossacks, as they 
 were all mounted and armed with spears. With this rude 
 cavalry he besieged Vera Cruz, drove Davila into the 
 castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, and after having been re- 
 pulsed again entered at a subsequent period, and got en- 
 tire possession of the city, expelling therefrom the old 
 Spanish troops, and reducing the power of the mother 
 country in Mexico to the walls of the castle. 
 
 Subsequent to this, Davila is said to have obtained an 
 interview with Santa Anna, and told him he was destined 
 to act a prominent part in the history of his country. 
 " And now," says he, " I will give you some advice : al- 
 ways go with the strongest party." He always acted 
 up to this motto until he raised the grito, (or cry,) in 
 other words, took up the cudgels for the friars and 
 church. He then overturned the federal government, 
 and established a central despotism, of which the priests 
 and the military were the two privileged orders. His 
 
376 ANECDOTE. 
 
 life has been, from the first, of the most romantic kind ; 
 constantly in revolutions, constantly victorious. 
 
 His manners are extremely affable ; he is full of anec- 
 dote and humor, and makes himself exceedingly fascinat- 
 ing and agreeable to all who come into his company ; he 
 is about five feet ten, rather spare, has a moderately 
 high forehead, with black hair, short black Avhiskers, 
 without mustaches, and an eye large, black, and ex- 
 pressive of a lurking devil in his look ; he is a man of 
 genteel and dignified deportment, but of a disposition 
 perfectly heartless. He married a Spanish lady of pro- 
 perty, a native of Alvarado, and through that marriage 
 obtained the first part of his estate, called Manga do 
 Clavo, six leagues from Vera Cruz. He has three fine 
 children, yet quite young. 
 
 The following striking anecdote of Santa Anna illus- 
 trates his peculiar quickness and management : During 
 the revolution of 1829, while he was shut up in Oaxaca, 
 and surrounded by the government troops, and reduced 
 to the utmost straits for the want of money and provi- 
 sions ; having a very small force, there had been, in 
 consequence of the siege and firing every day through 
 the streets, no mass for several weeks. He had no 
 money, and hit upon the following expedient to get it : 
 he took possession of one of the convents, got hold of the 
 wardrobe of the friars, dressed his officers and some of 
 his soldiers in it, and early in the morning had the bells 
 rung for the mass. The people, delighted at having 
 again an opportunity of adoring the Supreme Being, 
 flocked to the church where he was; an4 after the house 
 was pretty well-filled, his friars showed their side-arms 
 
STORY OF THE CONVENT. 377 
 
 and bayonets from beneath the cowls, and closed the 
 doors upon the assembled multitude. 
 
 At this unexpected denouement there was a tremen- 
 dous shrieking, when one of his officers ascended the 
 pulpit, and told the people that he wanted ten thousand 
 dollars, and must have it. He finally succeeded in get- 
 ting about thirty-six hundred dollars, when he dismissed 
 the congregation. 
 
 As a sample of Santa Anna's pious whims we relate 
 the following ? 
 
 In the same campaign of Oaxaca, Santa Anna and his 
 officers were there besieged by Eincon, who commanded 
 the government troops. Santa Anna was in a convent 
 surrounded by a small breastwork. Some of the officers 
 one night, to amuse themselves, took the wooden saints 
 out of the church and placed them as sentries, dressed 
 in uniforms, on the breastwork. Rincon, alarmed on the 
 morning at this apparent boldness, began to fire away at 
 the wooden images, supposing them to be flesh and 
 blood, and it was not until some of the officers who were 
 not in the secret had implored Santa Anna to prevent 
 this desecration that the firing ceased. 
 
 Many similar facts are related of him. He is, in fact, 
 all things to all men ; and yet, after his treachery to 
 Davila, he has the impudence to talk about ingratitude. 
 He never was out of Mexico. If I only live to tree him, 
 and take him prisoner, I shall ask for no more glory in 
 this life. 
 
CHAPTER XXXY. 
 
 Tliimblerig on a Spree — The Mule train — News of Santa Anna — 
 The Ragged Hunter — Unsuccessful attack on Tampico — Fate 
 of ihe assailants — Approach of the Mexicans under Santa Anna- 
 Siege of the Alamo commenced — Raising the Texan flag — Colonel 
 Travis sends to Colonel Fanning for reinforcements — Reinforce- 
 ments arrive — Tliimblerig wounded — His revenge on the Mexi- 
 cans — Colonel Bowie — The Bee Hunter cannonading— Provisions 
 brought in — General Sesma's movements — Sharp-shooting — De- 
 claration of Independence — A sortie from the Alamo — End of 
 Colonel Crockett's MS. 
 
 I WRITE this on the nineteenth of February, 1836, at 
 San Antonio. We are all in high spirits, though we are 
 rather short of provisions, for men who have appetites that 
 could digest any thing but oppression ; but no matter, 
 we have a prospect of soon getting our bellies full of 
 fighting, and that is victuals and drink to a true patriot 
 any day. We had a little sort of convivial party last 
 evening : just about a dozen of us set to work, most pa- 
 triotically, to see whether we could not get rid of that 
 curse of the land, whiskey, and we made considerable pro- 
 gress ; but my poor friend, Thimblerig, got sewed up just 
 about as tight as the eyelet-hole in a lady's corset, and 
 a little tighter too, I reckon ; for when he went to bed 
 he called for a bootjack, which was brought to him, and 
 
 he bent down on his hands and knees, and very gravely 
 (378) 
 
THE MULE TnAIX. 379 
 
 pulled off his hat with it, for the darned critter was so 
 thoroughly swiped that he didn't know his head from his 
 heels. But this wasn't all the folly he committed ; he 
 pulled off his coat and laid it on the bed, and then hung 
 himself over the back of a chair ; and I wish I may be 
 shot if he didn't go to sleep in that position, thinking 
 every thing had been done according to Gunter's late 
 scale. Seeing the poor fellow completely used up, I 
 carried him to bed, though he did belong to- the Tem- 
 perance society ; and he knew nothing about what had 
 occurred until I told him the next morning. The Bee 
 hunter didn't join us in this blow-out. Indeed, he will 
 seldom dripnk more than just enough to prevent his being 
 called a total abstinence man. But then he is the most 
 jovial fellow for a water drinker I ever did see. 
 
