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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/4355-h.zip b/4355-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ed4a405 --- /dev/null +++ b/4355-h.zip diff --git a/4355-h/4355-h.htm b/4355-h/4355-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f3aab90 --- /dev/null +++ b/4355-h/4355-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,10119 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<HTML> +<HEAD> + +<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> + +<TITLE> +The Project Gutenberg E-text of David Crockett, by John S. C. Abbott +</TITLE> + +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +BODY { color: Black; + background: White; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +P {text-indent: 4% } + +P.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +P.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: small } + +P.letter {text-indent: 0%; + font-size: small ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.footnote {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.transnote {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.intro {font-size: smaller; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.finis { font-size: larger ; + text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +</STYLE> + +</HEAD> + +<BODY> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of David Crockett: His Life and Adventures, by +John S. C. Abbott + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: David Crockett: His Life and Adventures + +Author: John S. C. Abbott + +Posting Date: August 1, 2009 [EBook #4355] +Release Date: August, 2003 +First Posted: January 14, 2002 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAVID CROCKETT: LIFE, ADVENTURES *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo. HTML version by Al Haines. + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +AMERICAN PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS. +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +DAVID CROCKETT: +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +HIS +<BR> +LIFE AND ADVENTURES +</H2> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BY +</H3> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +JOHN S. C. ABBOTT +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +ILLUSTRATED. +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PREFACE. +</H3> + +<P> +David Crockett certainly was not a model man. But he was a +representative man. He was conspicuously one of a very numerous class, +still existing, and which has heretofore exerted a very powerful +influence over this republic. As such, his wild and wondrous life is +worthy of the study of every patriot. Of this class, their modes of +life and habits of thought, the majority of our citizens know as little +as they do of the manners and customs of the Comanche Indians. +</P> + +<P> +No man can make his name known to the forty millions of this great and +busy republic who has not something very remarkable in his character or +his career. But there is probably not an adult American, in all these +widespread States, who has not heard of David Crockett. His life is a +veritable romance, with the additional charm of unquestionable truth. +It opens to the reader scenes in the lives of the lowly, and a state of +semi-civilization, of which but few of them can have the faintest idea. +</P> + +<P> +It has not been my object, in this narrative, to defend Colonel +Crockett or to condemn him, but to present his peculiar character +exactly as it was. I have therefore been constrained to insert some +things which I would gladly have omitted. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +JOHN S. C. ABBOTT. +<BR> +FAIR HAVEN, CONN. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +CONTENTS +</H2> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +<A HREF="#chap01"> +CHAPTER I. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Parentage and Childhood. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +The Emigrant.—Crossing the Alleghanies.—The Boundless +Wilderness.—The Hut on the Holston.—Life's Necessaries.—The +Massacre.—Birth of David Crockett.—Peril of the +Boys.—Anecdote.—Removal to Greenville; to Cove Creek.—Increased +Emigration.—Loss of the Mill.—The Tavern.—Engagement with the +Drover.—Adventures in the Wilderness.—Virtual Captivity.—The +Escape.—The Return.—The Runaway.—New Adventures. . . . 7 +</P> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +<A HREF="#chap02"> +CHAPTER II. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Youthful Adventures. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +David at Gerardstown.—Trip to Baltimore.—Anecdotes.—He ships for +London.—Disappointment.—Defrauded of his Wages.—Escapes.—New +Adventures.—Crossing the River.—Returns Home.—His Reception.—A Farm +Laborer.—Generosity to his Father.—Love Adventure.—The Wreck of his +Hopes.—His School Education.—Second Love adventure.—Bitter +Disappointment.—Life in the Backwoods.—Third Love Adventure. . . . 35 +</P> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +<A HREF="#chap03"> +CHAPTER III. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Marriage and Settlement. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Rustic Courtship.—The Rival Lover.—Romantic Incident. The Purchase of +a Horse.—The Wedding.—Singular Ceremonies.—The Termagant.—Bridal +Days.—They commence Housekeeping.—The Bridal mansion and +Outfit.—Family Possessions.—The Removal to Central Tennessee.—Mode +of Transportation.—The New Income and its Surroundings.—Busy +Idleness.—The Third Move.—The Massacre at Fort Mimms. . . . 54 +</P> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +<A HREF="#chap04"> +CHAPTER IV. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Soldier Life. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +War with the Creeks.—Patriotism of Crockett.—Remonstrances of his +Wife.—Enlistment.—The Rendezvous.—Adventure of the Scouts.—Friendly +Indians,—A March through the Forest.—Picturesque Scene.—The Midnight +Alarm.—March by Moonlight.—Chagrin of Crockett.—Advance into +Alabama.—War's Desolations.—Indian Stoicism.—Anecdotes of Andrew +Jackson.—Battles, Carnage, and Woe. . . . 93 +</P> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +<A HREF="#chap05"> +CHAPTER V. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Indian Warfare. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +The Army at Fort Strother.—Crockett's Regiment.—Crockett at +Home.—His Reenlistment.—Jackson Surprised.—Military Ability of the +Indians.—Humiliation of the Creeks.—March to Florida.—Affairs at +Pensacola.—Capture of the City.—Characteristics of Crockett.—The +Weary March,—Inglorious Expedition.—Murder of Two +Indians.—Adventures at the Island.—The Continued March.—Severe +Sufferings.—Charge upon the Uninhabited Village. . . . 124 +</P> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +<A HREF="#chap06"> +CHAPTER VI. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Camp and the Cabin. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Deplorable Condition of the Army.—Its wanderings.—Crockett's +Benevolence.—Cruel Treatment of the Indians.—A Gleam of Good +Luck.—The Joyful Feast.—Crockett's Trade with the Indian.—Visit to +the Old Battlefield.—Bold Adventure of Crockett.—His Arrival +Home.—Death of his Wife.—Second Marriage.—Restlessness.—Exploring +Tour.—Wild Adventures.—Dangerous Sickness.—Removal to the West.—His +New Home. . . . 155 +</P> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +<A HREF="#chap07"> +CHAPTER VII. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Justice of Peace and the Legislator. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Vagabondage.—Measures of Protection.—Measures of +Government.—Crockett's Confession.—A Candidate for Military +Honors.—Curious Display of Moral Courage.—The Squirrel Hunt.—A +Candidate for the Legislature.—Characteristic +Electioneering.—Specimens of his Eloquence.—Great Pecuniary +Calamity.—Expedition to the Far West.—Wild Adventures.—The Midnight +Carouse.—A Cabin Reared. . . . 183 +</P> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +<A HREF="#chap08"> +CHAPTER VIII. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Life on the Obion. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Hunting Adventures.—The Voyage up the River.—Scenes in the +Cabin.—Return Home.—Removal of the Family.—Crockett's Riches.—A +Perilous Enterprise.—Reasons for his Celebrity.—Crockett's +Narrative.—A Bear-Hunt.—Visit to Jackson.—Again a Candidate for the +Legislature.—Electioneering and Election. . . . 212 +</P> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +<A HREF="#chap09"> +CHAPTER IX. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Adventures in the Forest, on the River, and in the City +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +The Bear Hunter's Story.—Service in the Legislature.—Candidate for +Congress.—Electioneering.—The New Speculation.—Disastrous +Voyage.—Narrow Escape.—New Electioneering Exploits.—Odd +Speeches.—The Visit to Crockett's Cabin.—His Political Views.—His +Honesty.—Opposition to Jackson.—Scene at Raleigh.—Dines with the +President.—Gross Caricature.—His Annoyance. . . . 240 +</P> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +<A HREF="#chap10"> +CHAPTER X. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Crockett's Tour to the North and the East. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +His Reelection to Congress.—The Northern Tour.—First Sight of a +Railroad.—Reception in Philadelphia.—His First Speech.—Arrival in +New York.—The Ovation there.—Visit to Boston.—Cambridge and +Lowell.—Specimens of his Speeches.—Expansion of his Ideas.—Rapid +Improvement. . . . 267 +</P> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +<A HREF="#chap11"> +CHAPTER XI. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Disappointed Politician.—Off for Texas. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Triumphal Return.—Home Charms Vanish.—Loses His Election.—Bitter +Disappointment.—Crockett's Poetry.—Sets out for Texas.—Incidents of +the Journey.—Reception at Little Rock.—The Shooting Match.—Meeting a +Clergyman.—The Juggler.—Crockett a Reformer.—The Bee Hunter.—The +Rough Strangers.—Scene on the Prairie. . . . 290 +</P> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +<A HREF="#chap12"> +CHAPTER XII. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Adventures on the Prairie. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Disappearance of the Bee Hunter.—The Herd of Buffalo Crockett +lost.—The Fight with the Cougar.—Approach of Savages.—Their +Friendliness.—Picnic on the Prairie.—Picturesque Scene.—The Lost +Mustang recovered.—Unexpected Reunion.—Departure of the +Savages.—Skirmish with the Mexicans.—Arrival at the Alamo. . . .312 +</P> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +<A HREF="#chap13"> +CHAPTER XIII. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Conclusion. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +The Fortress of Alamo.—Colonel Bowie.—Bombardment of the +Fort.—Crockett's Journal.—Sharpshooting.—Fight outside of the +Fort.—Death of the Bee Hunter.—Kate of Nacogdoches.—Assault on the +Citadel.—Crockett a Prisoner.—His Death. . . . 340 +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +DAVID CROCKETT. +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Parentage and Childhood. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +The Emigrant.—Crossing the Alleghanies.—The boundless +Wilderness.—The Hut on the Holston.—Life's Necessaries.—The +Massacre.—Birth of David Crockett.—Peril of the +Boys.—Anecdote.—Removal to Greenville; to Cove Creek.—Increased +Emigration.—Loss of the Mill.—The Tavern.—Engagement with the +Drover.—Adventures in the Wilderness.—Virtual Captivity.—The +Escape.—The Return.—The Runaway.—New Adventures. +</P> + +<P> +A little more than a hundred years ago, a poor man, by the name of +Crockett, embarked on board an emigrant-ship, in Ireland, for the New +World. He was in the humblest station in life. But very little is known +respecting his uneventful career excepting its tragical close. His +family consisted of a wife and three or four children. Just before he +sailed, or on the Atlantic passage, a son was born, to whom he gave the +name of John. The family probably landed in Philadelphia, and dwelt +somewhere in Pennsylvania, for a year or two, in one of those slab +shanties, with which all are familiar as the abodes of the poorest +class of Irish emigrants. +</P> + +<P> +After a year or two, Crockett, with his little family, crossed the +almost pathless Alleghanies. Father, mother, and children trudged along +through the rugged defiles and over the rocky cliffs, on foot. Probably +a single pack-horse conveyed their few household goods. The hatchet and +the rifle were the only means of obtaining food, shelter, and even +clothing. With the hatchet, in an hour or two, a comfortable camp could +be constructed, which would protect them from wind and rain. The +camp-fire, cheering the darkness of the night, drying their often wet +garments, and warming their chilled limbs with its genial glow, enabled +them to enjoy that almost greatest of earthly luxuries, peaceful sleep. +</P> + +<P> +The rifle supplied them with food. The fattest of turkeys and the most +tender steaks of venison, roasted upon forked sticks, which they held +in their hands over the coals, feasted their voracious appetites. This, +to them, was almost sumptuous food. The skin of the deer, by a rapid +and simple process of tanning, supplied them with moccasons, and +afforded material for the repair of their tattered garments. +</P> + +<P> +We can scarcely comprehend the motive which led this solitary family to +push on, league after league, farther and farther from civilization, +through the trackless forests. At length they reached the Holston +River. This stream takes its rise among the western ravines of the +Alleghanies, in Southwestern Virginia. Flowing hundreds of miles +through one of the most solitary and romantic regions upon the globe, +it finally unites with the Clinch River, thus forming the majestic +Tennessee. +</P> + +<P> +One hundred years ago, this whole region, west of the Alleghanies, was +an unexplored and an unknown wilderness. Its silent rivers, its +forests, and its prairies were crowded with game. Countless Indian +tribes, whose names even had never been heard east of the Alleghanies, +ranged this vast expanse, pursuing, in the chase, wild beasts scarcely +more savage than themselves. +</P> + +<P> +The origin of these Indian tribes and their past history are lost in +oblivion. Centuries have come and gone, during which joys and griefs, +of which we now can know nothing, visited their humble lodges. +Providence seems to have raised up a peculiar class of men, among the +descendants of the emigrants from the Old World, who, weary of the +restraints of civilization, were ever ready to plunge into the wildest +depths of the wilderness, and to rear their lonely huts in the midst of +all its perils, privations, and hardships. +</P> + +<P> +This solitary family of the Crocketts followed down the northwestern +banks of the Hawkins River for many a weary mile, until they came to a +spot which struck their fancy as a suitable place to build their Cabin. +In subsequent years a small village called Rogersville was gradually +reared upon this spot, and the territory immediately around was +organized into what is now known as Hawkins County. But then, for +leagues in every direction, the solemn forest stood in all its +grandeur. Here Mr. Crockett, alone and unaided save by his wife and +children, constructed a little shanty, which could have been but little +more than a hunter's camp. He could not lift solid logs to build a +substantial house. The hard-trodden ground was the only floor of the +single room which he enclosed. It was roofed with bark of trees piled +heavily on, which afforded quite effectual protection from the rain. A +hole cut through the slender logs was the only window. A fire was built +in one corner, and the smoke eddied through a hole left in the roof. +The skins of bears, buffaloes, and wolves provided couches, all +sufficient for weary ones, who needed no artificial opiate to promote +sleep. Such, in general, were the primitive homes of many of those bold +emigrants who abandoned the comforts of civilized life for the +solitudes of the wilderness. +</P> + +<P> +They did not want for most of what are called the necessaries of life. +The river and the forest furnished a great variety of fish and game. +Their hut, humble as it was, effectually protected them from the +deluging tempest and the inclement cold. The climate was genial in a +very high degree, and the soil, in its wonderful fertility, abundantly +supplied them with corn and other simple vegetables. But the silence +and solitude which reigned are represented, by those who experienced +them, as at times something dreadful. +</P> + +<P> +One principal motive which led these people to cross the mountains, was +the prospect of an ultimate fortune in the rise of land. Every man who +built a cabin and raised a crop of grain, however small, was entitled +to four hundred acres of land, and a preemption right to one thousand +more adjoining, to be secured by a land-office warrant. +</P> + +<P> +In this lonely home, Mr. Crockett, with his wife and children, dwelt +for some months, perhaps years—we know not how long. One night, the +awful yell of the savage was heard, and a band of human demons came +rushing upon the defenceless family. Imagination cannot paint the +tragedy which ensued. Though this lost world, ever since the fall of +Adam, has been filled to repletion with these scenes of woe, it causes +one's blood to curdle in his veins as he contemplates this one deed of +cruelty and blood. +</P> + +<P> +The howling fiends were expeditious in their work. The father and +mother were pierced by arrows, mangled with the tomahawk, and scalped. +One son, severely wounded, escaped into the forest. Another little boy, +who was deaf and dumb, was taken captive and carried by the Indians to +their distant tribe, where he remained, adopted into the tribe, for +about eighteen years. He was then discovered by some of his relatives, +and was purchased back at a considerable ransom. The torch was applied +to the cabin, and the bodies of the dead were consumed in the crackling +flames. +</P> + +<P> +What became of the remainder of the children, if there were any others +present in this midnight scene of conflagration and blood, we know not. +There was no reporter to give us the details. We simply know that in +some way John Crockett, who subsequently became the father of that +David whose history we now write, was not involved in the general +massacre. It is probable that he was not then with the family, but that +he was a hired boy of all work in some farmer's family in Pennsylvania. +</P> + +<P> +As a day-laborer he grew up to manhood, and married a woman in his own +sphere of life, by the name of Mary Hawkins. He enlisted as a common +soldier in the Revolutionary War, and took part in the battle of King's +Mountain. At the close of the war he reared a humble cabin in the +frontier wilds of North Carolina. There he lived for a few years, at +but one remove, in point of civilization, from the savages around him. +It is not probable that either he or his wife could read or write. It +is not probable that they had any religious thoughts; that their minds +ever wandered into the regions of that mysterious immortality which +reaches out beyond the grave. Theirs was apparently purely an animal +existence, like that of the Indian, almost like that of the wild +animals they pursued in the chase. +</P> + +<P> +At length, John Crockett, with his wife and three or four children, +unintimidated by the awful fate of his father's family, wandered from +North Carolina, through the long and dreary defiles of the mountains, +to the sunny valleys and the transparent skies of East Tennessee. It +was about the year 1783. Here he came to a rivulet of crystal water, +winding through majestic forests and plains of luxuriant verdure. Upon +a green mound, with this stream flowing near his door, John Crockett +built his rude and floorless hut. Punching holes in the soil with a +stick, he dropped in kernels of corn, and obtained a far richer harvest +than it would be supposed such culture could produce. As we have +mentioned, the building of this hut and the planting of this crop made +poor John Crockett the proprietor of four hundred acres of land of +almost inexhaustible fertility. +</P> + +<P> +In this lonely cabin, far away in the wilderness, David Crockett was +born, on the 17th of August, 1786. He had then four brothers. +Subsequently four other children were added to the family. +</P> + +<P> +His childhood's home was more humble than the majority of the readers +of this volume can imagine. It was destitute of everything which, in a +higher state of civilization, is deemed essential to comfort. The +wigwam of the Indian afforded as much protection from the weather, and +was as well furnished, as the cabin of logs and bark which sheltered +his father's family. It would seem, from David Crockett's +autobiography, that in his childhood he went mainly without any +clothing, like the pappooses of an Indian squaw. These facts of his +early life must be known, that we may understand the circumstances by +which his peculiar character was formed. +</P> + +<P> +He had no instruction whatever in religion, morals, manners, or mental +culture. It cannot be supposed that his illiterate parents were very +gentle in their domestic discipline, or that their example could have +been of any essential advantage in preparing him for the arduous +struggle of life. It would be difficult to find any human being, in a +civilized land, who can have enjoyed less opportunities for moral +culture than David Crockett enjoyed in his early years. +</P> + +<P> +There was quite a fall on the Nolachucky River, a little below the +cabin of John Crockett. Here the water rushed foaming over the rocks, +with fury which would at once swamp any canoe. When David was four or +five years old, and several other emigrants had come and reared their +cabins in that vicinity, he was one morning out playing with his +brothers on the bank of the river. There was a canoe tied to the shore. +The boys got into it, and, to amuse themselves, pushed out into the +stream, leaving little David, greatly to his indignation, on the shore. +</P> + +<P> +But the boys did not know how to manage the canoe, and though they +plied the paddies with all vigor, they soon found themselves caught in +the current, and floating rapidly down toward the falls, where, should +they be swept over, the death of all was inevitable. +</P> + +<P> +A man chanced to be working in a field not far distant. He heard the +cries of the boys and saw their danger. There was not a moment to be +lost. He started upon the full run, throwing off coat and waistcoat and +shoes, in his almost frantic speed, till he reached the water. He then +plunged in, and, by swimming and wading, seized the canoe when it was +within but about twenty feet of the roaring falls. With almost +superhuman exertions he succeeded in dragging it to the shore. +</P> + +<P> +This event David Crockett has mentioned as the first which left any +lasting imprint upon his memory. Not long after this, another +occurrence took place characteristic of frontier life. Joseph Hawkins, +a brother of David's mother, crossed the mountains and joined the +Crockett family in their forest home. One morning he went out to shoot +a deer, repairing to a portion of the forest much frequented by this +animal. As he passed a very dense thicket, he saw the boughs swaying to +and fro, where a deer was apparently browsing. Very cautiously he crept +within rifle-shot, occasionally catching a glimpse, through the thick +foliage, of the ear of the animal,—as he supposed. +</P> + +<P> +Taking deliberate aim he fired, and immediately heard a loud outcry. +Rushing to the spot, he found that he had shot a neighbor, who was +there gathering grapes. The ball passed through his side, inflicting a +very serious though not a fatal wound, as it chanced not to strike any +vital part. The wounded man was carried home; and the rude surgery +which was practised upon him was to insert a silk handkerchief with a +ramrod in at the bullet-hole, and draw it through his body. He +recovered from the wound. +</P> + +<P> +Such a man as John Crockett forms no local attachments, and never +remains long in one place. Probably some one came to his region and +offered him a few dollars for his improvements. He abandoned his cabin, +with its growing neighborhood, and packing his few household goods upon +one or two horses, pushed back fifty miles farther southwest, into the +trackless wilderness. Here he found, about ten miles above the present +site of Greenville, a fertile and beautiful region. Upon the banks of a +little brook, which furnished him with an abundant supply of pure +water, he reared another shanty, and took possession of another four +hundred acres of forest land. Some of his boys were now old enough to +furnish efficient help in the field and in the chase. +</P> + +<P> +How long John Crockett remained here we know not. Neither do we know +what induced him to make another move. But we soon find him pushing +still farther back into the wilderness, with his hapless family of sons +and daughters, dooming them, in all their ignorance, to the society +only of bears and wolves. He now established himself upon a +considerable stream, unknown to geography, called Cue Creek. +</P> + +<P> +David Crockett was now about eight years old. During these years +emigration had been rapidly flowing from the Atlantic States into this +vast and beautiful valley south of the Ohio. With the increasing +emigration came an increasing demand for the comforts of civilization. +Framed houses began to rise here and there, and lumber, in its various +forms, was needed. +</P> + +<P> +John Crockett, with another man by the name of Thomas Galbraith, +undertook to build a mill upon Cove Creek. They had nearly completed +it, having expended all their slender means in its construction, when +there came a terrible freshet, and all their works were swept away. The +flood even inundated Crockett's cabin, and the family was compelled to +fly to a neighboring eminence for safety. +</P> + +<P> +Disheartened by this calamity, John Crockett made another move. +Knoxville, on the Holston River, had by this time become quite a +thriving little settlement of log huts. The main route of emigration +was across the mountains to Abingdon, in Southwestern Virginia, and +then by an extremely rough forest-road across the country to the valley +of the Holston, and down that valley to Knoxville. This route was +mainly traversed by pack-horses and emigrants on foot. But stout +wagons, with great labor, could be driven through. +</P> + +<P> +John Crockett moved still westward to this Holston valley, where he +reared a pretty large log house on this forest road; and opened what he +called a tavern for the entertainment of teamsters and other emigrants. +It was indeed a rude resting-place. But in a fierce storm the exhausted +animals could find a partial shelter beneath a shed of logs, with corn +to eat; and the hardy pioneers could sleep on bear-skins, with their +feet perhaps soaked with rain, feeling the warmth of the cabin fire. +The rifle of John Crockett supplied his guests with the choicest +venison steaks, and his wife baked in the ashes the "journey cake," +since called johnny cake, made of meal from corn pounded in a mortar or +ground in a hand-mill. The brilliant flame of the pitch-pine knot +illumined the cabin; and around the fire these hardy men often kept +wakeful until midnight, smoking their pipes, telling their stories, and +singing their songs. +</P> + +<P> +This house stood alone in the forest. Often the silence of the night +was disturbed by the cry of the grizzly bear and the howling of wolves. +Here David remained four years, aiding his father in all the laborious +work of clearing the land and tending the cattle. There was of course +no school here, and the boy grew up in entire ignorance of all book +learning. But in these early years he often went into the woods with +his gun in pursuit of game, and, young as he was, acquired considerable +reputation as a marksman. +</P> + +<P> +One day, a Dutchman by the name of Jacob Siler came to the cabin, +driving a large herd of cattle. He had gathered them farther west, from +the luxuriant pastures in the vicinity of Knoxville, where cattle +multiplied with marvellous rapidity, and was taking them back to market +in Virginia. The drover found some difficulty in managing so many half +wild cattle, as he pressed them forward through the wilderness, and he +bargained with John Crockett to let his son David, who, as we have +said, was then twelve years of age, go with him as his hired help. +Whatever wages he gave was paid to the father. +</P> + +<P> +The boy was to go on foot with this Dutchman four hundred miles, +driving the cattle. This transaction shows very clearly the hard and +unfeeling character of David's parents. When he reached the end of his +journey, so many weary leagues from home, the only way by which he +could return was to attach himself to some emigrant party or some +company of teamsters, and walk back, paying for such food as he might +consume, by the assistance he could render on the way. There are few +parents who could thus have treated a child of twelve years. +</P> + +<P> +The little fellow, whose affections had never been more cultivated than +those of the whelp of the wolf or the cub of the bear, still left home, +as he tells us, with a heavy heart. The Dutchman was an entire stranger +to him, and he knew not what treatment he was to expect at his hands. +He had already experienced enough of forest travel to know its +hardships. A journey of four hundred miles seemed to him like going to +the uttermost parts of the earth. As the pioneers had smoked their +pipes at his father's cabin fire, he had heard many appalling accounts +of bloody conflicts with the Indians, of massacres, scalpings, +tortures, and captivity. +</P> + +<P> +David's father had taught him, very sternly, one lesson, and that was +implicit and prompt obedience to his demands. The boy knew full well +that it would be of no avail for him to make any remonstrance. +Silently, and trying to conceal his tears, he set out on the perilous +enterprise. The cattle could be driven but about fifteen or twenty +miles a day. Between twenty and thirty days were occupied in the +toilsome and perilous journey. The route led them often through marshy +ground, where the mire was trampled knee-deep. All the streams had to +be forded. At times, swollen by the rains, they were very deep. There +were frequent days of storm, when, through the long hours, the poor boy +trudged onward, drenched with rain and shivering with cold. Their fare +was most meagre, consisting almost entirely of such game as they +chanced to shoot, which they roasted on forked sticks before the fire. +</P> + +<P> +When night came, often dark and stormy, the cattle were generally too +much fatigued by their long tramp to stray away. Some instinct also +induced them to cluster together. A rude shanty was thrown up. Often +everything was so soaked with rain that it was impossible to build a +fire. The poor boy, weary and supperless, spattered with mud and +drenched with rain, threw himself upon the wet ground for that blessed +sleep in which the weary forget their woes. Happy was he if he could +induce one of the shaggy dogs to lie down by his side, that he might +hug the faithful animal in his arms, and thus obtain a little warmth. +</P> + +<P> +Great was the luxury when, at the close of a toilsome day, a few pieces +of bark could be so piled as to protect from wind and rain, and a +roaring fire could blaze and crackle before the little camp. Then the +appetite which hunger gives would enable him to feast upon the tender +cuts of venison broiled upon the coals, with more satisfaction than the +gourmand takes in the choicest viands of the restaurant. Having feasted +to satiety, he would stretch himself upon the ground, with his feet to +the fire, and soon be lost to all earth's cares, in sweet oblivion. +</P> + +<P> +The journey was safely accomplished. The Dutchman had a father-in-law, +by the name of Hartley, who lived in Virginia, having reared his cabin +within about three miles of the Natural Bridge. Here the boy's contract +came to an end. It would seem that the Dutchman was a good sort of man, +as the world goes, and that he treated the boy kindly. He was so well +pleased with David's energy and fidelity, that he was inclined to +retain him in his service. Seeing the boy's anxiety to return home, he +was disposed to throw around him invisible chains, and to hold him a +captive. He thus threw every possible hindrance in the way of his +return, offered to hire him as his boy of all work, and made him a +present of five or six dollars, which perhaps he considered payment in +advance, which bound the boy to remain with him until he had worked it +out. +</P> + +<P> +David soon perceived that his movements were watched, and that he was +not his own master to go or stay as he pleased. This increased his +restlessness. Four or five weeks thus passed away, when, one morning, +three wagons laden with merchandise came along, bound to Knoxville. +They were driven by an old man by the name of Dugan, and his two +stalwart sons. They had traversed the road before, and David had seen +the old man at his father's tavern. Secretly the shrewd boy revealed to +him his situation, and his desire to get back to his home. The father +and sons conferred together upon the subject. They were moved with +sympathy for the boy, and, after due deliberation, told him that they +should stop for the night about seven miles from that place, and should +set out again on their journey with the earliest light of the morning; +and that if he could get to them before daylight, he might follow their +wagons. +</P> + +<P> +It was Sunday morning, and it so happened that the Dutchman and the +family had gone away on a visit. David collected his clothes and the +little money he had, and hid them in a bundle under his bed. A very +small bundle held them all. The family returned, and, suspecting +nothing, all retired to sleep. +</P> + +<P> +David had naturally a very affectionate heart. He never had been from +home before. His lonely situation roused all the slumbering emotions of +his childhood. In describing this event, he writes: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +A little after midnight, when the family were in profoundest sleep, +David cautiously rose, and taking his little bundle, crept out doors. +To his disappointment he found that it was snowing fast, eight inches +having already fallen; and the wintry gale moaned dismally through the +treetops. It was a dark, moonless night. The cabin was in the fields, +half a mile from the road along which the wagons had passed. This boy +of twelve years, alone in the darkness, was to breast the gale and wade +through the snow, amid forest glooms, a distance of seven miles, before +he could reach the appointed rendezvous. +</P> + +<P> +For a moment his heart sank within him. Then recovering his resolution, +he pushed out boldly into the storm. For three hours he toiled along, +the snow rapidly increasing in depth until it reached up to his knees. +Just before the dawn of the morning he reached the wagons. The men were +up, harnessing their teams. The Dunns were astounded at the appearance +of the little boy amid the darkness and the tempest. They took him into +the house, warmed him by the fire, and gave him a good breakfast, +speaking to him words of sympathy and encouragement. The affectionate +heart of David was deeply moved by this tenderness, to which he was +quite unaccustomed. +</P> + +<P> +And then, though exhausted by the toil of a three hours' wading through +the drifts, he commenced, in the midst of a mountain storm, a long +day's journey upon foot. It was as much as the horses could do to drag +the heavily laden wagons over the encumbered road. However weary, he +could not ride. However exhausted, the wagons could not wait for him; +neither was there any place in the smothering snow for rest. +</P> + +<P> +Day after day they toiled along, in the endurance of hardships now with +difficulty comprehended. Sometimes they were gladdened with sunny skies +and smooth paths. Again the clouds would gather, and the rain, the +sleet, and the snow would envelop them in glooms truly dismal. Under +these circumstances the progress of the wagons was very slow. David was +impatient. As he watched the sluggish turns of the wheels, he thought +that he could travel very much faster if he should push forward alone, +leaving the wagons behind him. +</P> + +<P> +At length he became so impatient, thoughts of home having obtained +entire possession of his mind, that he informed Mr. Dunn of his +intention to press forward as fast as he could. His elder companions +deemed it very imprudent for such a mere child, thus alone, to attempt +to traverse the wilderness, and they said all they could to dissuade +him, but in vain. He therefore, early the next morning, bade them +farewell, and with light footsteps and a light heart tripped forward, +leaving them behind, and accomplishing nearly as much in one day as the +wagons could in two. We are not furnished with any of the details of +this wonderful journey of a solitary child through a wilderness of one +or two hundred miles. We know not how he slept at night, or how he +obtained food by day. He informs us that he was at length overtaken by +a drover, who had been to Virginia with a herd of cattle, and was +returning to Knoxville riding one horse and leading another. +</P> + +<P> +The man was amazed in meeting a mere child in such lonely wilds, and +upon hearing his story, his kind heart was touched. David was a frail +little fellow, whose weight would be no burden for a horse, and the +good man directed him to mount the animal which he led. The boy had +begun to be very tired. He was just approaching a turbid stream, whose +icy waters, reaching almost to his neck, he would have had to wade but +for this Providential assistance. +</P> + +<P> +Travellers in the wilderness seldom trot their horses. On such a +journey, an animal who naturally walks fast is of much more value than +one which has attained high speed upon the race-course. Thus pleasantly +mounted, David and his kind protector rode along together until they +came within about fifteen miles of John Crockett's tavern, where their +roads diverged. Here David dismounted, and bidding adieu to his +benefactor, almost ran the remaining distance, reaching home that +evening. +</P> + +<P> +"The name of this kind gentleman," he writes, "I have forgotten; for it +deserves a high place in my little book. A remembrance of his kindness +to a little straggling boy has, however, a resting-place in my heart, +and there it will remain as long as I live." +</P> + +<P> +It was the spring of the year when David reached his father's cabin. He +spent a part of the summer there. The picture which David gives of his +home is revolting in the extreme. John Crockett, the tavern-keeper, had +become intemperate, and he was profane and brutal. But his son, never +having seen any home much better, does not seem to have been aware that +there were any different abodes upon earth. Of David's mother we know +nothing. She was probably a mere household drudge, crushed by an +unfeeling husband, without sufficient sensibilities to have been aware +of her degraded condition. +</P> + +<P> +Several other cabins had risen in the vicinity of John Crockett's. A +man came along, by the name of Kitchen, who undertook to open a school +to teach the boys to read. David went to school four days, but found it +very difficult to master his letters. He was a wiry little fellow, very +athletic, and his nerves seemed made of steel. When roused by anger, he +was as fierce and reckless as a catamount. A boy, much larger than +himself, had offended him. David decided not to attack him near the +school-house, lest the master might separate them. +</P> + +<P> +He therefore slipped out of school, just before it was dismissed, and +running along the road, hid in a thicket, near which his victim would +have to pass on his way home. As the boy came unsuspectingly along, +young Crockett, with the leap of a panther, sprang upon his back. With +tooth and nail he assailed him, biting, scratching, pounding, until the +boy cried for mercy. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning, David was afraid to go to school, apprehending the +severe punishment he might get from the master. He therefore left home +as usual, but played truant, hiding himself in the woods all day. He +did the same the next morning, and so continued for several days. At +last the master sent word to John Crockett, inquiring why his son David +no longer came to school. The boy was called to an account, and the +whole affair came out. +</P> + +<P> +John Crockett had been drinking. His eyes flashed fire. He cut a stout +hickory stick, and with oaths declared that he would give his boy an +"eternal sight" worse whipping than the master would give him, unless +he went directly back to school. As the drunken father approached +brandishing his stick, the boy ran, and in a direction opposite from +that of the school-house. The enraged father pursued, and the unnatural +race continued for nearly a mile. A slight turn in the road concealed +the boy for a moment from the view of his pursuer, and he plunged into +the forest and hid. The father, with staggering gait, rushed along, but +having lost sight of the boy, soon gave up the chase, and returned home. +</P> + +<P> +This revolting spectacle, of such a father and such a son, over which +one would think that angels might weep, only excited the derision of +this strange boy. It was what he had been accustomed to all his life. +He describes it in ludicrous terms, with the slang phrases which were +ever dropping from his lips. David knew that a terrible whipping +awaited him should he go back to the cabin. +</P> + +<P> +He therefore pushed on several miles, to the hut of a settler whom he +knew. He was, by this time, too much accustomed to the rough and tumble +of life to feel any anxiety about the future. Arriving at the cabin, it +so chanced that he found a man, by the name of Jesse Cheek, who was +just starting with a drove of cattle for Virginia. Very readily, David, +who had experience in that business, engaged to accompany him. An elder +brother also, either weary of his wretched home or anxious to see more +of the world, entered into the same service. +</P> + +<P> +The incidents of this journey were essentially the same with those of +the preceding one, though the route led two hundred miles farther into +the heart of Virginia. The road they took passed through Abingdon, +Witheville, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Orange Court House, to Front +Royal in Warren County. Though these frontier regions then, +seventy-five years ago, were in a very primitive condition, still young +Crockett caught glimpses of a somewhat higher civilization than he had +ever encountered before in his almost savage life. +</P> + +<P> +Here the drove was sold, and David found himself with a few dollars in +his pocket. His brother decided to look for work in that region. David, +then thirteen years of age, hoping tremblingly that time enough had +elapsed to save him from a whipping, turned his thoughts homeward. A +brother of the drover was about to return on horseback. David decided +to accompany him, thinking that the man would permit him to ride a part +of the way. +</P> + +<P> +Much to his disgust, the man preferred to ride himself. The horse was +his own. David had no claim to it whatever. He was therefore left to +trudge along on foot. Thus he journeyed for three days. He then made an +excuse for stopping a little while, leaving his companion to go on +alone. He was very careful not again to overtake him. The boy had then, +with four dollars in his pocket, a foot journey before him of between +three and four hundred miles. And this was to be taken through desolate +regions of morass and forest, where, not unfrequently, the lurking +Indian had tomahawked, or gangs of half-famished wolves had devoured +the passing traveller. He was also liable, at any time, to be caught by +night and storm, without any shelter. +</P> + +<P> +As he was sauntering along slowly, that he might be sure and not +overtake his undesirable companion, he met a wagoner coming from +Greenville, in Tennessee, and bound for Gerardstown, Berkeley County, +in the extreme northerly part of Virginia. His route lay directly over +the road which David had traversed. The man's name was Adam Myers. He +was a jovial fellow, and at once won the heart of the vagrant boy. +David soon entered into a bargain with Myers, and turned back with him. +The state of mind in which the boy was may be inferred from the +following extract taken from his autobiography. I omit the profanity, +which was ever sprinkled through all his utterances: +</P> + +<P> +"I often thought of home, and, indeed, wished bad enough to be there. +But when I thought of the school-house, and of Kitchen, my master, and +of the race with my father, and of the big hickory stick he carried, +and of the fierceness of the storm of wrath I had left him in, I was +afraid to venture back. I knew my father's nature so well, that I was +certain his anger would hang on to him like a turtle does to a +fisherman's toe. The promised whipping came slap down upon every +thought of home." +</P> + +<P> +Travelling back with the wagon, after two days' journey, he met his +brother again, who had then decided to return himself to the parental +cabin in Tennessee. He pleaded hard with David to accompany him +reminding him of the love of his mother and his sisters. The boy, +though all unused to weeping, was moved to tears. But the thought of +the hickory stick, and of his father's brawny arm, decided the +question. With his friend Myers he pressed on, farther and farther from +home, to Gerardstown. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Youthful Adventures. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +David at Gerardstown.—Trip to Baltimore.—Anecdotes.—He ships for +London.—Disappointment.—Defrauded of his Wages.—Escapes.—New +Adventures.—Crossing the River.—Returns Home.—His Reception.—A Farm +Laborer.—Generosity to his Father.—Love Adventure.—The Wreck of his +Hopes.—His School Education.—Second Love Adventure.—Bitter +Disappointment.—Life in the Backwoods.