 This morning I saw a caravan of about fifty mules 
 passing by Bexar, and bound for Santa Fe. They were 
 loaded with different articles to such a degree that it was 
 astonishing how they could travel at all, and they were 
 nearly worn out by their labors. They were without 
 bridle or halter, and yet proceeded with perfect regular- 
 ity in a single line ; and the owners of the caravan rode 
 their mustangs with their enormous spurs, weighing at 
 least a pound a piece, with rowels an inch and a half in 
 length, and lever bits of the harshest description, able to 
 break the jaws of their animals under a very gentle 
 pressure. The men were dressed in the costume of 
 Mexicans. Colonel Travis sent out a guard to see that 
 they were not laden with munitions of war for the enemy. 
 I went out with the party. The poor mules were bend- 
 ing under a burden of more than three hundred pounds, 
 
380 THE MULE TRAIN. 
 
 witliout including tlie panniers, which were bound so 
 tight as almost to stop the breath of the poor animal. 
 Each of the sorrowful line came up, spontaneously, in 
 turn to have his girth unbound and his load removed. 
 They seemed scarcely able to keep upon their feet, and 
 as they successively obtained relief, one after another 
 heaved a long deep sigh, which it was painful to hear, 
 because it proved that the poor brutes had been worked 
 beyond their strength. What a world of misery man 
 inflicts upon the rest of creation in his brief passage 
 through life ! 
 
 Finding that the caravan contained nothing intended 
 for the enemy, we assisted the owners to replace the 
 heavy burdens on the backs of the patient but dejected 
 mules, and allowed them to p^irsue their weary and lonely 
 way. For full tvr'o hours we could see them slowly wind- 
 ing along the narrow path, a faint line that ran like a 
 thread through the extended prairie ; and finally they 
 were whittled down to the little end of nothing in the 
 distance, and were blotted out from the horizon. 
 
 The caravan had no sooner disappeared than one of 
 the hunters, who had been absent several days, came in. 
 He was one of those gentleman who don't pride them- 
 selves much upon their costume, and reminded me of a 
 covey who came into a tavern in New York when I was 
 last in that city. He was dressed in five jackets, all of 
 which failed to conceal his raggedness, and as he bolted 
 in, he exclaimed, 
 
 " Worse than I look, by — — . But no matter, I've 
 let myself for fourteen dollars a month, and find my own 
 prog and lodging." 
 
NEWS OF SANTA ANNA. 381 
 
 " To do wliat ?" demanded the barkeeper. 
 
 " To stand at the corner for a paper-mill sign — • cash 
 for rags' — that's all. I'm about to enter upon the sta- 
 tionary business, you see." He tossed off his grog, and 
 bustled out to begin his day's work. 
 
 But to return to the hunter. He stated that he had 
 met some Indians on the banks of the Rio Frio, who in- 
 formed him that Santa Anna, with a large force, had 
 already crossed the Neuces, and might be expected to 
 arrive before San Antonio in a few days. We immedi- 
 ately set about preparing to give him a warm reception, 
 for w^e are all well aware, if our little band is overwhelmed 
 by numbers, there is little mercy to be expected from 
 the cowardly Mexicans — it is war to the knife. 
 
 I jocosely asked the ragged hunter, who was a smart, 
 active young fellow, of the steamboat and alligator breed, 
 whether he was a rhinoceros or a hyena, as he was so 
 eager for a fight with the invaders. " Neither the one, 
 nor t'other. Colonel," says he, "but a whole menagerie 
 in myself. I'm shaggy as a bear, wolfish about the head, 
 active as a cougar, and can grin like a hyena, until the 
 bark will curl off a gum log. There's a sprinkling of all 
 sorts in me, from the lion down to the skunk ; and be- 
 fore the war is over you'll pronounce me an entire zoo- 
 logical institute, or I miss a figure in my calculation. I 
 promise to swallow Santa Anna without gagging, if you will 
 only skewer back his ears, and grease his head a little." 
 
 He told me that he was one in the fatal expedition 
 fitted out from New Orleans, in November last, to join 
 the contemplated attack upon Tampico by Mehia and 
 Peraza. They were, in all, about one hundred and thirty 
 
382 MARCH ON TAMPICO. 
 
 men, who embarlved as emigrants to Texas ; and the 
 terms agreed upon were, that it was optional whether 
 the party took up arms in defence of Texas, or not, on 
 landing. They were at full liberty to act as they pleased. 
 But the truth was, Tampico was their destination, and 
 an attack on that city the covert design, which was not 
 made known before land was in sio;ht. The emio-rants 
 were landed, some fifty, who doubtless had a previous 
 understanding, joined the standard of General Mehia, 
 and the following day a formidable fort surrendered with- 
 out an attack. 
 
 The whole party were now tendered arms and ammu- 
 nition, which even those who had been decoyed accepted ; 
 and, the line being formed, they commenced the attack 
 upon the city. The hunter continued : '' On the 15th 
 of November our little army, consisting of one hundred 
 and fifty men, marched into Tampico, garrisoned by two 
 thousand Mexicans, w^ho were drawn up in battle array 
 in the public square of the city. We charged them at 
 the point of the bayonet, and although they so greatly 
 outnumbered us, in two minutes we completely routed 
 them ; and they fled, taking refuge on the house tops, 
 from which they poured a destructive fire upon our gal- 
 lant little band. We fought them until daylight, when we 
 found our number decreased to fifty or sixty broken down 
 and disheartened men. Without ammunition, and de- 
 serted by the ofiicers, twenty-eight immediately surrend- 
 ered. But a few of us cut our way through, and fortu- 
 nately escaped to the mouth of the river, Avhere we got 
 on board a vessel and sailed for Texas. 
 
 " The twenty-eight prisoners wished to be considered 
 
APPEOACH OF THE MEXICANS. 583 
 
 as prisoners of -war ; tliey made known tlie manner in 
 which they had been deceived, but they were tried by a 
 court-martial of Mexican soldiers, and condemned to be 
 shot on the 14th day of December, 1835, which sentence 
 was carried into execution." 
 
 After receiving this account from my new friend, the 
 old pirate and the Indian hunter came up, and they went 
 off to liquor together, and I went to see a wild Mexican 
 hog, which one of the hunters had brought in. These 
 animals have become scarce, which circumstance is not 
 to be deplored, for their flesh is of little value ; and there 
 will still be hogs enough left in Mexico, from all that I 
 can learn, even though these should be extirpated. 
 
 February 22. The Mexicans, about sixteen hundred 
 strong, with their President Santa Anna at their head, 
 aided by Generals Almonte, Cos, Sesma, and Castrillon, 
 are within two leagues of Bexar. General Cos, it seems, 
 has already forgot his parole of honor, and is come back 
 to retrieve the credit he lost in this place in December 
 last. If he is captured a second time, I don't think he 
 can have the impudence to ask to go at large again with- 
 out giving better bail than on the former occasion. 
 Some of the scouts came in, and bring reports that Santa 
 Anna has been endeavoring to excite the Indians to hos- 
 tilities against the Texians, but so far without effect. 
 The Cumanches, in particular, entertain such hatred for 
 the Mexicans, and at the same time hold them in such 
 contempt, that they would rather turn their tomahawks 
 against them, and drive them from the land, than lend a 
 helping hand. We are up and doing, and as lively as 
 Dutch cheese in the dog-days. The two hunters that I 
 
384 RAISING THE FLAG. 
 
 "have already introduced to the reader left the to^yn this 
 afternoon, for the purpose of reconnoitring. 
 
 February 23. Early this morning the enemy came in 
 sight, marching in regular order, and displaying their 
 strength to the greatest advantage, in order to strike us 
 with terror. But that was no go ; they'll find that they 
 have to do with men who will never lay down their arms 
 as long as they can stand on their legs. We held a 
 short council of war, and, finding that we should be 
 completely surrounded, and overwhelmed by numbers, 
 if we remained in the town, we concluded to withdraw 
 to the fortress of Alamo, and defend it to the last ex- 
 tremity. We accordingly filed ofi", in good order, having 
 some days before placed all the surplus provisions, arms, 
 and ammunition in the fortress. We have had a large 
 national flag made ; it is composed of thirteen stripes, 
 red and white, alternately, on a blue ground, with a 
 large white star, of five points, in the centre, and be- 
 tween the points the letters Texas. As soon as all our 
 little band, about one hundred and fifty in number, had 
 entered and secured the fortress in the best possible 
 manner, we set about raising our flag on the battlements ; 
 on which occasion there was no one more active than my 
 young friend, the Bee hunter. He had been all along 
 sprightly, cheerful, and spirited, but now, notwith- 
 standing the control that he usually maintained over 
 himself, it was with difficulty that he kept his enthusiasm 
 within bounds. As soon as we commenced raising the 
 flag he burst forth, in a clear, full tone of voice, that 
 made the blood tingle in the veins of all who heard 
 him : — 
 
REINFORCEMENTS SENT FOR. 385 
 
 ** Up with your banner, Freedom, 
 
 Thy champions cling to thee ; 
 They'll follow where'er you lead 'em, 
 
 To death, or victory ; — 
 Up with your banner, Freedom. 
 
 Tyrants and slaves are rushing 
 
 To tread thee in the dust ; 
 Their blood will soon be gushing, 
 
 And stain our knives with rust ; — • 
 But not thy banner Freedom. 
 
 While stars and stripes are flying, 
 
 Our blood we'll freely shed ; 
 No groan will 'scape the dying, 
 
 Seeing thee o'er his head ; — 
 Up with your banner, Freedom." 
 
 This song was followed by three cheers from all within 
 the fortress, and the drums and trumpets commenced 
 playing. The enemy marched into Bexar, and fook 
 possession of the town, a blood-red flag flying at their 
 head, to indicate that we need not expect quarters if we 
 should fall into their clutches. In the afternoon a mes- 
 senger was sent from the enemy to Colonel Travis, de- 
 manding an unconditional and absolute surrender of the 
 garrison, threatening to put every man to the sword in 
 case of refusal. The only answer he received was a 
 cannon shot, so the messenger left us with a flea in his 
 ear, and the Mexicans commenced firing grenades at us, 
 but without doing any mischief. At night Colonel 
 Travis sent an express to Colonel Fanning, at Goliad, 
 about three or four days' march from this place, to let 
 him know that we are besieged. The old pirate volun- 
 25 
 
S8'5 thimblerig's fighting. 
 
 teered to go on this expedition, and accordingly left the 
 fort after nightfall. 
 
 February 2-1. Very early this morning the enemy 
 commenced a new battery on the banks of the river, 
 about three hundred and fifty yards from the fort, and 
 by afternoon they amused themselves by firing at us from 
 that quarter. Our Indian scout came in this evening, 
 and with him a reinforcement of thirty men from Gon- 
 zales, who are just in the nick of time to reap a harvest 
 of glory ; but there is some prospect of sweating blood 
 before we gather it in. An accident happened to my 
 friend Thimblerig this afternoon. He was intent on his 
 eternal game of thimbles, in a somewhat exposed posi- 
 tion, while the enemy were bombarding us from the new 
 redoubt. A three-ounce ball glanced from the parapet 
 and struck him on the breast, inflicting a painful, but 
 not dangerous wound. I extracted the ball, which was 
 of lead, and recommended to him to drill a hole through 
 it, and carry it for a watch seal. "No," he replied, 
 with energy, *'may I be shot six times if I do : that 
 would be making a bauble for an idle boast. No, 
 Colonel, lead is getting scarce, and I'll lend it out at 
 compound interest. Curse the thimbles !" he muttered, 
 and went his way, and I saw no more of him that 
 evening. 
 