—Third Love Adventure. +</P> + +<P> +The wagoner whom David had accompanied to Gerardstown was disappointed +in his endeavors to find a load to take back to Tennessee. He therefore +took a load to Alexandria, on the Potomac. David decided to remain at +Gerardstown until Myers should return. He therefore engaged to work for +a man by the name of John Gray, for twenty-five cents a day. It was +light farm-work in which he was employed, and he was so faithful in the +performance of his duties that he pleased the farmer, who was an old +man, very much. +</P> + +<P> +Myers continued for the winter in teaming backward and forward between +Gerardstown and Baltimore, while David found a comfortable home of easy +industry with the farmer. He was very careful in the expenditure of his +money, and in the spring found that he had saved enough from his small +wages to purchase him a suit of coarse but substantial clothes. He +then, wishing to see a little more of the world, decided to make a trip +with the wagoner to Baltimore. +</P> + +<P> +David had then seven dollars in his pocket, the careful savings of the +labors of half a year. He deposited the treasure with the wagoner for +safe keeping. They started on their journey, with a wagon heavily laden +with barrels of flour. As they were approaching a small settlement +called Ellicott's Mills, David, a little ashamed to approach the houses +in the ragged and mud-bespattered clothes which he wore on the way, +crept into the wagon to put on his better garments. +</P> + +<P> +While there in the midst of the flour barrels piled up all around him, +the horses took fright at some strange sight which they encountered, +and in a terrible scare rushed down a steep hill, turned a sharp +corner, broke the tongue of the wagon and both of the axle-trees, and +whirled the heavy barrels about in every direction. The escape of David +from very serious injuries seemed almost miraculous. But our little +barbarian leaped from the ruins unscathed. It does not appear that he +had ever cherished any conception whatever of an overruling Providence. +Probably, a religious thought had never entered his mind. A colt +running by the side of the horses could not have been more insensible +to every idea of death, and responsibility at God's bar, than was David +Crockett. And he can be hardly blamed for this. The savages had some +idea of the Great Spirit and of a future world. David was as +uninstructed in those thoughts as are the wolves and the bears. Many +years afterward, in writing of this occurrence, he says, with +characteristic flippancy, interlarded with coarse phrases: +</P> + +<P> +"This proved to me, 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. I didn't know how soon I should +be knocked into a cocked hat, and get my walking-papers for another +country." +</P> + +<P> +The wagon was quite demolished by the disaster. Another was obtained, +the flour reloaded, and they proceeded to Baltimore, dragging the wreck +behind them, to be repaired there. Here young Crockett was amazed at +the aspect of civilization which was opened before him. He wandered +along the wharves gazing bewildered upon the majestic ships, with their +towering masts, cordage, and sails, which he saw floating there He had +never conceived of such fabrics before. The mansions, the churches, the +long lines of brick stores excited his amazement. It seemed to him that +he had been suddenly introduced into a sort of fairy-land. All thoughts +of home now vanished from his mind. The great world was expanding +before him, and the curiosity of his intensely active mind was roused +to explore more of its wonders. +</P> + +<P> +One morning he ventured on board one of the ships at a wharf, and was +curiously and cautiously peering about, when the captain caught sight +of him. It so happened that he was in need of a sailor-boy, and being +pleased with the appearance of the lad, asked David if he would not +like to enter into his service to take a voyage to London. The boy had +no more idea of where London was, or what it was, than of a place in +the moon. But eagerly he responded, "Yes," for he cared little where he +went or what became of him, he was so glad of an opportunity to see +more of the wonders of this unknown world. +</P> + +<P> +The captain made a few inquiries respecting his friends, his home, and +his past modes of life, and then engaged him for the cruise. David, in +a state of high, joyous excitement, hurried back to the wagoner, to get +his seven dollars of money and some clothes he had left with him. But +Myers put a very prompt veto upon the lad's procedure, assuming that he +was the boy's master, he declared that he should not go to sea. He +refused to let him have either his clothes or his money, asserting that +it was his duty to take him back to his parents in Tennessee. David +would gladly have fled from him, and embarked without money and without +clothes; but the wagoner watched him so closely that escape was +impossible. +</P> + +<P> +David was greatly down-hearted at this disappointment, and watched +eagerly for an opportunity to obtain deliverance from his bondage. But +Myers was a burly teamster who swung a very heavy wagon-whip, +threatening the boy with a heavy punishment if he should make any +attempt to run away. +</P> + +<P> +After a few days, Myers loaded his team for Tennessee, and with his +reluctant boy set out on his long journey. David was exceedingly +restless. He now hated the man who was so tyranically domineering over +him. He had no desire to return to his home, and he dreaded the hickory +stick with which he feared his brutal father would assail him. One dark +night, an hour or two before the morning, David carefully took his +little bundle of clothes, and creeping noiselessly from the cabin, +rushed forward as rapidly as his nimble feet could carry him. He soon +felt quite easy in reference to his escape. He knew that the wagoner +slept soundly, and that two hours at least must elapse before he would +open his eyes. He then would not know with certainty in what direction +the boy had fled. He could not safely leave his horses and wagon alone +in the wilderness, to pursue him; and even should he unharness one of +the horses and gallop forward in search of the fugitive, David, by +keeping a vigilant watch, would see him in the distance and could +easily plunge into the thickets of the forest, and thus elude pursuit. +</P> + +<P> +He had run along five or six miles, when just as the sun was rising he +overtook another wagon. He had already begun to feel very lonely and +disconsolate. He had naturally an affectionate heart and a strong mind; +traits of character which gleamed through all the dark clouds that +obscured his life. He was alone in the wilderness, without a penny; and +he knew not what to do, or which way to turn. The moment he caught +sight of the teamster his heart yearned for sympathy. Tears moistened +his eyes, and hastening to the stranger, the friendless boy of but +thirteen years frankly told his whole story. The wagoner was a rough, +profane, burly man, of generous feelings. There was an air of sincerity +in the boy, which convinced him of the entire truth of his statements. +His indignation was aroused, and he gave expression to that indignation +in unmeasured terms. Cracking his whip in his anger, he declared that +Myers was a scoundrel, thus to rob a friendless boy, and that he would +lash the money out of him. +</P> + +<P> +This man, whose name also chanced to be Myers, was of the tiger breed, +fearing nothing, ever ready for a fight, and almost invariably coming +off conqueror. In his generous rage he halted his team, grasped his +wagon-whip, and, accompanied by the trembling boy, turned back, +breathing vengeance. David was much alarmed, and told his protector +that he was afraid to meet the wagoner, who had so often threatened him +with his whip. But his new friend said, "Have no fear. The man shall +give you back your money, or I will thrash it out of him." +</P> + +<P> +They had proceeded but about two miles when they met the approaching +team of Adam Myers. Henry Myers, David's new friend, leading him by the +hand, advanced menacingly upon the other teamster, and greeted him with +the words: +</P> + +<P> +"You accursed scoundrel, what do you mean by robbing this friendless +boy of his money?" Adam Myers confessed that he had received seven +dollars of the boy's money. He said, however, that he had no money with +him; that he had invested all he had in articles in his wagon, and that +he intended to repay the boy as soon as they got back to Tennessee. +This settled the question, and David returned with Henry Myers to his +wagon, and accompanied him for several days on his slow and toilsome +journey westward. +</P> + +<P> +The impatient boy, as once before, soon got weary of the loitering pace +of the heavily laden team, and concluded to leave his friend and press +forward more rapidly alone. It chanced, one evening, that several +wagons met, and the teamsters encamped for the night together. Henry +Myers told them the story of the friendless boy, and that he was now +about to set out alone for the long journey, most of it through an +entire wilderness, and through a land of strangers wherever there might +chance to be a few scattered cabins. They took up a collection for +David, and presented him with three dollars. +</P> + +<P> +The little fellow pressed along, about one hundred and twenty-five +miles, down the valley between the Alleghany and the Blue ridges, until +he reached Montgomery Court House. The region then, nearly three +quarters of a century ago, presented only here and there a spot where +the light of civilization had entered. Occasionally the log cabin of +some poor emigrant was found in the vast expanse. David, too proud to +beg, when he had any money with which to pay, found his purse empty +when he had accomplished this small portion of his journey. +</P> + +<P> +In this emergence, he hired out to work for a man a month for five +dollars, which was at the rate of about one shilling a day. Faithfully +he fulfilled his contract, and then, rather dreading to return home, +entered into an engagement with a hatter, Elijah Griffith, to work in +his shop for four years. Here he worked diligently eighteen months +without receiving any pay. His employer then failed, broke up, and left +the country. Again this poor boy, thus the sport of fortune, found +himself without a penny, with but few clothes, and those much worn. +</P> + +<P> +But it was not his nature to lay anything very deeply to heart. He +laughed at misfortune, and pressed on singing and whistling through all +storms. He had a stout pair of hands, good nature, and adaptation to +any kind of work. There was no danger of his starving; and exposures, +which many would deem hardships, were no hardships for him. Undismayed +he ran here and there, catching at such employment as he could find, +until he had supplied himself with some comfortable clothing, and had a +few dollars of ready money in his purse. Again he set out alone and on +foot for his far-distant home. He had been absent over two years, and +was new fifteen years of age. +</P> + +<P> +He trudged along, day after day, through rain and sunshine, until he +reached a broad stream called New River. It was wintry weather. The +stream was swollen by recent rains, and a gale then blowing was +ploughing the surface into angry waves. Teams forded the stream many +miles above. There was a log hut here, and the owner had a frail canoe +in which he could paddle an occasional traveller across the river. But +nothing would induce him to risk his life in an attempt to cross in +such a storm. +</P> + +<P> +The impetuous boy, in his ignorance of the effect of wind upon waves, +resolved to attempt to cross, at every hazard, and notwithstanding all +remonstrances. He obtained a leaky canoe, which was half stranded upon +the shore, and pushed out on his perilous voyage. He tied his little +bundle of clothes to the bows of the boat, that they might not be +washed or blown away, and soon found himself exposed to the full force +of the wind, and tossed by billows such as he had never dreamed of +before. He was greatly frightened, and would have given all he had in +the world, to have been safely back again upon the shore. But he was +sure to be swamped if he should attempt to turn the boat broadside to +the waves in such a gale. The only possible salvation for him was to +cut the approaching billows with the bows of the boat. Thus he might +possibly ride over them, though at the imminent peril, every moment, of +shipping a sea which would engulf him and his frail boat in a watery +grave. +</P> + +<P> +In this way he reached the shore, two miles above the proper +landing-place. The canoe was then half full of water. He was drenched +with spray, which was frozen into almost a coat of mail upon his +garments. Shivering with cold, he had to walk three miles through the +forest before he found a cabin at whose fire he could warm and dry +himself. Without any unnecessary delay he pushed on until he crossed +the extreme western frontier line of Virginia, and entered Sullivan +County, Tennessee. +</P> + +<P> +An able-bodied young man like David Crockett, strong, athletic, willing +to work, and knowing how to turn his hand to anything, could, in the +humblest cabin, find employment which would provide him with board and +lodging. He was in no danger of starving. There was, at that time, but +one main path of travel from the East into the regions of the boundless +West. +</P> + +<P> +As David was pressing along this path he came to a little hamlet of log +huts, where he found the brother whom he had left when he started from +home eighteen months before with the drove of cattle. He remained with +him for two or three weeks, probably paying his expenses by farm labor +and hunting. Again he set out for home. The evening twilight was +darkening into night when he caught sight of his father's humble cabin. +Several wagons were standing around, showing that there must be +considerable company in the house. +</P> + +<P> +With not a little embarrassment, he ventured in. It was rather dark. +His mother and sisters were preparing supper at the immense fireside. +Quite a group of teamsters were scattered around the room, smoking +their pipes, and telling their marvellous stories. David, during his +absence of two years, had grown, and changed considerably in personal +appearance. None of the family recognized him. They generally supposed, +as he had been absent so long, that he was dead. +</P> + +<P> +David inquired if he could remain all night. Being answered in the +affirmative, he took a seat in a corner and remained perfectly silent, +gazing upon the familiar scene, and watching the movements of his +father, mother, and sisters. At length supper was ready, and all took +seats at the table. As David came more into the light, one of his +sisters, observing him, was struck with his resemblance to her lost +brother. Fixing her eyes upon him, she, in a moment, rushed forward and +threw her arms around his neck, exclaiming, "Here is my brother David." +</P> + +<P> +Quite a scene ensued. The returning prodigal was received with as much +affection as could be expected in a family with such uncultivated +hearts and such unrefined habits as were found in the cabin of John +Crockett. Even the stern old man forgot his hickory switch, and David, +much to his relief, found that he should escape the long-dreaded +whipping. Many years after this, when David Crockett, to his own +surprise, and that of the whole nation, found himself elevated to the +position of one of our national legislators, he wrote: +</P> + +<P> +"But it will be a source of astonishment to many, who reflect that I am +now a member of the American Congress, the most enlightened body of men +in the world, that, at so advanced an age, the age of fifteen, I did +not know the first letter in the book." +</P> + +<P> +By the laws and customs of our land, David was bound to obey his father +and work for him until he was twenty-one years of age. Until that time, +whatever wages he might earn belonged to his father. It is often an act +of great generosity for a hard-working farmer to release a stout lad of +eighteen or nineteen from this obligation, and "to give him," as it is +phrased, "his time." +</P> + +<P> +John Crockett owed a neighbor, Abraham Wilson, thirty-six dollars. He +told David that if he would work for Mr. Wilson until his wages paid +that sum, he would then release him from all his obligations to his +father, and his son might go free. It was a shrewd bargain for the old +man, for he had already learned that David was abundantly capable of +taking care of himself, and that he would come and go when and where he +pleased. +</P> + +<P> +The boy, weary of his wanderings, consented to the arrangement, and +engaged to work for Mr. Wilson for six months, in payment for which, +the note was to be delivered up to his father. It was characteristic of +David that whatever he undertook he engaged in with all his might. He +was a rude, coarse boy. It was scarcely possible, with his past +training, that he should be otherwise. But he was very faithful in +fulfilling his obligations. Though his sense of right and wrong was +very obtuse, he was still disposed to do the right so far as his +uncultivated conscience revealed it to him. +</P> + +<P> +For six months, David worked for Mr. Wilson with the utmost fidelity +and zeal. He then received the note, presented it to his father, and, +before he was sixteen years of age, stood up proudly his own man. His +father had no longer the right to whip him. His father had no longer +the right to call upon him for any service without paying him for it. +And on the other hand, he could no longer look to his father for food +or clothing. This thought gave him no trouble. He had already taken +care of himself for two years, and he felt no more solicitude in regard +to the future than did the buffalo's calf or the wolf's whelp. +</P> + +<P> +Wilson was a bad man, dissipated and unprincipled. But he had found +David to be so valuable a laborer that he offered him high wages if he +would remain and work for him. It shows a latent, underlying principle +of goodness in David, that he should have refused the offer. He writes: +</P> + +<P> +"The reason was, it was a place where a heap of bad company 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." +</P> + +<P> +About this time a Quaker, somewhat advanced in years, a good, honest +man, by the name of John Kennedy, emigrated from North Carolina, and +selecting his four hundred acres of land about fifteen miles from John +Crockett's, reared a log hut and commenced a clearing. In some +transaction with Crockett he took his neighbor's note for forty +dollars. He chanced to see David, a stout lad of prepossessing +appearance, and proposed that he should work for him for two shillings +a day taking him one week upon trial. At the close of the week the +Quaker expressed himself as highly satisfied with his work, and offered +to pay him with his father's note of forty dollars for six months' +labor on his farm. +</P> + +<P> +David knew full well how ready his father was to give his note, and how +slow he was to pay it. He was fully aware that the note was not worth, +to him, the paper upon which it was written. But he reflected that the +note was an obligation upon his father, that he was very poor, and his +lot in life was hard. It certainly indicated much innate nobility of +nature that this boy, under these circumstances, should have accepted +the offer of the Quaker. But David did this. For six months he labored +assiduously, without the slightest hope of reward, excepting that he +would thus relieve his father, whom he had no great cause either to +respect or love, from the embarrassment of the debt. +</P> + +<P> +For a whole half-year David toiled upon the farm of the Quaker, never +once during that time visiting his home. At the end of the term he +received his pay for those long months of labor, in a little piece of +rumpled paper, upon which his father had probably made his mark. It was +Saturday evening. The next morning he borrowed a horse of his employer +and set out for a visit home. He was kindly welcomed. His father knew +nothing of the agreement which his son had made with Mr. Kennedy. As +the family were talking together around the cabin fire, David drew the +note from his pocket and presented it to his father. The old man seemed +much troubled. He supposed Mr. Kennedy had sent it for collection. As +usual, he began to make excuses. He said that he was very sorry that he +could not pay it, that he had met with many misfortunes, that he had no +money, and that he did not know what to do. +</P> + +<P> +David then told his father that he did not hand him the bill for +collection, but that it was a present from him—that he had paid it in +full. It is easy for old and broken-down men to weep. John Crockett +seemed much affected by this generosity of his son, and David says "he +shed a heap of tears." He, however, avowed his inability to pay +anything whatever, upon the note. +</P> + +<P> +David had now worked a year without getting any money for himself. His +clothes were worn out, and altogether he was in a very dilapidated +condition. He went back to the Quaker's, and again engaged in his +service, desiring to earn some money to purchase clothes. Two months +thus passed away. Every ardent, impetuous boy must have a love +adventure. David had his. A very pretty young Quakeress, of about +David's age, came from North Carolina to visit Mr. Kennedy, who was her +uncle. David fell desperately in love with her. We cannot better +describe this adventure than in the unpolished diction of this +illiterate boy. If one would understand this extraordinary character, +it is necessary thus to catch such glimpses as we can of his inner +life. Let this necessity atone for the unpleasant rudeness of speech. +Be it remembered that this reminiscence was written after David +Crockett was a member of Congress. +</P> + +<P> +"I soon found myself head over heels in love with this girl. 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. 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. +</P> + +<P> +"And so one day at it I went, and after several trials I could say a +little. I told her how I loved her; that she was the darling object of +my soul and body, and I must have her, or else I should pine down to +nothing, and just die away with consumption. +</P> + +<P> +"I found my talk was not disagreeable to her. But she was an honest +girl, and didn't want to deceive nobody. She 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 know'd 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 enough, 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." +</P> + +<P> +David's grief was very sincere, and continued as long as is usually the +case with disappointed lovers. +</P> + +<P> +David soon began to cherish some slight idea of the deficiency in his +education. He had never been to school but four days; and in that time +he had learned absolutely nothing. A young man, a Quaker, had opened a +school about a mile and a half from Mr. Kennedy's. David made an +arrangement with his employer by which he was to go to school four days +in the week, and work the other two days for his board. He continued in +this way for six months. But it was very evident that David was not +born for a scholar. At the end of that time he could read a little in +the first primer. With difficulty he could make certain hieroglyphics +which looked like his name. He could also perform simple sums in +addition, subtraction, and multiplication. The mysteries of division he +never surmounted. +</P> + +<P> +This was the extent of his education. He left school, and in the +laborious life upon which he entered, never after improved any +opportunity for mental culture. The disappointment which David had +encountered in his love affair, only made him more eager to seek a new +object upon which he might fix his affections. Not far from Mr. +Kennedy's there was the cabin of a settler, where there were two or +three girls. David had occasionally met them. Boy as he was, for he was +not yet eighteen, he suddenly and impetuously set out to see if he +could not pick, from them, one for a wife. +</P> + +<P> +Without delay he made his choice, and made his offer, and was as +promptly accepted as a lover. Though they were both very young, and +neither of them had a dollar, still as those considerations would not +have influenced David in the slightest degree, we know not why they +where not immediately married. Several months of very desperate and +satisfactory courtship passed away, when the time came for the nuptials +of the little Quaker girl, which ceremony was to take place at the +cabin of her uncle David and his "girl" were invited to the wedding. +The scene only inflamed the desires of David to hasten his +marriage-day. He was very importunate in pressing his claims. She +seemed quite reluctant to fix the day, but at last consented; and says +David, "I thought if that day come, I should be the happiest man in the +created world, or in the moon, or anywhere else." +</P> + +<P> +In the mean time David had become very fond of his rifle, and had +raised enough money to buy him one. He was still living with the +Quaker. Game was abundant, and the young hunter often brought in +valuable supplies of animal food. There were frequent shooting-matches +in that region. David, proud of his skill, was fond of attending them. +But his Quaker employer considered them a species of gambling, which +drew together all the idlers and vagrants of the region, and he could +not approve of them. +</P> + +<P> +There was another boy living at that time with the Quaker. They +practised all sorts of deceptions to steal away to the shooting-matches +under pretence that they were engaged in other things. This boy was +quite in love with a sister of David's intended wife. The staid member +of the Society of Friends did not approve of the rude courting frolics +of those times, which frequently occupied nearly the whole night. +</P> + +<P> +The two boys slept in a garret, in what was called the gable end of the +house. There was a small window in their rough apartment. One Sunday, +when the Quaker and his wife were absent attending a meeting, the boys +cut a long pole, and leaned it up against the side of the house, as +high as the window, but so that it would not attract any attention. +They were as nimble as catamounts, and could run up and down the pole +without the slightest difficulty. They would go to bed at the usual +early hour. As soon as all were quiet, they would creep from the house, +dressed in their best apparel, and taking the two farm-horses, would +mount their backs and ride, as fast as possible, ten miles through the +forest road to where the girls lived. They were generally expected. +After spending all the hours of the middle of the night in the varied +frolics of country courtship, they would again mount their horses and +gallop home, being especially careful to creep in at their window +before the dawn of day The course of true love seemed for once to be +running smoothly. Saturday came, and the next week, on Thursday, David +was to be married. +</P> + +<P> +It so happened that there was to be a shooting match on Saturday, at +one of the cabins not far from the home of his intended bride. David +made some excuse as to the necessity of going home to prepare for his +wedding, and in the morning set out early, and directed his steps +straight to the shooting-match. Here he was very successful in his +shots, and won about five dollars. In great elation of spirits, and +fully convinced that he was one of the greatest and happiest men in the +world, he pressed on toward the home of his intended bride. +</P> + +<P> +He had walked but a couple of miles, when he reached the cabin of the +girl's uncle. Considering the members of the family already as his +relatives, he stepped in, very patronizingly, to greet them. He doubted +not that they were very proud of the approaching alliance of their +niece with so distinguished a man as himself—a man who had actually +five dollars, in silver, in his pocket. Entering the cabin, he found a +sister of his betrothed there. Instead of greeting him with the +cordiality he expected, she seemed greatly embarrassed. David had +penetration enough to see that something was wrong. The reception she +gave him was not such as he thought a brother-in-law ought to receive. +He made more particular inquiries. The result we will give in David's +language. +</P> + +<P> +"She then burst into tears, and told me that her sister was going to +deceive me; and that she was to be married to another man the next day. +This was as sudden to me as a clap of thunder of a bright sunshiny 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 the shock +after a little, and rose and started without any ceremony, or even +bidding anybody good-bye. The young woman followed me out to the gate, +and entreated me to go on to her father's, and said she would go with +me. +</P> + +<P> +"She said the young man who was going to marry her sister had got his +license and asked for her. But she assured me that her father and +mother both preferred me to him; and that she had no doubt that if I +would go on I could break off the match. But I found that I could go no +farther. 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 hardship, 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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +For some time David continued in a state of great dejection, a lovelorn +swain of seventeen years. Thus disconsolate, he loved to roam the +forest alone, with his rifle as his only companion, brooding over his +sorrows. The gloom of the forest was congenial to him, and the +excitement of pursuing the game afforded some slight relief to his +agitated spirit. One day, when he had wandered far from home, he came +upon the cabin of a Dutchman with whom he had formed some previous +acquaintance. He had a daughter, who was exceedingly plain in her +personal appearance, but who had a very active mind, and was a bright, +talkative girl. +</P> + +<P> +She had heard of David's misadventure, and rather unfeelingly rallied +him upon his loss. She however endeavored to comfort him by the +assurance that there were as good fish in the sea as had ever been +caught out of it. David did not believe in this doctrine at all, as +applied to his own case, He thought his loss utterly irretrievable. And +in his still high appreciation of himself, notwithstanding his deep +mortification, he thought that the lively Dutch girl was endeavoring to +catch him for her lover. In this, however, he soon found himself +mistaken. +</P> + +<P> +She told him that there was to be a reaping frolic in their +neighborhood in a few days, and that if he would attend it, she would +show him one of the prettiest girls upon whom he ever fixed his eyes. +Difficult as he found it to shut out from his mind his lost love, upon +whom his thoughts were dwelling by day and by night, he very wisely +decided that his best remedy would be found in what Dr. Chalmers calls +"the expulsive power of a new affection;" that is, that he would try +and fall in love with some other girl as soon as possible. His own +language, in describing his feelings at that time, is certainly very +different from that which the philosopher or the modern novelist would +have used, but it is quite characteristic of the man. The Dutch maiden +assured him that the girl who had deceived him was not to be compared +in beauty with the one she would show to him. He writes: +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't believe a word of all this, for I had thought that such a +piece of flesh and blood as she had never been manufactured, and never +would again. I agreed with her that the little varmint had treated me +so bad that I ought to forget her, and yet I couldn't do it. I +concluded that 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 reaping, and would bring as many as I +could with me." +</P> + +<P> +David seems at this time to have abandoned all constant industry, and +to be loafing about with his rifle, thus supporting himself with the +game he took. He traversed the still but slightly broken forest in all +directions, carrying to many scattered farm-houses intelligence of the +approaching reaping frolic. He informed the good Quaker with whom he +had worked of his intention to be there. Mr. Kennedy endeavored to +dissuade him. He said that there would be much bad company there; that +there would be drinking and carousing, and that David had been so good +a boy that he should be very sorry to have him get a bad name. +</P> + +<P> +The curiosity of the impetuous young man was, however, by this time, +too much aroused for any persuasions to hold him back. Shouldering his +rifle, he hastened to the reaping at the appointed day. Upon his +arrival at the place he found a large company already assembled. He +looked around for the pretty girl, but she was nowhere to be seen. She +chanced to be in a shed frolicking with some others of the young people. +</P> + +<P> +But as David, with his rifle on his shoulder, sauntered around, an aged +Irish woman, full of nerve and volubility, caught sight of him. She was +the mother of the girl, and had been told of the object of David's +visit. He must have appeared very boyish, for he had not yet entered +his eighteenth year, and though very wiry and athletic, he was of +slender frame, and rather small in stature. +</P> + +<P> +The Irish woman hastened to David; lavished upon him compliments +respecting his rosy cheeks, and assured him that she had exactly such a +sweet heart for him as he needed. She did not allow, David to have any +doubt that she would gladly welcome him as the husband of her daughter. +</P> + +<P> +Pretty soon the young, fresh, blooming, mirthful girl came along; and +David fell in love with her at first sight. Not much formality of +introduction was necessary: each was looking for the other. Both of the +previous loves of the young man were forgotten in an instant. He +devoted himself with the utmost assiduity, to the little Irish girl. He +was soon dancing with her. After a very vigorous "double shuffle," as +they were seated side by side on a bench intensely talking, for David +Crockett was never at a loss for words, the mother came up, and, in her +wonderfully frank mode of match-making, jocosely addressed him as her +son-in-law. +</P> + +<P> +Even David's imperturbable self-possession was disturbed by this +assailment. Still he was much pleased to find both mother and daughter +so favorably disposed toward him. The rustic frolicking continued +nearly all night. In the morning, David, in a very happy frame of mind, +returned to the Quaker's, and in anticipation of soon setting up +farming for himself, engaged to work for him for six months for a +low-priced horse. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Marriage and Settlement. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Rustic Courtship.—The Rival Lover.—Romantic Incident.—The Purchase +of a Horse.—The Wedding.—Singular Ceremonies.—The Termagant.—Bridal +Days.—They commence Housekeeping.—The Bridal Mansion and +Outfit.—Family Possessions.—The Removal to Central Tennessee.—Mode +of Transportation.—The New Home and its Surroundings.—Busy +Idleness.—The Third Move.—The Massacre at Fort Mimms. +</P> + +<P> +David took possession of his horse, and began to work very diligently +to pay for it. He felt that now he was a man of property. After the +lapse of a few weeks he mounted his horse and rode over to the +Irishman's cabin to see his girl, and to find out how she lived, and +what sort of people composed the family. Arriving at the log hut, he +found the father to be a silent, staid old man, and the mother as +voluble and nervous a little woman as ever lived. Much to his +disappointment, the girl was away. After an hour or two she returned, +having been absent at some meeting or merry-making, and, much to his +chagrin, she brought back with her a stout young fellow who was +evidently her lover. +</P> + +<P> +The new-comer was not at all disposed to relinquish his claims in favor +of David Crockett. He stuck close to the maiden, and kept up such an +incessant chatter that David could scarcely edge in a word. In +characteristic figure of speech he says, "I began to think I was +barking up the wrong tree again. But I determined to stand up to my +rack, fodder or no fodder." He thought he was sure of the favor of her +parents, and he was not certain that the girl herself had not given him +sundry glances indicative of her preference. Dark night was now coming +on, and David had a rough road of fifteen miles to traverse through the +forest before he could reach home. He thought that if the Irishman's +daughter cherished any tender feelings toward him, she would be +reluctant to have him set out at that late hour on such a journey. He +therefore rose to take leave. +</P> + +<P> +His stratagem proved successful. The girl immediately came, leaving her +other companion, and in earnest tones entreated him not to go that +evening. The lover was easily persuaded. His heart grew lighter and his +spirit bolder. She soon made it so manifest in what direction her +choice lay, that David was left entire master of the field. His +discomfited rival soon took his hat and withdrew, David thus was freed +from all his embarrassments. +</P> + +<P> +It was Saturday night. He remained at the cabin until Monday morning, +making very diligent improvement of his time in the practice of all +those arts of rural courtship which instinct teaches. He then returned +home, not absolutely engaged, but with very sanguine hopes. +</P> + +<P> +At that time, in that region, wolves were abundant and very +destructive. The neighbors, for quite a distance, combined for a great +wolf-hunt, which should explore the forest for many miles. By the +hunters thus scattering on the same day, the wolves would have no place +of retreat. If they fled before one hunter they would encounter +another. Young Crockett, naturally confident, plunged recklessly into +the forest, and wandered to and fro until, to his alarm, he found +himself bewildered and utterly lost. There were no signs of human +habitations near, and night was fast darkening around him. +</P> + +<P> +Just as he was beginning to feel that he must look out for a night's +encampment, he saw in the distance, through the gigantic trees, a young +girl running at her utmost speed, or, as he expressed it in the +Crockett vernacular, "streaking it along through the woods like all +wrath." David gave chase, and soon overtook the terrified girl, whom he +found, to his surprise and delight, to be his own sweetheart, who had +also by some strange accident got lost. +</P> + +<P> +Here was indeed a romantic and somewhat an embarrassing adventure. The +situation was, however, by no means so embarrassing as it would have +been to persons in a higher state of civilization. The cabin of the +emigrant often consisted of but one room, where parents and children +and the chance guest passed the night together. They could easily throw +up a camp. David with his gun could kindle a fire and get some game. +The girl could cook it. All their physical wants would thus be +supplied. They had no material inconveniences to dread in camping out +for a night. The delicacy of the situation would not be very keenly +felt by persons who were at but one remove above the native Indian. +</P> + +<P> +The girl had gone out in the morning into the woods, to hunt up one of +her father's horses. She missed her way, became lost, and had been +wandering all day long farther and farther from home. Soon after the +two met they came across a path which they knew must lead to some +house. Following this, just after dark they came within sight of the +dim light of a cabin fire. They were kindly received by the inmates, +and, tired as they were, they both sat up all night. Upon inquiry they +found that David had wandered ten miles from his home, and the young +girl seven from hers. Their paths lay in different directions, but the +road was plain, and in the morning they separated, and without +difficulty reached their destination. +</P> + +<P> +David was now anxious to get married immediately. It will be remembered +that he had bought a horse; but he had not paid for it. The only +property he had, except the coarse clothes upon his back, was a rifle. +All the land in that neighborhood was taken up. He did not even own an +axe with which to build him a log cabin. It would be necessary for him +to hire some deserted shanty, and borrow such articles as were +indispensable. Nothing could be done to any advantage without a horse. +To diminish the months which he had promised to work in payment for the +animal, he threw in his rifle. +</P> + +<P> +After a few weeks of toil the horse was his. He mounted his steed, +deeming himself one of the richest men in the far West, and rode to see +his girl and fix upon his wedding-day. He confesses that as he rode +along, considering that he had been twice disappointed, he experienced +no inconsiderable trepidation as to the result of this third +matrimonial enterprise. He reached the cabin, and his worst fears were +realized. +</P> + +<P> +The nervous, voluble, irritable little woman, who with all of a +termagant's energy governed both husband and family, had either become +dissatisfied with young Crockett's poverty, or had formed the plan of +some other more ambitious alliance for her daughter. She fell upon +David in a perfect tornado of vituperation, and ordered him out of the +house. She was "mighty wrathy," writes David, "and looked at me as +savage as a meat-axe." +</P> + +<P> +David was naturally amiable, and in the depressing circumstances had no +heart to return railing for railing. He meekly reminded the infuriate +woman that she had called him "son-in-law" before he had attempted to +call her "mother-in-law," and that he certainly had been guilty of no +conduct which should expose him to such treatment. He soon saw, to his +great satisfaction, that the daughter remained faithful to him, and +that the meek father was as decidedly on his side as his timid nature +would permit him to be. Though David felt much insulted, he restrained +his temper, and, turning from the angry mother, told her daughter that +he would come the next Thursday on horseback, leading another horse for +her; and that then he would take her to a justice of the peace who +lived at the distance of but a few miles from them, where they would be +married. David writes of the mother: +</P> + +<P> +"Her Irish was too high to do anything with her; so I quit trying. All +I cared for was to have her daughter on my side, which I know'd was the +case then. But how soon some other fellow might knock my nose out of +joint again, I couldn't tell. Her mother declared I shouldn't have her. +But I knowed I should, if somebody else didn't get her before Thursday." +</P> + +<P> +The all-important wedding-day soon came David was resolved to crush out +all opposition and consummate the momentous affair with very +considerable splendor. He therefore rode to the cabin with a very +imposing retinue. Mounted proudly upon his own horse, and leading a +borrowed steed, with a blanket saddle, for his bride, and accompanied +by his elder brother and wife and a younger brother and sister, each on +horseback, he "cut out to her father's house to get her." +</P> + +<P> +When this cavalcade of six horses had arrived within about two miles of +the Irishman's cabin, quite a large party was found assembled from the +log huts scattered several miles around. David, kind-hearted, generous, +obliging, was very popular with his neighbors. They had heard of the +approaching nuptials of the brave boy of but eighteen years, and of the +wrath of the brawling, ill-tempered mother. They anticipated a scene, +and wished to render David the support of their presence and sympathy. +This large party, some on foot and some on horseback, proceeded +together to the Irishman's cabin. The old man met them with smiles, +whiskey bottle in hand, ready to offer them all a drink. The wife, +however, was obdurate as ever. She stood at the cabin door, her eyes +flashing fire, and quite bewildered to decide in what way to attempt to +repel and drive off her foe. +</P> + +<P> +She expected that the boy would come alone, and that, with her +all-potent tongue, she would so fiercely assail him and so frighten her +young girl as still to prevent the marriage. But here was quite an army +of the neighbors, from miles around, assembled. They were all evidently +the friends of David. Every eye was fixed upon her. Every ear was +listening to hear what she would say. Every tongue was itching to cry +out shame to her opposition, and to overwhelm her with reproaches. For +once the termagant found herself baffled, and at her wits' end. +</P> + +<P> +The etiquette of courts and cabins are quite different. David paid no +attention to the mother, but riding up to the door of the log house, +leading the horse for his bride, he shouted to her to come out. The +girl had enjoyed no opportunity to pay any attention to her bridal +trousseau. But undoubtedly she had contrived to put on her best attire. +We do not know her age, but she was ever spoken of as a remarkably +pretty little girl, and was probably about seventeen years old. +</P> + +<P> +David did not deem it necessary to dismount, but called upon his "girl" +to jump upon the horse he was leading. She did so. The mother was +powerless. It was a waterloo defeat. In another moment they would +disappear, riding away along the road, which wound through the gigantic +trees of the forest. In another hour they would be married. And then +they would forever be beyond the reach of the clamor of her voluble +tongue. She began to relent. The old man, accustomed to her wayward +humors, instinctively perceived it. Stepping up to David, and placing +his hand upon the neck of his horse, he said: +</P> + +<P> +"I wish you would stay and be married here. My woman has too much +tongue. You oughtn't mind her." +</P> + +<P> +Having thus, for a moment, arrested their departure, he stepped back to +the door, where his discomfited wife stood, and entreated her to +consent to their being married there. After much persuasion, common +sense triumphed over uncommon stubbornness. She consented. David and +his expectant bride were both on horseback, all ready to go. The woman +rather sullenly came forward and said: +</P> + +<P> +"I am sorry for the words I have spoken. This girl is the only child I +have ever had to marry. I cannot bear to see her go off in this way. If +you'll come into the house and be married here, I will do the best I +can for you." +</P> + +<P> +The good-natured David consented. They alighted from their horses, and +the bridal party entered the log hut. The room was not large, and the +uninvited guests thronged it and crowded around the door. The justice +of peace was sent for, and the nuptial knot was tied. +</P> + +<P> +The wedding ceremonies on such occasions were sufficiently curious to +be worthy of record. They certainly were in very wide contrast with the +pomp and splendor of nuptials in the palatial mansions of the present +day. A large party usually met at some appointed place, some mounted +and others on foot, to escort the bridegroom to the house of the bride. +The horses were decorated with all sorts of caparisons, with ropes for +bridles, with blankets or furs for saddles. The men were dressed in +deerskin moccasins, leather breeches, leggins, coarse hunting-shirts of +all conceivable styles of material, and all homemade. +</P> + +<P> +The women wore gowns of very coarse homespun and home-woven cloth, +composed of linen and wool, and called linsey-woolsey, very coarse +shoes, and sometimes with buckskin gloves of their own manufacture. If +any one chanced to have a ring or pretty buckle, it was a relic of +former times. +</P> + +<P> +There were no carriages, for there were no roads. The narrow trail they +traversed in single file was generally a mere horse-path, often so +contracted in width that two horses could not pass along abreast. As +they marched along in straggling line, with shouts and jokes, and with +the interchange of many gallant acts of rustic love-making between the +coquettish maidens and the awkward swains, they encountered frequent +obstacles on the way. It was a part of the frolic for the young men to +throw obstructions in their path, and thus to create surprises. There +were brooks to be forded. Sometimes large trees were mischievously +felled across the trail. Grape-vines were tied across from tree to +tree, to trip up the passers-by or to sweep off their caps. It was a +great joke for half a dozen young men to play Indian. They would lie in +ambuscade, and suddenly, as the procession was passing, would raise the +war-whoop, discharge their guns, and raise shouts of laughter in view +of the real or feigned consternation thus excited. +</P> + +<P> +The maidens would of course shriek. The frightened horses would spring +aside. The swains would gallantly rush to the rescue of their +sweethearts. When the party had arrived within about a mile of the +house where the marriage ceremony was to take place, two of the most +daring riders among the young men who had been previously selected for +the purpose, set out on horseback on a race for "the bottle." The +master of the house was expected to be standing at his door, with a jug +of whiskey in his hand. This was the prize which the victor in the race +was to seize and take back in triumph to his companions. +</P> + +<P> +The start was announced by a general Indian yell. The more rough the +road—the more full of logs, stumps, rocks, precipitous hills, and +steep glens, the better. This afforded a better opportunity for the +display of intrepidity and horsemanship. It was a veritable +steeple-chase. The victor announced his success by one of those shrill, +savage yells, which would almost split the ears of the listener. +Grasping the bottle, he returned in triumph. On approaching the party, +he again gave forth the Indian war-whoop. +</P> + +<P> +The bottle or jug was first presented to the bridegroom. He applied the +mouth of the bottle to his lips, and took a dram of raw whiskey. He +then handed it to his next of kin, and so the bottle passed through the +whole company. It is to be supposed that the young women did not burn +their throats with very copious