 February 25. The firing commenced early this morn- 
 ing, but the Mexicans are poor engineers, for we haven't 
 lost a single man, and our outworks have sustained no 
 injury. Our sharpshooters have brought down a consi- 
 derable number of stragglers at a long shot. I got up 
 before the peep of day, hearing an occasional discharge 
 
COLOXEL BOTVIE. 887 
 
 of a rifle just over the place where 1 was sleeping, and 
 I was somewhat amazed to see Thimblerig ^mounted 
 alone on the battlement, no one being on duty at the 
 time but the sentries. "What are you doing there?" 
 says I. "Paying my debts," says he, "interest and 
 all." ^'And how do you make out?" says I. "I've 
 nearly got through," says he ; " stop a moment, Colonel, 
 and I'll close the account." He clapped his rifle to his 
 shoulder, and blazed away, then jumped down from his 
 perch, and said, " That account's settled ; them chaps 
 will let me play out my game in quiet next time." I 
 looked over the wall, and saw four Mexicans lying dead 
 on the plain. I asked him to explain what he meant 
 by paying his debts, and he told me that he had run the 
 grape shot into four rifle balls, and that he had taken 
 an early stand to have a chance of picking off strag- 
 glers. "Now, Colonel, let's go take our bitters," said 
 he ; — and so we did. The enemy have been busy during 
 the night, and have thrown up two batteries on the op- 
 posite side of the river. The battalion of Matamoras 
 is posted there, and cavalry occupy the hills to the east 
 and on the road to Gonzales. They are determined to 
 surround us, and cut us off from reinforcement, or the 
 possibility of escape by a sortie. Well, there's one 
 thing they cannot prevent ; we'll still go ahead, and sell 
 cur lives at a high price. 
 
 February 26. Colonel Bowie has been taken sick 
 from over-exertion and exposure. He did not leave his 
 bed to-day until twelve o'clock. He is worth a dozen 
 common men in a situation like ours. The Bee hunter 
 keeps the whole garrison in good heart with his songs 
 
388 DEFENCE OF THE ALAMO. 
 
 and liis jests, and his daring and determined spirit. lie 
 is about the quickest on the trigger, and the best rifle 
 shot we have in the fort. I have already seen him bring 
 down eleven of the enemy, and at such a distance that 
 we all thought it would be a waste of ammunition to 
 attempt it. His gun is first rate, quite equal to my 
 Betsey, though she has not quite as many trinkets about 
 her. This day a small party sallied out of the fort for 
 wood and water, and had a slight skirmish with three 
 times their number from the division under General 
 Sesma. The Bee hunter headed them, and beat the 
 enemy off, after killing three. On opening his Bible at 
 night, of which he always reads a portion before going 
 to rest, he found a musket ball in the middle of it. 
 " See here. Colonel," said he, " how they have treated 
 the valued present of my dear little Kate of Nacog- 
 doches." "It has saved your life," said I. "True," 
 replied he, more seriously than usual, " and I am not 
 the first sinner whose life has been saved by this book." 
 He prepared for bed, and before retiring he prayed, and 
 returned thanks for his providential escape ; and I heard 
 the name of Catherine mingled in his prayer. 
 
 February 27. The cannonading began early this 
 morning, and ten bombs were thrown into the fort, but 
 fortunately exploded without doing any mischief. So 
 far it has been a sort of tempest in a tea-pot, not unlike 
 a pitched battle in the Hall of Congress, where the par- 
 ties array their forces, make fearful demonstrations on 
 both sides, then fire away with loud-sounding speeches, 
 which contain about as much meaning ^s the report of a 
 iiowitzer charged with a blank cartridge. Provisions are 
 
RETURN OF SCOUTS. 889 
 
 becoming scarce, and the enemy are endeavoring to cut 
 off our water. If they attempt to stop our grog in that 
 manner, let them look out, for we shall become too 
 wrathy for our shirts to hold us. We are not prepared 
 to submit to an excise of that nature, and they'll find it 
 out. This discovery has created considerable excitement 
 in the fort. 
 
 February 28. Last night our hunters brought in 
 some corn, and had a brush with a scout from the enemv 
 beyond gun-shot of the fort. They put the scout to 
 flight, and got in without injury. They bring accounts 
 that the settlers are flying in all quarters, in- dismay, 
 leaving their possessions to the mercy of the ruthless in- 
 vader, who is literally engaged in a war of extermina- 
 tion more brutal than the untutored savage of the desert 
 could be guilty of. Slaughter is indiscriminate, sparing 
 neither sex, age, nor condition. Buildings have been 
 burnt down, farms laid waste, and Santa Anna appears 
 determined to verify his threat, and convert the bloom- 
 ing paradise into a howding wilderness. For just one 
 fair crack at that rascal, even at a hundred yards' dis- 
 tance, I would bargain to break my Betsey, and never 
 pull trigger again. My name's not Crockett if I wouldn't 
 get glory enough to appease my stomach for the re- 
 mainder of my life. The scouts report that a settler by 
 the name of Johnson, flying with his wife and three lit- 
 tle children, when they reached the Colorado, left his 
 family on the shore, and waded into the river to see whe- 
 ther it would be safe to ford with his wagon. When 
 about the middle of the river he was seized by an alliga- 
 tor, and after a struggle, was dragged under the water, 
 
390 GENERAL SESMA. 
 
 and perished. The helpless woman and her babes were 
 discovered, gazing in agony on the spot, by other fugi- 
 tives, who happily passed that way, and relieved them. 
 Those who fight the battles experience but a small part 
 of the privation, suffering, and anguish that follow in the 
 train of ruthless war. The cannonading continued at in- 
 tervals throughout the day, and all hands were kept up 
 to their work. The enemy, somewhat emboldened, 
 draws nigher to the fort. So much the better. There 
 was a move in General Sesma's division toward eve- 
 ning. 
 
 February 29. Before daybreak, we saw General Ses- 
 ma leave his camp with a large body of cavalry and in- 
 fantry, and move off in the direction of Goliad. We think 
 that he must have received news of Colonel Fanning's 
 coming to our relief. We are all in high spirits at the 
 prospect of being able to give the rascals a fair shake on 
 the plain. This business of being shut up makes a man 
 wolfish. I had a little sport this morning before break- 
 fast. The enemy had planted a piece of ordnance with- 
 in gun-shot of the fort during the night, and the first 
 thing in the morning they commenced a brisk cannon- 
 ade, point blank, against the spot where I was snoring. 
 I turned out pretty smart and mounted the rampart. 
 The gun was charged again, a fellow stepped forth to 
 touch her off, but before he could apply the match, I let 
 him have it, and he keeled over. A second stepped up, 
 snatched the match from the hand of the dying man, but 
 Thimblerig, who had followed me, handed me his rifle, 
 and the next instant the Mexican was ^stretched on the 
 earth beside the first. A third came up to the cannon, 
 
SHARP SHOOTING. 891 
 
 mj companion handed me another gun, and I fixed him 
 oif in like manner. A fourth, then a fifth, seized the 
 match, who both met with the same fate, and then the 
 whole party gave it up as a bad job, and hurried ofi" to 
 the camp, leaving the cannon ready charged where they 
 had planted it. I came down, took my bitters, and 
 went to breakfast. Thimblerig told me that the place 
 from which I had been firino; was one of the snuo^orest 
 
 O CO 
 
 stands in the whole fort, for he never failed picking off 
 two or three stragglers before breakfast, when perched up 
 there. 
 
 And I recollect, now, having seen him there, ever 
 since he was wounded, the first thing in the morning, 
 and the last at night, and at times, thoughtlessly playing 
 at his eternal game. 
 
 March 1. The enemy's forces have been increasing 
 in numbers daily, notwithstanding they have already lost 
 about three hundred men in the several assaults they have 
 made upon us. I neglected to mention in the proper 
 place, that when the enemy came in sight we had but 
 three bushels of corn in the garrison, but have since 
 found eighty bushels in a deserted house. Colonel 
 Bcwie's illness still continues, but he manages to crawl 
 from his bed every day, that his comrades may see him. 
 His presence alone is a tower of strength. The enemy 
 becomes more daring as his numbers increase. 
 
 March 2. This day the delegates meet in general 
 convention at the town of Washington, to frame our De- 
 claration of Independence. That the sacred instrument 
 may never be trampled on by the children of those who 
 have freely shed their blood to establish it, is the sincere 
 
392 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 wish of David Crockett. Universal independence is an al- 
 mighty idea, far too extensive for some brains to com- 
 prehend. It is a beautiful seed that germinates rapidly, 
 and brings forth a large and vigorous tree, but like the 
 deadly Upas, we sometimes find the smaller plants wither 
 and die in its shades. Its blooming branches spread far 
 and wide, offering a perch of safety to all alike, but even 
 among its protecting branches we find the eagle, the kite, 
 and the owl preying upon the helpless dove and sparrow. 
 Beneath its shades myriads congregate in goodly fellow- 
 ship ; but the lamb and the fawn find but frail security 
 from the lion and the jackal, though the tree of indepen- 
 dence waves over them. Some imagine independence to 
 be a natural charter, to exercise without restraint, and 
 to their fullest extent, all the energies, both physical and 
 mental, with which they have been endowed ; and for 
 their individual aggrandizement alone, without regard to 
 the rights of others, provided they extend to all the same 
 privilege and freedom of action. Such independence is 
 the worst of tyranny. 
 
 March 3. We have given over all hopes of receiving 
 assistance from Goliad or Refugio. Colonel Travis ha- 
 rangued the garrison, and concluded by exhorting them, 
 in case the enemy should carry the fort, to fight to the 
 last gasp, and render their victory even more serious to 
 them than to us. This was followed by three cheers. 
 
 March 4. Shells have been falling into the fort like 
 hail during the day, but without effect. About dusk, in 
 the evening, we observed a man running toward the fort, 
 pursued by about half a dozen of the Mexican cavalry. 
 The Bee hunter immediately knew him to be the old pi- 
 
SOKTIE FROM ALAMO. 393 
 
 rate who had gone to Goliad, and, calling to the two 
 hunters, he sallied out of the fort to the relief of the old 
 man who was hard pressed. I followed close after. Be- 
 fore we reached the spot the Mexicans were close on the 
 heel of the old man, who stopped suddenly, turned short 
 upon his pursuers, discharged his rifle and one of the 
 enemy fell from his horse. The chase was renewed, but 
 finding that he would be overtaken and cut to pieces, he 
 now turned again, and, to the amazement of the enemy, 
 became the assailant in his turn. He clubbed his gun, 
 and dashed among them like a wounded tiger, and they 
 fled like sparrows. By this time we reached the spot, 
 and, in the ardor of the moment, followed some distance 
 before we saw that our retreat to the fort was cut off by 
 another detachment of cavalry. Nothing was to be done 
 but to fight our way through. We were all of the same 
 mind. " Go ahead !" cried I, and they shouted, " Go 
 ahead. Colonel !" We dashed among them, and a bloody 
 conflict ensued. They were about twenty in number, 
 and they stood their ground. After the fight had con- 
 tinued about five minutes, a detachment was seen issuing 
 from the fort to our relief, and the Mexicans scampered 
 off, leaving eight of their comrades dead upon the field. 
 But we did not escape unscathed, for both the pirate and 
 the Bee hunter were mortally wounded, and I received a 
 sabre cut across the forehead. The old man died, with- 
 out speaking, as soon as we entered the fort. We bore 
 my young friend to his bed, dressed his wounds, and I 
 watched beside him. He lay, without complaint or 
 manifesting pain, until about midnight, when he spoke, and 
 I asked him if he wanted any thing. " Nothing," he re- 
 
894 END OF COLONEL CROCKETT'S MANUSCRIPT. 
 
 plied, but drew a sigh that seemed to rend his heart, as 
 he added, " Poor Kate of Nacogdoches !" His eyes 
 were filled with tears, as he continued, " Her words were 
 prophetic. Colonel ;" and then he sang in a low voice that 
 resembled the sweet notes of his own devoted Kate, 
 
 " But toom cam' the saddle, all bluidy to see, 
 And hame cam' the steed, but bame never cam' he." 
 
 He spoke no more, and a few minutes after, died. Poor 
 Kate, who will tell this to thee !" 
 
 3Ia7'ch 5. Pop, pop, pop ! Bom, bom, bom ! through- 
 out the day. No time for memorandums now. Go 
 ahead ! Liberty and independence forever ! 
 
 [Here eyids Colonel Crockett's manuscript.'] 
 
CHAPTER XXXYI. 
 
 A-ssault on the Alamo directed by Santa Anna — Desperate fighting 
 — Six Americans survive — Crockett one of the number — Death of 
 Thimblerig — Castrillon takes the prisoners to Santa Anna, who 
 directs the massacre of the whole — Death of Colonel Crockett — 
 Of Colonel Bowie — Of Colonel Travis — Loss of the Mexicans at 
 the Alamo — Battle of Goliad — Surrender of Colonel Fanning — 
 Massacre of the American Prisoners — Ravages of the Mexicans on 
 their march to San Jacinto — General Roustou— Battle of San 
 Jacinto — Total defeat of the Mexicans and capture of Santa Anna 
 — Death of Colonel Fanning. 
 
 The hand is cold that wrote the foregoing pages, and 
 it devolves upon another to record the subsequent events. 
 Before daybreak, on the 6th of March, the Alamo was 
 assaulted by the whole force of the Mexican army, com- 
 manded by Santa Anna in person. The battle was desper- 
 ate until daylight, when only six men belonging to the 
 Texian garrison were found alive. They were instantly 
 surrounded, and ordered by General Castrillon to sur-J 
 render, which they did, under a promise of his protection, 
 finding that resistance any longer would be madness. 
 Colonel Crockett was of the number. He stood alone in 
 an angle of the fort, the barrel of his shattered rifle in 
 his right hand, in his left his huge Bowie knife dripping 
 blood. There was a frightful gash across his forehead, 
 while around him there was a complete barrier of about 
 
 (395) 
 
396 CAPTUKE OP COLONEL CROCKETT. 
 
 twenrj Mexicans, lying pell mell, dead, and dying. At 
 his feet lay the dead body of that well known character, 
 designated in the Colonel's narrative by the assumed 
 name of Thimblerig, his knife driven to the haft in the 
 throat of a Mexican, and his left hand clenched in his 
 hair. Poor fellow, I knew him well, at a time when he 
 was possessed of many virtues, but of late years the weeds 
 had choked up the flowers ; however. Colonel Crockett 
 had succeeded in awakening in his bosom a sense of 
 better things, and the poor fellow was grateful to the 
 last, and stood beside his friend throughout the desperate 
 havoc. 
 
 General Castrillon was brave and not cruel, and dis- 
 posed to save the prisoners. He marched them up to 
 that part of the fort where stood Santa Anna and 
 his murderous crew. The steady fearless step and un- 
 daunted tread of Colonel Crockett, on this occasion, to- 
 gether with the bold demeanor of the hardy veteran, 
 had a powerful effect on all present. Nothing daunted 
 he marched up boldly in front of Santa Anna, and looked 
 him sternly in the face, while Castrillon addressed " his 
 excellency," — " Sir, here are six prisoners I have taken 
 alive ; how shall I dispose of them ?" Santa Anna looked 
 at Castrillon fiercely, flew into a violent rage, and re- 
 plied, " Have I not told you before how to dispose of 
 them? Why. do you bring them to me?" At the 
 same time his brave ofiicers plunged their swords into 
 the bosoms of their defenceless prisoners. Colonel 
 Crockett, seeing the act of treachery, instantly sprang 
 like a tiger at the ruffian chief, but before he could reach 
 him a dozen swords were sheathed in' his indomitable 
 
DEATH OF CROCKETT. 397 
 
 heart ; and lie fell and died without a groan, a frown on 
 his brow, and a smile of scorn and defiance on his lips. 
 Castrillon rushed from the scene, apparently horror- 
 struck, sought his quarters, and did not leave them for 
 several days, and hardly spoke to Santa Anna after. 
 
 The conduct of Colonel Bowie was characteristic to 
 the last. When the fort was carried he was sick in bed. 
 He had also one of the murderous butcher knives which 
 bears his name. Lying in bed, he discharged his pistols 
 and gun, and with each discharge brought down an 
 enemy. So intimidated were the Mexicans by this act 
 of desperate and cool bravery, that they dared not ap- 
 proach him, but shot him from the door ; and as the 
 cowards approached his bed, over the dead bodies of 
 their companions, the dying Bowie, nerving himself for a 
 last blow, plunged his knife into the heart of his nearest 
 foe at the same instant that he expired. 
 
 The gallant Colonel Travis fought as if determined to 
 verify his prediction, that he would make a victory more 
 serious than a defeat to the enemy. He fell from the 
 rampart, mortally wounded, into the fort ; and his musket 
 fell forward among the foe, who were scaling the wall. 
 After a few minutes he recovered sufficiently to sit up, 
 when the Mexican officer who led that party attempted 
 to cut his head off with a sabre. The dying hero, with a 
 death grasp, drew his sword and plunged it into the 
 body of his antagonist, and both together sank into the 
 arms of death. General Cos, who had commanded this 
 fortress while in the possession of the Mexicans, and 
 from whom it was captured, on entering the fort after 
 tliQ battle, ordered the servant of Colonel Travis to point 
 
39S LOSS OE THE MEXICANS AT THE ALAMO. 
 
 out the body of his master ; he did so, when Cos drew 
 his sword, waved it triumphantly over the corpse, and 
 then mangled the face and limbs with the malignant 
 feelings of a Cnmanche savage. One woman, Mrs. 
 Dickinson, and a negro of Colonel Travis, were the only 
 persons whose lives were spared. The bodies of the slain 
 W6re then thrown into a mass in the centre of the Alamo, 
 and burned. The loss of the Mexicans in storming the 
 place was not less than eight hundred killed and mor- 
 tally wounded, making their losses since the first assault 
 more than fifteen hundred. This immense slaughter, by 
 so small a number, can only be accounted for by the fact 
 of the Texians having five or six guns to each man in 
 the fort. Immediately after the capture Santa Anna 
 sent Mrs. Dickinson and the servant to General Houston, 
 accompanied by a Mexican with a flag, offering the 
 Texians peace and general amnesty, if they would lay 
 down their arms, and submit to his government. Gene- 
 ral Houston's reply was, " True, sir, you have succeeded 
 in killing some of our brave men, but the Texians are 
 not yet conquered." He sent him a copy of the Declara- 
 tion of Independence recently agreed on at New Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 After the capture of San Antonio, Santa Anna had 
 made a feint on Gonzales, where General Houston was 
 with a very inferior force, which induced the latter to 
 fall back on the Colorado, under the belief that the 
 whole Mexican army was marching to attack him. A 
 similar feint was also made by the Mexican General on 
 Bastrop, a town on the Colorado, north-east of San An- 
 tonio. Gonzales lies east of that place. Having, in 
 
BATTLE OF GOLIAD. 399 
 
 botli instances, effected his object, Santa Anna concen- 
 trated his forces, and marched directly for La Bahia, or 
 Goliad, which is situated about ninety miles south-east 
 of San Antonio, on the Colorado. The fort at Goliad is 
 of great strength, and was defended by Colonel Fanning 
 with a small force of volunteers. About the middle of 
 March, orders were received from General Houston 
 directing the blowing up and evacuation of the fort, and 
 that Colonel Fanning should concentrate with him on 
 the Colorado. On the 18th of March, the Mexicans 
 were discovered, in considerable force, in the neighbour- 
 hood of Goliad, and through the day there was some 
 skirmishing with the advance parties. On the 19th the 
 fort was set on fire, and its wooden defences destroyed ; 
 but the wall was left entire, and Colonel Fanning took 
 up his line of march. His force, at that time, was re- 
 duced to two hundred and sixty, rank and file. With 
 this force and several field pieces he set out to cross an 
 open country, and endeavor to effect a junction with 
 General Houston. On the evening of the first day of 
 their march, the enemy made their appearance in the 
 rear, about three miles distant. Colonel Fanning halted, 
 and opened his artillery on them, instead of hastening 
 forward to avail himself of the shelter of wood, some dis- 
 tance ahead. The enemy manifesting a disposition to 
 cut him off from the woods, he again put his forces in 
 motion, but it was now too late. He not only lost the 
 shelter of the timber, which would have ensured his 
 safety against the enemy's horse, but the assistance of 
 his advanced guard, which was cut off from him by this 
 manoeuvre of the enemy. The absence of the advanced 
 
400 SURRENDER OF COLONEL FANNING. 
 
 guard reduced his forces to two hundred and thh'ty-three, 
 rank and file, to which the enemy opposed five hundred 
 cavalry, and two hundred infantry. The action com- 
 .menced about five o'clock, and continued until nearly 
 dark. The enemy was repulsed with great loss in every 
 charge, and never was able to penetrate nearer to Fan- 
 ning's force than sixty-five or one hundred yards ; and 
 finally about dark, drew ofi'his forces to a secure distance, 
 leaving only a few to succor the w^ounded, who were not 
 molested. Fanning's loss was five killed and twelve 
 wounded, two mortally. The enemy acknowledged the 
 loss of one hundred and ftinety-two killed, and a large 
 number wounded. So soon as the Mexicans withdrew, 
 Fanning commenced throwing up intrenchments, at which 
 his men were employed during the whole night. 
 
 About sunrise on the 20th, the enemy again advanced 
 on Fanning, and fired their cannon four times over him; 
 a large reinforcement of Mexicans was plainly to be 
 seen, three miles distant. At this moment a white flag, 
 attended by a small party, was seen advancing from the 
 enemy, which was met by a similar one from Fanning, 
 under Major "\Yallace. The enemy demanded the sur- 
 render of Fanning and his forces, and promised in the 
 most sacred manner, that they should retain all their 
 private property — that they might return, by the first 
 opportunity, as prisoners of war to the United States, or 
 remain until they were regularly exchanged ; and that 
 they should be treated in the most humane manner while 
 retained in confinement. With these specious promises 
 he was induced to trust to the honor of the butchers of 
 the Alamo, and accept of the terms of capitulation. 
 
MASSACKE OF THE PRISONERS. 40x 
 
 As soon as the necessary arrangements could be mada 
 the prisoners were marched, under a strong guard, to 
 Goliad, and huddled together, officers and men, into a 
 church \vithin the fort at Goliad. The enemy having 
 succeeded in capturing other small parties, the number 
 of prisoners amounted to four hundred, and were all 
 crowded together in the church, and compelled to sit or 
 lie constantly. The only accommodation afforded was 
 a few benches for the officers. They were retained in 
 this situation for three days, and during this period re- 
 ceived only a small ration of raw beef, not exceeding 
 half a pound each. On the fourth day they were 
 marched out into the open air, and limits prescribed them, 
 over which they were not to pass. For four days longer 
 they were kept in this situation, during which they were 
 allowed only two rations similar to the first ; and, but 
 for the pecan nuts purchased from the Mexican soldiers, 
 and a small quantity of jerked beef procured in the same 
 manner, they must have suffered immensely. On the 
 eighth day representations were made to the prisoners, 
 that it would be necessary to remove them out of the 
 fort, as they were about to drive in beeves to slaughter, 
 in order to prepare rations for their removal to Mata- 
 gorda, where they were to take shipping for New Or- 
 leans. They were accordingly marched out, in parties 
 of one hundred each, and, in single file, were led along a 
 high brush fence ; when, at the distance of two hundred 
 yards, they were ordered to face about, and the cocking 
 of the guns gave the first intimation of the fate that 
 awaited them. At the first fire nearly all fell mortally 
 
 wounded. A few escaped by falling at the flash, and as 
 26 
 
402 RAVAGES OF THE MEXICANS. 
 
 soon as the fire ceased, they leaped up, and sprung over 
 the fence, and succeeded in reaching the woods, where 
 they eluded their pursuers. The Mexicans proceeded 
 to despatch with their bayonets any who showed signs 
 of life after the firing, and they then stripped and burnt 
 the bodies. The authorities of Texas bestowed solemn 
 obsequies upon their mutilated and blackened limbs, on 
 the 4th of June, after their murderers had sank unto 
 death on the plains of San Jacinto, under the appalling 
 words, " Remember La Bahia ! " 
 
 But this succession of barbarities, so far from intimi- 
 dating, served to rouse the energies of the oppressed. 
 The vain-glorious Spaniard, elated with success, without 
 adverting to the fact that he had never been victorious, 
 without having at least from five to ten of his mercenaries 
 opposed to one of his foes, now ventured to cross the 
 Colorado, believing that victory was perched upon his 
 standard, and would not leave it until Texas should be 
 subdued. 
 
 His track was marked by death abd desolation. Fire, 
 famine, and the sword were in his train, and neither sex 
 nor age was received as a plea for mercy. The hoary 
 head of the grandsire, the flaxen curls of the babe, and 
 the disheveled tresses of the affrighted mother, were 
 alike stained with gore. Farm houses were consumed 
 by fire, the crops destroyed in the ground ; and the set- 
 tlers fled in dismay, feeling that the worst of scourges 
 had been let loose upon them. The plains were strewed 
 with thousands of the unburied slaughtered ; and the air 
 was fetid with corruption and decay. The merciless 
 tyrant saw all this, and his heart expanded with joy, as 
 
BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO. 403 
 
 he raoved on, like Attila, and beheld the terror and 
 wretchedness of those he came to annihilate, rather than 
 to scourge into subjection. But his was a temporary 
 triumph. He crossed the Colorado full of hope of carry- 
 ing his demoniac intentions into execution, but shame, 
 confusion and defeat awaiting his coming. 
 
 About the 18th of April the tyrant with one division 
 of his troops, marched in the direction of Lynch's ferry, 
 on the San Jacinto, burning Harrisburg as he passed 
 down. The Texan forces under General Houston, were 
 ordered to be in readiness, and on the morning of the 
 19th they took up their line of march in pursuit of him, 
 and found him encamped on the banks of the San 
 Jacinto. About nine o'clock on the morning of the 21st 
 the Mexicans were reinforced by five hundred choice 
 troops, under command of General Cos, increasing their 
 effective force to upwards of fifteen hundred men, while 
 the aggregate force of the Texians, for the field, num- 
 bered seven hundred and eighty-three. General Hous- 
 ton ordered the bridge on the only road communicating 
 with the Brazos, distant from the encampment, to be 
 destroyed, thus cutting ofi" all possibility of escape. The 
 Texian army were ordered to parade their respective 
 commands, which they did with alacrity and spirit, and 
 were anxious for the conflict ; the disparity in numbers 
 only seemed to increase their enthusiasm and confidence. 
 Houston, having the enemy thus snugly hemmed in, and 
 his little army drawn up in order of battle, addressed 
 them, in person, briefly, and concluded by saying, " Fel- 
 low soldiers, there is the enemy before you ; do you wish 
 to fight?" "We do!" was the universal response. 
 
404 CAPTURE OP SANTA ANNA. 
 
 " Well, then," he continued, '' remember it is for liberty 
 or death! Remember the Alamo ! Remember Goliad ! " 
 Tlie soldiers shouted, "We shall remember!" "Then 
 go ahead!" From General Houston's official account 
 it appears that the war-cry was, "Remember the Alamo." 
 The attack was furious, and lasted about eighteen 
 minutes from the time of close action until the Texians 
 were in possession of the enemy's camp. Our riflemen, 
 not having the advantage of bayonets, used their pieces 
 as clubs, breaking many of them at the breech. The 
 rout commenced at half-past four o'clock, and continued 
 until twilight. In the battle our loss was two killed and 
 twenty-three w^ounded, six of whom mortally. The 
 enemy's loss was six hundred and thirty killed, and seven 
 hundred and thirty were taken prisoners, among whom 
 vrere Generals Santa Anna and Cos, who were captured 
 a day or two after the battle. About six hundred mus- 
 kets and three hundred sabres "were collected ; several 
 hundred mules and horses were taken, and near twelve 
 hundred dollars in specie. 
 
 We learn, from other sources, that General Cos, when 
 taken, was pale and greatly agitated ; but Almonte dis- 
 played, as he had, during the fight, great coohiess and 
 courasre. Santa Anna fled amono; the earliest who re- 
 treated. His horse bogged down in the prairie, near the 
 Brasses timber ; he then made for the timber on foot. 
 .His pursuers, in the eagerness of the chase, dashed into 
 the same bog, and continued the pursuit on foot, follow- 
 ing the trail of the fu^gitive, which was very plain on ac- 
 count of the recent rains, until they reached the timber, 
 "where it was lost. The pursuers then spread themselves 
 
DEATH OF COLONEL FANNING. 405 
 
 and searcliecl tlie woods for a long time in vain, when it 
 occurred to Arnold Hunter that the chase might, like a 
 hard pressed bear, have taken a tree. The tree-tops 
 were then examined, when, lo ! the game was discovered 
 snugly ensconced in the forks of a large live oak. The 
 captors did not know who the prisoner was until the}? 
 reached the camp, when the Mexican soldiers exclaimed, 
 ''El General, El General Santa Anna !" When con- 
 ducted to General Houston, he oifered to evacuate Texas, 
 and acknowledge its independence, on condition that his 
 life and liberty should be granted to him, and a safe es- 
 cort to Mexico. 
 
 The enemy passed La Bahia and Bexar, blowing up 
 the Alamo ; spiking and throwing the cannon in - the 
 river, in his retreat. The Cumanche Indians commenced 
 ^ depredating in the rear of the Mexican army, as they 
 advanced from Bexar upon the settlements. All their 
 horses and mules, of which they had many, as well as 
 much baggage, were taken by the Indians. At every 
 step they met with trouble, and are hurrying with all 
 possible dispatch toward the interior. 
 
 The fate of poor Fanning, v/ho was not killed in the 
 indiscriminate massacre of his troops, has since been as- 
 certained. He was condemned to be shot. When he 
 found that was determined on, and was ordered out for 
 execution, he handed his watch to an officer as compen- 
 sation to have him buried, deliberately tied a handker- 
 chief over his eyes, begged them not to shoot him in the 
 head, bared his breast, and requested to be shot there. 
 He was shot in the head, and never buried ! 
 
 jT Jan 28 1861. 
 
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