drafts of the poisonous fire-water. +</P> + +<P> +When they arrived at the house, the brief ceremony of marriage +immediately took place, and then came the marriage feast. It was a very +substantial repast of pork, poultry, wild turkeys, venison, and bear's +meat. There was usually the accompaniment of corn-bread, potatoes, and +other vegetables. Great hilarity prevailed on these occasions, with +wonderful freedom of manners, coarse jokes, and shouts of laughter. +</P> + +<P> +The table was often a large slab of timber, hewn out with a broad-axe, +and supported by four stakes driven into auger-holes. The table +furniture consisted of a few pewter dishes, with wooden plates and +bowls. There were generally a few pewter spoons, much battered about +the edges, but most of the spoons were of horn, homemade. Crockery, so +easily broken, was almost unknown. Table knives were seldom seen. The +deficiency was made up by the hunting-knives which all the men carried +in sheaths attached to their hunting-shirts. +</P> + +<P> +After dinner the dancing began. There was invariably some musical +genius present who could play the fiddle. The dances were what were +called three or four handed reels, or square sets and jigs. With all +sorts of grotesque attitudes, pantomime and athletic displays, the +revelry continued until late into the night, and often until the dawn +of the morning. As there could be no sleeping accommodations for so +large a company in the cabin of but one room, the guests made up for +sleep in merriment. +</P> + +<P> +The bridal party stole away in the midst of the uproar, one after +another, up a ladder into the loft or garret above, which was floored +with loose boards made often of split timber. This furnished a very +rude sleeping apartment. As the revelry below continued, seats being +scarce, every young man offered his lap as a seat for the girls; and +the offer was always promptly accepted; Always, toward morning, some +one was sent up into the loft with a bottle of whiskey, to offer the +bridegroom and his bride a drink. The familiar name of the bottle was +"Black Betty." One of the witticisms ever prominent on the occasion +was, "Where is Black Betty? I want to kiss her sweet lips." At some +splendid weddings, where the larder was abundantly stored with game, +this feasting and dancing was continued for several days. +</P> + +<P> +Such, in the main, was the wedding of David Crockett with the +Irishman's daughter. In the morning the company dispersed. David also +and his young bride left, during the day, for his father's cabin. As +the families of the nuptial party both belonged to the aristocracy of +the region, quite a splendid marriage reception was held at John +Crockett's. There were feasting and dancing; and "Black Betty received +many a cordial kiss. The bridegroom's heart was full of exultant joy. +David writes: +</P> + +<P> +"Having gotten my wife, I thought I was completely made up, and needed +nothing more in the whole world." +</P> + +<P> +He soon found his mistake, and awoke to the consciousness that he +needed everything, and had nothing. He had no furniture, no cabin, no +land, no money. And he had a wife to support. His only property +consisted of a cheap horse. He did not even own a rifle, an article at +that time so indispensable to the backwoodsman. +</P> + +<P> +After spending a few days at David's father's, the bridegroom and bride +returned to the cabin of her father, the Irishman. Here they found that +a wonderful change had taken place in the mother's feelings and +conduct. She had concluded to submit good-naturedly to the inevitable. +Her "conversational powers" were wonderful. With the most marvellous +volubility of honeyed words she greeted them. She even consented to +have two cows given them, each with a calf. This was the dowry of the +bride—her only dowry. David, who had not expected anything, felt +exceedingly rich with this herd. +</P> + +<P> +Near by there was a vacated log cabin with a few acres of land attached +to it. Our boy bridegroom and bride hired the cabin at a very small +rent. But then they had nothing whatever to put into it. They had not a +bed, or a table or a chair; no cooking utensils; not even a knife or a +fork. He had no farming tools; not a spade or a hoe. The whole capital +with which they commenced life consisted of the clothes they had on, a +farm-horse, two cows, and two calves. +</P> + +<P> +In this emergence the good old Quaker, for whom David had worked, came +forward, and loaned him fifteen dollars. In that wilderness, food, that +is game and corn, was cheap. But as nearly everything else had to be +brought from beyond the mountains, all tools and furniture commanded +high prices. With the fifteen dollars, David and his little wife +repaired to a country store a few miles distant, to furnish their house +and farm. Under these circumstances, the china-closet of the bride must +have been a curiosity. David says, "With this fifteen dollars we fixed +up pretty grand, as we thought." +</P> + +<P> +After a while, in some unexplained way, they succeeded in getting a +spinning-wheel. The little wife, says David, "knowed exactly how to use +it. She was also a good weaver. Being very industrious, she had, in +little or no time, a fine web of cloth ready to make up. She was good +at that too, and at almost anything else a woman could do." +</P> + +<P> +Here this humble family remained for two years. They were both as +contented with their lot as other people are. They were about as well +off as most of their neighbors. Neither of them ever cherished a doubt +that they belonged to the aristocracy of the region. They did not want +for food or clothing, or shelter, or a warm fireside. They had their +merry-makings, their dances, and their shooting-matches. Let it be +remembered that this was three quarters of a century ago, far away in +the wilds of an almost untamed wilderness. +</P> + +<P> +Two children were born in this log cabin. David began to feel the +responsibilities of a father who had children to provide for. Both of +the children were sons. Though David's family was increasing, there was +scarcely any increase of his fortune. He therefore decided that the +interests of his little household demanded that he should move still +farther back into the almost pathless wilderness, where the land was +not yet taken up, and where he could get a settler's title to four +hundred acres, simply by rearing a cabin and planting some corn. +</P> + +<P> +He had one old horse, and a couple of colts, each two years old. The +colts were broken, as it was called, to the halter; that is, they could +be led, with light burdens upon their backs, but could not be ridden. +Mrs. Crockett mounted the old horse, with her babe in her arms, and the +little boy, two years old, sitting in front of her, astride the horse's +neck, and occasionally carried on his father's shoulders. Their few +articles of household goods were fastened upon the backs of the two +colts. David led one, and his kind-hearted father-in-law, who had very +generously offered to help him move, led the other. Thus this party set +out for a journey of two hundred and fifty miles, over unbridged +rivers, across rugged mountains, and through dense forests, whose +Indian trails had seldom if ever been trodden by the feet of white men. +</P> + +<P> +This was about the year 1806. The whole population of the State then +amounted to but about one hundred thousand. They were generally widely +dispersed through the extensive regions of East Tennessee. But very few +emigrants had ventured across the broad and rugged cliffs of the +Cumberland Mountains into the rich and sunny plains of Western +Tennessee. But a few years before, terrible Indian wars desolated the +State. The powerful tribes of the Creeks and Cherokees had combined all +their energies for the utter extermination of the white men, seeking to +destroy all their hamlets and scattered cabins. +</P> + +<P> +At a slow foot-pace the pioneers followed down the wild valley of the +Holston River, often with towering mountains rising upon each side of +them. If they chanced, at nightfall, to approach the lonely hut of a +settler, it was especial good fortune, as they thus found shelter +provided, and a fire built, and hospitable entertainment ready for +them. If, however, they were overtaken in the wilderness by darkness, +and even a menacing storm, it was a matter of but little moment, and +caused no anxiety. A shelter, of logs and bark, was soon thrown up, +with a crackling fire, illuminating the wilderness, blazing before it. +A couch, as soft as they had ever been accustomed to, could speedily be +spread from the pliant boughs of trees. Upon the pack-colts there were +warm blankets. And during the journey of the day they had enjoyed ample +opportunity to take such game as they might need for their supper and +their morning breakfast. +</P> + +<P> +At length they reached the majestic flood of the Tennessee River, and +crossed it, we know not how. Then, directing their steps toward the +setting sun, they pressed on, league after league, and day after day, +in toilsome journey, over prairies and through forests and across +mountain-ridges, for a distance of nearly four hundred miles from their +starting-place, until they reached a small stream, called Mulberry +Creek which flows into the Elk River, in what is now Lincoln County. +</P> + +<P> +At the mouth of Mulberry Creek the adventurous emigrant found his +promised land. It was indeed a beautiful region. The sun shines upon +none more so. The scenery, which, however, probably had but few +attractions for David Crockett's uncultivated eye, was charming. The +soil was fertile. The streams abounded with fish and waterfowl; and +prairie and forest were stocked with game. No family need suffer from +hunger here, if the husband had a rifle and knew how to use it. A few +hours' labor would rear a cabin which would shut out wind and rain as +effectually as the gorgeous walls of Windsor or Versailles. +</P> + +<P> +No jets of gas or gleam of wax candles ever illumined an apartment more +brilliantly than the flashing blaze of the wood fire. And though the +refectories of the Palais Royal may furnish more scientific cookery +than the emigrant's hut, they cannot furnish fatter turkeys, or more +tender venison, or more delicious cuts from the buffalo and the bear +than are often found browning before the coals of the log cabin. And +when we take into consideration the voracious appetites engendered in +those wilds, we shall see that the emigrant needed not to look with +envy upon the luxuriantly spread tables of Paris or New York. +</P> + +<P> +Upon the crystal banks of the Mulberry River, David, aided by his +father-in-law, reared his log cabin. It is a remote and uncultivated +region even now. Then it was an almost unbroken wilderness, the axe of +the settler having rarely disturbed its solitude. +</P> + +<P> +A suitable spot for the cabin was selected, and a space of about +fifteen feet by twenty feet was marked out and smoothed down for the +floor. There was no cellar. Trees near by, of straight trunks, were +felled and trimmed, and cut into logs of suitable length. These were +piled one above another, in such a way as to enclose the space, and +were held in their place by being notched at the corners. Rough boards +were made for the roof by splitting straight-grained logs about four +feet long. +</P> + +<P> +The door was made by cutting or sawing the logs on one side of the hut, +about three feet in width. This opening was secured by upright pieces +of timber pinned to the end of the logs. A similar opening was left in +the end for the chimney, which was built of logs outside of the hut. +The back and jambs of the fireplace was of stone. A hole about two feet +square constituted the window. Frequently the floor was the smooth, +solid earth. A split slab supported by sticks driven into auger-holes, +formed a table. A few three-legged stools supplied the place of chairs. +Some wooden pins, driven into holes bored in the logs, supported +shelves. A bedstead was framed by a network of poles in one corner. +</P> + +<P> +Such was the home which David and his kind father reared in a few days. +It will be perceived that it was but little in advance of the wigwam of +the Indian. Still it afforded a comfortable shelter for men, women, and +children who had no aspirations above a mere animal life; who thought +only of warmth, food, and clothing; who had no conception of +intellectual, moral, or religious cravings. +</P> + +<P> +The kind-hearted father-in-law, who had accompanied his children on +foot upon this long journey, that he might see them settled in their +own home, now bade them adieu, and retraced the forest trails back to +his own far-distant cabin. A man who could develop, unostentatiously, +such generosity and such self-sacrifice, must have possessed some rare +virtues. We regret our inability to record the name of one who thus +commands our esteem and affection. +</P> + +<P> +In this humble home, David Crockett and his family resided two years. +He appears to have taken very little interest in the improvement of his +homestead. It must be admitted that Crockett belonged to the class of +what is called loafers. He was a sort of Rip Van Winkle. The forest and +the mountain stream had great charms for him. He loved to wander in +busy idleness all the day, with fishing-rod and rifle; and he would +often return at night with a very ample supply of game. He would then +lounge about his hut, tanning deerskins for moccasins and breeches, +performing other little jobs, and entirely neglecting all endeavors to +improve his farm, or to add to the appearance or comfort of the +miserable shanty which he called his home. +</P> + +<P> +He had an active mind, and a very singular command of the language of +low, illiterate life, and especially of backwoodman's slang. Though not +exactly a vain man, his self-confidence was imperturbable, and there +was perhaps not an individual in the world to whom he looked up as in +any sense his superior. In hunting, his skill became very remarkable, +and few, even of the best marksmen, could throw the bullet with more +unerring aim. +</P> + +<P> +At the close of two years of this listless, solitary life, Crockett, +without any assigned reason, probably influenced only by that vagrancy +of spirit which had taken entire possession of the man, made another +move. Abandoning his crumbling shanty and untilled fields, he directed +his steps eastwardly through the forest, a distance of about forty +miles, to what is now Franklin County. Here he reared another hut, on +the banks of a little stream called Bear's Creek. This location was +about ten miles below the present hamlet of Winchester. +</P> + +<P> +An event now took place which changed the whole current of David +Crockett's life, leading him from his lonely cabin and the peaceful +scenes of a hunter's life to the field of battle, and to all the cruel +and demoralizing influences of horrid war. +</P> + +<P> +For many years there had been peace with the Indians in all that +region. But unprincipled and vagabond white men, whom no law in the +wilderness could restrain, were ever plundering them, insulting them, +and wantonly shooting them down on the slightest provocation. The +constituted authorities deplored this state of things, but could no +more prevent it than the restraints of justice can prevent robberies +and assassinations in London or New York. +</P> + +<P> +The Indians were disposed to be friendly. There can be no question +that, but for these unendurable outrages, inflicted upon them by vile +and fiend-like men, many of whom had fled from the avenging arm of law, +peace between the white man and the red man would have remained +undisturbed. In the extreme southern region of Alabama, near the +junction of the Alabama River with the almost equally majestic +Tombeckbee River, there had been erected, several years before, for the +protection of the emigrants, a fort called Mimms. It consisted of +several strong log huts, surrounded by palisades which enclosed several +acres. A strongly barred gate afforded entrance to the area within. +Loop-holes were cut through the palisades, just sufficiently large to +allow the barrel of a musket to be thrust through, and aim to be taken +at any approaching foe. +</P> + +<P> +The space within was sufficient to accommodate several families, who +were thus united for mutual protection. Their horses and other cattle +could be driven within the enclosure at night. In case of a general +alarm, the pioneers, occupying huts scattered through the region for +miles around, could assemble in the fort. Their corn-fields were +outside, to cultivate which, even in times of war, they could resort in +armed bands, setting a watch to give warning of any signs of danger. +</P> + +<P> +The fort was in the middle of a small and fertile prairie. The +forest-trees were cut down around, and every obstacle removed which +could conceal the approach of a foe or protect him from the fire of the +garrison. The long-continued peace had caused vigilance to slumber. A +number of families resided in the fort, unapprehensive of danger. +</P> + +<P> +One evening, a negro boy, who had been out into the forest at some +distance from the fort in search of cattle, came back saying that he +saw far in the distance quite a number of Indians, apparently armed +warriors. As it was known that the Creek Indians had been greatly +exasperated by recent outrages inflicted upon them, this intelligence +created some anxiety. The gate was carefully closed. A guard was set +through the night, and some slight preparations were made to repel an +assault, should one be made. +</P> + +<P> +Thus several days were passed, and there was no attack, and no signs of +Indians being near. The general impression was that the timid negro boy +was the victim of his own fears. Many jokes were perpetrated at his +expense. With wonted carelessness, all precautions were forgotten, and +the men sallied thoughtlessly forth to disperse through the fields in +their labors. +</P> + +<P> +But after several days, the boy was again sent out into the woods upon +the same errand as before. He was a timid little fellow, and had a +great dread of the Indian. Tremblingly and cautiously he threaded the +paths of the forest for several miles, keeping a vigilant lookout for +any signs of the savage foe, when his eye fell upon a sight which +appalled him. At but a short distance, as he stood concealed by the +thickets through which he was moving, he saw several hundred Indian +warriors, plumed and painted, and armed to the teeth. They had probably +just broken up from a council, and were moving about among the trees. +His fears magnified their numbers to thousands. +</P> + +<P> +Terror-stricken, he turned for the fort, and with almost the fleetness +of a deer entered the gate with his tidings. Even his black face was +pallid with fright, as he breathlessly told his story. "The Indians," +said he, "were as many, and as close together as the trees. There were +thousands." The alarm was sounded in the garrison. All the outsiders +were called in. The sun shone serenely, the gentle breeze swept over +the fertile prairie; not a sight was to be seen but what was peaceful, +not a sound came from the forest but the songs of birds. +</P> + +<P> +It was generally believed that the silly, cowardly boy had given a +false alarm. They cross-examined him. He was so frightened that he +could not tell a straight story. The men, indignant at being thus a +second time duped, as they supposed, actually tied the poor boy to the +whipping-post and commenced whipping him. But a few lashes had left +their bloody marks upon his back when the uplifted arm of the +executioner was arrested. +</P> + +<P> +The awful Indian war-whoop, the precursor of blood and flame and +torture, which even the boldest heart could seldom hear without terror, +burst as it were simultaneously from a hundred warrior lips. The wary +savages had provided themselves with sharpened sticks. Rending the +skies with their yells, they rushed forward from the gloom of the woods +upon the totally unprovided garrison, and very speedily plugged up the +loop-holes, so that not a musket could be discharged through them. +</P> + +<P> +Then with their hatchets they commenced cutting down the palisades. The +bewilderment and consternation within was indescribable. A few of the +assailants hewing at the barricades were shot down, but others +instantly took their places. Soon a breach was cut through, and the +howling warriors like maddened demons rushed in. There was no mercy +shown. The gleaming tomahawk, wielded by hundreds of brawny arms, +expeditiously did its work. Men, women, and children were +indiscriminately cut down and scalped. It was an awful scene of +butchery. Scarcely an individual escaped. +</P> + +<P> +One athletic boy, after having seen his father, mother, four sisters, +and four brothers tomahawked and scalped, pursued by the savages, with +frantic energy succeeded in leaping the palisades. Several Indians gave +chase. He rushed for the woods. They hotly pursued. He reached a +sluggish stream, upon the shore of which, half-imbedded in sand and +water, there was a mouldering log, which he chanced to know was hollow +beneath. He had but just time to slip into this retreat, when the +baffled Indians came up. They actually walked over the log in their +unavailing search for him. Here he remained until night, when he stole +from his hiding-place, and in safety reached Fort Montgomery, which was +distant about two miles from Fort Mimms. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Soldier Life. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +War with the Creeks.—Patriotism of Crockett.—Remonstrances of his +Wife.—Enlistment.—The Rendezvous.—Adventure of the +Scouts.—Friendlier Indians.—A March through the Forest.—Picturesque +Scene.—The Midnight Alarm.—March by Moon-light.—Chagrin of +Crockett.—Advance into Alabama.—War's Desolations.—Indian +Stoicism.—Anecdotes of Andrew Jackson.—Battles, Carnage, and Woe. +</P> + +<P> +The awful massacre at Fort Mimms, by the Creek Indians, summoned, as +with a trumpet peal, the whole region to war. David Crockett had +listened eagerly to stories of Indian warfare in former years, and as +he listened to the tales of midnight conflagration and slaughter, his +naturally peaceful spirit had no yearnings for the renewal of such +sanguinary scenes. Crockett was not a quarrelsome man. He was not fond +of brawls and fighting. Nothing in his life had thus far occurred to +test his courage. Though there was great excitement to be found in +hunting, there was but little if any danger. The deer and all smaller +game were harmless. And even the grizzly bear had but few terrors for a +marksman who, with unerring aim, could strike him with the deadly +bullet at the distance of many rods. +</P> + +<P> +But the massacre at Fort Mimms roused a new spirit in David Crockett. +He perceived at once, that unless the savages were speedily quelled, +they would ravage the whole region; and that his family as well as that +of every other pioneer must inevitably perish. It was manifest to him +that every man was bound immediately to take arms for the general +defence. In a few days a summons was issued for every able-bodied man +in all that region to repair to Winchester, which, as we have said, was +a small cluster of houses about ten miles from Crockett's cabin. +</P> + +<P> +When he informed his wife of his intention, her womanly heart was +appalled at the thought of being left alone and unprotected in the vast +wilderness. She was at a distance of hundreds of miles from all her +connections. She had no neighbors near. Her children were too young to +be of any service to her. If the dreadful Indians should attack them, +she had no one to look to for protection. If anything should happen to +him in battle so that he should not return, they must all perish of +starvation. These obvious considerations she urged with many tears. +</P> + +<P> +"It was mighty hard," writes Crockett, "to go against such arguments as +these. But my countrymen 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 all should be killed in our own houses; that as +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 was to cry a little, and turn about to her work." +</P> + +<P> +David Crockett hastened to Winchester. There was a large gathering +there from all the hamlets and cabins for many miles around. The +excitement was intense. The nation of Creek Indians was a very powerful +one, and in intelligence and military skill far in advance of most of +the Indian tribes. Mr. Crockett was one of the first to volunteer to +form a company to serve for sixty days, under Captain Jones, who +subsequently was a member of Congress from Tennessee. In a week the +whole company was organized, and commenced its march to join others for +the invasion of the Creek country. It was thought that by carrying the +war directly into the Indian towns, their warriors might be detained at +home to protect their wives and children, and could thus be prevented +from carrying desolation into the settlements of the whites. +</P> + +<P> +In the mean time David Crockett revisited his humble home, where his +good but anxious and afflicted wife fitted him out as well as she could +for the campaign. David was not a man of sentiment and was never +disposed to contemplate the possibility of failure in any of his plans. +With a light heart he bade adieu to his wife and his children, and +mounting his horse, set out for his two months' absence to hunt up and +shoot the Indians. He took only the amount of clothing he wore, as he +wished to be entirely unencumbered when he should meet the sinewy and +athletic foe on the battle-field. +</P> + +<P> +This company, of about one hundred mounted men, commenced its march for +an appointed rendezvous called Beatty's Spring. Here they encamped for +several days, waiting the arrival of other companies from distant +quarters. Ere long there was collected quite an imposing army of +thirteen hundred men, all on horseback, and all hardy backwoodsmen, +armed with the deadly rifle. A more determined set of men was perhaps +never assembled. While they were thus gathering from far and near, and +making all preparations to burst upon the foe in one of war's most +terrific tempests, Major Gibson came, and wanted a few men, of tried +sagacity and hardihood, to accompany him on a reconnoitring tour across +the Tennessee River, down through the wilderness, into the country of +the Creek Indians. It was a very hazardous enterprise. The region +swarmed with savages. They were very vigilant. They were greatly and +justly exasperated. If the reconnoitring party were captured, the +certain doom of its members would be death by the most dreadful +tortures. +</P> + +<P> +Captain Jones pointed out David Crockett as one of the most suitable +men for this enterprise. Crockett unhesitatingly consented to go, and, +by permission, chose a companion by the name of George Russel, a young +man whose courage and sagacity were far in advance of his years. +</P> + +<P> +"I called him up," writes Crockett, "but Major Gibson said he thought +he hadn't beard enough to please him; he wanted men, 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 told the Major he was on the wrong 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." +</P> + +<P> +The heroic little band, thirteen in number, well armed and well +mounted, set out early in the morning on their perilous enterprise. +They crossed the Tennessee River, and directing their steps south, +through a region almost entirely uninhabited by white men, journeyed +cautiously along, keeping themselves concealed as much as possible in +the fastnesses of the forest. They crossed the river, at what was +called Ditto's Landing, and advancing about seven miles beyond, found a +very secluded spot, one of nature's hiding-places, where they took up +their encampment for the night. +</P> + +<P> +Here they chanced to come across a man by the name of John Haynes, who +for several years had been a trader among the Indians. He was +thoroughly acquainted with the whole region about to be traversed, and +consented to act as a guide. For the next day's march, instructed by +their guide, the party divided into two bands, following along two +obscure trails, which came together again after winding through the +wilderness a distance of about twenty miles. Major Gibson led a party +of seven, and David Crockett the other party of six. +</P> + +<P> +The Cherokee Indians, a neighboring nation, powerful and warlike, were +not in alliance with the Creeks in this war. They were, at that time, +in general friendly to the whites. Many of their warriors were even +induced to join the whites and march under their banners. On each of +the trails that day to be passed over, there was the lodge of a +Cherokee Indian. Both of them were friendly. Each of the parties was to +collect all the information possible from these Indians, and then to +meet where the trails came together again. +</P> + +<P> +When Crockett arrived at the wigwam of the Indian he met with a very +friendly reception. He also found there a half-breed Cherokee, by the +name of Jack Thompson. This man, of savage birth and training, but with +the white man's blood in his veins, offered to join the reconnoitring +party. He however was not ready just then to set out, but in a few +hours would follow and overtake the band at its night's encampment. +</P> + +<P> +It was not safe to encamp directly upon the trail, lest some Creek +war-party should be passing along, and should discover them. It was +necessary to seek concealment where even the prying eyes of the savage +would with difficulty search them out. The cry of the shriek-owl is +exceedingly shrill, and can be heard at a great distance. A particular +spot on the trail was designated, near which Crockett would seek his +secret encampment. When Jack Thompson reached that spot, he was to +imitate the cry of the owl. Crockett would respond, and thus guide the +Indian to his retreat. As night approached, Crockett, with his party, +found a deep and dark ravine, where, encircled by almost impenetrable +thickets, he hid his men and the horses. No campfires could be built. +It was ten o'clock in the night when, in the distance, he heard the +signal shriek of the owl, a cry too common to arrest the attention of +any Indian bands who might be in the vicinity. Jack, guided by a +responsive cry, soon found the place of concealment, and there the +party remained through the night. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning after breakfast they set out to join Major Gibson and +his band; but, in some way, they had lost track of him, and he could +not be found. Some were alarmed, as, in so small a band, they were +entering the domains of their powerful foe. Crockett taunted them with +their fears; and indeed fear kept them together. The party consisted +now of seven, including the Indian guide. Most of them determined to +press on. The two or three who were in favor of going back dared not +separate from the rest. +</P> + +<P> +At the distance of about twenty miles, Jack Thompson told them that +there was a village of friendly Cherokee Indians. As he was leading +them through obscure trails toward that place, they came across the hut +of a white man, by the name of Radcliff, who had married a Creek woman, +and had been adopted into their tribe. The man had two nearly grown-up +boys, stout, burly fellows, half-breeds by birth, and more than half +savage in character and training. The old man's cabin was slightly +above the usual style of Indian wigwams. It was in a region of utter +solitude. +</P> + +<P> +There Radcliff had taught his barbarian boys some of the arts of +industry. He had cleared quite a space of ground around his hut, and +was raising a supply of corn and potatoes ample for his family wants. +With these vegetable productions, and with the game which the rifle +supplied them, they lived in abundance, and free from most of those +cares which agitate a higher civilization. +</P> + +<P> +But the old man was quite agitated in receiving and entertaining his +unwelcome guests. He was an adopted Creek, and ought to be in sympathy +with his nation. He was bound to regard the white men as his enemies, +to withhold from them all important information, and to deliver them up +to the Creeks if possible. Should he be suspected of sympathy with the +white men, the tomahawk of the savage would soon cleave his brain. He +entreated Crockett immediately to leave him. +</P> + +<P> +"Only an hour ago," said he, "there were ten Creek warriors here, all +on horseback, and painted and armed. Should they come back and discover +you here, they would certainly kill you all, and put me and my family +to death also." +</P> + +<P> +But Crockett, instead of being alarmed by this intelligence, was only +animated by it. He assured Radcliff that he could desire no better luck +than to meet a dozen Indians on the war-path. He considered his party +quite strong enough to meet, at any time, three times their number. +Evening was approaching, and the full moon, in cloudless brilliance, +was rising over the forest, flooding the whole landscape with +extraordinary splendor. After feeding their horses abundantly and +feasting themselves from the fat larder of their host, they saddled +their steeds and resumed their journey by moonlight. +</P> + +<P> +The trail still led through the silent forest. It was, as usual, very +narrow, so that the horses walked along in single file. As there was +danger of falling into an ambush, not a word was spoken, and, as +noiselessly as possible, they moved onward, every eye on the eager +lookout. They had been thus riding along when Crockett, in the advance, +heard the noise of some animals or persons apparently approaching. At a +given signal, instantly the whole party stopped. Every man grasped his +rifle, ready in case of need, to leap from his horse, and select the +largest tree near him as a rampart for the battle. +</P> + +<P> +All solicitude was, however, soon dispelled by seeing simply two +persons advancing along the trail on Indian ponies. They proved to be +two negro slaves who had been captured by the Indians, and who, having +escaped, were endeavoring to make their way back to their former +master. They were brothers, and being both very stout men, and able to +speak the Indian as well as the English language, were esteemed quite a +powerful reinforcement to the Crockett party. +</P> + +<P> +They rode quietly along another hour and a half, when toward midnight +they saw in the distance the gleam of camp-fires, and heard shouts of +merriment and revelry. They knew that these must come from the camp of +the friendly Cherokees, to which their Indian guide, Jack Thompson, was +leading them. Soon a spectacle of wonderful picturesque beauty was +opened to their view. +</P> + +<P> +Upon the banks of a beautiful mountain stream there was a wide plateau, +carpeted with the renowned blue-grass, as verdant and soft as could be +found in any gentleman's park. There was no underbrush. The trees were +two or three yards from each other, composing a luxuriant overhanging +canopy of green leaves, more beautiful than art could possibly create. +Beneath this charming grove, and illumined by the moonshine which, in +golden tracery, pierced the foliage, there were six or eight Indian +lodges scattered about. +</P> + +<P> +An immense bonfire was crackling and blazing, throwing its rays far and +wide through the forest. Moving around, in various engagements and +sports, were about forty men, women, and children, in the fringed, +plumed, and brilliantly colored attire of which the Indians were so +fond. Quite a number of them, with bows and arrows, were shooting at a +mark, which was made perfectly distinct by the blaze of pitch-pine +knots, a light which no flame of candle or gas could outvie. It was a +scene of sublimity and beauty, of peace and loveliness, which no artist +could adequately transfer to canvas. +</P> + +<P> +The Cherokees received very cordially the newcomers, took care of their +horses, and introduced them to their sports. Many of the Indians had +guns, but powder and bullets were too precious to be expended in mere +amusements. Indeed, the Indians were so careful of their ammunition, +that they rarely put more than half as much powder into a charge as a +white man used. They endeavored to make up for the deficiency by +creeping nearer to their prey. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett and his men joined these barbarians, merry in their pleasant +sports. Such are the joys of peace, so different from the miseries of +demoniac war. At length the festivities were closed, and all began to +prepare to retire to sleep. +</P> + +<P> +The Cherokees were neutral in the war between the whites and the Creek +Indians. It was very important for them to maintain this neutrality +strictly, that they might not draw down upon themselves the vengeance +of either party. Some of the Cherokees now began to feel anxious lest a +war-party of the Creeks should come along and find them entertaining a +war-party of whites, who were entering their country as spies. They +therefore held an interview with one of the negroes, and requested him +to inform Mr. Crockett that should a war-party come and find his men in +the Cherokee village, not only would they put all the white men to +death, but there would be also the indiscriminate massacre of all the +men, women, and children in the Cherokee lodges. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett, wrapped in his blanket, was half asleep when this message was +brought to him. Raising his head, he said to the negro, in terms rather +savoring of the spirit of the braggadocio than that of a high-minded +and sympathetic man: +</P> + +<P> +"Tell the Cherokees that I will keep a sharp lookout, and if a single +Creek comes near the camp to-night, I will carry the skin of his head +home to make me a moccasin." +</P> + +<P> +When this answer was reported to the Indians they laughed aloud and +dispersed. It was not at all improbable that there might be an alarm +before morning. The horses were therefore, after being well fed, tied +up with their saddles upon them, that they might be instantly mounted +in case of emergence. They all slept, also, with their arms in their +hands. +</P> + +<P> +Just as Crockett was again falling into a doze, a very shrill Indian +yell was heard in the forest, the yell of alarm. Every man, white and +red, was instantly upon his feet. An Indian runner soon made his +appearance, with the tidings that more than a thousand Creek warriors +had, that day, crossed the Coosa River, but a few leagues south of +them, at what was called the Ten Islands, and were on the march to +attack an American force, which, under General Jackson, was assembling +on another portion of the Coosa River. +</P> + +<P> +The friendly Indians were so greatly alarmed that they immediately +fled. Crockett felt bound to carry back this intelligence as speedily +as possible to the headquarters from which he had come. He had +traversed a distance of about sixty miles in a southerly direction. +They returned, by the same route over which they had passed. But they +found that a general alarm had pervaded the country, Radcliff and his +family, abandoning everything, had fled, they knew not where. When they +reached the Cherokee town of which we have before spoken, not a single +Indian was to be seen. Their fires were still burning, which showed the +precipitancy with which they had taken flight. This rather alarmed the +party of the whites. They feared that the Indian warriors were +assembling from all quarters, at some secret rendezvous, and would soon +fall upon them in overwhelming numbers. They therefore did not venture +to replenish the Indian fires and lie down by the warmth of them, but +pushed rapidly on their way. +</P> + +<P> +It chanced to be a serene, moonlight night. The trail through the +forest, which the Indian's foot for countless generations had trodden +smooth, illumined by the soft rays of the moon, was exceedingly +beautiful. They travelled in single file, every nerve at its extreme +tension in anticipation of falling into some ambush. Before morning +they had accomplished about thirty miles. In the grey dawn they again +reached Mr. Brown's. Here they found grazing for their horses, and corn +and game for them selves. +</P> + +<P> +Horses and riders were equally fatigued. The weary adventurers were in +no mood for talking. After dozing for an hour or two, they again set +out, and about noon reached the general rendezvous, from which they had +departed but a few days before. Here Crockett was not a little +disappointed in the reception he encountered. He was a young, raw +backwoodsman, nearly on a level with the ordinary savage. He was +exceedingly illiterate, and ignorant. And yet he had the most amazing +self-confidence, with not a particle of reverence for any man, whatever +his rank or culture. He thought no one his superior. Colonel Coffee +paid very little respect to his vainglorious report. In the following +characteristic strain Crockett comments on the event: +</P> + +<P> +"He didn't seem to mind my report a bit. This raised my dander higher +than ever. But I know'd that I had to be on my best behavior, 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 had not been pouring out +of me at all points. The next day, Major Gibson got in. He brought a +worse tale than I had, though he stated the same facts as 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. When I made my +report I was not 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 then it was all true as preaching, and the Colonel +believed it every word." +</P> + +<P> +There was indeed cause for alarm. Many of the Indian chiefs displayed +military ability of a very high order. Our officers were frequently +outgeneralled by their savage antagonists. This was so signally the +case that the Indians frequently amused themselves in laughing to scorn +the folly of the white men. Every able-bodied man was called to work in +throwing up breastworks. A line of ramparts was speedily constructed, +nearly a quarter of a mile in circuit. An express was sent to +Fayetteville, where General Jackson was assembling an army, to summon +him to the rescue. With characteristic energy he rushed forward, by +forced marches day and night, until his troops stood, with blistered +feet, behind the newly erected ramparts. +</P> + +<P> +They felt now safe from attack by the Indians. An expedition of eight +hundred volunteers, of which Crockett was one, was fitted out to +recross the Tennessee River, and marching by the way of Huntsville, to +attack the Indians from an unexpected quarter. This movement involved a +double crossing of the Tennessee. They pressed rapidly along the +northern bank of this majestic stream, about forty or fifty miles, due +west, until they came to a point where the stream expands into a width +of nearly two miles. This place was called Muscle Shoals. The river +could here be forded, though the bottom was exceedingly rough. The men +were all mounted. Several horses got their feet so entangled in the +crevices of the rocks that they could not be disengaged, and they +perished there. The men, thus dismounted, were compelled to perform the +rest of the campaign on foot. +</P> + +<P> +A hundred miles south of this point, in the State of Alabama, the +Indians had a large village, called Black Warrior. The lodges of the +Indians were spread over the ground where the city of Tuscaloosa now +stands. The wary Indians kept their scouts out in all directions. The +runners conveyed to the warriors prompt warning of the approach of +their foes. These Indians were quite in advance of the northern tribes. +Their lodges were full as comfortable as the log huts of the pioneers, +and in their interior arrangements more tasteful. The buildings were +quite numerous. Upon many of them much labor had been expended. +Luxuriant corn-fields spread widely around, and in well-cultivated +gardens they raised beans and other vegetables in considerable +abundance. +</P> + +<P> +The hungry army found a good supply of dried beans for themselves, and +carefully housed corn for their horses. They feasted themselves, loaded +their pack-horses with corn and beans, applied the torch to every +lodge, laying the whole town in ashes, and then commenced their +backward march. Fresh Indian tracks indicated that many of them had +remained until the last moment of safety. +</P> + +<P> +The next day the army marched back about fifteen miles to the spot +where it had held its last encampment. Eight hundred men, on a +campaign, consume a vast amount of food. Their meat was all devoured. +They had now only corn and beans. The soldiers were living mostly on +parched corn. Crockett went to Colonel Coffee, then in command, and +stating, very truthfully, that he was an experienced hunter, asked +permission to draw aside from the ranks, and hunt as they marched +along. The Colonel gave his consent, but warned him to be watchful in +the extreme, lest he should fall into an Indian ambush. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett was brave, but not reckless. He plunged into the forest, with +vigilant gaze piercing the solitary space in all directions. He was +alone, on horseback. He had not gone far when he found a deer just +killed by a noiseless arrow. The animal was but partially skinned, and +still warm and smoking. The deer had certainly been killed by an +Indian; and it was equally certain that the savage, seeing his +approach, had fled. The first thought of Crockett was one of alarm. The +Indian might be hidden behind some one of the gigantic trees, and the +next moment a bullet, from the Indian's rifle, might pierce his heart. +</P> + +<P> +But a second thought reassured him. The deer had been killed by an +arrow. Had the Indian been armed with a rifle, nothing would have been +easier, as he saw the approach of Crockett in the distance than for him +to have concealed himself, and then to have taken such deliberate aim +at his victim as to be sure of his death. Mounting the horse which +Crockett rode, the savage might have disappeared in the wilderness +beyond all possibility of pursuit. But this adventure taught Crockett +that he might not enjoy such good luck the next time. Another Indian +might be armed with a rifle, and Crockett, self-confident as he was, +could not pretend to be wiser in woodcraft than were the savages. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett dismounted, took up the body of the deer, laid it upon the +mane of his horse, in front of the saddle, and remounting, with +increasing vigilance made his way, as rapidly as he could, to the trail +along which the army was advancing. He confesses to some qualms of +conscience as to the right of one hunter thus to steal away the game +killed by another. +</P> + +<P> +It was late in the afternoon when he reached the rear. He pressed along +to overtake his own company. The soldiers looked wistfully at the +venison. They offered him almost any price for it. Crockett was by +nature a generous man. There was not a mean hair in his head. This +generosity was one of the virtues which gave him so many friends. +Rather boastfully, and yet it must be admitted truthfully, he writes, +in reference to this adventure: +</P> + +<P> +"I could have sold it for almost any price 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 the present day. But it is my way. And while it has often left +me with an empty purse, yet it has never left my heart empty of +consolations which money couldn't buy; the consolation of having +sometimes fed the hungry and covered the naked. I gave all my deer away +except a small part, which I kept for myself, and just sufficient to +make a good supper for my mess." +</P> + +<P> +The next day, in their march, they came upon a drove of swine, which +belonged to a Cherokee farmer. The whites were as little disposed as +were the Indians, in this war, to pay any respect to private property. +Hundreds of rifles were aimed at the poor pigs, and their squealing +indicated that they had a very hard time of it. The army, in its +encampment that night, feasted very joyously upon fresh pork. This +thrifty Cherokee was also the possessor of a milch cow. The animal was +speedily slaughtered and devoured. +</P> + +<P> +They soon came upon another detachment of the army, and uniting, +marched to Ten Islands, on the Coosa River, where they established a +fort, which they called Fort Strother, as a depot for provisions and +ammunition. They were here not far from the centre of the country +inhabited by the hostile Indians. This fort stood on the left bank of +the river, in what is now St. Clair County, Alabama. It was a region +but little explored, and the whites had but little acquaintance with +the nature of the country around them, or with the places occupied by +the Indians. Some scouts, from the friendly Creeks, brought the +intelligence that, at the distance of about eight miles from the fort, +there was an Indian town, where a large party of warriors was assembled +in preparation for some secret expedition. A large and select band was +immediately dispatched, on horseback, to attack them by surprise. Two +friendly Creeks led them with Indian sagacity through circuitous +trails. Stealthily they approached the town, and dividing their force, +marched on each side so as to encircle it completely. Aided by their +Creek guides, this important movement was accomplished without the +warriors discovering their approach. The number of the whites was so +great that they were enabled to surround the town with so continuous a +line that escape was impossible for any enclosed within that fearful +barrier of loaded rifles wielded by unerring marksmen. Closer and more +compactly the fatal line was drawn. These movements were accomplished +in the dim morning twilight. +</P> + +<P> +All being ready, Captain Hammond, and a few rangers, were sent forward +to show themselves, and to bring on the fight. The moment the warriors +caught sight of them, one general war-whoop rose from every throat. +Grasping their rifles, they rushed headlong upon the rangers, who +retired before them. They soon reached one portion of the compact line, +and were received with a terrible fire, which struck many of them down +in instant death. The troops then closed rapidly upon the doomed +Indians, and from the north, the south, the east, and the west, they +were assailed by a deadly storm of bullets. +</P> + +<P> +Almost immediately the Indians saw that they were lost. There was no +possibility of escape. This was alike manifest to every one, to +warrior, squaw, and pappoose. All surrendered themselves to despair. +The warriors threw down their weapons, in sign of surrender. Some +rushed into the lodges. Some rushed toward the soldiers, stretching out +their unarmed hands in supplication for life. The women in particular, +panic-stricken, ran to the soldiers, clasped them about the knees, and +looked up into their faces with piteous supplications for life. +Crockett writes: +</P> + +<P> +"I saw seven squaws have hold of one man. 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." +</P> + +<P> +Forty-six warriors, by count, threw down their arms in token of +surrender, and ran into one of the large houses. A band of soldiers +pursued them, with the apparent intent of shooting them down. It was +considered rare sport to shoot an Indian. A woman came to the door, bow +and arrow in hand. Fixing the arrow upon the string, she drew the bow +with all the strength of her muscular arm, and let the arrow fly into +the midst of the approaching foe. It nearly passed through the body of +Lieutenant Moore, killing him instantly. The woman made no attempt to +evade the penalty which she knew weald follow this act. In an instant +twenty bullets pierced her body, and she fell dead at the door of the +house. +</P> + +<P> +The infuriate soldiers rushed in and shot the defenceless warriors +mercilessly, until every one was fatally wounded or dead. They then set +the house on fire and burned it up, with the forty-six warriors in it. +It mattered not to them whether the flames consumed the flesh of the +living or of the dead. +</P> + +<P> +There was something very remarkable in the stoicism which the Indians +ever manifested. There was a bright-looking little Indian boy, not more +than twelve years of age, whose arm was shattered by one bullet and his +thigh-bone by another. Thus terribly wounded, the poor child crept from +the flames of the burning house. There was no pity in that awful hour +to come to his relief. The heat was so intense that his almost naked +body could be seen blistering and frying by the fire. The heroic boy, +striving in vain to crawl along, was literally roasted alive; and yet +he did not utter an audible groan. +</P> + +<P> +The slaughter was awful. But five of the Americans were killed. One +hundred and eighty-six of the Indians were either killed or taken +prisoners. The party returned with their captives the same day to Fort +Strother. The army had so far consumed its food that it was placed on +half rations. The next day a party was sent back to the smouldering +town to see if any food could be found. Even these hardy pioneers were +shocked at the awful spectacle which was presented. The whole place was +in ruins. The half-burned bodies of the dead, in awful mutilation, were +scattered around. Demoniac war had performed one of its most fiend-like +deeds. +</P> + +<P> +On this bloody field an Indian babe was found clinging to the bosom of +its dead mother. Jackson urged some of the Indian women who were +captives to give it nourishment. They replied: +</P> + +<P> +"All the child's friends are killed. There is no one to care for the +helpless babe. It is much better that it should die." +</P> + +<P> +Jackson took the child under his own care, ordered it to be conveyed to +his tent, nursed it with sugar and water, took it eventually with him +to the Hermitage, and brought it up as his son. He gave the boy the +name of Lincoyer. He grew up a finely formed young man, and died of +consumption at the age of seventeen. +</P> + +<P> +Jackson was a very stern man. The appeals of pity could seldom move his +heart. Still there were traits of heroism which marked his character. +On the return march, a half-starved soldier came to Jackson with a +piteous story of his famished condition. Jackson drew from his pocket a +handful of acorns, and presenting a portion to the man, said: +</P> + +<P> +"This is all the fare I have. I will share it with you." +</P> + +<P> +Beneath one of the houses was found quite a large cellar, well stored +with potatoes. These were eagerly seized. All the other stores of the +Indians the insatiable flames had consumed. Starvation now began to +threaten the army. The sparsely settled country afforded no scope for +forage. There were no herds of cattle, no well-replenished magazines +near at hand. Neither was there game enough in the spreading wilderness +to supply so many hungry mouths. The troops were compelled to eat even +the very hides of the cattle whom they had driven before them, and who +were now all slaughtered. +</P> + +<P> +While in this forlorn condition, awaiting the arrival of food, and +keeping very vigilant guard against surprise, one night an Indian, +cautiously approaching from the forest, shouted out that he wished to +see General Jackson, for he had important information to communicate. +He was conducted to the General's tent. The soldiers knew not the news +which he brought. But immediately the beat of drums summoned all to +arms. In less than an hour a strong party of cavalry and infantry, in +the darkness, were on the march. General Andrew Jackson was one of the +most energetic of men. The troops crossed the Coosa River to the +eastern shore, and as rapidly as possible pressed forward in a +southerly direction toward Talladega, which was distant about thirty +miles. Gradually the rumor spread through the ranks that General +Jackson had received the following intelligence: At Talladega there was +a pretty strong fort, occupied by friendly Indians. They had resolutely +refused to take part in the war against the Americans. Eleven hundred +hostile warriors, of the Creek nation, marched upon the fort, encamped +before it, and sent word to the friendly Indians within the palisades, +that if they did not come out and join them in an expedition against +the whites, they would utterly demolish the fort and take all their +provisions and ammunition. The Creeks were in sufficient strength to +accomplish their threat. +</P> + +<P> +The friendly Indians asked for three days to consider the proposition. +They stated that if, at the end of this time, they did not come out to +join them in an expedition against the whites, they would surrender the +fort. The request was granted. Instantly an Indian runner was +dispatched to inform General Jackson, at Fort Strother, of their danger +and to entreat him to come to their aid. Hence the sudden movement. +</P> + +<P> +The Creek warriors had their scouts out, carefully watching, and were +speedily apprised of the approach of General Jackson's band. +Immediately they sent word into the fort, to the friendly Indians +there, that the American soldiers were coming, with many fine horses, +and richly stored with guns, blankets, powder, bullets, and almost +everything else desirable. They promised that if the Indians would come +out from the fort, and help them attack and conquer the whites, they +would divide the rich plunder with them. They assured them that, by +thus uniting, they could easily gain the victory over the whites, who +were the deadly foes of their whole race. The appeal was not responded +to. +</P> + +<P> +A little south of the fort there was a stream, which, in its circuitous +course, partially encircled it. The bank was high, leaving a slight +level space or meadow between it and the stream. Here the hostile +Indians were encamped, and concealed from any approaches from the +north. It was at midnight, on the 7th of December, that Jackson set out +on this expedition. He had with him, for the occasion, a very strong +force, consisting of twelve hundred infantry and eight hundred cavalry. +</P> + +<P> +When they reached the fort, the army divided, passing on each side, and +again uniting beyond, as they approached the concealed encampment of +the enemy. While passing the fort, the friendly Indians clambered the +palisades, and shouted out joyously to the soldiers "How-de-do, +brother—how-de-do, brother?" +</P> + +<P> +The lines, meeting beyond the fort, formed for battle. No foe was +visible. Nearly a thousand warriors, some armed with arrows, but many +with rifles, were hidden, but a few rods before them, beneath the +curving bank, which was fringed with bushes. Major Russel, with a small +party, was sent cautiously forward to feel for the enemy, and to bring +on the battle. He was moving directly into the curve, where a +concentric fire would soon cut down every one of his men. +</P> + +<P> +The Indians in the fort perceived his danger, and shouted warning to +him. He did not understand their language. They made the most earnest +gestures. He did not comprehend their meaning. Two Indians then leaped +from the fort, and running toward him, seized his horse by the bridle. +They made him understand that more than a thousand warriors, with rifle +in hand and arrows on the string, were hidden, at but a short distance +before him, ready to assail him with a deadly fire. The account which +Crockett gives of the battle, though neither very graphic nor classic, +is worthy of insertion here, as illustrative of the intellectual and +moral traits of that singular man. +</P> + +<P> +"This brought them to a halt; and about this moment the Indians fired +upon 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 arses and took +into the fort. Their horses ran up to our line, which was then in view. +The warriors then came yelling on, meeting us, and continued till they +were within shot of us, when we fired and killed a considerable number +of them. They broke like a gang of steers, and ran across to the other +line. +</P> + +<P> +"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 bow 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." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Indian Warfare. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +The Army at Fort Strother.—Crockett's Regiment.—Crockett at +Home.—His Reenlistment.—Jackson Surprised.—Military Ability of the +Indians.—Humiliation of the Creeks.—March to Florida.—Affairs at +Pensacola.—Capture of the City.—Characteristics of Crockett.—The +Weary March,—Inglorious Expedition.—Murder of Two +Indians.—Adventures at the Island.—The Continued March.—Severe +Sufferings.—Charge upon the Uninhabited Village. +</P> + +<P> +The army, upon its return to Fort Strother, found itself still in a +starving condition. Though the expedition had been eminently successful +in the destruction of Indian warriors, it had consumed their +provisions, without affording them any additional supply. The weather +had become intensely cold. The clothing of the soldiers, from hard +usage, had become nearly worn out. The horses were also emaciate and +feeble. There was danger that many of the soldiers must perish from +destitution and hunger. +</P> + +<P> +The regiment to which Crockett belonged had enlisted for sixty days. +Their time had long since expired. The officers proposed to Jackson +that they and their soldiers might be permitted to return to their +homes, promising that they would immediately re-enlist after having +obtained fresh horses and fresh clothing. Andrew Jackson was by nature +one of the most unyielding of men. His will was law, and must be +obeyed, right or wrong. He was at that time one of the most profane of +men. He swore by all that was sacred that they should not go; that the +departure of so many of the men would endanger the possession of the +fort and the lives of the remaining soldiers. There were many of the +soldiers in the same condition, whose term of service had expired. They +felt that they were free and enlightened Americans, and resented the +idea of being thus enslaved and driven, like cattle, at the will of a +single man. Mutinous feelings were excited. The camp was filled with +clamor. The soldiers generally were in sympathy with those who demanded +their discharge, having faithfully served out the term of their +enlistment. Others felt that their own turn might come when they too +might be thus enslaved. +</P> + +<P> +There was a bridge which it was necessary for the soldiers to cross on +the homeward route. The inflexible General, supposing that the regulars +would be obedient to military discipline, and that it would be for +their interest to retain in the camp those whose departure would +endanger all their lives placed them upon the bridge, with cannon +loaded to the muzzle with grape-shot. They were ordered mercilessly to +shoot down any who should attempt to cross without his permission. In +Crockett's ludicrous account of this adventure, he writes: +</P> + +<P> +"The General refused to let us go. We were, however, determined to go. +With this, the General issued his orders against it. We began to fix +for a start. The General went and placed his cannon on a bridge we had +to cross, and ordered out his regulars and drafted men to prevent our +crossing. But when the militia started to guard the bridge, they would +holler back to us to bring their knapsacks along when we came; for they +wanted to go as bad as we did. We got ready, and moved on till we came +near the bridge, where the General's men were all strung along on both +sides. 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. +</P> + +<P> +"When we came still nearer the bridge we heard the guards cocking their +guns, and we did the same. But we marched boldly on, and not a gun was +fired, nor a life lost. When we had passed, no further attempt was made +to stop us. We went on, and near Huntsville we met a reinforcement who +were going on to join the army. It consisted of a regiment of sixty-day +volunteers. We got home pretty safely, and in a short time we had +procured fresh horses, and a supply of clothing better suited for the +season." +</P> + +<P> +The officers and soldiers ere long rendezvoused again at Fort Deposit. +Personally interested as every one was in subduing the Creeks, whose +hostility menaced every hamlet with flames and the inmates of those +hamlets with massacre, still the officers were so annoyed by the +arrogance of General Jackson that they were exceedingly unwilling to +serve again under his command. +</P> + +<P> +Just as they came together, a message came from General Jackson, +demanding that, on their return, they should engage to serve for six +months. He regarded enlistment merely for sixty days as absurd. With +such soldiers, he justly argued that no comprehensive campaign could be +entered upon. The officers held a meeting to decide upon this question. +In the morning, at drum-beat, they informed the soldiers of the +conclusion they had formed. Quite unanimously they decided that they +would not go back on a six-months term of service, but that each +soldier might do as he pleased. Crockett writes: +</P> + +<P> +"I know'd 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 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." +</P> + +<P> +When Crockett reached Fort Strother he was placed in a company of +scouts under Major Russel. Just before they reached the fort, General +Jackson had set out on an expedition in a southeasterly direction, to +what was called Horseshoe Bend, on the Tallapoosa River. The party of +scouts soon overtook him and led the way. As they approached the spot +through the silent trails which threaded the wide solitudes, they came +upon many signs of Indians being around. The scouts gave the alarm, and +the main body of the army came up. The troops under Jackson amounted to +about one thousand men. It was the evening of January 23d, 1814. +</P> + +<P> +The camp-fires were built, supper prepared, and sentinels being +carefully stationed all around to prevent surprise, the soldiers, +protected from the wintry wind only by the gigantic forest, wrapped +themselves in their blankets and threw themselves down on the withered +leaves for sleep. The Indians crept noiselessly along from tree to +tree, each man searching for a sentinel, until about too hours before +day, when they opened a well-aimed fire from the impenetrable darkness +in which they stood. The sentinels retreated back to the encampment, +and the whole army was roused. +</P> + +<P> +The troops were encamped in the form of a hollow square, and thus were +necessarily between the Indians and the light of their own camp-fires. +Not a warrior was to be seen. The only guide the Americans had in +shooting, was to notice the flash of the enemy's guns. They fired at +the flash. But as every Indian stood behind a tree, it is not probable +that many, if any, were harmed. The Indians were very wary not to +expose themselves. They kept at a great distance, and were not very +successful in their fire. Though they wounded quite a number, only four +men were killed. With the dawn of the morning they all vanished. +</P> + +<P> +General Jackson did not wish to leave the corpses of the slain to be +dug up and scalped by the savages. He therefore erected a large funeral +pyre, placed the bodies upon it, and they were soon consumed to ashes. +Some litters were made of long and flexible poles, attached to two +horses, one at each end, and upon these the wounded were conveyed over +the rough and narrow way. The Indians, thus far, had manifestly been +the victors They had inflicted serious injury upon the Americans; and +there is no evidence that a single one of their warriors had received +the slightest harm. This was the great object of Indian strategy. In +the wars of civilization, a great general has ever been willing to +sacrifice the lives of ten thousand of his own troops if, by so doing, +he could kill twenty thousand of the enemy. But it was never so with +the Indians. They prized the lives of their warriors too highly. +</P> + +<P> +On their march the troops came to a wide creek, which it was necessary +to cross. Here the Indians again prepared for battle. They concealed +themselves so effectually as to elude all the vigilance of the scouts. +When about half the troops had crossed the stream, the almost invisible +Indians commenced their assault, opening a very rapid but scattering +fire. Occasionally a warrior was seen darting from one point to +another, to obtain better vantage-ground. +</P> + +<P> +Major Russel was in command of a small rear-guard. His soldiers soon +appeared running almost breathless to join the main body, pursued by a +large number of Indians. The savages had chosen the very best moment +for their attack. The artillery-men were in an open field surrounded by +the forest. The Indians, from behind stumps, logs, and trees, took +deliberate aim, and almost every bullet laid a soldier prostrate. Quite +a panic ensued. Two of the colonels, abandoning their regiments, rushed +across the creek to escape the deadly fire. There is no evidence that +the Indians were superior in numbers to the Americans. But it cannot be +denied that the Americans, though under the leadership of Andrew +Jackson, were again outgeneralled. General Jackson lost, in this short +conflict, in killed and wounded, nearly one hundred men. His +disorganized troops at length effected the passage of the creek, beyond +which the Indians did not pursue them. Crockett writes: +</P> + +<P> +"I will not say exactly that the old General was whipped. But I think +he would say himself that he was nearer whipped this time than any +other; for I know that all the world couldn't make him acknowledge that +he was pointedly whipped. I know I was mighty glad when it was over, +and the savages quit us, for I began to think there was one behind +every tree in the woods." +</P> + +<P> +Crockett, having served out his term, returned home. But he was +restless there. Having once experienced the excitements of the camp, +his wild, untrained nature could not repose in the quietude of domestic +life. The conflict between the United States and a small band of +Indians was very unequal. The loss of a single warrior was to the +Creeks irreparable. General Jackson was not a man to yield to +difficulties. On the 27th of March, 1814, he drove twelve hundred Creek +warriors into their fort at Tohopeka. They were then surrounded, so +that escape was impossible, and the fort was set on fire. The carnage +was awful. Almost every warrior perished by the bullet or in the +flames. The military power of the tribe was at an end. The remnant, +utterly dispirited, sued for peace. +</P> + +<P> +Quite a number of the Creek warriors fled to Florida, and joined the +hostile Indian tribes there. We were at this time involved in our +second war with Great Britain. The Government of our mother country was +doing everything in its power to rouse the savages against us. The +armies in Canada rallied most of the Northern tribes beneath their +banners. Florida, at that time, belonged to Spain. The Spanish +Government was nominally neutral in the conflict between England and +the United States. But the Spanish governor in Florida was in cordial +sympathy with the British officers. He lent them all the aid and +comfort in his power, carefully avoiding any positive violation of the +laws of neutrality. He extended very liberal hospitality to the refugee +Creek warriors, and in many ways facilitated their cooperation with the +English. +</P> + +<P> +A small British fleet entered the mouth of the Apalachicola River and +landed three hundred soldiers. Here they engaged vigorously in +constructing a fort, and in summoning all the surrounding Indian tribes +to join them in the invasion of the Southern States. General Jackson, +with a force of between one and two thousand men, was in Northern +Alabama, but a few days' march north of the Florida line. He wrote to +the Secretary of War, in substance, as follows: +</P> + +<P> +"The hostile Creeks have taken refuge in Florida. They are there fed, +clothed, and protected. The British have armed a large force with +munitions of war, and are fortifying and stirring up the savages. If +you will permit me to raise a few hundred militia, which can easily be +done, I will unite them with such a force of regulars as can easily be +collected, and will make a descent on Pensacola, and will reduce it. I +promise you I will bring the war in the South to a speedy termination; +and English influence with the savages, in this quarter, shall be +forever destroyed." +</P> + +<P> +The President was not prepared thus to provoke war with Spain, by the +invasion of Florida. Andrew Jackson assumed the responsibility. The +British had recently made an attack upon Mobile, and being repulsed, +had retired with their squadron to the harbor of Pensacola. Jackson +called for volunteers to march upon Pensacola. Crockett roused himself +at the summons, like the war-horse who snuffs the battle from afar. "I +wanted," he wrote, "a small taste of British fighting, and I supposed +they would be there." +</P> + +<P> +His wife again entered her tearful remonstrance. She pointed to her +little children, in their lonely hut far away in the wilderness, remote +from all neighborhood, and entreated the husband and the father not +again to abandon them. Rather unfeelingly he writes, "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." +</P> + +<P> +Many who have perused this sketch thus far, may inquire, with some +surprise, "What is it which has given this man such fame as is even +national? He certainly does not develop a very attractive character; +and there is but little of the romance of chivalry thrown around his +exploits. The secret is probably to be found in the following +considerations, the truth of which the continuation of this narrative +will be continually unfolding." +</P> + +<P> +Without education, without refinement, without wealth or social +position, or any special claims to personal beauty, he was entirely +self-possessed and at home under all circumstances. He never manifested +the slightest embarrassment. The idea seemed never to have entered his +mind that there could be any person superior to David Crockett, or any +one so humble that Crockett was entitled to look down upon him with +condescension. He was a genuine democrat. All were in his view equal. +And this was not the result of thought, of any political or moral +principle. It was a part of his nature, which belonged to him without +any volition, like his stature or complexion. This is one of the rarest +qualities to be found in any man. We do not here condemn it, or applaud +it. We simply state the fact. +</P> + +<P> +In the army he acquired boundless popularity from his fun-making +qualities. In these days he was always merry. Bursts of laughter +generally greeted Crockett's approach and followed his departure. He +was blessed with a memory which seemed absolutely never to have +forgotten anything. His mind was an inexhaustable store-house of +anecdote. These he had ever at command. Though they were not always, +indeed were seldom, of the most refined nature, they were none the less +adapted to raise shouts of merriment in cabin and camp. What Sydney +Smith was at the banqueting board in the palatial saloon, such was +David Crockett at the campfire and in the log hut. If ever in want of +an illustrative anecdote he found no difficulty in manufacturing one. +</P> + +<P> +His thoughtless kindness of heart and good nature were inexhaustible. +Those in want never appealed to him in vain. He would even go hungry +himself that he might feed others who were more hungry. He would, +without a moment's consideration, spend his last dollar to buy a +blanket for a shivering soldier, and, without taking any merit for the +deed, would never think of it again. He did it without reflection, as +he breathed. +</P> + +<P> +Such was the David Crockett who, from the mere love of adventure, left +wife and children, in the awful solitude of the wilderness, to follow +General Jackson in a march to Pensacola. He seems fully to have +understood the character of the General, his merits and his defects. +The main body of the army, consisting of a little more than two +thousand men, had already commenced its march, when Crockett repaired +to a rendezvous, in the northern frontiers of Alabama, where another +company was being formed, under Major Russel, soon to follow. The +company numbered one hundred and thirty men, and commenced its march. +</P> + +<P> +They forded the Tennessee River at Muscle Shoals, and marched south +unmolested, through the heart of the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, and +pressed rapidly forward two or three hundred miles, until they reached +the junction of the Tombeckbee and Alabama rivers, in the southern +section of the State. The main army was now but two days' march before +them. The troops, thus far, had been mounted, finding sufficient +grazing for their horses by the way. But learning that there was no +forage to be found between there and Pensacola, they left their animals +behind them, under a sufficient guard, at a place called Cut-off, and +set out for the rest of the march, a distance of about eighty miles, on +foot. The slight protective works they threw up here, they called Fort +Stoddart. +</P> + +<P> +These light troops, hardy men of iron nerves, accomplished the distance +in about two days. On the evening of the second day, they reached an +eminence but a short distance out from Pensacola, where they found the +army encamped. Not a little to Crockett's disappointment, he learned +that Pensacola was already captured. Thus he lost his chance of having +"a small taste of British fighting." +</P> + +<P> +The British and Spaniards had obtained intelligence of Jackson's +approach, and had made every preparation to drive him back. The forts +were strongly garrisoned, and all the principal streets of the little +Spanish city were barricaded. Several British war-vessels were anchored +in the bay, and so placed as to command with their guns the principal +entrance to the town. Jackson, who had invaded the Spanish province +unsanctioned by the Government, was anxious to impress upon the Spanish +authorities that the measure had been reluctantly adopted, on his own +authority, as a military necessity; that he had no disposition to +violate their neutral rights; but that it was indispensable that the +British should be dislodged and driven away. +</P> + +<P> +The pride of the Spaniard was roused, and there was no friendly +response to this appeal. But the Spanish garrison was small, and, +united with the English fleet, could present no effectual opposition to +the three thousand men under such a lion-hearted leader as General +Jackson. On the 7th of January the General opened fire upon the foe. +The conflict was short. The Spaniards were compelled to surrender their +works. The British fled to the ships. The guns were turned upon them. +They spread sail and disappeared. Jackson was severely censured, at the +time, for invading the territory of a neutral power. The final verdict +of his countrymen has been decidedly in his favor. +</P> + +<P> +It was supposed that the British would move for the attack of Mobile. +This place then consisted of a settlement of but about one hundred and +fifty houses. General Jackson, with about two thousand men, marched +rapidly for its defence. A few small, broken bands of hostile, yet +despairing Creeks, fled back from Florida into the wilds of Alabama. A +detachment of nearly a thousand men, under Major Russell, were sent in +pursuit of these fleas among the mountains. Crockett made part of this +expedition. The pursuing soldiers directed their steps northwest about +a hundred miles to Fort Montgomery, on the Alabama, just above its +confluence with the Tornbeckbee, about twelve miles above Fort +Stoddart. Not far from there was Fort Mimms, where the awful massacre +had taken place which opened the Creek war. +</P> + +<P> +There were many cattle grazing in the vicinity of the fort at the time +of the massacre, which belonged to the garrison. These animals were now +running wild. A thousand hungry men gave them chase. The fatal bullet +soon laid them all low, and there was great feasting and hilarity in +the camp. The carouse was much promoted by the arrival that evening of +a large barge, which had sailed up the Alabama River from Mobile, with +sugar, coffee, and,—best of all, as the soldiers said—worst of all, +as humanity cries,—with a large amount of intoxicating liquors. +</P> + +<P> +The scene presented that night was wild and picturesque in the extreme. +The horses of the army were scattered about over the plain grazing upon +the rich herbage. There was wood in abundance near, and the camp-fires +for a thousand men threw up their forked flames, illumining the whole +region with almost the light of day. The white tents of the officers, +the varied groups of the soldiers, running here and there, in all +possible attitudes, the cooking and feasting, often whole quarters of +beef roasting on enormous spits before the vast fires, afforded a +spectacle such as is rarely seen. +</P> + +<P> +One picture instantly arrested the eye of every beholder. There were +one hundred and eighty-six friendly Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians, who +had enlisted in the army. They formed a band by themselves under their +own chiefs. They were all nearly naked, gorgeously painted, and +decorated with the very brilliant attire of the warrior, with +crimson-colored plumes, and moccasins and leggins richly fringed, and +dyed in bright and strongly contrasting hues. These savages were in the +enjoyment of their greatest delight, drinking to frenzy, and performing +their most convulsive dances, around the flaming fires. +</P> + +<P> +In addition to this spectacle which met the eye, there were sounds of +revelry which fell almost appallingly upon the ear. The wide expanse +reverberated with bacchanal songs, and drunken shouts, and frenzied +war-whoops. These were all blended in an inextricable clamor. With the +unrefined eminently, and in a considerable degree with the most +refined, noise is one of the essential elements of festivity. A +thousand men were making all the noise they could in this midnight +revel. Probably never before, since the dawn of creation, had the banks +of the Alabama echoed with such a clamor as in this great carouse, +which had so suddenly burst forth from the silence of the almost +uninhabited wilderness. +</P> + +<P> +This is the poetry of war. This it is which lures so many from the +tameness of ordinary life to the ranks of the army. In such scenes, +Crockett, bursting with fun, the incarnation of wit and good nature, +was in his element. Here he was chief. All did him homage. His pride +was gratified by his distinction. Life in his lonely hut, with wife and +children, seemed, in comparison, too spiritless to be endured. +</P> + +<P> +The Alabama here runs nearly west. The army was on the south side of +the river. The next day the Indians asked permission to cross to the +northern bank on an exploring expedition. Consent was given; but Major +Russel decided to go with them, taking a company of sixteen men, of +whom Crockett was one. They crossed the river and encamped upon the +other side, seeing no foe and encountering no alarm. They soon came to +a spot where the winding river, overflowing its banks, spread over a +wide extent of the flat country. It was about a mile and a half across +this inundated meadow. To journey around it would require a march of +many miles. They waded the meadow. The water was very cold, often up to +their armpits, and they stumbled over the rough ground. This was not +the poetry of war. But still there is a certain degree of civilization +in which the monotony of life is relieved by such adventures. +</P> + +<P> +When they reached the other side they built large fires, and warmed and +dried themselves. They were in search of a few fugitive Indian +warriors, who, fleeing from Pensacola, had scattered themselves over a +wilderness many hundred square miles in extent. This pursuit of them, +by a thousand soldiers, seems now very foolish. But it is hardly safe +for us, seated by our quiet firesides, and with but a limited knowledge +of the circumstances, to pass judgment upon the measure. +</P> + +<P> +The exploring party consisted, as we have mentioned, of nearly two +hundred Indians, and sixteen white men. They advanced very cautiously. +Two scouts were kept some distance in the advance, two on the side +nearest the river, and five on their right. In this way they had moved +along about six miles, when the two spies in front came rushing +breathlessly back, with the tidings that they had discovered a camp of +Creek Indians. They halted for a few moments while all examined their +guns and their priming and prepared for battle. +</P> + +<P> +The Indians went through certain religious ceremonies, and getting out +their war-paint, colored their bodies anew. They then came to Major +Russell, and told him that, as he was to lead them in the battle, he +must be painted too. He humored them, and was painted in the most +approved style of an Indian warrior. The plan of battle was arranged to +strike the Indian camp by surprise, when they were utterly unprepared +for any resistance. The white men were cautiously to proceed in the +advance, and pour in a deadly fire to kill as many as possible. The +Indians were then, taking advantage of the panic, to rush in with +tomahawk and scalping-knife, and finish the scene according to their +style of battle, which spared neither women nor children. It is not +pleasant to record such a measure. They crept along, concealed by the +forest, and guided by the sound of pounding, till they caught sight of +the camp. A little to their chagrin they found that it consisted of two +peaceful wigwams, where there was a man, a woman, and several children. +The wigwams were also on an island of the river, which could not be +approached without boats. There could not be much glory won by an army +of two hundred men routing such a party and destroying their home. +There was also nothing to indicate that these Indians had even any +unfriendly feelings. The man and woman were employed in bruising what +was called brier root, which they had dug from the forest, for food. It +seems that this was the principal subsistence used by the Indians in +that vicinity. +</P> + +<P> +While the soldiers were deliberating what next to do, they heard a gun +fired in the direction of the scouts, at some distance on the right, +followed by a single shrill war-whoop. This satisfied them that if the +scouts had met with a foe, it was indeed war on a small scale. There +seemed no need for any special caution. They all broke and ran toward +the spot from which the sounds came. They soon met two of the spies, +who told the following not very creditable story, but one highly +characteristic of the times. +</P> + +<P> +As they were creeping along through the forest, they found two Indians, +who they said were Creeks, out hunting. As they were approaching each +other, it so happened that there was a dense cluster of bushes between +them, so that they were within a few feet of meeting before either +party was discovered. The two spies were Choctaws. They advanced +directly to the Indians, and addressed them in the most friendly +manner; stating that they had belonged to General Jackson's army, but +had escaped, and were on their way home. They shook hands, kindled a +fire, and sat down and smoked in apparent perfect cordiality. +</P> + +<P> +One of the Creeks had a gun. The other had only a bow and arrows. After +this friendly interview, they rose and took leave of each other, each +going in opposite directions. As soon as their backs were turned, and +they were but a few feet from each other, one of the Choctaws turned +around and shot the unsuspecting Creek who had the gun. He fell dead, +without a groan. The other Creek attempted to escape, while the other +Choctaw snapped his gun at him repeatedly, but it missed fire. They +then pursued him, overtook him, knocked him down with the butt of their +guns, and battered his head until he also was motionless in death. One +of the Choctaws, in his frenzied blows, broke the stock of his rifle. +They then fired off the gun of the Creek who was killed, and one of +them uttered the war-whoop which was heard by the rest of the party. +</P> + +<P> +These two savages drew their scalping-knives and cut off the heads of +both their victims. As the whole body came rushing up, they found the +gory corpses of the slain, with their dissevered heads near by. Each +Indian had a war-club. With these massive weapons each savage, in his +turn, gave the mutilated heads a severe blow. When they had all +performed this barbaric deed, Crockett, whose peculiar type of good +nature led him not only to desire to please the savages, but also to +know what would please them, seized a war-club, and, in his turn, smote +with all his strength the mangled, blood-stained heads. The Indians +were quite delighted. They gathered around him with very expressive +grunts of satisfaction, and patting him upon the back, exclaimed, "Good +warrior! Good warrior!" +</P> + +<P> +The Indians then scalped the heads, and, leaving the bodies unburied, +the whole party entered a trail which led to the river, near the point +where the two wigwams were standing. As they followed the narrow path +they came upon the vestiges of a cruel and bloody tragedy. The +mouldering corpses of a Spaniard, his wife, and four children lay +scattered around, all scalped. Our hero Crockett, who had so valiantly +smitten the dissevered heads of the two Creeks who had been so +treacherously murdered, confesses that the revolting spectacle of the +whites, scalped and half devoured, caused him to shudder. He writes: +</P> + +<P> +"I began to feel mighty ticklish along about this time; for I knowed if +there was no danger then, there had been, and I felt exactly like there +still was." +</P> + +<P> +The white soldiers, leading the Indians, continued their course until +they reached the river. Following it down, they came opposite the point +where the wigwams stood upon the island. The two Indian hunters who had +been killed had gone out from this peaceful little encampment. Several +Indian children were playing around, and the man and woman whom they +had before seen were still beating their roots. Another Indian woman +was also there seen. These peaceful families had no conception of the +disaster which had befallen their companions who were hunting in the +woods. Even if they had heard the report of the rifles, they could only +have supposed that it was from the guns of the hunters firing at game. +</P> + +<P> +The evening twilight was fading away. The whole party was concealed in +a dense canebrake which fringed the stream. Two of the Indians were +sent forward as a decoy—a shameful decoy—to lure into the hands of +two hundred warriors an unarmed man, two women, and eight or ten +children. The Indians picked out some of their best marksmen and hid +them behind trees and logs near the river. They were to shoot down the +Indians whom others should lure to cross the stream. +</P> + +<P> +The creek which separated the island from the mainland was deep, but +not so wide but that persons without much difficulty could make +themselves heard across it. Two of the Indians went down to the +river-side, and hailed those at the wigwams, asking them to send a +canoe across to take them over. An Indian woman came down to the bank +and informed them that the canoe was on their side, that two hunters +had crossed the creek that morning, and had not yet returned. These +were the two men who had been so inhumanly murdered. Immediate search +was made for the canoe, and it was found a little above the spot where +the men were hiding. It was a very large buoyant birch canoe, +constructed for the transportation of a numerous household, with all +their goods, and such game as they might take. +</P> + +<P> +This they loaded with warriors to the water's edge, and they began +vigorously to paddle over to the island. When the one solitary Indian +man there saw this formidable array approaching he fled into the woods. +The warriors landed, and captured the two women and the little +children, ten in number, and conveyed their prisoners, with the plunder +of the wigwams, back across the creek to their own encampment. This was +not a very brilliant achievement to be accomplished by an army of two +hundred warriors aided by a detachment of sixteen white men under Major +Russel. What finally became of these captives we know not. It is +gratifying to be informed by David Crockett that they did not kill +either the squaws or the pappooses. +</P> + +<P> +The company then marched through the silent wilderness, a distance of +about thirty miles east, to the Conecuh River. This stream, in its +picturesque windings through a region where even the Indian seldom +roved, flowed into the Scambia, the principal river which pours its +floods, swollen by many tributaries, into Pensacola Bay. It was several +miles above the point where the detachment struck the river that the +Indian encampment, to which the two murdered men had alluded, was +located. But the provisions of the party were exhausted. There was +scarcely any game to be found. Major Russel did not deem it prudent to +march to the attack of the encampment, until he had obtained a fresh +supply of provisions. The main body of the army, which had remained in +Florida, moving slowly about, without any very definite object, waiting +for something to turn up was then upon the banks of the Scambia. +Colonel Blue was in command. +</P> + +<P> +David Crockett was ordered to take a light birch canoe, and two men, +one a friendly Creek Indian, and paddle down the stream about twenty +miles to the main camp. Here he was to inform Colonel Blue of Major +Russel's intention to ascend the Conecuh to attack the Creeks, and to +request the Colonel immediately to dispatch some boats up the river +with the needful supplies. +</P> + +<P> +It was a romantic adventure descending in the darkness that wild and +lonely stream, winding through the dense forest of wonderful exuberance +of vegetation. In the early evening he set out. The night proved very +dark. The river, swollen by recent rains, overflowed its banks and +spread far and wide over the low bottoms. The river was extremely +crooked, and it was with great difficulty that they could keep the +channel. But the instinct of the Indian guide led them safely along, +through overhanging boughs and forest glooms, until, a little before +midnight, they reached the camp. There was no time to be lost. Major +Russel was anxious to have the supplies that very night dispatched to +him, lest the Indians should hear of their danger and should escape. +</P> + +<P> +But Colonel Blue did not approve of the expedition. There was no +evidence that the Indian encampment consisted of anything more than +half a dozen wigwams, where a few inoffensive savages, with their wives +and children, were eking out a half-starved existence by hunting, +fishing, and digging up roots from the forest. It did not seem wise to +send an army of two hundred and sixteen men to carry desolation and woe +to such humble homes. Crockett was ordered to return with this message +to the Major. Military discipline, then and there, was not very rigid. +He hired another man to carry back the unwelcome answer in his place. +In the light canoe the three men rapidly ascended the sluggish stream. +Just as the sun was rising over the forest, they reached the camp of +Major Russell. The detachment then immediately commenced its march down +the River Scambia, and joined the main body at a point called Miller's +Landing. Here learning that some fugitive Indians were on the eastern +side of the stream, a mounted party was sent across, swimming their +horses, and several Indians were hunted down and shot. +</P> + +<P> +Soon after this, the whole party, numbering nearly twelve hundred in +all, commenced a toilsome march of about two or three hundred miles +across the State to the Chattahoochee River, which constitutes the +boundary-line between Southern Alabama and Georgia. Their route led +through pathless wilds. No provisions, of any importance, could be +found by the way. They therefore took with them rations for +twenty-eight days. But their progress was far more slow and toilsome +than they had anticipated. Dense forests were to be threaded, where it +was necessary for them to cut their way through almost tropical +entanglement of vegetation. Deep and broad marshes were to be waded, +where the horses sank almost to their saddle-girths. There were rivers +to be crossed, which could only be forded by ascending the banks +through weary leagues of wilderness. +</P> + +<P> +Thus, when twenty-eight days had passed, and their provisions were +nearly expended, though they had for some time been put on short +allowance, they found that they had accomplished but three-quarters of +their journey. Actual starvation threatened them. But twice in nineteen +days did Crockett Taste of any bread. Despondency spread its gloom over +the half-famished army. Still they toiled along, almost hopeless, with +tottering footsteps. War may have its excitements and its charms. But +such a march as this, of woe-begone, emaciate, skeleton bands, is not +to be counted as among war's pomps and glories. +</P> + +<P> +One evening, in the deepening twilight, when they had been out +thirty-four days, the Indian scouts, ever sent in advance, came into +camp with the announcement, that at the distance of but a few hours' +march before them, the Chattahoochee River was to be found, with a +large Indian village upon its banks. We know not what reason there was +to suppose that the Indians inhabiting this remote village were +hostile. But as the American officers decided immediately upon +attacking them, we ought to suppose that they, on the ground, had +sufficient reason to justify this course. +</P> + +<P> +The army was immediately put in motion. The rifles were loaded and +primed, and the flints carefully examined, that they might not fall +into ambush unprepared. The sun was just rising as they cautiously +approached the doomed village. There was a smooth green meadow a few +rods in width on the western bank of the river, skirted by the +boundless forest. The Indian wigwams and lodges, of varied structure, +were clustered together on this treeless, grassy plain, in much +picturesque beauty. The Indians had apparently not been apprised of the +approach of the terrible tempest of war about to descend upon them. +Apparently, at that early hour, they were soundly asleep. Not a man, +woman, or child was to be seen. +</P> + +<P> +Silently, screened by thick woods, the army formed in line of battle. +The two hundred Indian warriors, rifle in hand and tomahawk at belt, +stealthily took their position. The white men took theirs. At a given +signal, the war-whoop burst from the lips of the savages, and the wild +halloo of the backwoodsmen reverberated through the forest, as both +parties rushed forward in the impetuous charge. "We were all so +furious," writes Crockett, "that even the certainty of a pretty hard +fight could not have restrained us." +</P> + +<P> +But to the intense mortification of these valiant men, not a single +living being was to be found as food for bullet or tomahawk. The huts +were all deserted, and despoiled of every article of any value. There +was not a skin, or an unpicked bone, or a kernel of corn left behind. +The Indians had watched the march of the foe, and, with their wives and +little ones, had retired to regions where the famishing army could not +follow them. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Camp and the Cabin. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Deplorable Condition of the Army.—Its wanderings.—Crockett's +Benevolence.—Cruel Treatment of the Indians.—A Gleam of Good +Luck.—The Joyful Feast.—Crockett's Trade with the Indian.—Visit to +the Old Battlefield.—Bold Adventure of Crockett.—His Arrival +Home.—Death of his Wife.—Second Marriage.—Restlessness.—Exploring +Tour.—Wild Adventures.—Dangerous Sickness.—Removal to the West.—His +New Home. +</P> + +<P> +The army, far away in the wilds of Southern Alabama, on the banks of +the almost unknown Chattahoochee, without provisions, and with leagues +of unexplored wilderness around, found itself in truly a deplorable +condition. The soldiers had hoped to find, in the Indian village, +stores of beans and corn, and quantities of preserved game. In the +impotence of their disappointment they applied the torch, and laid the +little village in ashes. +</P> + +<P> +A council was held, and it was deemed best to divide their forces. +Major Childs took one-half of the army and retraced their steps +westward, directing their course toward Baton Rouge, where they hoped +to find General Jackson with a portion of the army with which he was +returning from New Orleans. The other division, under Major Russel, +pressed forward, as rapidly as possible, nearly north, aiming for Fort +Decatur, on the Tallapoosa River, where they expected to find shelter +and provisions. Crockett accompanied Major Russel's party. Indian +sagacity was now in great requisition. The friendly savages led the way +through scenes of difficulty and entanglement where, but for their aid, +the troops might all have perished. So great was the destitution of +food that the soldiers were permitted to stray, almost at pleasure, on +either side of the line of march. Happy was the man who could shoot a +raccoon or a squirrel, or even the smallest bird. Implicit confidence +was placed in the guidance of the friendly Indians, and the army +followed in single file, along the narrow trail which the Indians trod +before them. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett, in this march, had acquired so much the confidence of the +officers that he seems to have enjoyed quite unlimited license. He went +where he pleased and did what he would. Almost invariably at night, +keeping pace with the army, he would bring in some small game, a bird +or a squirrel, and frequently several of these puny animals. It was a +rule, when night came, for all the hunters to throw down what they had +killed in one pile. This was then divided among the messes as equitably +as possible. +</P> + +<P> +One night, Crockett returned empty-handed. He had killed nothing, and +he was very hungry. But there was a sick man in his mess, who was +suffering far more than he. Crockett, with his invariable unselfishness +and generosity, forgot his own hunger in his solicitude for his sick +comrade. He went to the fire of Captain Cowen, who was commandant of +the company to which Crockett belonged, and told him his story. Captain +Cowen was broiling, for his supper, the gizzard of a turkey. He told +Crockett that the turkey was all that had fallen to the share of his +company that night, and that the bird had already been divided, in very +small fragments, among the sick. There was nothing left for Crockett's +friend. +</P> + +<P> +On this march the army was divided into messes of eight or ten men, who +cooked and ate their food together. This led Crockett to decide that he +and his mess would separate themselves from the rest of the army, and +make a small and independent band. The Indian scouts, well armed and +very wary, took the lead. They kept several miles in advance of the +main body of the troops, that they might give timely warning should +they encounter any danger. Crockett and his mess kept close after them, +following their trail, and leaving the army one or two miles behind. +</P> + +<P> +One day the scouts came across nine Indians. We are not informed +whether they were friends or enemies, whether they were hunters or +warriors, whether they were men, women, or children, whether they were +in their wigwams or wandering through the forest, whether they were all +together or were found separately: we are simply told that they were +all shot down. The circumstances of the case are such, that the +probabilities are very strong that they were shot as a wolf or a bear +would be shot, at sight, without asking any questions. The next day the +scouts found a frail encampment where there were three Indians. They +shot them all. +</P> + +<P> +The sufferings of the army, as it toiled along through these vast +realms of unknown rivers and forest glooms, and marshes and +wide-spread, flower-bespangled prairies, became more and more severe. +Game was very scarce. For three days, Crockett's party killed barely +enough to sustain life. He writes: +</P> + +<P> +"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 knowed we +couldn't go much farther without it." +</P> + +<P> +While in this condition they came upon one of those wide and beautiful +prairies which frequently embellish the landscape of the South and the +West This plain was about six miles in width, smooth as a floor, and +waving with tall grass and the most brilliantly colored flowers. It was +bordered with a forest of luxuriant growth, but not a tree dotted its +surface. They came upon a trail leading through the tall, thick grass. +Crockett's practised eye saw at once that it was not a trail made by +human foot-steps, but the narrow path along which deer strolled and +turkeys hobbled in their movement across the field from forest to +forest. +</P> + +<P> +Following this trail, they soon came to a creek of sluggish water. The +lowlands on each side were waving with a rank growth of wild rye, +presenting a very green and beautiful aspect. The men were all mounted, +as indeed was nearly the whole army. By grazing and browsing, the +horses, as they moved slowly along at a foot-pace, kept in comfortable +flesh. This rye-field presented the most admirable pasturage for the +horses. Crockett and his comrades dismounted, and turned the animals +loose. There was no danger of their straying far in so fat a field. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett and another man, Vanzant by name, leaving the horses to feed, +pushed across the plain to the forest, in search of some food for +themselves They wandered for some time, and found nothing. At length, +Crockett espied a squirrel on the limb of a tall tree. He shot at the +animal and wounded it but it succeeded in creeping into a small hole in +the tree, thirty feet from the ground. There was not a limb for that +distance to aid in climbing. Still the wants of the party were such +that Crockett climbed the tree to get the squirrel, and felt that he +had gained quite a treasure. +</P> + +<P> +"I shouldn't relate such small matters," he writes, "only to show what +lengths a hungry man will go to, to get something to eat." +</P> + +<P> +Soon after, he killed two more squirrels. Just as he was reloading his +gun, a large flock of fat turkeys rose from the marshy banks of the +creek along which they were wandering, and flying but a short distance, +relighted. Vanzant crept forward, and aiming at a large gobbler, fired, +and brought him down. The flock immediately flew back to near the spot +where Crockett stood. He levelled his rifle, took deliberate aim, and +another fine turkey fell. The flock then disappeared. +</P> + +<P> +The two hunters made the forest resound with shouts of triumph. They +had two large, fat turkeys, which would be looked at wistfully upon any +gourmand's table, and for side-dishes they had three squirrels. Thus +they were prepared for truly a thanksgiving feast. Hastily they +returned with their treasure, when they learned that the others of +their party had found a bee-tree, that is, a tree where a swarm of bees +had taken lodgment, and were laying in their winter stores. They cut +down the tree with their hatchets, and obtained an ample supply of wild +honey. They all felt that they had indeed fallen upon a vein of good +luck. +</P> + +<P> +It was but a short distance from the creek to the gigantic forest, +rising sublimely in its luxuriance, with scarcely an encumbering shrub +of undergrowth. They entered the edge of the forest, built a hot fire, +roasted their game, and, while their horses were enjoying the richest +of pasturage, they, with their keen appetites, enjoyed a more delicious +feast than far-famed Delmonico ever provided for his epicurean guests. +</P> + +<P> +The happy party, rejoicing in the present, and taking no thought for +the morrow, spent the night in this camp of feasting. The next morning +they were reluctant to leave such an inviting hunting-ground. Crockett +and Vanzant again took to their rifles, and strolled into the forest in +search of game. Soon they came across a fine buck, which seemed to have +tarried behind to watch the foe, while the rest of the herd, of which +he was protector, had taken to flight. The beautiful creature, with +erect head and spreading antlers, gallantly stopping to investigate the +danger to which his family was exposed, would have moved the sympathies +of any one but a professed hunter. Crockett's bullet struck him, +wounded him severely, and he limped away. Hotly the two hunters +pursued. They came to a large tree which had been blown down, and was +partly decayed. An immense grizzly bear crept growling from the hollow +of this tree, and plunged into the forest. It was in vain to pursue +him, without dogs to retard his flight. They however soon overtook the +wounded buck, and shot him. With this treasure of venison upon their +shoulders, they had but just returned to their camp when the main body +of the army came up. The game which Crockett had taken, and upon which +they had feasted so abundantly, if divided among twelve hundred men, +would not have afforded a mouthful apiece. +</P> + +<P> +The army was in the most deplorable condition of weakness and hunger. +Ere long they reached the Coosa, and followed up its eastern bank. +About twenty miles above the spot where they struck the river there was +a small military post, called Fort Decatur. They hoped to find some +food there. And yet, in that remote, almost inaccessible station, they +could hardly expect to meet with anything like a supply for twelve +hundred half-famished men. +</P> + +<P> +Upon reaching the river, Crockett took a canoe and paddled across. On +the other shore he found an Indian. Instead of shooting him, he much +more sensibly entered into relations of friendly trade with the savage. +The Indian had a little household in his solitary wigwam, and a small +quantity of corn in store. Crockett wore a large hat. Taking it from +his head, he offered the Indian a silver dollar if he would fill it +with corn. But the little bit of silver, with enigmatical characters +stamped upon it, was worth nothing to the Indian. He declined the +offer. Speaking a little broken English, he inquired, "You got any +powder? You got any bullets?" Crockett told him he had. He promptly +replied, "Me will swap my corn for powder and bullets." +</P> + +<P> +Eagerly the man gave a hatful of corn for ten bullets and ten charges +of powder. He then offered another hatful at the same price. Crockett +took off his hunting-shirt, tied it up so as to make a sort of bag, +into which he poured his two hatfuls of corn. With this great treasure +he joyfully paddled across the stream to rejoin his companions. It is +pleasant to think that the poor Indian was not shot, that his wigwam +was not burned over his head, and that he was left with means to +provide his wife and children with many luxurious meals. +</P> + +<P> +The army reached Fort Decatur. One single meal consumed all the +provisions which the garrison could by any possibility spare. They had +now entered upon a rough, hilly, broken country. The horses found but +little food, and began to give out. About fifty miles farther up the +Coosa River there was another military station, in the lonely wilds, +called Fort William. Still starving, and with tottering horses, they +toiled on. Parched corn, and but a scanty supply of that, was now +almost their only subsistence. +</P> + +<P> +They reached the fort. One ration of pork and one ration of flour were +mercifully given them. It was all which could be spared. To remain +where they were was certain starvation. Forty miles above them on the +same stream was Fort Strother. Sadly they toiled along. The skeleton +horses dropped beneath their riders, and were left, saddled and +bridled, for the vultures and the wolves. On their route to Fort +Strother they passed directly by the ancient Indian fort of Talladega. +It will be remembered that a terrible battle had been fought here by +General Jackson with the Indians, on the 7th of December, 1813. In the +carnage of that bloody day nearly five hundred Indians fell. Those who +escaped scattered far and wide. A few of them sought refuge in distant +Florida. +</P> + +<P> +The bodies of the slain were left unburied. Slowly the flesh +disappeared from the bones, either devoured by wild beasts or +decomposed by the action of the atmosphere. The field, as now visited, +presented an appalling aspect. Crockett writes: +</P> + +<P> +"We went through the old battle-ground, and it looked like a great +gourd-patch. The skulls of the Indians who were killed, still lay +scattered all about. Many of their frames were still perfect, as their +bones had not separated." +</P> + +<P> +As they were thus despairingly tottering along, they came across a +narrow Indian trail, with fresh footmarks, indicating that moccasined +Indians had recently passed along. It shows how little they had cause +to fear from the Indians, that Crockett, entirely alone, should have +followed that trail, trusting that it would lead him to some Indian +village, where he could hope to buy some more corn. He was not deceived +in his expectation. After threading the narrow and winding path about +five miles, he came to a cluster of Indian wigwams. Boldly he entered +the little village, without apparently the slightest apprehension that +he should meet with any unfriendly reception. +</P> + +<P> +He was entirely at the mercy of the savages Even if he were murdered, +it would never be known by whom. And if it were known, the starving +army, miles away, pressing along in its flight, was in no condition to +send a detachment to endeavor to avenge the deed. The savages received +him as though he had been one of their own kith and kin, and readily +exchanged corn with him, for powder and bullets. He then returned, but +did not overtake the rest of the army until late in the night. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning they were so fortunate as to encounter a detachment of +United States troops on the march to Mobile. These troops, having just +commenced their journey, were well supplied; and they liberally +distributed their corn and provisions. Here Crockett found his youngest +brother, who had enlisted for the campaign. There were also in the band +many others of his old friends and neighbors. The succeeding day, the +weary troops, much refreshed, reached a point on the River Coosa +opposite Fort Strother, and crossing the stream, found there shelter +and plenty of provisions. +</P> + +<P> +We know not, and do not care to know, who was responsible for this +military movement, which seems to us now as senseless as it was cruel +and disastrous. But it is thus that poor humanity has ever gone +blundering on, displaying but little wisdom in its affairs. Here +Crockett had permission to visit his home, though he still owed the +country a month of service. In his exceeding rude, unpolished style +which pictures the man, he writes: +</P> + +<P> +"Once more I was safely landed at home with my wife and children. 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 in the +backwood country as any people in the whole creation. +</P> + +<P> +"But I had been home only a few days, when we received orders to start +again, and go on to the Black Warrior and Cahaula rivers, to see if +there were no Indians 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. 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. +</P> + +<P> +"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 I am +glad, I just mean that I am glad that I am alive, for there is a +confounded heap of things I ain't glad of at all." +</P> + +<P> +When Crockett wrote the above he was a member of Congress, and a very +earnest politician. He was much opposed to the measure of President +Jackson in removing the deposits from the United States Bank—a +movement which greatly agitated the whole country at that time. In +speaking of things of which he was not glad, he writes: +</P> + +<P> +"I ain't glad, for example, that the Government moved the deposits; and +if my military glory should take such a turn as to make me President +after the General's time, I will 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." +</P> + +<P> +The hardships of war had blighted Crockett's enthusiasm for wild +adventures, and had very considerably sobered him. He remained at home +for two years, diligently at work upon his farm. The battle of New +Orleans was fought. The war with England closed, and peace was made +with the poor Indians, who, by British intrigue, had been goaded to the +disastrous fight. Death came to the cabin of Crockett; and his faithful +wife, the tender mother of his children, was taken from him. We cannot +refrain from quoting his own account of this event as it does much +honor to his heart. +</P> + +<P> +"In this time I met with the hardest trial which ever falls to the lot +of man. Death, that cruel leveller of all distinctions, to whom the +prayers and tears of husbands, and even of helpless infancy, are +addressed in vain, entered my humble cottage, and tore from my children +an affectionate, good mother, and from me a tender 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 upon it, it seems but +as the work of yesterday. +</P> + +<P> +"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 even yet +is the remembrance of her sufferings, and the loss sustained by my +little children and myself, yet I have no wish 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. +</P> + +<P> +"I couldn't bear the thought of scattering my children; and so I got my +youngest brother, who was also married, 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, in 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 +that it wouldn't do, but that I must have another wife." +</P> + +<P> +One sees strikingly, in the above quotation, the softening effect of +affliction on the human heart There was a widow in the neighborhood, a +very worthy woman, who had lost her husband in the war. She had two +children, a son and a daughter, both quite young. She owned a snug +little farm, and being a very capable woman, was getting along quite +comfortably. Crockett decided that he should make a good step-father to +her children, and she a good step-mother for his. The courtship was in +accordance with the most approved style of country love-making. It +proved to be a congenial marriage. The two families came very +harmoniously together, and in their lowly hut enjoyed peace and +contentment such as frequently is not found in more ambitious homes. +</P> + +<P> +But the wandering propensity was inherent in the very nature of +Crockett. He soon tired of the monotony of a farmer's life, and longed +for change. A few months after his marriage he set out, with three of +his neighbors, all well mounted, on an exploring tour into Central +Alabama, hoping to find new homes there. Taking a southerly course, +they crossed the Tennessee River, and striking the upper waters of the +Black Warrior, followed down that stream a distance of about two +hundred miles from their starting-point, till they came near to the +place where Tuscaloosa, the capital of the State, now stands. +</P> + +<P> +This region was then almost an unbroken wilderness. But during the war +Crockett had frequently traversed it, and was familiar with its general +character. On the route they came to the hut of a man who was a comrade +of Crockett in the Florida campaign. They spent a day with the retired +soldier, and all went out in the woods together to hunt. Frazier +unfortunately stepped upon a venomous snake, partially covered with +leaves. The reptile struck its deadly fangs into his leg. The effect +was instantaneous and awful. They carried the wounded man, with his +bloated and throbbing limb, back to the hut. Here such remedies were +applied as backwoods medical science suggested; but it was evident that +many weeks would elapse ere the man could move, even should he +eventually recover. Sadly they were constrained to leave their +suffering companion there. What became of him is not recorded. +</P> + +<P> +The three others, Crockett, Robinson, and Rich, continued their +journey. Their route led them through a very fertile and beautiful +region, called Jones's Valley. Several emigrants had penetrated and +reared their log huts upon its rich and blooming meadows. +</P> + +<P> +When they reached the spot where the capital of the State now stands, +with its spacious streets, its public edifices, its halls of learning, +its churches, and its refined and cultivated society, they found only +the silence, solitude, and gloom of the wilderness. With their hatchets +they constructed a rude camp to shelter them from the night air and the +heavy dew. It was open in front. Here they built their camp-fire, whose +cheerful glow illumined the forest far and wide, and which converted +midnight glooms into almost midday radiance. The horses were hobbled +and turned out to graze on a luxuriant meadow. It was supposed that the +animals, weary of the day's journey, and finding abundant pasturage, +would not stray far. The travellers cooked their supper, and throwing +themselves upon their couch of leaves, enjoyed that sound sleep which +fatigue, health, and comfort give. +</P> + +<P> +When they awoke in the morning the horses were all gone. By examining +the trail it seemed that they had taken the back-track in search of +their homes. Crockett, who was the most vigorous and athletic of the +three, leaving Robinson and Rich in the camp, set out in pursuit of the +runaways. It was a rough and dreary path he had to tread. There was no +comfortable road to traverse, but a mere path through forest, bog, and +ravine, which, at times, it was difficult to discern. He had hills to +climb, creeks to ford, swamps to wade through. Hour after hour he +pressed on, but the horses could walk faster than he could. There was +nothing in their foot-prints which indicated that he was approaching +any nearer to them. +</P> + +<P> +At last, when night came, and Crockett judged that he had walked fifty +miles, he gave up the chase as hopeless. Fortunately he reached the +cabin of a settler, where he remained until morning. A rapid walk, +almost a run, of fifty miles in one day, is a very severe operation +even for the most hardy of men. When Crockett awoke, after his night's +sleep, he found himself so lame that he could scarcely move. He was, +however, anxious to get back with his discouraging report to his +companions. He therefore set out, and hobbled slowly and painfully +along, hoping that exercise would gradually loosen his stiffened joints. +</P> + +<P> +But, mile after mile, he grew worse rather than better. His head began +to ache very severely. A burning fever spread through his veins. He +tottered in his walk, and his rifle seemed so heavy that he could +scarcely bear its weight. He was toiling through a dark and gloomy +ravine, damp and cold, and thrown into shade by the thick foliage of +the overhanging trees. So far as he knew, no human habitation was near. +Night was approaching. He could go no farther. He had no food; but he +did not need any, for a deathly nausea oppressed him. Utterly +exhausted, he threw himself down upon the grass and withered leaves, on +a small dry mound formed by the roots of a large tree. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett had no wish to die. He clung very tenaciously to life, and yet +he was very apprehensive that then and there he was to linger through a +few hours of pain, and then die, leaving his unburied body to be +devoured by wild beasts, and his friends probably forever ignorant of +his fate. Consumed by fever, and agitated by these painful thoughts, he +remained for an hour or two, when he heard the sound of approaching +footsteps and of human voices. His sensibilities were so stupefied by +his sickness that these sounds excited but little emotion. +</P> + +<P> +Soon three or four Indians made their appearance walking along the +narrow trail in single file. They saw the prostrate form of the poor, +sick white man, and immediately gathered around him. The rifle of +Crockett, and the powder and bullets which he had, were, to these +Indians, articles of almost inestimable value. One blow of the tomahawk +would send the helpless man to realms where rifles and ammunition were +no longer needed, and his priceless treasures would fall into their +hands. Indeed, it was not necessary even to strike that blow. They had +but to pick up the rifle, and unbuckle the belt which contained the +powder-horn and bullet-pouch, and leave the dying man to his fate. +</P> + +<P> +But these savages, who had never read our Saviour's beautiful parable +of the good Samaritan, acted the Samaritan's part to the white man whom +they found in utter helplessness and destitution. They kneeled around +him, trying to minister to his wants. One of them had a watermelon. He +cut from it a slice of the rich and juicy fruit, and entreated him to +eat it. But his stomach rejected even that delicate food. +</P> + +<P> +They then, by very expressive signs, told him that if he did not take +some nourishment he would die and be buried there—"a thing," Crockett +writes, "I was confoundedly afraid of, myself." Crockett inquired how +far it was to any house. They signified to him, by signs, that there +was a white man's cabin about a mile and a half from where they then +were, and urged him to let them conduct him to that house. He rose to +make the attempt. But he was so weak that he could with difficulty +stand, and unsupported could not walk a step. +</P> + +<P> +One of these kind Indians offered to go with him; and relieving +Crockett of the burden of his rifle, and with his strong arm supporting +and half carrying him, at length succeeded in getting him to the log +hut of the pioneer. The shades of night were falling. The sick man was +so far gone that it seemed to him that he could scarcely move another +step. A woman came to the door of the lowly hut and received them with +a woman's sympathy. There was a cheerful fire blazing in one corner, +giving quite a pleasing aspect to the room. In another corner there was +a rude bed, with bed-clothing of the skins of animals. Crockett's +benefactor laid him tenderly upon the bed, and leaving him in the +charge of his countrywoman, bade him adieu, and hastened away to +overtake his companions. +</P> + +<P> +What a different world would this be from what it has been, did the +spirit of kindness, manifested by this poor Indian, universally animate +human hearts! +</P> + +<P> +"O brother man! fold to thy heart thy brother: Where pity dwells the +peace of God is there; To worship rightly is to love each other, Each +smile a hymn, each kindly word a prayer." +</P> + +<P> +The woman's husband was, at the time, absent. But she carefully nursed +her patient, preparing for him some soothing herb-tea. Delirium came, +and for several hours, Crockett, in a state of unconsciousness, dwelt +in the land of troubled dreams. The next morning he was a little more +comfortable, but still in a high fever, and often delirious. +</P> + +<P> +It so happened that two white men, on an exploring tour, as they passed +along the trail, met the Indians, who informed them that one of their +sick countrymen was at a settler's cabin at but a few miles' distance. +With humanity characteristic of a new and sparsely settled country they +turned aside to visit him. They proved to be old acquaintances of +Crockett. He was so very anxious to get back to the camp where he had +left his companions, and who, knowing nothing of his fate, must think +it very strange that he had thus deserted them, that they, very +reluctantly, in view of his dangerous condition, consented to help him +on his way. +</P> + +<P> +They made as comfortable a seat as they could, of blankets and skins, +which they buckled on the neck of one of the horses just before the +saddle. Upon this Crockett was seated. One of the men then mounted the +saddle behind him, threw both arms around the patient, and thus they +commenced their journey. The sagacious horse was left to pick out his +own way along the narrow trail at a slow foot-pace. As the horse thus +bore a double burden, after journeying an hour or two, Crockett's seat +was changed to the other horse. Thus alternating, the painful journey +of nearly fifty miles was accomplished in about two days. +</P> + +<P> +When they reached the camp, Crockett, as was to have been expected, was +in a far worse condition than when they commenced the journey. It was +evident that he was to pass through a long run of fever, and that his +recovery was very doubtful. His companions could not thus be delayed. +They had already left Frazier, one of their company, perhaps to die of +the bite of a venomous snake; and now they were constrained to leave +Crockett, perhaps to die of malarial fever. +</P> + +<P> +They ascertained that, at the distance of a few miles from them, there +was another log cabin in the wilderness. They succeeded in purchasing a +couple of horses, and in transporting the sick man to this humble house +of refuge. Here Crockett was left to await the result of his sickness, +unaided by any medical skill. Fortunately he fell into the hands of a +family who treated him with the utmost kindness. For a fortnight he was +in delirium, and knew nothing of what was transpiring around him. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett was a very amiable man. Even the delirium of disease developed +itself in kindly words and grateful feelings. He always won the love of +those around him. He did not miss delicacies and luxuries of which he +had never known anything. Coarse as he was when measured by the +standard of a higher civilization, he was not coarse at all in the +estimation of the society in the midst of which he moved. In this +humble cabin of Jesse Jones, with all its aspect of penury, Crockett +was nursed with brotherly and sisterly kindness, and had every +alleviation in his sickness which his nature craved. +</P> + +<P> +The visitor to Versailles is shown the magnificent apartment, and the +regal couch, with its gorgeous hangings, upon which Louis XIV., the +proudest and most pampered man on earth, languished and died. Crockett, +on his pallet in the log cabin, with unglazed window and earthern +floor, was a far less unhappy man, than the dying monarch surrounded +with regal splendors. +</P> + +<P> +At the end of a fortnight the patient began slowly to mend. His +emaciation was extreme, and his recovery very gradual. After a few +weeks he was able to travel. He was then on a route where wagons passed +over a rough road, teaming the articles needed in a new country. +Crockett hired a wagoner to give him a seat in his wagon and to convey +him to the wagoner's house, which was about twenty miles distant. +Gaining strength by the way, when he arrived there he hired a horse of +the wagoner, and set out for home. +</P> + +<P> +Great was the astonishment of his family upon his arrival, for they had +given him up as dead. The neighbors who set out on this journey with +him had returned and so reported; for they had been misinformed. They +told Mrs. Crockett that they had seen those who were with him when he +died, and had assisted in burying him. +</P> + +<P> +Still the love of change had not been dispelled from the bosom of +Crockett. He did not like the place where he resided. After spending a +few months at home, he set out, in the autumn, upon another exploring +tour. Our National Government had recently purchased, of the Chickasaw +Indians, a large extent of territory in Southern Tennessee. Crockett +thought that in those new lands he would find the earthly paradise of +which he was in search. The region was unsurveyed, a savage wilderness, +and there were no recognized laws and no organized government there. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett mounted his horse, lashed his rifle to his back, filled his +powder-horn and bullet-pouch, and journeying westward nearly a hundred +miles, through pathless wilds whose solitudes had a peculiar charm for +him, came to a romantic spot, called Shoal Creek, in what is now Giles +County, in the extreme southern part of Tennessee. He found other +adventurers pressing into the new country, where land was abundant and +fertile, and could be had almost for nothing. +</P> + +<P> +Log cabins were rising in all directions, in what they deemed quite +near neighborhood, for they were not separated more than a mile or two +from each other. Crockett, having selected his location on the banks of +a crystal stream, summoned, as was the custom, some neighbors to his +aid, and speedily constructed the cabin, of one apartment, to shield +his family from the wind and the rain. Moving with such a family is not +a very arduous undertaking. One or two pack-horses convey all the +household utensils. There are no mirrors, bedsteads, bureaus, or chairs +to be transported. With an auger and a hatchet, these articles are soon +constructed in their new home. The wife, with the youngest child, +rides. The husband, with his rifle upon his shoulder, and followed by +the rest of the children, trudges along on foot. +</P> + +<P> +Should night or storm overtake them, an hour's work would throw up a +camp, with a cheerful fire in front, affording them about the same +cohorts which they enjoyed in the home they had left. A little meal, +baked in the ashes, supplied them with bread. And during the journey of +the day the rifle of the father would be pretty sure to pick up some +game to add to the evening repast. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett and his family reached their new home in safety. Here quite a +new sphere of life opened before the adventurer, and he became so +firmly settled that he remained in that location for three years. In +the mean time, pioneers from all parts were rapidly rearing their +cabins upon the fertile territory, which was then called The New +Purchase. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Justice of Peace and the Legislator. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Vagabondage.—Measures of Protection.—Measures of +Government.—Crockett's Confession.—A Candidate for Military +Honors.—Curious Display of Moral Courage.—The Squirrel Hunt.—A +Candidate for the Legislature.—Characteristic +Electioneering.—Specimens of his Eloquence.—Great Pecuniary +Calamity.—Expedition to the Far West.—Wild Adventures.—The Midnight +Carouse.—A Cabin Reared. +</P> + +<P> +The wealthy and the prosperous are not disposed to leave the comforts +of a high civilization for the hardships of the wilderness. Most of the +pioneers who crowded to the New Purchase were either energetic young +men who had their fortunes to make, or families who by misfortune had +encountered impoverishment. But there was still another class. There +were the vile, the unprincipled, the desperate; vagabonds seeking whom +they might devour; criminals escaping the penalty of the laws which +they had violated. +</P> + +<P> +These were the men who shot down an Indian at sight, as they would +shoot a wolf; merely for the fun of it; who robbed the Indian of his +gun and game, burned his wigwam, and atrociously insulted his wife and +daughters. These were the men whom no law could restrain; who brought +disgrace upon the name of a white man, and who often provoked the +ignorant savage to the most dreadful and indiscriminate retaliation. +</P> + +<P> +So many of these infamous men flocked to this New Purchase that life +there became quite undesirable. There were no legally appointed +officers of justice, no organized laws. Every man did what was pleasing +in his own sight. There was no collecting of debts, no redress for +violence, no punishment for cheating or theft. +</P> + +<P> +Under these circumstances, there was a general gathering of the +well-disposed inhabitants of the cabins scattered around, to adopt some +measures for their mutual protection. Several men were appointed +justices of peace, with a set of resolute young men, as constables, to +execute their commissions. These justices were invested with almost +dictatorial power. They did not pretend to know anything about written +law or common law. They were merely men of good sound sense, who could +judge as to what was right in all ordinary intercourse between man and +man. +</P> + +<P> +A complaint would be entered to Crockett that one man owed another +money and refused to pay him. Crockett would send his constables to +arrest the man, and bring him to his cabin. After hearing both parties, +if Crockett judged the debt to be justly due, and that it could be +paid, he would order the man's horse, cow, rifle, or any other property +he owned, to be seized and sold, and the debt to be paid. If the man +made any resistance he would be very sure to have his cabin burned down +over his head; and he would be very lucky if he escaped a bullet +through his own body. +</P> + +<P> +One of the most common and annoying crimes committed by these +desperadoes was shooting an emigrant's swine. These animals, regarded +as so invaluable in a new country, each had its owner's mark, and +ranged the woods, fattening upon acorns and other nuts. Nothing was +easier than for a lazy man to wander into the woods, shoot one of these +animals, take it to his cabin, devour it there, and obliterate all +possible traces of the deed. Thus a large and valuable herd would +gradually disappear. This crime was consequently deemed to merit the +most severe punishment. It was regarded as so disgraceful that no +respectable man was liable to suspicion. +</P> + +<P> +The punishment for the crime was very severe, and very summary. If one +of these swine-thieves was brought before Justice Crockett, and in his +judgment the charge was proved against him, the sentence was— +</P> + +<P> +"Take the thief, strip off his shirt, tie him to a tree, and give him a +severe flogging. Then burn down his cabin, and drive him out of the +country." +</P> + +<P> +There was no appeal from this verdict, and no evading its execution. +Such was the justice which prevailed, in this remote region, until the +Legislature of Alabama annexed the territory to Giles County, and +brought the region under the dominion of organized law. Crockett, who +had performed his functions to the entire satisfaction of the +community, then was legally appointed a justice of peace, and became +fully entitled to the appellation of esquire. He certainly could not +then pretend to any profound legal erudition, for at this time he could +neither read nor write. +</P> + +<P> +Esquire Crockett, commenting upon this transaction, says, "I was made a +Squire, according to law; though now the honor rested more heavily upon +me than before. For, at first, whenever I told my constable, says I, +'Catch that fellow, and bring him up for trial,' away he went, and the +fellow must come, dead or alive. For we considered this a good warrant, +though it was only in verbal writing. +</P> + +<P> +"But after I was appointed by the Assembly, they told me that my +warrants must be in real writing and signed; and that I must keep a +book and write my proceedings in it. This was a hard business on me, +for I could just barely write my own name. But to do this, and write +the warrants too, was at least a huckleberry over my persimmon. I had a +pretty well informed constable, however, and he aided me very much in +this business. Indeed, I told him, when he should happen to be out +anywhere, and see that a warrant was necessary, and would have a good +effect, he needn't take the trouble to come all the way to me to get +one, but he could just fill out one; and then, on the trial, I could +correct the whole business if he had committed any error. +</P> + +<P> +"In this way I got on pretty well, till, by care and attention, I +improved my handwriting in such a manner as to be able to prepare my +warrants and keep my record-books without much difficulty. My judgments +were never appealed from; and if they had been, they would have stuck +like wax, as I gave my decisions on the principles of common justice +and honesty between man and man, and relied on natural-born sense, and +not on law-learning, to guide me; for I had never read a page in a +law-book in all my life." +</P> + +<P> +Esquire Crockett was now a rising man. He was by no means diffident. +With strong native sense, imperturbable self-confidence, a memory +almost miraculously stored with rude anecdotes, and an astonishing +command of colloquial and slang language, he was never embarrassed, and +never at a loss as to what to say or to do. +</P> + +<P> +They were about getting up a new regiment of militia there, and a +Captain Mathews, an ambitious, well-to-do settler, with cribs full of +corn, was a candidate for the colonelship. He came to Crockett to +insure his support, and endeavored to animate him to more cordial +cooperation by promising to do what he could to have him elected major +of the regiment. Esquire Crockett at first declined, saying that he was +thoroughly disgusted with all military operations, and that he had no +desire for any such honors. But as Captain Mathews urged the question, +and Crockett reflected that the office would give him some additional +respect and influence with his neighbors, and that Major Crockett was a +very pleasantly sounding title, he finally consented, and, of course, +very soon became deeply interested in the enterprise. +</P> + +<P> +Captain Mathews, as an electioneering measure, invited all his +neighbors, far and near, to a very magnificent corn-husking frolic. +There was to be a great treat on the occasion, and "all the world," as +the French say, were eager to be there. Crockett and his family were of +course among the invited guests. When Crockett got there he found an +immense gathering, all in high glee, and was informed, much to his +surprise and chagrin, that Captain Mathews's son had offered himself +for the office of major, in opposition to Crockett. +</P> + +<P> +The once had, in reality, but few charms for Crockett, and he did not +care much for it. But this unworthy treatment roused his indignation. +He was by nature one of the most frank and open-hearted of men, and +never attempted to do anything by guile. Immediately he called Captain +Mathews aside, and inquired what this all meant. The Captain was much +embarrassed, and made many lame excuses, saying that he would rather +his son would run against any man in the county than against Squire +Crockett. +</P> + +<P> +"You need give yourself no uneasiness about that," Crockett replied. "I +care nothing for the office of major; I shall not allow my name to be +used against your son for that office. But I shall do everything in my +power to prevent his father from being colonel." +</P> + +<P> +In accordance with the custom of the region and the times, after the +feasting and the frolicking, Captain Mathews mounted a stump, and +addressed the assembly in what was appropriately called a stump speech, +advocating his election. +</P> + +<P> +The moment he closed, Squire Crockett mounted the stump, and on the +Captain's own grounds, addressing the Captain's guests, and himself one +of those guests, totally unabashed, made his first stump speech. He was +at no loss for words or ideas. He was full to the brim of fun. He +could, without any effort, keep the whole assembly in roars of +laughter. And there, in the presence of Captain Mathews and his family, +he argued his total unfitness to be the commander of a regiment. +</P> + +<P> +It is to be regretted that there was no reporter present to transmit to +us that speech. It must have been a peculiar performance. It certainly +added much to Crockett's reputation as an able man and an orator. When +the election came, both father and son were badly beaten. Soon after, a +committee waited upon Crockett, soliciting him to stand as candidate +for the State Legislature, to represent the two counties of Lawrence +and Hickman. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett was beginning to be ambitious. He consented. But he had +already engaged to take a drove of horses from Central Tennessee to the +lower part of North Carolina. This was a long journey, and going and +coming would take three months. He set out early in March, 1821. Upon +his return in June, he commenced with all zeal his electioneering +campaign. Characteristically he says: +</P> + +<P> +"It was a bran-fire new business to me. It now became necessary that I +should tell the people something about the Government, and an eternal +sight of other things that I know'd nothing more about than I did about +Latin, and law, and such things as that. I have said before, that in +those days none of us called General Jackson the Government. But I +know'd so little about it that if any one had told me that he was the +Government, I should have believed it; for I had never read even a +newspaper in my life, or anything else on the subject." +</P> + +<P> +Lawrence County bounded Giles County on the west. Just north of +Lawrence came Hickman County. Crockett first directed his steps to +Hickman County, to engage in his "bran-fire" new work of electioneering +for himself as a candidate for the Legislature. What ensued cannot be +more graphically told than in Crockett's own language: +</P> + +<P> +"Here they told me that they wanted to move their town nearer to the +centre of the county, and I must come out in favor of it. There's no +devil if I know'd what this meant, or how the town was to be moved. And +so I kept dark, going on the identical same plan that I now find is +called non-committal. +</P> + +<P> +"About this time there was a great squirrel-hunt, on Duck River, which +was among my people. They were to hunt two days; then to meet and count +the scalps, and have a big barbecue, and what might be called a tip-top +country frolic. The dinners and a general treat was all to be paid for +by the party having taken the fewest scalps. I joined one side, and got +a gun ready for the hunt. I killed a great many squirrels, and when we +counted scalps my party was victorious. +</P> + +<P> +"The company had everything to eat and drink that could be furnished in +a new country; and much fun and good humor prevailed. But before the +regular frolic commenced, I was called on to make a speech as a +candidate, which was a business I was as ignorant of as an outlandish +negro. +</P> + +<P> +"A public document I had never seen. How to begin I couldn't tell. I +made many apologies, and tried to get off, for I know'd I had a man to +run against who could speak prime. And I know'd, too that I wasn't able +to cut and thrust with him. He was there, and knowing my ignorance as +well as I did myself, he urged me to make a speech. The truth is, he +thought my being a candidate was a mere matter of sport, and didn't +think for a moment that he was in any danger from an ignorant back +woods bear-hunter. +</P> + +<P> +"But I found I couldn't get off. So I determined to go ahead, and leave +it to chance what I should say. I got up and told the people I reckoned +they know'd what I had come for; but if not, I could tell them. I had +come for their votes, and if they didn't watch mighty close I'd get +them too. But the worst of all was, that I could not tell them anything +about Government. I tried to speak about something, and I cared very +little what, until I choked up as bad as if my mouth had been jamm'd +and cramm'd chock-full of dry mush. There the people stood, listening +all the while, with their eyes, mouths, and ears all open to catch +every word I could speak. +</P> + +<P> +"At last I told them I was like a fellow I had heard of not long +before. He was beating on the head of an empty barrel on the roadside, +when a traveller, who was passing along, asked him what he was doing +that for? The fellow replied that there was some cider in that barrel a +few days before, and he was trying to see if there was any then; but if +there was, he couldn't get at it. I told them that there had been a +little bit of a speech in me a while ago, but I believed I couldn't get +it out. +</P> + +<P> +"They all roared out in a mighty laugh, and I told some other +anecdotes, equally amusing to them, and believing I had them in a +first-rate way, I quit and got down, thanking the people for their +attention. But I took care to remark that I was as dry as a +powder-horn, and that I thought that it was time for us all to wet our +whistles a little. And so I put off to a liquor-stand, and was followed +by the greater part of the crowd. +</P> + +<P> +"I felt certain this was necessary, for I know'd my competitor could +talk Government matters to them as easy as he pleased. He had, however, +mighty few left to hear him, as I continued with the crowd, now and +then taking a horn, and telling good-humored stories till he was done +speaking. I found I was good for the votes at the hunt; and when we +broke up I went on to the town of Vernon, which was the same they +wanted me to move. Here they pressed me again on the subject. I found I +could get either party by agreeing with them. But I told them I didn't +know whether it would be right or not, and so couldn't promise either +way." +</P> + +<P> +This famous barbecue was on Saturday. The next Monday the county court +held its session at Vernon. There was a great gathering of the pioneers +from all parts of the county. The candidates for the Governor of the +State, for a representative in Congress, and for the State Legislature, +were all present. Some of these men were of considerable ability, and +certainly of very fluent speech. The backwoodsmen, from their huts, +where there were no books, no newspapers, no intelligent companionship, +found this a rich intellectual treat. Their minds were greatly excited +as they listened to the impassioned and glowing utterances of speaker +after speaker; for many of these stump orators had command of a rude +but very effective eloquence. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett listened also, with increasing anxiety. He knew that his turn +was to come; that he must mount the stump and address the listening +throng. He perceived that he could not speak as these men were +speaking; and perhaps for the first time in his life began to +experience some sense of inferiority. He writes: +</P> + +<P> +"The thought of having to make a speech made my knees feel mighty weak, +and set my heart to fluttering almost as bad as my first love-scrape +with the Quaker's niece. But as good luck would have it, these big +candidates spoke nearly all day, and when they quit the people were +worn out with fatigue, which afforded me a good apology for not +discussing the Government. But I listened mighty close to them, and was +learning pretty fast about political matters. When they were all done, +I got up and told some laughable story, and quit. I found I was safe in +those parts; and so I went home, and did not go back again till after +the election was over. But to cut this matter short, I was elected, +doubling my competitor, and nine votes over. +</P> + +<P> +"A short time after this, I was at Pulaski, where I met with Colonel +Polk, now a member of Congress from Tennessee. He was at that time a +member elected to the Legislature, as well as myself. In a large +company he said to me, 'Well, Colonel, I suppose we shall have a +radical change of the judiciary at the next session of the +Legislature.' 'Very likely, sir,' says I. And I put out quicker, for I +was afraid some one would ask me what the judiciary was; and if I +know'd I wish I may be shot. I don't indeed believe I had ever before +heard that there was any such thing in all nature. But still I was not +willing that the people there should know how ignorant I was about it." +</P> + +<P> +At length the day arrived for the meeting of the Legislature. Crockett +repaired to the seat of government. With all his self-complacency he +began to appreciate that he had much to learn. The two first items of +intelligence which he deemed it important that he, as a member of the +Legislature, should acquire, were the meaning of the words government +and judiciary. By adroit questioning and fixed thought, he ere long +stored up those intellectual treasures. Though with but little capacity +to obtain knowledge from books, he became an earnest student of the +ideas of his fellow-legislators as elicited in conversation or debate. +Quite a heavy disaster, just at this time, came upon Crockett. We must +again quote his own words, for it is our wish, in this volume, to give +the reader a correct idea of the man. Whatever Crockett says, ever +comes fresh from his heart. He writes: +</P> + +<P> +"About this time I met with a very severe misfortune, which I may be +pardoned for naming, as it made a great change in my circumstances, and +kept me back very much in the world. I had built an extensive +grist-mill and powder-mill, all connected together, and also a large +distillery. They had cost me upward of three thousand dollars; more +than I was worth in the world. The first news that I heard, after I got +to the Legislature, was that my mills were all swept to smash by a +large freshet that came soon after I left home. +</P> + +<P> +"I had, of course, to stop my distillery, as my grinding was broken up. +And indeed I may say that the misfortune just made a complete mash of +me. I had some likely negroes, and a good stock of almost everything +about me, and, best of all, I had an honest wife. She didn't advise me, +as is too fashionable, to smuggle up this, and that, and t'other, to go +on at home. But she told me, says she, 'Just pay up as long as you have +a bit's worth in the world; and then everybody will be satisfied, and +we will scuffle for more.' +</P> + +<P> +"This was just such talk as I wanted to hear, for a man's wife can hold +him devilish uneasy if she begins to scold and fret, and perplex him, +at a time when he has a full load for a railroad car on his mind +already. And so, you see, I determined not to break full-handed, but +thought it better to keep a good conscience with an empty purse, than +to get a bad opinion of myself with a full one. I therefore gave up all +I had, and took a bran-fire new start." +</P> + +<P> +Crockett's legislative career was by no means brilliant, but +characteristic. He was the fun-maker of the house, and, like Falstaff, +could boast that he was not only witty himself, but the cause of wit in +others. His stories were irresistibly comic; but they almost always +contained expressions of profanity or coarseness which renders it +impossible for us to transmit them to these pages. He was an inimitable +mimic, and had perfect command of a Dutchman's brogue. One of the least +objectionable of his humorous stories we will venture to record. +</P> + +<P> +There were, he said, in Virginia, two Dutchmen, brothers, George and +Jake Fulwiler. They were both well to do in the world, and each owned a +grist mill. There was another Dutchman near by, by the name of Henry +Snyder. He was a mono-maniac, but a harmless man, occasionally thinking +himself to be God. He built a throne, and would often sit upon it, +pronouncing judgment upon others, and also upon himself. He would send +the culprits to heaven or to hell, as his humor prompted. +</P> + +<P> +One day he had a little difficulty with the two Fulwilers. He took his +seat upon his throne, and in imagination summoning the culprits before +him, thus addressed them: +</P> + +<P> +"Shorge Fulwiler, stand up. What hash you been dain in dis lower world?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ah! Lort, ich does not know." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Shorge Fulwiler, hasn't you got a mill?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Lort, ich hash." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Shorge Fulwiler, didn't you never take too much toll?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Lort, ich hash; when der water wash low, and mein stones wash +dull, ich take leetle too much toll." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, den, Shorge Fulwiler, you must go to der left mid der goats." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Shake Fulwiler, now you stand up. What hash you been doin in dis +lower world?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ah! Lort, ich does not know." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Shake Fulwiler, hasn't you got a mill?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Lort, ich hash." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Shake Fulwiler hasn't you never taken too much toll?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes Lort, ich hash; when der water wash low, and mein stones wash +dull, ich take leetle too much toll." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, den, Shake Fuhviler, you must go to der left mid der goats." +</P> + +<P> +"Now ich try menself. Henry Snyder, Henry Snyder, stand up. What hash +you bin dain in die lower world?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, Lort, ich does not know." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Henry Snyder, hasn't you got a mill?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Lort, ich hash." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Henry Snyder, didn't you never take too much toll?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Lort, ich hash; when der water wash low, and mein stones wash +dull, ich hash taken leetle too much toll." +</P> + +<P> +"But, Henry Snyder, vat did you do mid der toll?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, Lort, ich gives it to der poor." +</P> + +<P> +The judge paused for a moment, and then said, "Well, Henry Snyder, you +must go to der right mid der sheep. But it is a tight squeeze." +</P> + +<P> +Another specimen of his more sober forensic eloquence is to be found in +the following speech. There was a bill before the house for the +creation of a new county, and there was a dispute about the +boundary-line. The author of the bill wished to run the line in a +direction which would manifestly promote his own interest. Crockett +arose and said: +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Speaker: Do you know what that man's bill reminds me of? Well, I +s'pose you don't, so I'll tell you. Well, Mr. Speaker, when I first +came to this country a blacksmith was a rare thing. But there happened +to be one in my neighborhood. He had no striker; and whenever one of +the neighbors wanted any work done, he had to go over and strike until +his work was finished. These were hard times, Mr. Speaker, but we had +to do the best we could. +</P> + +<P> +"It happened that one of my neighbors wanted an axe. So he took along +with him a piece of iron, and went over to the blacksmith's to strike +till his axe was done. The iron was heated, and my neighbor fell to +work, and was striking there nearly all day; when the blacksmith +concluded that the iron wouldn't make an axe, but 'twould make a fine +mattock. +</P> + +<P> +"So my neighbor, wanting a mattock, concluded that he would go over and +strike till the mattock was done. Accordingly he went over the next +day, and worked faithfully. But toward night the blacksmith concluded +his iron wouldn't make a mattock but 'twould make a fine ploughshare. +</P> + +<P> +"So my neighbor, wanting a ploughshare, agreed that he would go over +the next day and strike till that was done. Accordingly he went over, +and fell hard at work. But toward night the blacksmith concluded his +iron wouldn't make a ploughshare, but 'twould make a fine skow. So my +neighbor, tired of working, cried, 'A skow let it be;' and the +blacksmith, taking up the red-hot iron, threw it into a trough of hot +water near him, and as it fell in, it sung out skow. And this, Mr. +Speaker, will be the way of that man's bill for a county. He'll keep +you all here, doing nothing, and finally his bill will turn up a skow; +now mind if it don't." +</P> + +<P> +At this time, Crockett, by way of courtesy, was usually called colonel, +as with us almost every respectable man takes the title of esquire. One +of the members offended Colonel Crockett by speaking disrespectfully of +him as from the back woods, or, as he expressed it, the gentleman from +the cane. Crockett made a very bungling answer, which did not satisfy +himself. After the house adjourned, he very pleasantly invited the +gentleman to take a walk with him. They chatted very sociably by the +way, till, at the distance of about a mile, they reached a very +secluded spot, when the Colonel, turning to his opponent, said: +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know what I brought you here for?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," was the reply. +</P> + +<P> +"Well," added the Colonel, "I brought you here for the express purpose +of whipping you; and now I mean to do it." +</P> + +<P> +"But," says the Colonel, in recording the event, "the fellow said he +didn't mean anything, and kept 'pologizing till I got into good humor." +</P> + +<P> +They walked back as good friends as ever, and no one but themselves +knew of the affair. +</P> + +<P> +After the adjournment of the Legislature, Crockett returned to his +impoverished home. The pecuniary losses he had encountered, induced him +to make another move, and one for which it is difficult to conceive of +any adequate motive. He took his eldest son, a boy about eight years of +age, and a young man by the name of Abram Henry, and with one +pack-horse to carry their blankets and provisions, plunged into the +vast wilderness west of them, on an exploring tour, in search of a new +home. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett and the young man shouldered their rifles. Day after day the +three trudged along, fording streams, clambering hills, wading +morasses, and threading ravines, each night constructing a frail +shelter, and cooking by their camp-fire such game as they had taken by +the way. +</P> + +<P> +After traversing these almost pathless wilds a hundred and fifty miles, +and having advanced nearly fifty miles beyond any white settlement, +they reached the banks of a lonely stream, called Obion River, on the +extreme western frontier of Tennessee. This river emptied into the +Mississippi but a few miles from the spot where Crockett decided to +rear his cabin. His nearest neighbor was seven miles distant, his next +fifteen, his next twenty. +</P> + +<P> +About ten years before, that whole region had been convulsed by one of +the most terrible earthquakes recorded in history. One or two awful +hurricanes had followed the earthquake, prostrating the gigantic +forest, and scattering the trees in all directions. Appalling +indications remained of the power expended by these tremendous forces +of nature. The largest forest-trees were found split from their roots +to their tops, and lying half on each side of a deep fissure. The +opening abysses, the entanglement of the prostrate forest, and the +dense underbrush which had sprung up, rendered the whole region almost +impenetrable. The country was almost entirely uninhabited. It had, +however, become quite celebrated as being the best hunting-ground in +the West. The fear of earthquakes and the general desolation had +prevented even the Indians from rearing their wigwams there. +Consequently wild animals had greatly increased. The country was filled +with bears, wolves, panthers, deer, elks, and other smaller game. +</P> + +<P> +The Indians had recently made this discovery, and were, in +ever-increasing numbers, exploring the regions in hunting-bands. +Crockett does not seem to have had much appreciation of the beautiful. +In selecting a spot for his hut, he wished to be near some crystal +stream where he could get water, and to build his hut upon land +sufficiently high to be above the reach of freshets. It was also +desirable to find a small plain or meadow free from trees, where he +could plant his corn; and to be in the edge of the forest, which would +supply him with abundance of fuel. Crockett found such a place, exactly +to his mind. Being very fond of hunting, he was the happiest of men. A +few hours' labor threw up a rude hut which was all the home he desired. +His rifle furnished him with food, and with the skins of animals for +bed and bedding. Every frontiersman knew how to dress the skin of deer +for moccasins and other garments. With a sharpened stick he punched +holes through the rank sod, and planted corn, in soil so rich that it +would return him several hundred-fold. +</P> + +<P> +Thus his tastes, such as they were, were gratified, and he enjoyed what +to him were life's luxuries. He probably would not have been willing to +exchange places with the resident in the most costly mansion in our +great cities. In a few days he got everything comfortable around him. +Crockett's cabin, or rather camp, was on the eastern side of the Obion +River. Seven miles farther up the stream, on the western bank, a Mr. +Owen had reared his log house. One morning, Crockett, taking the young +man Henry and his son with him, set out to visit Mr. Owen, his nearest +neighbor. He hobbled his horse, leaving him to graze until he got back. +</P> + +<P> +They followed along the banks of the river, through the forest, until +they reached a point nearly opposite Owen's cabin. By crossing the +stream there, and following up the western bank they would be sure to +find his hut. There was no boat, and the stream must be swum or forded. +Recent rains had caused it to overflow its banks and spread widely over +the marshy bottoms and low country near by. The water was icy cold. And +yet they took to it, says Crockett, "like so many beavers." +</P> + +<P> +The expanse to be crossed was very wide, and they knew not how deep +they should find the channel. For some distance the water continued +quite shoal. Gradually it deepened. Crockett led the way, with a pole +in his hand. Cautiously he sounded the depth before him, lest they +should fall into any slough. A dense growth of young trees covered the +inundated bottom over which they were wading. Occasionally they came to +a deep but narrow gully. Crockett, with his hatchet, would cut down a +small tree, and by its aid would cross. +</P> + +<P> +At length the water became so deep that Crockett's little boy had to +swim, though they evidently had not yet reached the channel of the +stream. Having waded nearly half a mile, they came to the channel. The +stream, within its natural banks, was but about forty feet wide. Large +forest-trees fringed the shores. One immense tree, blown down by the +wind, reached about halfway across. Crockett, with very arduous labor +with his hatchet, cut down another, so that it fell with the branches +of the two intertwining. +</P> + +<P> +Thus aided they reached the opposite side. But still the lowlands +beyond were overflowed as far as the eye could see through the dense +forest. On they waded, for nearly a mile, when, to their great joy, +they came in sight of dry land. Their garments were dripping and they +were severely chilled as they reached the shore. But turning their +steps up the stream, they soon came in sight of the cabin, which looked +to them like a paradise of rest. It was one of the rudest of huts. The +fenceless grounds around were rough and ungainly. The dismal forest, +which chanced there to have escaped both earthquake and hurricane, +spread apparently without limits in all directions. +</P> + +<P> +Most men, most women, gazing upon a scene so wild, lonely, cheerless, +would have said, "Let me sink into the grave rather than be doomed to +such a home as that." But to Crockett and his companions it presented +all the attractions their hearts could desire. Mr. Owen and several +other men were just starting away from the cabin, when, to their +surprise, they saw the party of strangers approaching. They waited +until Crockett came up and introduced himself. The men with Mr. Owen +were boatmen, who had entered the Obion River from the Mississippi with +a boat-load of articles for trade. They were just leaving to continue +their voyage. +</P> + +<P> +Such men are seldom in a hurry. Time is to them of but very little +value. Hospitality was a virtue which cost nothing. Any stranger, with +his rifle, could easily pay his way in the procurement of food. They +all turned back and entered the cabin together. Mrs. Owen was an +excellent, motherly woman, about fifty years of age. Her sympathies +were immediately excited for the poor little boy, whose garments were +drenched, and who was shivering as if in an ague-fit. She replenished +the fire, dried his clothes, and gave him some warm and nourishing +food. The grateful father writes: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +These were not the days of temperance. The whiskey-bottle was +considered one of the indispensables of every log cabin which made any +pretences to gentility. The boat, moored near the shore, was loaded +with whiskey, flour, sugar, hardware, and other articles, valuable in +the Indian trade in the purchase of furs, and in great demand in the +huts of pioneers. There was a small trading-post at what was called +McLemone's Bluff; about thirty miles farther up the river by land, and +nearly one hundred in following the windings of the stream. This point +the boatmen were endeavoring to reach. +</P> + +<P> +For landing their cargo at this point the boatmen were to receive five +hundred dollars, besides the profits of any articles they could sell in +the scattered hamlets they might encounter by the way. The +whiskey-bottle was of course brought out. Crockett drank deeply; he +says, at least half a pint. His tongue was unloosed, and he became one +of the most voluble and entertaining of men. His clothes having been +dried by the fire, and all having with boisterous merriment partaken of +a hearty supper, as night came on the little boy was left to the tender +care of Mrs. Owen, while the rest of the party repaired to the cabin of +the boat, to make a night of it in drinking and carousal. +</P> + +<P> +They had indeed a wild time. There was whiskey in abundance. Crockett +was in his element, and kept the whole company in a constant roar. +Their shouts and bacchanal songs resounded through the solitudes, with +clamor and profaneness which must have fallen painfully upon angels' +ears, if any of heaven's pure and gentle spirits were within hearing +distance. +</P> + +<P> +"We had," writes Crockett, "a high night of it, as I took steam enough +to drive out all the cold that was in me, and about three times as much +more." +</P> + +<P> +These boon companions became warm friends, according to the most +approved style of backwoods friendship. Mr. Owen told the boatmen that +a few miles farther up the river a hurricane had entirely prostrated +the forest, and that the gigantic trees so encumbered the stream that +he was doubtful whether the boat could pass, unless the water should +rise higher. Consequently he, with Crockett and Henry, accompanied the +boatmen up to that point to help them through, should it be possible to +effect a passage. But it was found impossible, and the boat dropped +down again to its moorings opposite Mr. Owen's cabin. +</P> + +<P> +As it was now necessary to wait till the river should rise, the boatmen +and Mr. Owen all consented to accompany Crockett to the place where he +was to settle, and build his house for him. It seems very strange that, +in that dismal wilderness, Crockett should not have preferred to build +his cabin near so kind a neighbor. But so it was. He chose his lot at a +distance of seven miles from any companionship. +</P> + +<P> +"And so I got the boatmen," he writes, "all to go out with me to where +I was going to settle, and we slipped up a cabin in little or no time. +I got from the boat four barrels of meal, one of salt, and about ten +gallons of whiskey." +</P> + +<P> +For these he paid in labor, agreeing to accompany the boatmen up the +river as far as their landing-place at McLemone's Bluff. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Life on the Obion. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Hunting Adventures.—The Voyage up the River.—Scenes in the +Cabin.—Return Home.—Removal of the Family.—Crockett's Riches.—A +Perilous Enterprise.—Reasons for his Celebrity.—Crockett's +Narrative.—A Bear-Hunt.—Visit to Jackson.—Again a Candidate for the +Legislature.—Electioneering and Election. +</P> + +<P> +The next day after building the cabin, to which Crockett intended to +move his family, it began to rain, as he says, "rip-roariously." The +river rapidly rose, and the boatmen were ready to resume their voyage. +Crockett stepped out into the forest and shot a deer, which he left as +food for Abram Henry and his little boy, who were to remain in the +cabin until his return. He expected to be absent six or seven days. The +stream was very sluggish. By poling, as it was called, that is, by +pushing the boat with long poles, they reached the encumbrance caused +by the hurricane, where they stopped for the night. +</P> + +<P> +In the morning, as soon as the day dawned, Crockett, thinking it +impossible for them to get through the fallen timber that day, took his +rifle and went into the forest in search of game. He had gone but a +short distance when he came across a fine buck. The animal fell before +his unerring aim, and, taking the prize upon his shoulders, he +commenced a return to the boat. +</P> + +<P> +He had not proceeded far before he came upon the fresh tracks of a herd +of elks. The temptation to follow their trail was to a veteran hunter +irresistible. He threw down his buck, and had not gone far before he +came upon two more bucks, very large and splendid animals. The +beautiful creatures, though manifesting some timidity, did not seem +disposed to run, but, with their soft, womanly eyes, gazed with wonder +upon the approaching stranger. The bullet from Crockett's rifle struck +between the eyes of one, and he fell dead. The other, his companion, +exhibited almost human sympathy. Instead of taking to flight, he clung +to his lifeless associate, looking down upon him as if some +incomprehensible calamity had occurred. Crockett rapidly reloaded his +rifle, and the other buck fell dead. +</P> + +<P> +He hung them both upon the limb of a tree, so that they should not be +devoured by the wolves, and followed on in the trail of the elks. He +did not overtake them until nearly noon. They were then beyond +rifle-shot, and kept so, luring him on quite a distance. At length he +saw two other fine bucks, both of which he shot. The intellectual +culture of the man may be inferred from the following characteristic +description which he gives of these events: +</P> + +<P> +"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 stopped, +and stood there until I loaded again and fired at him. I knocked his +trotters from under him, and then I hung them both up. I pushed on +again, and about sunset I saw three other bucks. I down'd with one of +them, and the other two ran off. I hung this one up also, having killed +six that day. +</P> + +<P> +"I then pushed on till I got to the hurricane, and at the lower edge of +it, about where I expected the boat was. Here I hollered as hard as I +could roar, but could get no answer. I fired off my gun, and the men on +the boat fired one too. But, quite contrary to my expectations, they +had got through the timber, 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 couldn't much more than get along. I got through at last, +and went on to near where I had killed my last deer, and once more +fired off my gun, which was again answered from the boat, which was 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 without further difficulty. +But the 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 scarcely work my +jaws to eat." +</P> + +<P> +The next morning, Crockett took a young man with him and went out into +the woods to bring in the game he had shot. They brought in two of the +bucks, which afforded them all the supply of venison they needed, and +left the others hanging upon the trees. The boatmen then pushed their +way up the river. The progress was slow, and eleven toilsome days +passed before they reached their destination. Crockett had now +discharged his debt, and prepared to return to his cabin. There was a +light skiff attached to the large flat-bottomed boat in which they had +ascended the river. This skiff Crockett took, and, accompanied by a +young man by the name of Flavius Harris, who had decided to go back +with him, speedily paddled their way down the stream to his cabin. +</P> + +<P> +There were now four occupants of this lonely, dreary hut, which was +surrounded by forests and fallen trees and briers and brambles. They +all went to work vigorously in clearing some land for a corn field, +that they might lay in a store for the coming winter. The spring was +far advanced, and the season for planting nearly gone. They had brought +some seed with them on their pack-horse, and they soon had the pleasure +of seeing the tender sprouts pushing up vigorously through the +luxuriant virgin soil. It was not necessary to fence their field. +Crockett writes: +</P> + +<P> +"There was no stock nor anything else to disturb our corn except the +wild varmints; and the old serpent himself, with a fence to help him, +couldn't keep them out." +</P> + +<P> +Here Crockett and his three companions remained through the summer and +into the autumn, until they could gather in their harvest of corn. +During that time they lived, as they deemed, sumptuously, upon game. To +kill a grizzly bear was ever considered an achievement of which any +hunter might boast. During the summer, Crockett killed ten of these +ferocious monsters. Their flesh was regarded as a great delicacy. And +their shaggy skins were invaluable in the cabin for beds and bedding. +He also shot deer in great abundance. The smaller game he took, of fat +turkeys, partridges, pigeons, etc., he did not deem worth enumerating. +</P> + +<P> +It was a very lazy, lounging, indolent life. Crockett could any morning +go into the woods and shoot a deer. He would bring all the desirable +parts of it home upon his shoulders, or he would take his pack-horse +out with him for that purpose. At their glowing fire, outside of the +cabin if the weather were pleasant, inside if it rained, they would +cook the tender steaks. They had meal for corn bread; and it will also +be remembered that they had sugar, and ten gallons of whiskey. +</P> + +<P> +The deerskins were easily tanned into soft and pliant leather. They all +knew how to cut these skins, and with tough sinews to sew them into +hunting-shirts, moccasins, and other needed garments. Sitting +Indian-fashion on mattresses or cushions of bearskin, with just enough +to do gently to interest the mind, with no anxiety or thought even +about the future, they would loiter listlessly through the long hours +of the summer days. +</P> + +<P> +Occasionally two or three Indians, on a hunting excursion, would visit +the cabin. These Indians were invariably friendly. Crockett had no more +apprehension that they would trouble him than he had that the elk or +the deer would make a midnight attack upon his cabin. Not unfrequently +they would have a visit from Mr. Owen's household; or they would all go +up to his hut for a carouse. Two or three times, during the summer, +small parties exploring the country came along, and would rest a day or +two under Crockett's hospitable roof. Thus with these men, with their +peculiar habits and tastes, the summer probably passed away as +pleasantly as with most people in this world of care and trouble. +</P> + +<P> +Early in the autumn, Crockett returned to Central Tennessee to fetch +his family to the new home. Upon reaching his cabin in Giles County, he +was met by a summons to attend a special session of the Legislature. He +attended, and served out his time, though he took but little interest +in legislative affairs. His thoughts were elsewhere, and he was +impatient for removal, before cold weather should set in, to his +far-distant home. +</P> + +<P> +Late in October he set out with his little family on foot, for their +long journey of one hundred and fifty miles through almost a pathless +forest. His poverty was extreme. But the peculiar character of the man +was such that he did net seem to regard that at all. Two pack-horses +conveyed all their household goods. Crockett led the party, with a +child on one arm and his rifle on the other. He walked gayly along, +singing as merrily as the birds. Half a dozen dogs followed him. Then +came the horses in single file. His wife and older children, following +one after the other in single file along the narrow trail, closed up +the rear. It was a very singular procession, thus winding its way, +through forest and moor, over hills and prairies, to the silent shores +of the Mississippi. The eventful journey was safely accomplished, and +he found all things as he had left them. A rich harvest of golden ears +was waving in his corn-field; and his comfortable cabin, in all +respects as comfortable as the one he had left, was ready to receive +its inmates. +</P> + +<P> +He soon gathered in his harvest, and was thus amply supplied with bread +for the winter. Fuel, directly at his hand, was abundant, and thus, as +we may say, his coal-bin was full. Game of every kind, excepting +buffaloes, was ranging the woods, which required no shelter or food at +his expense, and from which he could, at pleasure, select any variety +of the most delicious animal food he might desire. Thus his larder was +full to repletion. The skins of animals furnished them with warm and +comfortable clothing, easily decorated with fringes and some bright +coloring, whose beauty was tasteful to every eye. Thus the family +wardrobe was amply stored. Many might have deemed Crockett a poor man. +He regarded himself as one of the lords of creation. +</P> + +<P> +Christmas was drawing nigh. It may be doubted whether Crockett had the +slightest appreciation of the sacred character of that day which +commemorates the advent of the Son of God to suffer and die for the +sins of the world. With Crockett it had ever been a day of +jollification. He fired salutes with his rifle. He sung his merriest +songs. He told his funniest stories. He indulged himself in the highest +exhilaration which whiskey could induce. +</P> + +<P> +As this holiday approached, Crockett was much troubled in finding that +his powder was nearly expended, and that he had none "to fire Christmas +guns." This seemed really to annoy him more than that he had none to +hunt with. +</P> + +<P> +In the mean time, a brother-in-law had moved to that region, and had +reared his cabin at a distance of six miles from the hut of David +Crockett, on the western bank of Rutherford's Fork, one of the +tributaries of Obion River. He had brought with him a keg of powder for +Crockett, which had not yet been delivered. +</P> + +<P> +The region all around was low and swampy. The fall rains had so swollen +the streams that vast extents of territory were inundated. All the +river-bottoms were covered with water. The meadows which lined the +Obion, where Crockett would have to pass, were so flooded that it was +all of a mile from shore to shore. +</P> + +<P> +The energy which Crockett displayed on the difficult and perilous +journey, illustrates those remarkable traits of character which have +given him such wide renown. There must be something very extraordinary +about a man which can make his name known throughout a continent. And +of the forty millions of people in the United States, there is scarcely +one, of mature years, who has not heard the name of David Crockett. +</P> + +<P> +When Crockett told his wife that he had decided to go to his brother's +for the powder, she earnestly remonstrated, saying that it was at the +imminent hazard of his life. The ground was covered with snow. He would +have to walk at least a mile through icy water, up to his waist, and +would probably have to swim the channel. He then, with dripping +clothes, and through the cold wintry blast, would have to walk several +miles before he could reach his brother's home. Crockett persisted in +his determination, saying, "I have no powder for Christmas, and we are +out of meat." +</P> + +<P> +He put on some woollen wrappers and a pair of deerskin moccasins. He +then tied up a small bundle; of clothes, with shoes and stockings, +which he might exchange for his dripping garments when he should reach +his brother's cabin. I quote from his own account of the adventure. +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't before know how much a person could suffer and not die. 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 came 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 often crossed it on a log; +but behold, when I got there no log was to be seen. +</P> + +<P> +"I know'd 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 know'd +further, that the water was about eight or ten feet deep under the log, +and I judged it to be 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 +this I succeeded very well. I then cut me a pole, and then crawled +along on my sapling till I got to the one it was lodged against, which +was about six feet above the water. +</P> + +<P> +"I then felt about with the 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 to the place of lodgment, and then climbed down the +other sapling so as to get on the log. I 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. +</P> + +<P> +"I went but a short distance when I came to another slough, over which +there was a log, but it was floating on the water. I thought I could +walk it, so I mounted on it. But when I had got about 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 stopped to pull of my wet clothes, and put on +the others which I held up with my gun above water when I fell in." +</P> + +<P> +This exchanging of his dripping garments for dry clothes, standing in +the snow four inches deep, and exposed to the wintry blast, must have +been a pretty severe operation. Hardy as Crockett was, he was so +chilled and numbed by the excessive cold that his flesh had scarcely +any feeling. He tied his wet clothes together and hung them up on the +limb of a tree, to drip and dry He thought he would then set out on the +full run, and endeavor thus to warm himself by promoting the more rapid +circulation of his blood. But to his surprise he could scarcely move. +With his utmost exertions he could not take a step more than six inches +in length. He had still five miles to walk, through a rough, pathless +forest, encumbered with snow. +</P> + +<P> +By great and painful effort he gradually recovered the use of his +limbs, and toiling along for two or three hours, late in the evening +was cheered by seeing the light of a bright fire shining through the +chinks between the logs of his brother's lonely cabin. He was received +with the utmost cordiality. Even his hardy pioneer brother listened +with astonishment to the narrative of the perils he had surmounted and +the sufferings he had endured. After the refreshment of a warm supper, +Crockett wrapped himself in a bearskin, and lying down upon the floor, +with his feet to the fire, slept the sweet, untroubled sleep of a babe. +In the morning he awoke as well as ever, feeling no bad consequences +from the hardships of the preceding day. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning a freezing gale from the north wailed through the +snow-whitened forest, and the cold was almost unendurable. The earnest +persuasions of his brother and his wife induced him to remain with them +for the day. But, with his accustomed energy, instead of enjoying the +cosey comfort of the Fireside, he took his rifle, and went out into the +woods, wading the snow and breasting the gale. After the absence of an +hour or two, he returned tottering beneath the load of two deer, which +he had shot, and which he brought to the cabin on his shoulders. Thus +he made a very liberal contribution to the food of the family, so that +his visit was a source of profit to them, not of loss. +</P> + +<P> +All the day, and during the long wintry night, the freezing blasts blew +fiercely, and the weather grew more severely cold. The next morning his +friends urged him to remain another day. They all knew that the water +would be frozen over, but not sufficiently hard to bear his weight, and +this would add greatly to the difficulty and the danger of his return. +It seemed impossible that any man could endure, on such a day, fording +a swollen stream, a mile in breadth, the water most of the way up to +his waist, in some places above his head, and breaking the ice at every +step. The prospect appalled even Crockett himself. He therefore decided +to remain till the next morning, though he knew that his family would +be left in a state of great anxiety. He hoped that an additional day +and night might so add to the thickness of the ice that it would bear +his weight. +</P> + +<P> +He therefore shouldered his musket and again went into the woods on a +hunt. Though he saw an immense bear, and followed him for some +distance, he was unable to shoot him. After several hours' absence, he +returned empty-handed. +</P> + +<P> +Another morning dawned, lurid and chill, over the gloomy forest. Again +his friends entreated him not to run the risk of an attempt to return +in such fearful weather. "It was bitter cold," he writes, "but I know'd +my family was without meat, and I determined to get home to them, or +die a-trying." +</P> + +<P> +We will let Crockett tell his own story of his adventures in going back: +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"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 difficulty, and worked +along till I came to my lodged sapling and my log under the water. +</P> + +<P> +"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 struggling about in the +water. I therefore fresh-primed my gun, and, cold as I was, I was +determined to make war on him if we met. But I followed the trail till +it led me home. Then I found that it had been 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." +</P> + +<P> +The night after Crockett's return a heavy rain fell, which, toward +morning, turned to sleet. But there was no meat in the cabin. There +were at that time three men who were inmates of that lowly +hut—Crockett, a young man, Flavius Harris, who had taken up his abode +with the pioneer, and a brother in-law, who had recently emigrated to +that wild country, and had reared his cabin not far distant from +Crockett's. They all turned out hunting. Crockett, hoping to get a +bear, went up the river into the dense and almost impenetrable +thickets, where the gigantic forest had been swept low by the +hurricane. The other two followed down the stream in search of turkeys, +grouse, and such small game. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett took with him three dogs, one of which was an old hound, +faithful, sagacious, but whose most vigorous days were gone. The dogs +were essential in hunting bears. By their keen scent they would find +the animal, which fact they would announce to the hunter by their loud +barking. Immediately a fierce running fight would ensue. By this attack +the bear would be greatly retarded in his flight, so that the hunter +could overtake him, and he would often be driven into a tree, where the +unerring rifle-bullet would soon bring him down. +</P> + +<P> +The storm of sleet still raged, and nothing could be more gloomy than +the aspect of dreariness and desolation which the wrecked forest +presented with its dense growth of briers and thorns. Crockett toiled +through the storm and the brush about six miles up the river, and saw +nothing. He then crossed over, about four miles, to another stream. +Still no game appeared. The storm was growing more violent, the sleet +growing worse and worse. Even the bears sought shelter from the +pitiless wintry gale. The bushes were all bent down with the ice which +clung to their branches, and were so bound together that it was almost +impossible for any one to force his way through them. +</P> + +<P> +The ice upon the stream would bear Crockett's weight. He followed it +down a mile or two, when his dogs started up a large flock of turkeys. +He shot two of them. They were immensely large, fat, and heavy. Tying +their legs together, he slung them over his shoulder, and with this +additional burden pressed on his toilsome way. Ere long he became so +fatigued that he was compelled to sit down upon a log to rest. +</P> + +<P> +Just then his dogs began to bark furiously. He was quite sure that they +had found a bear. Eagerly he followed the direction they indicated, as +fast as he could force his way along. To his surprise he found that the +three dogs had stopped near a large tree, and were barking furiously at +nothing. But as soon as they saw him approaching they started off +again, making the woods resound with their baying. Having run about a +quarter of a mile, he could perceive that again they had stopped. When +Crockett reached them there was no game in sight. The dogs, barking +furiously again, as soon as they saw him approaching plunged into the +thicket. +</P> + +<P> +For a third time, and a fourth time, this was repeated. Crockett could +not understand what it meant. Crockett became angry at being thus +deceived, and resolved that he would shoot the old hound, whom he +considered the ringleader in the mischief, as soon as he got near +enough to do so. +</P> + +<P> +"With this intention," he says, "I pushed on the harder, till I came to +the edge of an open prairie; and looking on before my dogs, I saw 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 stopped so often that I +might overtake them." +</P> + +<P> +This is certainly a remarkable instance of animal sagacity. The three +dogs, by some inexplicable conference among themselves, decided that +the enemy was too formidable for them to attack alone. They therefore +summoned their master to their aid. As soon as they saw that he was +near enough to lend his cooperation, then they fearlessly assailed the +monster. +</P> + +<P> +The sight inspired Crockett with new life. Through thickets, briers, +and brambles they all rushed—bear, dogs, and hunter. At length, the +shaggy monster, so fiercely assailed, climbed for refuge a large +black-oak tree, and sitting among the branches, looked composedly down +upon the dogs barking fiercely at its foot. Crockett crept up within +about eighty yards, and taking deliberate aim at his breast, fired. The +bullet struck and pierced the monster directly upon the spot at which +it was aimed. The bear uttered a sharp cry, made a convulsive movement +with one paw, and remained as before. +</P> + +<P> +Speedily Crockett reloaded his rifle, and sent another bullet to follow +the first. The shaggy brute shuddered in every limb, and then tumbled +head-long to the icy ground. Still he was not killed. The dogs plunged +upon him, and there was a tremendous fight. The howling of the bear, +and the frenzied barking of the dogs, with their sharp cries of pain as +the claws of the monster tore their flesh, and the deathly struggle +witnessed as they rolled over and over each other in the fierce fight, +presented a terrific spectacle. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett hastened to the aid of his dogs. As soon as the bear saw him +approach, he forsook the inferior, and turned with all fury upon the +superior foe. Crockett was hurrying forward with his tomahawk in one +hand and his big butcher-knife in the other, when the bear, with eyes +flashing fire, rushed upon him. Crockett ran back, seized his rifle, +and with a third bullet penetrated the monster's brain and he fell +dead. The dogs and their master seemed to rejoice alike in their great +achievement. +</P> + +<P> +By the route which Crockett had pursued, he was about twelve miles from +home. Leaving the huge carcass where the animal had fallen, he +endeavored to make a straight line through the forest to his cabin. +That he might find his way back again, he would, at every little +distance, blaze, as it was called, a sapling, that is, chip off some of +the bark with his hatchet. When he got within a mile of home this was +no longer necessary. +</P> + +<P> +The other two men had already returned to the cabin. As the wolves +might devour the valuable meat before morning, they all three set out +immediately, notwithstanding their fatigue and the still raging storm, +and taking with them four pack-horses, hastened back to bring in their +treasure. Crockett writes: +</P> + +<P> +"We got there just before dark, and struck a fire, and commenced +butchering my bear. It was some time in the night 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 back after my powder; +and well satisfied that a dog might sometimes be doing a good business, +even when he seemed to be barking up the wrong tree. +</P> + +<P> +"We got our meat home, and I had the pleasure to know that we now had a +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." +</P> + +<P> +In the early spring, Crockett found that he had a large number of +valuable skins on hand, which he had taken during the winter. About +forty miles southeast from Crockett's cabin, in the heart of Madison +County, was the thriving little settlement of Jackson. Crockett packed +his skins on a horse, shouldered his rifle, and taking his hardy little +son for a companion, set off there to barter his peltries for such +articles of household use as he could convey back upon his horse. The +journey was accomplished with no more than the ordinary difficulties. A +successful trade was effected, and with a rich store of coffee, sugar, +powder, lead, and salt, the father and son prepared for their return. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett found there some of his old fellow-soldiers of the Creek War. +When all things were ready for a start, he went to bid adieu to his +friends and to take a parting dram with them. There were three men +present who were candidates for the State Legislature. While they were +having a very merry time, one, as though uttering a thought which had +that moment occurred to him, exclaimed, "Why, Crockett, you ought to +offer yourself for the Legislature for your district." Crockett +replied, "I live at least forty miles from any white settlement." Here +the matter dropped. +</P> + +<P> +About ten days after Crockett's return home, a stranger, passing along, +stopped at Crockett's cabin and told him that he was a candidate for +Legislature, and took from his pocket a paper, and read to him the +announcement of the fact. There was something in the style of the +article which satisfied Crockett that there was a little disposition to +make fun of him; and that his nomination was intended as a burlesque. +This roused him, and he resolved to put in his claim with all his zeal. +He consequently hired a man to work upon his farm, and set out on an +electioneering tour. +</P> + +<P> +Though very few people had seen Crockett, he had obtained very +considerable renown in that community of backwoodsmen as a great +bear-hunter. Dr. Butler, a man of considerable pretensions, and, by +marriage, a nephew of General Jackson, was the rival candidate, and a +formidable one. Indeed, he and his friends quite amused themselves with +the idea that "the gentleman from the cane," as they contemptuously +designated Crockett, could be so infatuated as to think that there was +the least chance for him. The population of that wilderness region was +so scarce that the district for which a representative was to be chosen +consisted of eleven counties. +</P> + +<P> +A great political gathering was called, which was to be held in Madison +County, which was the strongest of them all. Here speeches were to be +made by the rival candidates and their friends, and electioneering was +to be practised by all the arts customary in that rude community. The +narrative of the events which ensued introduces us to a very singular +state of society. At the day appointed there was a large assembly, in +every variety of backwoods costume, among the stumps and the lowly +cabins of Jackson. Crockett mingled with the crowd, watching events, +listening to everything which was said, and keeping himself as far as +possible unknown. +</P> + +<P> +Dr. Butler, seeing a group of men, entered among them, and called for +whiskey to treat them all. The Doctor had once met Crockett when a few +weeks before he had been in Jackson selling his furs. He however did +not recognize his rival among the crowd. As the whiskey was passing +freely around, Crockett thought it a favorable moment to make himself +known, and to try his skill at an electioneering speech. He was a +good-looking man, with a face beaming with fun and smiles, and a clear, +ringing voice. He jumped upon a stump and shouted out, in tones which +sounded far and wide, and which speedily gathered all around him. +</P> + +<P> +"Hallo! Doctor Butler; you don't know me do you? But I'll make you know +me mighty well before August. I see they have weighed you out against +me. But I'll beat you mighty badly." +</P> + +<P> +Butler pleasantly replied, "Ah, Colonel Crockett, is that you? Where +did you come from?" +</P> + +<P> +Crockett rejoined, "Oh, I have just crept out from the cane, to see +what discoveries I could make among the white folks. You think you have +greatly the advantage of me, Butler. 'Tis true I live forty miles from +any settlement. I am poor, and you are rich. You see it takes two +coonskins here to buy a quart. But I've good dogs, and my little boys +at home will go to their death to support my election. They are mighty +industrious. They hunt every night till twelve o'clock. It keeps the +little fellows mighty busy to keep me in whiskey. When they gets tired, +I takes my rifle and goes out and kills a wolf, for which the State +pays me three dollars. So one way or other I keeps knocking along." +</P> + +<P> +Crockett perhaps judged correctly that the candidate who could furnish +the most whiskey would get the most votes. He thus adroitly informed +these thirsty men of his readiness and his ability to furnish them with +all the liquor they might need. Strange as his speech seems to us, it +was adapted to the occasion, and was received with roars of laughter +and obstreperous applause. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Colonel," said Dr. Butler, endeavoring to clothe his own +countenance with smiles, "I see you can beat me electioneering." +</P> + +<P> +"My dear fellow," shouted out Crockett, "you don't call this +electioneering, do you? When you see me electioneering, I goes fixed +for the purpose. I've got a suit of deer-leather clothes, with two big +pockets. So I puts a bottle of whiskey in one, and a twist of tobacco +in t'other, and starts out. Then, if I meets a friend, why, I pulls out +my bottle and gives him a drink. He'll be mighty apt, before he drinks, +to throw away his tobacco. So when he's done, I pulls my twist out of +t'other pocket and gives him a chaw. I never likes to leave a man worse +off than when I found him. If I had given him a drink and he had lost +his tobacco, he would not have made much. But give him tobacco, and a +drink too, and you are mighty apt to get his vote." +</P> + +<P> +With such speeches as these, interlarded with fun and anecdote, and a +liberal supply of whiskey, Crockett soon made himself known through all +the grounds, and he became immensely popular. The backwoodsmen regarded +him as their man, belonging to their class and representing their +interests. +</P> + +<P> +Dr. Butler was a man of some culture, and a little proud and +overbearing in his manners. He had acquired what those poor men deemed +considerable property. He lived in a framed house, and in his best room +he had a rug or carpet spread over the middle of the floor. This carpet +was a luxury which many of the pioneers had never seen or conceived of. +The Doctor, standing one day at his window, saw several persons, whose +votes he desired, passing along, and he called them in to take a drink. +</P> + +<P> +There was a table in the centre of the room, with choice liquors upon +it. The carpet beneath the table covered only a small portion of the +floor, leaving on each side a vacant space around the room. The men +cautiously walked around this space, without daring to put their feet +upon the carpet. After many solicitations from Dr. Butler, and seeing +him upon the carpet, they ventured up to the table and drank. They, +however, were under great restraint, and soon left, manifestly not +pleased with their reception. +</P> + +<P> +Calling in at the next log house to which they came, they found there +one of Crockett's warm friends. They inquired of him what kind of a man +the great bear-hunter was, and received in reply that he was a +first-rate man, one of the best hunters in the world; that he was not a +bit proud; that he lived in a log cabin, without any glass for his +windows, and with the earth alone for his floor. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah!" they exclaimed with one voice, "he's the fellow for us. We'll +never give our votes for such a proud man as Butler. He called us into +his house to take a drink, and spread down one of his best bed-quilts +for us to walk on. It was nothing but a piece of pride." +</P> + +<P> +The day of election came, and Crockett was victorious by a majority of +two hundred and forty-seven votes. Thus he found himself a second time +a member of the Legislature of the State of Tennessee, and with a +celebrity which caused all eyes to be turned toward "the gentleman from +the cane." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Adventures in the Forest, on the River, and in the City +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +The Bear Hunter's Story.—Service in the Legislature.—Candidate for +Congress.—Electioneering.—The New Speculation.—Disastrous +Voyage.—Narrow Escape.—New Electioneering Exploits.—Odd +Speeches.—The Visit to Crockett's Cabin.—His Political Views.—His +Honesty.—Opposition to Jackson.—Scene at Raleigh.—Dines with the +President.—Gross Caricature.—His Annoyance. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett was very fond of hunting-adventures, and told stories of these +enterprises in a racy way, peculiarly characteristic of the man. The +following narrative from his own lips, the reader will certainly peruse +with much interest. +</P> + +<P> +"I was sitting by a good fire in my little cabin, on a cool November +evening, roasting potatoes I believe, and playing with my children, +when some one halloed at the fence. I went out, and there were three +strangers, who said they come to take an elk-hunt. I was glad to see +'em, invited 'em in, and after supper we cleaned our guns. I took down +old Betsey, rubbed her up, greased her, and laid her away to rest. She +is a mighty rough old piece, but I love her, for she and I have seen +hard times. She mighty seldom tells me a lie. If I hold her right, she +always sends the ball where I tell her, After we were all fixed, I told +'em hunting-stories till bedtime. +</P> + +<P> +"Next morning was clear and cold, and by times I sounded my horn, and +my dogs came howling 'bout me, ready for a chase. Old Rattler was a +little lame—a bear bit him in the shoulder; but Soundwell, Tiger, and +the rest of 'em were all mighty anxious. We got a bite, and saddled our +horses. I went by to git a neighbor to drive for us, and off we started +for the Harricane. My dogs looked mighty wolfish; they kept jumping on +one another and growling. I knew they were run mad for a fight, for +they hadn't had one for two or three days. We were in fine spirits, and +going 'long through very open woods, when one of the strangers said, 'I +would give my horse now to see a bear.' +</P> + +<P> +"Said I, 'Well, give me your horse,' and I pointed to an old bear, +about three or four hundred yards ahead of us, feeding on acorns. +</P> + +<P> +"I had been looking at him some time, but he was so far off; I wasn't +certain what it was. However, I hardly spoke before we all strained +off; and the woods fairly echoed as we harked the dogs on. The old bear +didn't want to run, and he never broke till we got most upon him; but +then he buckled for it, I tell you. When they overhauled him he just +rared up on his hind legs, and he boxed the dogs 'bout at a mighty +rate. He hugged old Tiger and another, till he dropped 'em nearly +lifeless; but the others worried him, and after a while they all come +to, and they give him trouble. They are mighty apt, I tell you, to give +a bear trouble before they leave him. +</P> + +<P> +"'Twas a mighty pretty fight—'twould have done any one's soul good to +see it, just to see how they all rolled about. It was as much as I +could do to keep the strangers from shooting him; but I wouldn't let +'em, for fear they would kill some of my dogs. After we got tired +seeing 'em fight, I went in among 'em, and the first time they got him +down I socked my knife in the old bear. We then hung him up, and went +on to take our elk-hunt. You never seed fellows so delighted as them +strangers was. Blow me, if they didn't cut more capers, jumping about, +than the old bear. 'Twas a mighty pretty fight, but I believe I seed +more fun looking at them than at the bear. +</P> + +<P> +"By the time we got to the Harricane, we were all rested, and ripe for +a drive. My dogs were in a better humor, for the fight had just taken +off the wiry edge. So I placed the strangers at the stands through +which I thought the elk would pass, sent the driver way up ahead, and I +went down below. +</P> + +<P> +"Everything was quiet, and I leaned old Betsey 'gin a tree, and laid +down. I s'pose I had been lying there nearly an hour, when I heard old +Tiger open. He opened once or twice, and old Rattler gave a long howl; +the balance joined in, and I knew the elk were up. I jumped up and +seized my rifle. I could hear nothing but one continued roar of all my +dogs, coming right towards me. Though I was an old hunter, the music +made my hair stand on end. Soon after they first started, I heard one +gun go off, and my dogs stopped, but not long, for they took a little +tack towards where I had placed the strangers. One of them fired, and +they dashed back, and circled round way to my left. I run down 'bout a +quarter of a mile, and I heard my dogs make a bend like they were +coming to me. While I was listening, I heard the bushes breaking still +lower down, and started to run there. +</P> + +<P> +"As I was going 'long, I seed two elks burst out of the Harricane 'bout +one hundred and thirty or forty yards below me. There was an old buck +and a doe. I stopped, waited till they got into a clear place, and as +the old fellow made a leap, I raised old Bet, pulled trigger, and she +spoke out. The smoke blinded me so, that I couldn't see what I did; but +as it cleared away, I caught a glimpse of only one of them going +through the bushes; so I thought I had the other. I went up, and there +lay the old buck kicking. I cut his throat, and by that time, Tiger and +two of my dogs came up. I thought it singular that all my dogs wasn't +there, and I began to think they had killed another. After the dogs had +bit him, and found out he was dead, old Tiger began to growl, and +curled himself up between his legs. Everything had to stand off then, +for he wouldn't let the devil himself touch him. +</P> + +<P> +"I started off to look for the strangers. My two dogs followed me. +After gitting away a piece, I looked back, and once in a while I could +see old Tiger git up and shake the elk, to see if he was really dead, +and then curl up between his legs agin. I found the strangers round a +doe elk the driver had killed; and one of 'em said he was sure he had +killed one lower down. I asked him if he had horns. He said he didn't +see any. I put the dogs on where he said he had shot, and they didn't +go fur before they came to a halt. I went up, and there lay a fine buck +elk; and though his horns were four or five feet long, the fellow who +shot him was so scared that he never saw them. We had three elk, and a +bear; and we managed to git it home, then butchered our game, talked +over our hunt, and had a glorious frolic." +</P> + +<P> +Crockett served in the Legislature for two years, during which time +nothing occurred of special interest. These were the years of 1823 and +1824. Colonel Alexander was then the representative, in the National +Legislature, of the district in which Crockett lived. He had offended +his constituents by voting for the Tariff. It was proposed to run +Crockett for Congress in opposition to him. Crockett says: +</P> + +<P> +"I told the people that I could not stand that. It was a step above my +knowledge; and I know'd nothing about Congress matters." +</P> + +<P> +They persisted; but he lost the election; for cotton was very high, and +Alexander urged that it was in consequence of the Tariff. Two years +passed away, which Crockett spent in the wildest adventures of hunting. +He was a true man of the woods with no ambition for any better home +than the log cabin he occupied. There was no excitement so dear to him +as the pursuit and capture of a grizzly bear. There is nothing on +record, in the way of hunting, which surpasses the exploits of this +renowned bear-hunter. But there is a certain degree of sameness in +these narratives of skill and endurance which would weary the reader. +</P> + +<P> +In the fall of 1825, Crockett built two large flat-boats, to load with +staves for the making of casks, which he intended to take down the +river to market. He employed a number of hands in building the boat and +splitting out the staves, and engaged himself in these labors "till the +bears got fat." He then plunged into the woods, and in two weeks killed +fifteen. The whole winter was spent in hunting with his son and his +dogs. His workmen continued busy getting the staves, and when the +rivers rose with the spring floods, he had thirty thousand ready for +the market. +</P> + +<P> +With this load he embarked for New Orleans. His boats without +difficulty floated down the Obion into the majestic Mississippi. It was +the first time he had seen the rush of these mighty waters. There was +before him a boat voyage of nearly fifteen hundred miles, through +regions to him entirely unknown. In his own account of this adventure +he writes: +</P> + +<P> +"When I got into the Mississippi I found all my hands were bad scared. +In fact, I believe I was scared a little the worst of any; for I had +never been down the river, and I soon discovered that my pilot was as +ignorant 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 any +thing at all with them, or to guide them right in the river. +</P> + +<P> +"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 deal +rather not. But we couldn't do any other way. In a short distance we +got into what is called the Devil's 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 was ever engaged in in my life, to keep +out of danger. And even then we were in it all the while. We twice +attempted to land at Wood Yards, which we could see, but couldn't reach. +</P> + +<P> +"The people would run out with lights, and try to instruct us how to +get to shore; but all in vain. Our boats were so heavy that we could +not 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 any better. +</P> + +<P> +"Some time in the night I was down in the cabin of one of the boats, +sitting by the fire, thinking on what a hobble 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 hatch-way of 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. +</P> + +<P> +"We were 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 against the +head of an island, where 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 was turning under sure enough. But +when I got to it, the water was 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. +</P> + +<P> +"With difficulty I got to it, and when I got there, I found 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 them, and began to +pull. I told them I was sinking, 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. +</P> + +<P> +"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 tom off, and I was literally skinn'd like a rabbit. +I was, however, 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 entirely under, and I have +never seen it any more to this day. We all escaped on to the raft, +where we were compelled 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! +</P> + +<P> +"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 sitting +there, in the night, floating about on the drift, I felt happier and +better off than I ever had in my life before, for I had just made such +a marvellous escape, that I had forgot almost everything else in that; +and so I felt prime. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"This was the last of my boats, and of my boating; for 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." +</P> + +<P> +Cotton was down very low. Crockett could now say to the people: "You +see the effects of the Tariff." There were two rival candidates for the +office, Colonel Alexander and General Arnold. Money was needed to carry +the election, and Crockett had no money. He resolved, however, to try +his chances. A friend loaned him a little money to start with; which +sum Crockett, of course, expended in whiskey, as the most potent +influence, then and there, to secure an election. +</P> + +<P> +"So I was able," writes Crockett, "to buy a little of the 'creature,' +to put my friends in a good humor, 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 to make themselves and their friends +feel their keeping a little." +</P> + +<P> +The contest was, as usual, made up of drinking, feasting, and speeches. +Colonel Alexander was an intelligent and worthy man, who had been +public surveyor. General Arnold was a lawyer of very respectable +attainments. Neither of these men considered Crockett a candidate in +the slightest degree to be feared. They only feared each other, and +tried to circumvent each other. +</P> + +<P> +On one occasion there was a large gathering, where all three of the +candidates were present, and each one was expected to make a speech. It +came Crockett's lot to speak first. He knew nothing of Congressional +affairs, and had sense enough to be aware that it was not best for him +to attempt to speak upon subjects of which he was entirely ignorant. He +made one of his funny speeches, very short and entirely non-committal. +Colonel Alexander followed, endeavoring to grapple with the great +questions of tariffs, finance, and internal improvements, which were +then agitating the nation. +</P> + +<P> +General Arnold then, in his turn, took the stump, opposing the measures +which Colonel Alexander had left. He seemed entirely to ignore the fact +that Crockett was a candidate. Not the slightest allusion was made to +him in his speech. The nervous temperament predominated in the man, and +he was easily annoyed. While speaking, a large flock of guinea-hens +came along, whose peculiar and noisy cry all will remember who have +ever heard it. Arnold was greatly disturbed, and at last requested some +one to drive the fowls away. As soon as he had finished his speech, +Crockett again mounted the stump, and ostensibly addressing Arnold, but +really addressing the crowd, said, in a loud voice, but very jocosely: +</P> + +<P> +"Well, General, you are the first man I ever saw that understood the +language of fowls. You had not the politeness even to allude to me in +your speech. But when my little friends the guinea-hens came up, and +began to holler 'Crockett, Crockett, Crockett,' you were ungenerous +enough to drive them all away." +</P> + +<P> +This raised such a universal laugh that even Crockett's opponents +feared that he was getting the best of them in winning the favor of the +people. When the day of election came, the popular bear-hunter beat +both of his competitors by twenty-seven hundred and forty-seven votes. +Thus David Crockett, unable to read and barely able to sign his name, +became a member of Congress, to assist in framing laws for the grandest +republic earth has ever known. He represented a constituency of about +one hundred thousand souls. +</P> + +<P> +An intelligent gentleman, travelling in West Tennessee, finding himself +within eight miles of Colonel Crockett's cabin, decided to call upon +the man whose name had now become quite renowned. This was just after +Crockett's election to Congress, but before he had set out for +Washington. There was no road leading to the lonely hut. He followed a +rough and obstructed path or trail, which was indicated only by blazed +trees, and which bore no marks of being often travelled. +</P> + +<P> +At length he came to a small opening in the forest, very rude and +uninviting in its appearance. It embraced eight or ten acres. One of +the humblest and least tasteful of log huts stood in the centre. It was +truly a cabin, a mere shelter from the weather. There was no yard; +there were no fences. Not the slightest effort had been made toward +ornamentation. It would be difficult to imagine a more lonely and +cheerless abode. +</P> + +<P> +Two men were seated on stools at the door, both in their shirt-sleeves, +engaged in cleaning their rifles. As the stranger rode up, one of the +men rose and came forward to meet him. He was dressed in very plain +homespun attire, with a black fur cap upon his head. He was a finely +proportioned man, about six feet high, apparently forty-five years of +age, and of very frank, pleasing, open countenance. He held his rifle +in his hand, and from his right shoulder hung a bag made of raccoon +skin, to which there was a sheath attached containing a large +butcher-knife. +</P> + +<P> +"This is Colonel Crockett's residence, I presume," said the stranger. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," was the reply, with a smile as of welcome. +</P> + +<P> +"Have I the pleasure of seeing that gentleman before me?" the stranger +added. +</P> + +<P> +"If it be a pleasure," was the courtly reply, "you have, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Colonel," responded the stranger, "I have ridden much out of my +way to spend a day or two with you, and take a hunt." +</P> + +<P> +"Get down, sir," said the Colonel, cordially. "I am delighted to see +you. I like to see strangers. And the only care I have is that I cannot +accommodate them as well as I could wish. I have no corn, but my little +boy will take your horse over to my son-in-law's. He is a good fellow, +and will take care of him." +</P> + +<P> +Leading the stranger into his cabin, Crockett very courteously +introduced him to his brother, his wife, and his daughters. He then +added: +</P> + +<P> +"You see we are mighty rough here. I am afraid you will think it hard +times. But we have to do the best we can. I started mighty poor, and +have been rooting 'long ever since. But I hate apologies. What I live +upon always, I think a friend can for a day or two. I have but little, +but that little is as free as the water that runs. So make yourself at +home." +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Crockett was an intelligent and capable woman for one in her +station in life. The cabin was clean and orderly, and presented a +general aspect of comfort. Many trophies of the chase were in the +house, and spread around the yard. Several dogs, looking like war-worn +veterans, were sunning themselves in various parts of the premises. +</P> + +<P> +All the family were neatly dressed in home-made garments. Mrs. Crockett +was a grave, dignified woman, very courteous to her guests. The +daughters were remarkably pretty, but very diffident. Though entirely +uneducated, they could converse very easily, seeming to inherit their +father's fluency of utterance. They were active and efficient in aiding +their mother in her household work. Colonel Crockett, with much +apparent pleasure, conducted his guest over the small patch of ground +he had grubbed and was cultivating. He exhibited his growing peas and +pumpkins, and his little field of corn, with as much apparent pleasure +as an Illinois farmer would now point out his hundreds of acres of +waving grain. The hunter seemed surprisingly well informed. As we have +mentioned, nature had endowed him with unusual strength of mind, and +with a memory which was almost miraculous. He never forgot anything he +had heard. His electioneering tours had been to him very valuable +schools of education. Carefully he listened to all the speeches and the +conversation of the intelligent men he met with. +</P> + +<P> +John Quincy Adams was then in the Presidential chair. It was the year +1827. Nearly all Crockett's constituents were strong Jackson-men. +Crockett, who afterward opposed Jackson, subsequently said, speaking of +his views at that time: +</P> + +<P> +"I can say on my conscience, that I was, without disguise, the friend +and supporter of General Jackson upon his principles, as he had laid +them down, and as I understood them, before his election as President." +</P> + +<P> +Alluding to Crockett's political views at that time, his guest writes, +"I held in high estimation the present Administration of our country. +To this he was opposed. His views, however, delighted me. And were they +more generally adopted we should be none the loser. He was opposed to +the Administration, and yet conceded that many of its acts were wise +and efficient, and would have received his cordial support. He admired +Mr. Clay, but had objections to him. He was opposed to the Tariff, yet, +I think, a supporter of the United States Bank. He seemed to have the +most horrible objection to binding himself to any man or set of men. He +said, 'I would as lieve be an old coon-dog as obliged to do what any +man or set of men would tell me to do. I will support the present +Administration as far as I would any other; that is, as far as I +believe its views to be right. I will pledge myself to support no +Administration. I had rather be politically damned than hypocritically +immortalized.'" +</P> + +<P> +In the winter of 1827, Crockett emerged from his cabin in the +wilderness for a seat in Congress. He was so poor that he had not money +enough to pay his expenses to Washington. His election had cost him one +hundred and fifty dollars, which a friend had loaned him. The same +friend advanced one hundred dollars more to help him on his journey. +</P> + +<P> +"When I left home," he says, "I was happy, devilish, and full of fun. I +bade adieu to my friends, dogs, and rifle, and took the stage, where I +met with much variety of character, and amused myself when my humor +prompted. Being fresh from the backwoods, my stories amused my +companions, and I passed my time pleasantly. +</P> + +<P> +"When I arrived at Raleigh the weather was cold and rainy, and we were +all dull and tired. Upon going into the tavern, where I was an entire +stranger, the room was crowded, and the crowd did not give way that I +might come to the fire. I was rooting my way to the fire, not in a good +humor, when some fellow staggered up towards me, and cried out, 'Hurrah +for Adams.' +</P> + +<P> +"Said I, 'Stranger, you had better hurrah for hell, and praise your own +country.' +</P> + +<P> +"'And who are you? said he. I replied: +</P> + +<P> +"'I am that same David Crockett, fresh from the backwoods, half horse, +half alligator, a little touched with the snapping-turtle. I can wade +the Mississippi, leap the Ohio, ride upon a streak of lightning, and +slip without a scratch down a honey-locust. I can whip my weight in +wildcats, and, if any gentleman pleases, for a ten-dollar bill he can +throw in a panther. I can hug a bear too close for comfort, and eat any +man opposed to General Jackson.'" +</P> + +<P> +All eyes were immediately turned toward this strange man, for all had +heard of him. A place was promptly made for him at the fire. He was +afterward asked if this wondrous outburst of slang was entirely +unpremeditated. He said that it was; that it had all popped into his +head at once; and that he should never have thought of it again, had +not the story gone the round of the newspapers. +</P> + +<P> +"I came on to Washington," he says, "and drawed two hundred and fifty +dollars, and purchased with it a check on the bank in 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." +</P> + +<P> +Soon after his arrival at Washington he was invited to dine with +President Adams, a man of the highest culture, whose manners had been +formed in the courts of Europe. Crockett, totally unacquainted with the +usages of society, did not know what the note of invitation meant, and +inquired of a friend, the Hon. Mr. Verplanck. He says: +</P> + +<P> +"I was wild from the backwoods, and didn't know nothing about eating +dinner with the big folks of our country. And how should I, having been +a hunter all my life? I had eat most of my dinners on a log in the +woods, and sometimes no dinner at all. I knew, whether I ate dinner +with the President or not was a matter of no importance, for my +constituents were not to be benefited by it. I did not go to court the +President, for I was opposed to him in principle, and had no favors to +ask at his hands. I was afraid, however, I should be awkward, as I was +so entirely a stranger to fashion; and in going along, I resolved to +observe the conduct of my friend Mr. Verplanck, and to do as he did. +And I know that I did behave myself right well." +</P> + +<P> +Some cruel wag wrote the following ludicrous account of this +dinner-party, which went the round of all the papers as veritable +history. The writer pretended to quote Crockett's own account of the +dinner. +</P> + +<P> +"The first thing I did," said Davy, "after I got to Washington, was to +go to the President's. I stepped into the President's house. Thinks I, +who's afeard. If I didn't, I wish I may be shot. Says I, 'Mr. Adams, I +am Mr. Crockett, from Tennessee.' So, says he, 'How d'ye do, Mr. +Crockett?' And he shook me by the hand, although he know'd I went the +whole hog for Jackson. If he didn't, I wish I may be shot. +</P> + +<P> +"Not only that, but he sent me a printed ticket to dine with him. I've +got it in my pocket yet. I went to dinner, and I walked all around the +long table, looking for something that I liked. At last I took my seat +beside a fat goose, and I helped myself to as much of it as I wanted. +But I hadn't took three bites, when I looked away up the table at a man +they called Tash (attache'). He was talking French to a woman on +t'other side of the table. He dodged his head and she dodged hers, and +then they got to drinking wine across the table. +</P> + +<P> +"But when I looked back again my plate was gone, goose and all. So I +jist cast my eyes down to t'other end of the table, and sure enough I +seed a white man walking off with my plate. I says, 'Hello, mister, +bring back my plate.' He fetched it back in a hurry, as you may think. +And when he set it down before me, how do you think it was? Licked as +clean as my hand. If it wasn't, I wish I may be shot! +</P> + +<P> +"Says he, 'What will you have, sir?' And says I, 'You may well say +that, after stealing my goose.' And he began to laugh. Then says I, +'Mister, laugh if you please; but I don't half-like sich tricks upon +travellers.' I then filled my plate with bacon and greens. And whenever +I looked up or down the table, I held on to my plate with my left hand. +</P> + +<P> +"When we were all done eating, they cleared everything off the table, +and took away the table-cloth. And what do you think? There was another +cloth under it. If there wasn't, I wish I may be shot! Then I saw a man +coming along carrying a great glass thing, with a glass handle below, +something like a candlestick. It was stuck full of little glass cups, +with something in them that looked good to eat. Says I, 'Mister, bring +that thing here.' Thinks I, let's taste them first. They were mighty +sweet and good, so I took six of them. If I didn't, I wish I may be +shot!" +</P> + +<P> +This humorous fabrication was copied into almost every paper in the +Union. The more respectable portion of Crockett's constituents were so +annoyed that their representative should be thus held up to the +contempt of the nation, that Crockett felt constrained to present a +reliable refutation of the story. He therefore obtained and published +certificates from three gentlemen, testifying to his good behavior at +the table. Hon. Mr. Verplanck, of New York, testified as follows: +</P> + +<P> +"I dined at the President's, at the time alluded to, in company with +you, and I had, I recollect, a good deal of conversation with you. Your +behavior there was, I thought, perfectly becoming and proper. And I do +not recollect, or believe, that you said or did anything resembling the +newspaper-account." +</P> + +<P> +Two other members of Congress were equally explicit in their testimony. +</P> + +<P> +During Crockett's first two sessions in Congress he got along very +smoothly, cooperating generally with what was called the Jackson party. +In 1829 he was again reelected by an overwhelming majority. On the 4th +of March of this year, Andrew Jackson was inaugurated President of the +United States. It may be doubted whether there ever was a more honest, +conscientious man in Congress than David Crockett. His celebrated +motto, "Be sure that you are right, and then go ahead," seemed ever to +animate him. He could neither be menaced or bribed to support any +measure which he thought to be wrong. Ere long he found it necessary to +oppose some of Jackson's measures. We will let him tell the story in +his own truthful words: +</P> + +<P> +"Soon after the commencement of this second 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 turnings, +even at the expense of my conscience and judgment. Such a thing was new +to me, and a total stranger to my principles. I know'd well enough, +though, that if I didn't 'hurrah' 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 infamous Indian bill was brought +forward, and I opposed it from the purest motives in the world. Several +of my colleagues got around me, and told me how well they 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. +</P> + +<P> +"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 Jackson or any one +else; at any rate, I was of age, and determined to trust them. I voted +against this Indian bill, and my conscience yet tells me that I gave a +good, honest 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. +</P> + +<P> +"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 district, that I had turned against Jackson. This was +considered the unpardonable sin. I was hunted down like a wild varment, +and in this hunt every little newspaper in the district, and every +little pinhook lawyer was engaged. Indeed, they were ready to print +anything and everything that the ingenuity of man could invent against +me." +</P> + +<P> +In consequence of this opposition, Crockett lost his next election, and +yet by a majority of but seventy votes. For two years he remained at +home hunting bears. But having once tasted the pleasures of political +life, and the excitements of Washington, his silent rambles in the +woods had lost much of their ancient charms. He was again a candidate +at the ensuing election, and, after a very warm contest gained the day +by a majority of two hundred and two votes. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Crockett's Tour to the North and the East. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +His Reelection to Congress.—The Northern Tour.—First Sight of a +Railroad.—Reception in Philadelphia.—His First Speech.—Arrival in +New York.—The Ovation there.—Visit to Boston.—Cambridge and +Lowell.—Specimens of his Speeches.—Expansion of his Ideas.—Rapid +Improvement. +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Crockett, having been reelected again repaired to Washington. +During the session, to complete his education, and the better to +prepare himself as a legislator for the whole nation, he decided to +take a short trip to the North and the East. His health had also begun +to fail, and his physicians advised him to go. He was thoroughly +acquainted with the Great West. With his rifle upon his shoulder, in +the Creek War, he had made wide explorations through the South. But the +North and the East were regions as yet unknown to him. +</P> + +<P> +On the 25th of April, 1834, he left Washington for this Northern tour. +He reached Baltimore that evening, where he was invited to a supper by +some of the leading gentlemen. He writes: +</P> + +<P> +"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 coonskin. +</P> + +<P> +"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 off we +walked in prime style. +</P> + +<P> +"Our passage down Chesapeake Bay was very pleasant. In a very short run +we came to a place where we were to get on board the rail-cars. This +was a clean new sight to me. About a dozen big stages hung on to one +machine. After a good deal of fuss we all got seated and moved slowly +off; the engine wheezing as though she had the tizzic. 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. It was run in fifty-five +minutes. +</P> + +<P> +"At Delaware City, I again embarked on board of a splendid steamboat. +When dinner was ready, I set down with the rest of the passengers. +Among them was Rev. O. B. Brown, of the Post-Office Department, who sat +near me. During dinner he ordered a bottle of wine, and called upon 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 like a blizzard. So our glasses being +filled, the word went round, 'A toast from Colonel Crockett.' I give it +as follows: 'Here's wishing 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 stumpt. I said, 'Never heed; it was +meant for where it belonged.' He did not repeat his invitation, and I +eat my dinner quietly. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"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 standing 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 we moved off. +The streets were crowded to a great distance, and the windows full of +people, looking out, I suppose, to see the wild man. I thought I had +rather be in the wilderness with my gun and dogs, than to be attracting +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 Chesnut Street." +</P> + +<P> +"The crowd had followed me filling up the street, and pressing into the +house to shake hands. I was conducted 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.' +</P> + +<P> +"After the noise had quit, so I could be heard, I said to them the +following words: +</P> + +<P> +"'GENTLEMEN OF PHILADELPHIA: +</P> + +<P> +"'My visit to your city is rather accidental. I had no expectation of +attracting any uncommon attention. I am travelling 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 Philadelphia. However, I am almost induced to believe it +flattery—perhaps a burlesque. This is new to me, yet I 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 people. However, gentlemen, if this is a curiosity to you, +if you will meet me to-morrow, at one o'clock, I will endeavor to +address you, in my plain manner.' +</P> + +<P> +"So I made my obeisance to them, and retired into the house." +</P> + +<P> +It is true that there was much of mere curiosity in the desire to see +Colonel Crockett. He was a strange and an incomprehensible man. His +manly, honest course in Congress had secured much respect. But such +developments of character as were shown in his rude and vulgar toast, +before a party of gentlemen and ladies, excited astonishment. His +notoriety preceded him, wherever he went; and all were alike curious to +see so strange a specimen of a man. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning, several gentlemen called upon him, and took him in a +carriage to see the various objects of interest in the city. The +gentlemen made him a present of a rich seal, representing two horses at +full speed, with the words, "Go Ahead." The young men also made him a +present of a truly magnificent rifle. From Philadelphia he went to New +York. The shipping astonished him. "They beat me all hollow," he says, +"and looked for all the world like a big clearing in the West, with the +dead trees all standing." +</P> + +<P> +There was a great crowd upon the wharf to greet him. And when the +captain of the boat led him conspicuously forward, and pointed him out +to the multitude, the cheering was tremendous. A committee conducted +him to the American Hotel, and treated him with the greatest +distinction. Again he was feted, and loaded with the greatest +attentions. He was invited to a very splendid supper, got up in his +honor, at which there were a hundred guests. The Hon. Judge Clayton, of +Georgia, was present, and make a speech which, as Crockett says, fairly +made the tumblers hop. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett was then called up, as the "undeviating supporter of the +Constitution and the laws." In response to this toast, he says, +</P> + +<P> +"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 +wouldn'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 always kept moving.'" +</P> + +<P> +His trip to New York was concluded by his visiting Jersey City to +witness a shooting-match with rifles. He was invited to try his hand. +Standing, at the distance of one hundred and twenty feet, he fired +twice, striking very near the centre of the mark. Some one then put up +a quarter of a dollar in the midst of a black spot, and requested him +to shoot at it. The bullet struck the coin, and as Crockett says made +slight-of-hand work with it. +</P> + +<P> +From New York he went to Boston. There, an the opponent of some of +President Jackson's measures which were most offensive to the New +England people, he was feted with extraordinary enthusiasm. He dined +and supped, made speeches, which generally consisted of but one short +anecdote, and visited nearly all the public institutions. +</P> + +<P> +Just before this, Andrew Jackson had received from Harvard University +the honorary title of LL.D. Jackson was no longer a favorite of +Crockett. The new distinguished guest, the renowned bear-hunter, was in +his turn invited to visit Harvard. He writes: +</P> + +<P> +"There were some gentlemen that invited 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. +</P> + +<P> +"I told them that I did not go to this branding school; I did not want +to be tarred with the same stick; one dignitary was enough from +Tennessee; that as far as my learning went, I would stand over it, and +spell a strive or two with any of them, from a-b-ab to crucifix, which +was where I left off at school." +</P> + +<P> +A gentleman, at a dinner-party, very earnestly invited Crockett to +visit him. He returned the compliment by saying: +</P> + +<P> +"If you ever come to my part of the country, I hope you will call and +see me." +</P> + +<P> +"And how shall I find where you live?" the gentleman inquired. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, sir," Crockett answered, "run down the Mississippi till you come +to the Oberon River. Run a small streak up that; jump ashore anywhere, +and inquire for me." +</P> + +<P> +From Boston, he went to Lowell. The hospitality he had enjoyed in +Boston won his warmest commendation. At Lowell, he was quite charmed by +the aspect of wealth, industry, and comfort which met his eye. Upon his +return to Boston, he spent the evening, with several gentlemen and +ladies at the pleasant residence of Lieutenant-Governor Armstrong. In +reference to this visit, he writes: +</P> + +<P> +"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 everybody 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 generally 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 industry, they will see how comfortable +everybody can be that turns his hands to some employment." +</P> + +<P> +Crockett was not a mere joker. He was an honest man, and an earnest +man; and under the tuition of Congress had formed some very decided +political principles, which he vigorously enforced with his rude +eloquence. +</P> + +<P> +When he first went to Congress he was merely a big boy, of very strong +mind, but totally uninformed, and uncultivated. He very rapidly +improved under the tuition of Congress; and in some degree awoke to the +consciousness of his great intellectual imperfections. Still he was +never diffident. He closed one of his off-hand after-dinner speeches in +Boston, by saying: +</P> + +<P> +"Gentlemen of Boston, I come here as a private citizen, to see you, and +not to show myself. I had no idea of attracting attention. But I feel +it my duty to thank you, with my gratitude to you, and with a gratitude +to all who have given a plain man, like me, so kind a reception. I come +from a great way off. But I shall never repent of having been persuaded +to come here, and get a knowledge of your ways, which I can carry home +with me. We only want to do away prejudice and give the people +information. +</P> + +<P> +"I hope, gentlemen, you will excuse my plain, unvarnished ways, which +may seem strange to you here. I never had but six months' schooling in +all my life. And I confess, I consider myself a poor tyke to be here +addressing the most intelligent people in the world. But I think it the +duty of every representative of the people, when he is called upon, to +give his opinions. And I have tried to give you a little touch of mine." +</P> + +<P> +Every reader will be interested in the perusal of the following serious +speech, which he made in Boston. It is a fair specimen of his best +efforts, and will give one a very correct idea of his trains of +thought, and modes of expression. It also clearly shows the great +questions which agitated the country at that time. It can easily be +perceived that, as a stump orator in the far West, Crockett might have +exercised very considerable power. This phase of his peculiar character +is as worthy of consideration as any other. +</P> + +<P> +"GENTLEMEN: +</P> + +<P> +"By the entire friendship of the citizens of Boston, as well as the +particular friendship with which you have received me this evening, I +have been brought to reflect on times that have gone by, and review a +prejudice that has grown up with me, as well as thousands of my Western +and Southern friends. We have always been taught to look upon the +people of New England as a selfish, cunning set of fellows, that was +fed on fox-ears and thistle-tops; that cut their wisdom-teeth as soon +as they were born; that made money by their wits, and held on to it by +nature; that called cheatery mother-wit; that hung on to political +power because they had numbers; that raised up manufactures to keep +down the South and West; and, in fact, had so much of the devil in all +their machinery, that they would neither lead nor drive, unless the +load was going into their own cribs. But I assure you, gentlemen, I +begin to think different of you, and I think I see a good many good +reasons for so doing. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't mean that because I eat your bread and drink your liquor, that +I feel so. No; that don't make me see clearer than I did. It is your +habits, and manners, and customs; your industry; your proud, +independent spirits; your hanging on to the eternal principles of right +and wrong; your liberality in prosperity, and your patience when you +are ground down by legislation, which, instead of crushing you, whets +your invention to strike a path without a blaze on a tree to guide you; +and above all, your never-dying, deathless grip to our glorious +Constitution. These are the things that make me think that you are a +mighty good people." +</P> + +<P> +Here the speaker was interrupted by great applause. +</P> + +<P> +"Gentlemen, I believe I have spoke the truth, and not flattery; I ain't +used to oily words; I am used to speak what I think, of men, and to +men. I am, perhaps, more of a come-by-chance than any of you ever saw; +I have made my way to the place I now fill, without wealth, and against +education; I was raised from obscurity, and placed in the high councils +of the nation, by the kindness and liberality of the good people of my +district—a people whom I will never be unfaithful to, here or +elsewhere; I love them, and they have honored me; and according as God +has given me judgment, I'll use it for them, come of me what may. +</P> + +<P> +"These people once passed sentence upon me of a two years' +stay-at-home, for exercising that which I contend belongs to every +freeman in this nation: that was, for differing in opinion with the +chief magistrate of this nation. I was well acquainted with him. He was +but a man; and, if I was not before, my constituents had made a man of +me. I had marched and counter-marched with him: I had stood by him in +the wars, and fought under his flag at the polls: I helped to heap the +measure of glory that has crushed and smashed everything that has come +in contact with it: I helped to give him the name of 'Hero,' which, +like the lightning from heaven, has scorched and blasted everything +that stood in its way—a name which, like the prairie fire, you have to +burn against, or you are gone—a name which ought to be the first in +war, and the last in peace—a name which, like 'Jack-o'-the lantern, +blinds your eyes while you follow it through mud and mire. +</P> + +<P> +"Gentlemen, I never opposed Andrew Jackson for the sake of popularity. +I knew it was a hard row to hoe; but I stood up to the rack, +considering it a duty I owed to the country that governed me. I had +reviewed the course of other Presidents, and came to the conclusion +that he did not of right possess any more power than those that had +gone before him. When he transcended that power, I put down my foot. I +knew his popularity; that he had come into place with the largest +majority of any one that had gone before him, who had opposition: but +still, I did not consider this as giving him the right to do as he +pleased, and construe our Constitution to meet his own views. +</P> + +<P> +"We had lived the happiest people under the sun for fifty years, +governed by the Constitution and laws, on well-established +constructions: and when I saw the Government administered on new +principles, I objected, and was politically sacrificed: I persisted in +my sins, having a clear conscience, that before God and my country, I +had done my duty. +</P> + +<P> +"My constituents began to look at both sides; and finally, at the end +of two years, approving of my course, they sent me back to Congress—a +circumstance which was truly gratifying to me. +</P> + +<P> +"Gentlemen, I opposed Andrew Jackson in his famous Indian bill, where +five hundred thousand dollars were voted for expenses, no part of which +has yet been accounted for, as I have seen. I thought it extravagant as +well as impolitic. I thought the rights reserved to the Indians were +about to be frittered away; and events prove that I thought correct. +</P> + +<P> +"I had considered a treaty as the sovereign law of the land; but now +saw it considered as a matter of expedience, or not, as it pleased the +powers that be. Georgia bid defiance to the treaty-making power, and +set at nought the Intercourse Act of 1802; she trampled it under foot; +she nullified it: and for this, she received the smiles and approbation +of Andrew Jackson. And this induced South Carolina to nullify the +Tariff. She had a right to expect that the President was favorable to +the principle: but he took up the rod of correction, and shook it over +South Carolina, and said at the same time to Georgia, 'You may nullify, +but South Carolina shall not.' +</P> + +<P> +"This was like his consistency in many other matters. When he was a +Senator in Congress, he was a friend to internal improvements, and +voted for them. Everything then that could cement the States together, +by giving them access the one to the other, was right. When he got into +power, some of his friends had hard work to dodge, and follow, and +shout. I called off my dogs, and quit the hunt. Yes, gentlemen, +Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and Tennessee, and other States, voted for him, +as a supporter of internal improvements. +</P> + +<P> +"Was he not a Tariff man? Who dare deny it! When did we first hear of +his opposition? Certainly not in his expression that he was in favor of +a judicious tariff. That was supposed to be a clincher, even in New +England, until after power lifted him above the opposition of the +supporters of a tariff. +</P> + +<P> +"He was for putting down the monster 'party,' and being the President +of the people. Well, in one sense, this he tried to do: he put down +every one he could who was opposed to him, either by reward or +punishment; and could all have come into his notions, and bowed the +knee to his image, I suppose it might have done very well, so far as he +was concerned. Whether it would have been a fair reading of his famous +letter to Mr. Monroe, is rather questionable. He was to reform the +Government. Now, if reformation consists in turning out and putting in, +he did it with a vengeance. +</P> + +<P> +"He was, last of all, to retrench the expenditures. Well, in time, I +have no doubt, this must be done; but it will not consist in the +abolishing useless expenditures of former Administrations. No, +gentlemen; the spoils belonged to the victor; and it would never do to +lessen the teats when the litter was doubled. The treasury trough had +to be extended, and the pap thickened; kin were to be provided for; and +if all things keep on as they are, his own extravagances will have to +be retrenched, or you will get your tariff up again as high as you +please. +</P> + +<P> +"I recollect a boy once, who was told to turn the pigs out of the +corn-field. Well, he made a great noise, hallooing and calling the +dogs—and came back. By-and-by his master said, 'Jim, you rascal! you +didn't turn out the pigs.' 'Sir,' said he, 'I called the dogs, and set +them a-barking.' +</P> + +<P> +"So it was with that big Retrenchment Report, in 1828. Major Hamilton +got Chilton's place as chairman—and called the dogs. Ingham worked +honestly, like a beaver; Wickliff was as keen as a cutworm: all of them +worked hard; and they did really, I suppose, convince themselves that +they had found out a great deal of iniquity; or, what was more +desirable, convinced the people that Andrew Jackson and his boys were +the only fellows to mend shoes for nothing, and find their own candles. +Everett and Sargeant, who made the minority report, were scouted at. +What has come of all this? Nothing—worse than nothing. Jackson used +these very men like dogs: they knew too much, and must be got rid off, +or they would stop his profligacy too. They were greased and swallowed: +and he gave them up to the torments of an anti-Jackson conscience. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, gentlemen, as long as you think with him, very well; but if +not—clear out; make way for some fellow who has saved his wind; and +because he has just begun to huzza, has more wind to spare. General +Jackson has turned out more men for opinion's sake, than all other +Presidents put together, five times over: and the broom sweeps so low +that it reaches the humblest officer who happens to have a mean +neighbor to retail any little story which he may pick up. +</P> + +<P> +"I voted for Andrew Jackson because I believed he possessed certain +principles, and not because his name was Andrew Jackson, or the Hero, +or Old Hickory. And when he left those principles which induced me to +support him, I considered myself justified in opposing him. This thing +of man-worship I am a stranger to; I don't like it; it taints every +action of life; it is like a skunk getting into a house—long after he +has cleared out, you smell him in every room and closet, from the +cellar to the garret. +</P> + +<P> +"I know nothing, by experience, of party discipline. I would rather be +a raccoon-dog, and belong to a negro in the forest, than to belong to +any party, further than to do justice to all, and to promote the +interests of my country. The time will and must come, when honesty will +receive its reward, and when the people of this nation will be brought +to a sense of their duty, and will pause and reflect how much it cost +us to redeem ourselves from the government of one man. It cost the +lives and fortunes of thousands of the best patriots that ever lived. +Yes, gentlemen, hundreds of them fell in sight of your own city. +</P> + +<P> +"I this day walked over the great battle-ground of Bunker's Hill, and +thought whether it was possible that it was moistened with the sacred +blood of our heroes in vain, and that we should forget what they fought +for. +</P> + +<P> +"I hope to see our once happy country restored to its former peace and +happiness, and once more redeemed from tyranny and despotism, which, I +fear, we are on the very brink of. We see the whole country in +commotion: and for what? Because, gentlemen, the true friends of +liberty see the laws and Constitution blotted out from the heads and +hearts of the people's leaders: and their requests for relief are +treated with scorn and contempt. They meet the same fate that they did +before King George and his parliament. It has been decided by a +majority of Congress, that Andrew Jackson shall be the Government, and +that his will shall be the law of the land. He takes the +responsibility, and vetoes any bill that does not meet his approbation. +He takes the responsibility, and seizes the treasury, and removes it +from where the laws had placed it; and now, holding purse and sword, +has bid defiance to Congress and to the nation. +</P> + +<P> +"Gentlemen, if it is for opposing those high-handed measures that you +compliment me, I say I have done so, and will do so, now and forever. I +will be no man's man, and no party's man, other than to be the people's +faithful representative: and I am delighted to see the noble spirit of +liberty retained so boldly here, where the first spark was kindled; and +I hope to see it shine and spread over our whole country. +</P> + +<P> +"Gentlemen, I have detained you much longer than I intended: allow me +to conclude by thanking you for your attention and kindness to the +stranger from the far West." +</P> + +<P> +The following extract also shows the candor of his mind, his anxiety to +learn, and the progress his mind was making in the science of political +economy: +</P> + +<P> +"I come to your country to get a knowledge of things, which I could get +in no other way but by seeing with my own eyes, and hearing with my +awful ears—information I can't get, and nobody else, from book +knowledge. I come, fellow-citizens, to get a knowledge of the +manufacturing interest of New England. I was over-persuaded to come by +a gentleman who had been to Lowell and seen the manufactories of your +State—by General Thomas, of Louisiana. He persuaded me to come and see. +</P> + +<P> +"When I was first chose to Congress, I was opposed to the protecting +system. They told me it would help the rich, and hurt the poor; and +that we in the West was to be taxed by it for the benefit of New +England. I supposed it was so; but when I come to hear it argued in the +Congress of the nation, I begun to have a different opinion of it. I +saw I was opposing the best interest of the country: especially for the +industrious poor man. I told my people who sent me to Congress, that I +should oppose it no longer: that without it, we should be obliged to +pay a tax to the British Government, and support them, instead of our +own labor. And I am satisfied of it the more since I have visited New +England. Only let the Southern gentlemen come here and examine the +manufactories, and see how it is, and it would make more peace than all +the legislation in Congress can do. It would give different ideas to +them who have been deluded, and spoke in strong terms of dissolving the +Union." +</P> + +<P> +Crockett returned to Washington just in time to be present at the +closing scenes, and then set out for home. So much had been said of him +in the public journals, of his speeches and his peculiarities, that his +renown now filled the land. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Disappointed Politician.—Off for Texas. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Triumphal Return.—Home Charms Vanish.—Loses His Election.—Bitter +Disappointment.—Crockett's Poetry.—Sets out for Texas.—Incidents of +the Journey.—Reception at Little Rock.—The Shooting Match.—Meeting a +Clergyman.—The Juggler.—Crockett a Reformer.—The Bee Hunter.—The +Rough Strangers.—Scene on the Prairie. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett's return to his home was a signal triumph all the way. At +Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, crowds +gathered to greet him. He was feasted, received presents, was +complimented, and was incessantly called upon for a speech. He was an +earnest student as he journeyed along. A new world of wonders were +opening before him. Thoughts which he never before had dreamed of were +rushing into his mind. His eyes were ever watchful to see all that was +worthy of note. His ear was ever listening for every new idea. He +scarcely ever looked at the printed page, but perused with the utmost +diligence the book of nature. His comments upon what he saw indicate +much sagacity. +</P> + +<P> +At Cincinnatti and Louisville, immense crowds assembled to hear him. In +both places he spoke quite at length. And all who heard him were +surprised at the power he displayed. Though his speech was rude and +unpolished, the clearness of his views, and the intelligence he +manifested, caused the journals generally to speak of him in quite a +different strain from that which they had been accustomed to use. +Probably never did a man make so much intellectual progress, in the +course of a few months, as David Crockett had made in that time. His +wonderful memory of names, dates, facts, all the intricacies of +statistics, was such, that almost any statesman might be instructed by +his addresses, and not many men could safely encounter him in argument. +The views he presented upon the subject of the Constitution, finance, +internal improvements, etc., were very surprising, when one considers +the limited education he had enjoyed. At the close of these agitating +scenes he touchingly writes: +</P> + +<P> +"In a short time I set out for my own home; yes, my own home, my own +soil, my humble dwelling, my own family, my own hearts, my ocean of +love and affection, which neither circumstances nor time can dry up. +Here, like the wearied bird, let me settle down for a while, and shut +out the world." +</P> + +<P> +But hunting bears had lost its charms for Crockett. He had been so +flattered that it is probable that he fully expected to be chosen +President of the United States. There were two great parties then +dividing the country, the Democrats and the Whigs. The great object of +each was to find an available candidate, no matter how unfit for the +office. The leaders wished to elect a President who would be, like the +Queen of England, merely the ornamental figure-head of the ship of +state, while their energies should propel and guide the majestic +fabric. For a time some few thought it possible that in the popularity +of the great bear-hunter such a candidate might be found. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett, upon his return home, resumed his deerskin leggins, his +fringed hunting-shirt, his fox-skin cap, and shouldering his rifle, +plunged, as he thought, with his original zest, into the cheerless, +tangled, marshy forest which surrounded him. But the excitements of +Washington, the splendid entertainments of Philadelphia, New York, and +Boston, the flattery, the speech-making, which to him, with his +marvellous memory and his wonderful fluency of speech, was as easy as +breathing, the applause showered upon him, and the gorgeous vision of +the Presidency looming up before him, engrossed his mind. He sauntered +listlessly through the forest, his bear-hunting energies all paralyzed. +He soon grew very weary of home and of all its employments, and was +eager to return to the infinitely higher excitements of political life. +</P> + +<P> +General Jackson was then almost idolized by his party. All through the +South and West his name was a tower of strength. Crockett had +originally been elected as a Jackson-man. He had abandoned the +Administration, and was now one of the most inveterate opponents of +Jackson. The majority in Crockett's district were in favor of Jackson. +The time came for a new election of a representative. Crockett made +every effort, in his old style, to secure the vote. He appeared at the +gatherings in his garb as a bear-hunter, with his rifle on his +shoulder. He brought 'coonskins to buy whiskey to treat his friends. A +'coonskin in the currency of that country was considered the equivalent +for twenty-five cents. He made funny speeches. But it was all in vain. +</P> + +<P> +Greatly to his surprise, and still more to his chagrin, he lost his +election. He was beaten by two hundred and thirty votes. The whole +powerful influence of the Government was exerted against Crockett and +in favor of his competitor. It is said that large bribes were paid for +votes. Crockett wrote, in a strain which reveals the bitterness of his +disappointment: +</P> + +<P> +"I am gratified that I have spoken the truth to the people of my +district, regardless of the 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 shall be +rewarded for letting my tongue speak what my heart thinks. I have +suffered myself to be politically sacrificed to save my country from +ruin and disgrace; and if I am never again elected, I will have the +gratification to know that I have done my duty. I may add, in the words +of the man in the play, 'Crockett's occupation's gone.'" +</P> + +<P> +Two weeks after this he writes, "I confess the thorn still rankles, not +so much on my own account as the nation's. 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 nothing more than right +good sport to surmount them. But now I start upon my own hook, and God +only grant that it may be strong enough to support the weight that may +be hung upon it. I have a new row to hoe, a long and rough one; but +come what will, I will go ahead." +</P> + +<P> +Just before leaving for Texas, he attended a political meeting of his +constituents. The following extract from his autobiography will give +the reader a very vivid idea of his feelings at the time, and of the +very peculiar character which circumstances had developed in him: +</P> + +<P> +"A few days ago I went to a meeting of my constituents. My 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. +</P> + +<P> +"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 consider it a +fair fight anyhow they could fix it. I put the ingredients in the cup +pretty strong I tell you, and I concluded 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. +</P> + +<P> +"When I returned home I felt a sort of cast down at the change that had +taken place in my fortunes, and sorrow, it is said, will make even an +oyster feel poetical. I never tried my hand at that sort of writing but +on this particular occasion such was my state of feeling, that I 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 of 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 feelings on leaving my home, my neighbors, +and friends and country, for a strange land, as fully as I could in +plain prose. +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "Farewell to the mountains whose mazes to me<BR> + Were more beautiful far than Eden could be;<BR> + No fruit was forbidden, but Nature had spread<BR> + Her bountiful board, and her children were fed.<BR> + The hills were our garners—our herds wildly grew<BR> + And Nature was shepherd and husbandman too.<BR> + I felt like a monarch, yet thought like a man,<BR> + As I thanked the Great Giver, and worshipped his plan.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "The home I forsake where my offspring arose;<BR> + The graves I forsake where my children repose.<BR> + The home I redeemed from the savage and wild;<BR> + The home I have loved as a father his child;<BR> + The corn that I planted, the fields that I cleared,<BR> + The flocks that I raised, and the cabin I reared;<BR> + The wife of my bosom—Farewell to ye all!<BR> + In the land of the stranger I rise or I fall.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "Farewell to my country! I fought for thee well,<BR> + When the savage rushed forth like the demons from hell<BR> + In peace or in war I have stood by thy side—<BR> + My country, for thee I have lived, would have died!<BR> + But I am cast off, my career now is run,<BR> + And I wander abroad like the prodigal son—<BR> + Where the wild savage roves, and the broad prairies spread,<BR> + The fallen—despised—will again go ahead."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +A party of American adventurers, then called filibusters, had gone into +Texas, in the endeavor to wrest that immense and beautiful territory, +larger than the whole Empire of France, from feeble, distracted, +miserable Mexico, to which it belonged. These filibusters were +generally the most worthless and desperate vagabonds to be found in all +the Southern States. Many Southern gentlemen of wealth and ability, but +strong advocates of slavery, were in cordial sympathy with this +movement, and aided it with their purses, and in many other ways. It +was thought that if Texas could be wrested from Mexico and annexed to +the United States, it might be divided into several slaveholding +States, and thus check the rapidly increasing preponderance of the free +States of the North. +</P> + +<P> +To join in this enterprise, Crockett now left his home, his wife, his +children. There could be no doubt of the eventual success of the +undertaking. And in that success Crockett saw visions of political +glory opening before him. I determined, he said, "to 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 would be brought about, I +promised to give the Texans a helping hand on the high road to freedom." +</P> + +<P> +He dressed himself in a new deerskin hunting-shirt, put on a foxskin +cap with the tail hanging behind, shouldered his famous rifle, and +cruelly leaving in the dreary cabin his wife and children whom he +cherished with an "ocean of love and affection," set out on foot upon +his perilous adventure. A days' journey through the forest brought him +to the Mississippi River. Here he took a steamer down that majestic +stream to the mouth of the Arkansas River, which rolls its vast flood +from regions then quite unexplored in the far West. The stream was +navigable fourteen hundred miles from its mouth. +</P> + +<P> +Arkansas was then but a Territory, two hundred and forty miles long and +two hundred and twenty-eight broad. The sparsely scattered population +of the Territory amounted to but about thirty thousand. Following up +the windings of the river three hundred miles, one came to a cluster of +a few straggling huts, called Little Rock, which constitutes now the +capital of the State. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett ascended the river in the steamer, and, unencumbered with +baggage, save his rifle, hastened to a tavern which he saw at a little +distance from the shore, around which there was assembled quite a crowd +of men. He had been so accustomed to public triumphs that he supposed +that they had assembled in honor of his arrival. "Strange as it may +seem," he says, "they took no more notice of me than if I had been Dick +Johnson, the wool-grower. This took me somewhat aback;" and he inquired +what was the meaning of the gathering. +</P> + +<P> +He found that the people had been called together to witness the feats +of a celebrated juggler and gambler. The name of Colonel Crockett had +gone through the nation; and gradually it became noised abroad that +Colonel Crockett was in the crowd. "I wish I may be shot," Crockett +says, "if I wasn't looked upon as almost as great a sight as Punch and +Judy." +</P> + +<P> +He was invited to a public dinner that very day. As it took some time +to cook the dinner, the whole company went to a little distance to +shoot at a mark. All had heard of Crockett's skill. After several of +the best sharpshooters had fired, with remarkable accuracy, it came to +Crockett's turn. Assuming an air of great carelessness, he raised his +beautiful rifle, which he called Betsey, to his shoulder, fired, and it +so happened that the bullet struck exactly in the centre of the +bull's-eye. All were astonished, and so was Crockett himself. But with +an air of much indifference he turned upon his heel, saying, "There's +no mistake in Betsey." +</P> + +<P> +One of the best marksmen in those parts, chagrined at being so beaten, +said, "Colonel, that must have been a chance shot." +</P> + +<P> +"I can do it," Crockett replied, "five times out of six, any day in the +week." +</P> + +<P> +"I knew," he adds, in his autobiography, "it was not altogether as +correct as it might be; but when a man sets about going the big figure, +halfway measures won't answer no how." +</P> + +<P> +It was now proposed that there should be a second trial. Crockett was +very reluctant to consent to this, for he had nothing to gain, and +everything to lose. But they insisted so vehemently that he had to +yield. As what ensued does not redound much to his credit, we will let +him tell the story in his own language. +</P> + +<P> +"So to it again 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 showing +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 examined the bull's-eye pretty +particular, and at length cried out, 'Here it is; there is no snakes if +it ha'n't followed 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 when speaking of me as a marksman: and +they all said they had enough of shooting for that day, and they moved +that we adjourn to the tavern and liquor." +</P> + +<P> +The dinner consisted of bear's meat, venison, and wild turkey. They had +an "uproarious" time over their whiskey. Crockett made a coarse and +vulgar speech, which was neither creditable to his head nor his heart. +But it was received with great applause. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning Crockett decided to set out to cross the country in a +southwest direction, to Fulton, on the upper waters of the Red River. +The gentlemen furnished Crockett with a fine horse, and five of them +decided to accompany him, as a mark of respect, to the River Washita, +fifty miles from Little Rock. Crockett endeavored to raise some +recruits for Texas, but was unsuccessful. When they reached the +Washita, they found a clergyman, one of those bold, hardy pioneers of +the wilderness, who through the wildest adventures were distributing +tracts and preaching the gospel in the remotest hamlets. +</P> + +<P> +He was in a condition of great peril. He had attempted to ford the +river in the wrong place, and had reached a spot where he could not +advance any farther, and yet could not turn his horse round. With much +difficulty they succeeded in extricating him, and in bringing him safe +to the shore. Having bid adieu to his kind friends, who had escorted +him thus far, Crockett crossed the river, and in company with the +clergyman continued his journey, about twenty miles farther west toward +a little settlement called Greenville. He found his new friend to be a +very charming companion. In describing the ride, Crockett writes: +</P> + +<P> +"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, travelling 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 listened 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 sterile +rocks seemed to be endued with some mysterious influence. We were alone +in the wilderness, but all things told me that God was there. The +thought renewed my strength and courage. I had left my country, felt +somewhat like an outcast, 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. +</P> + +<P> +"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, 'Now 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 membership, or obtained a +dispensation. Having liquored, we proceeded on our journey, keeping a +sharp lookout for mill-seats and plantations as we rode along. +</P> + +<P> +"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 Western States. +</P> + +<P> +"He was very cheerful and happy, though to all appearances very poor. I +thought that he would make a first-rate agent for taking up lands, and +mentioned it to him. He smiled, and pointing above, said, 'My wealth +lies not in this world.'" +</P> + +<P> +From Greenville, Crockett pressed on about fifty or sixty miles through +a country interspersed withe forests and treeless prairies, until he +reached Fulton. He had a letter of introduction to one of the prominent +gentlemen here, and was received with marked distinction. After a short +visit he disposed of his horse; he took a steamer to descend the river +several hundred miles to Natchitoches, pronounced Nakitosh, a small +straggling village of eight hundred inhabitants, on the right bank of +the Red River, about two hundred miles from its entrance into the +Mississippi. +</P> + +<P> +In descending the river there was a juggler on board, who performed +many skilful juggling tricks, and by various feats of gambling won much +money from his dupes. Crockett was opposed to gambling in all its +forms. Becoming acquainted with the juggler and, finding him at heart a +well-meaning, good-natured fellow, he endeavored to remonstrate with +him upon his evil practices. +</P> + +<P> +"I told him," says Crockett, "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 subsistence to +such a pitiful artifice. +</P> + +<P> +"'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.' +</P> + +<P> +"'Then hold your head up,' says I, 'before the slough reaches your +lips.' +</P> + +<P> +"'But what's the use?' says he: 'it's utterly impossible 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 element, if I attempted to live +like an honest man at this time o' day.' +</P> + +<P> +"'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.' +</P> + +<P> +"'And what is that?' +</P> + +<P> +"'Die like a brave one. And I know not whether, in the eyes of the +world, a brilliant death is not preferred to an obscure life of +rectitude. Most men are remembered as they died, and not as they lived. +We gaze with admiration upon the glories of the setting sun, yet +scarcely bestow a passing glance upon its noonday splendor.' +</P> + +<P> +"'You are right; but how is this to be done?' +</P> + +<P> +"'Accompany me to Texas. Cut aloof from your degrading habits and +associates here, and, in fighting for the freedom of the Texans, regain +your own.' +</P> + +<P> +"The man seemed much moved. He caught up his gambling instruments, +thrust them into his pocket, with hasty strides traversed the floor two +or three times, and then exclaimed: +</P> + +<P> +"'By heaven, I will try to be a man again. I will live honestly, or die +bravely. I will go with you to Texas.'" +</P> + +<P> +To confirm him in his good resolution, Crockett "asked him to liquor." +At Natchitoches, Crockett encountered another very singular character. +He was a remarkably handsome young man, of poetic imagination, a sweet +singer, and with innumerable scraps of poetry and of song ever at his +tongue's end. Honey-trees, as they were called, were very abundant in +Texas The prairies were almost boundless parterres of the richest +flowers, from which the bees made large quantities of the most +delicious honey. This they deposited in the hollows of trees. Not only +was the honey valuable, but the wax constituted a very important +article of commerce in Mexico, and brought a high price, being used for +the immense candles which they burned in their churches. The +bee-hunter, by practice, acquired much skill in coursing the bees to +their hives. +</P> + +<P> +This man decided to join Crockett and the juggler in their journey over +the vast prairies of Texas. Small, but very strong and tough Mexican +ponies, called mustangs, were very cheap. They were found wild, in +droves of thousands, grazing on the prairies. The three adventurers +mounted their ponies, and set out on their journey due west, a distance +of one hundred and twenty miles, to Nacogdoches. Their route was along +a mere trail, which was called the old Spanish road. It led over vast +prairies, where there was no path, and where the bee-hunter was their +guide, and through forests where their course was marked only by blazed +trees. +</P> + +<P> +The bee-hunter, speaking of the state of society in Texas, said that at +San Felipe he had sat down with a small party at the breakfast-table, +where eleven of the company had fled from the States charged with the +crime of murder. So accustomed were the inhabitants to the appearance +of fugitives from justice, that whenever a stranger came among them, +they took it for granted that he had committed some crime which +rendered it necessary for him to take refuge beyond the grasp of his +country's laws. +</P> + +<P> +They reached Nacogdoches without any special adventure. It was a +flourishing little Mexican town of about one thousand inhabitants, +situated in a romantic dell, about sixty miles west of the River +Sabine. The Mexicans and the Indians were very nearly on an +intellectual and social equality. Groups of Indians, harmless and +friendly, were ever sauntering through the streets of the little town. +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Crockett's horse had become lame on the journey. He obtained +another, and, with his feet nearly touching the ground as he bestrode +the little animal, the party resumed its long and weary journey, +directing their course two or three hundred miles farther southwest +through the very heart of Texas to San Antonio. They frequently +encountered vast expanses of canebrakes; such canes as Northern boys +use for fishing-poles. There is one on the banks of Caney Creek, +seventy miles in length, with scarcely a tree to be seen for the whole +distance. There was generally a trail cut through these, barely wide +enough for a single mustang to pass. The reeds were twenty or thirty +feet high, and so slender that, having no support over the path, they +drooped a little inward and intermingled their tops. Thus a very +singular and beautiful canopy was formed, beneath which the travellers +moved along sheltered from the rays of a Texan sun. +</P> + +<P> +As they were emerging from one of these arched avenues, they saw three +black wolves jogging along very leisurely in front of them, but at too +great a distance to be reached by a rifle-bullet. Wild turkeys were +very abundant, and vast droves of wild horses were cropping the herbage +of the most beautiful and richest pastures to be found on earth. +Immense herds of buffaloes were also seen. +</P> + +<P> +"These sights," says Crockett, "awakened the ruling passion strong +within me, and I longed to have a hunt on a large scale. For though I +had killed many bears and deer in my time, I had never brought down a +buffalo, and so I told my friends. But they tried to dissuade me from +it, telling me that I would certainly lose my way, and perhaps perish; +for though it appeared a garden to the eye, it was still a wilderness. +I said little more upon the subject until we crossed the Trinidad +River. But every mile we travelled, I found the temptation grew +stronger and stronger." +</P> + +<P> +The night after crossing the Trinidad River they were so fortunate as +to come across the hut of a poor woman, where they took shelter until +the next morning. They were here joined by two other chance travellers, +who must indeed have been rough specimens of humanity. Crockett says +that though he had often seen men who had not advanced far over the +line of civilization, these were the coarsest samples he had ever met. +</P> + +<P> +One proved to be an old pirate, about fifty years of age. He was tall, +bony, and in aspect seemed scarcely human. The shaggy hair of his +whiskers and beard covered nearly his whole face. He had on a sailor's +round jacket and tarpaulin hat. The deep scar, apparently of a sword +cut, deformed his forehead, and another similar scar was on the back of +one of his hands. His companion was a young Indian, wild as the wolves, +bareheaded, and with scanty deerskin dress. +</P> + +<P> +Early the next morning they all resumed their journey, the two +strangers following on foot. Their path led over the smooth and +treeless prairie, as beautiful in its verdure and its flowers as the +most cultivated park could possibly be. About noon they stopped to +refresh their horses and dine beneath a cluster of trees in the open +prairie. They had built their fire, were cooking their game, and were +all seated upon the grass, chatting very sociably, when the bee-hunter +saw a bee, which indicated that a hive of honey might be found not far +distant. He leaped upon his mustang, and without saying a word, +"started off like mad," and scoured along the prairie. "We watched +him," says Crockett, "until he seemed no larger than a rat, and finally +disappeared in the distance." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Adventures on the Prairie. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Disappearance of the Bee Hunter.—The Herd of Buffalo Crockett +lost.—The Fight with the Cougar.—Approach of Savages.—Their +Friendliness.—Picnic on the Prairie.—Picturesque Scene.—The Lost +Mustang recovered.—Unexpected Reunion.—Departure of the +Savages.—Skirmish with the Mexicans.—Arrival at the Alamo. +</P> + +<P> +Soon after the bee-hunter had disappeared, all were startled by a +strange sound, as of distant thunder. It was one of the most beautiful +of summer days. There was not a cloud to be seen. The undulating +prairie, waving with flowers, lay spread out before them, more +beautiful under nature's bountiful adornings than the most artistic +parterre, park or lawn which the hand of man ever reared. A gentle, +cool breeze swept through the grove, fragrant and refreshing as if from +Araby the blest. It was just one of those scenes and one of those hours +in which all vestiges of the Fall seemed to have been obliterated, and +Eden itself again appeared blooming in its pristine beauty. +</P> + +<P> +Still those sounds, growing more and more distinct, were not sounds of +peace, were not eolian warblings; they were mutterings as of a rising +tempest, and inspired awe and a sense of peril. Straining their eyes +toward the far-distant west, whence the sounds came, they soon saw an +immense black cloud just emerging from the horizon and apparently very +low down, sweeping the very surface of the prairie. This strange, +menacing cloud was approaching with manifestly great rapidity. It was +coming directly toward the grove where the travellers were sheltered. A +cloud of dust accompanied the phenomenon, ever growing thicker and +rising higher in the air. +</P> + +<P> +"What can that all mean?" exclaimed Crockett, in evident alarm. +</P> + +<P> +The juggler sprang to his feet, saying, "Burn my old shoes if I know." +</P> + +<P> +Even the mustangs, which were grazing near by, were frightened They +stopped eating, pricked up their ears, and gazed in terror upon the +approaching danger. It was then supposed that the black cloud, with its +muttered thunderings, must be one of those terrible tornadoes which +occasionally swept the region, bearing down everything before it. The +men all rushed for the protection of the mustangs. In the greatest +haste they struck off their hobbles and led them into the grove for +shelter. +</P> + +<P> +The noise grew louder and louder, and they had scarcely brought the +horses beneath the protection of the trees, when they perceived that it +was an immense herd of buffaloes, of countless hundreds, dishing along +with the speed of the wind, and bellowing and roaring in tones as +appalling as if a band of demons were flying and shrieking in terror +before some avenging arm. +</P> + +<P> +The herd seemed to fill the horizon. Their numbers could not be +counted. They were all driven by some common impulse of terror. In +their head-long plunge, those in front pressed on by the innumerable +throng behind, it was manifest that no ordinary obstacle would in the +slightest degree retard their rush. The spectacle was sublime and +terrible. Had the travellers been upon the open plain, it seemed +inevitable that they must have been trampled down and crushed out of +every semblance of humanity by these thousands of hard hoofs. +</P> + +<P> +But it so chanced that they were upon what is called a rolling prairie, +with its graceful undulations and gentle eminences. It was one of these +beautiful swells which the grove crowned with its luxuriance. +</P> + +<P> +As the enormous herd came along with its rush and roar, like the +bursting forth of a pent-up flood, the terrified mustangs were too much +frightened to attempt to escape. They shivered in every nerve as if +stricken by an ague. +</P> + +<P> +An immense black bull led the band. He was a few feet in advance of all +the rest. He came roaring along, his tail erect in the air as a +javelin, his head near the ground, and his stout, bony horns projected +as if he were just ready to plunge upon his foe. Crockett writes: +</P> + +<P> +"I never felt such a desire to have a crack at anything in all my life. +He drew nigh the place where I was standing. I raised my beautiful +Betsey to my shoulder and blazed away. He roared, and suddenly stopped. +Those that were near him did so likewise. The commotion occasioned by +the impetus of those in the rear was such that it was a miracle that +some of them did not break their heads 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 followed, sweeping by like a tornado. And I do say I +never witnessed a sight more beautiful to the eye of a hunter in all my +life." +</P> + +<P> +The temptation to pursue them was too strong for Crockett to resist. +For a moment he was himself bewildered, and stood gazing with +astonishment upon the wondrous spectacle. Speedily he reloaded his +rifle, sprung upon his horse, and set out in pursuit over the green and +boundless prairie. There was something now quite ludicrous in the +scene. There was spread out an ocean expanse of verdure. A herd of +countless hundreds of majestic buffaloes, every animal very ferocious +in aspect, was clattering along, and a few rods behind them in eager +pursuit was one man, mounted on a little, insignificant Mexican pony, +not much larger than a donkey. It would seem that but a score of this +innumerable army need but turn round and face their foe, and they could +toss horse and rider into the air, and then contemptuously trample them +into the dust. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett was almost beside himself with excitement. Looking neither to +the right nor the left, unconscious in what direction he was going, he +urged forward, with whip and spur, the little mustang, to the utmost +speed of the animal, and yet scarcely in the least diminished the +distance between him and the swift-footed buffaloes. Ere long, it was +evident that he was losing in the chase. But the hunter, thinking that +the buffaloes could not long continue their flight at such a speed, and +that they would soon, in weariness, loiter and stop to graze, +vigorously pressed on, though his jaded beast was rapidly being +distance by the herd. +</P> + +<P> +At length the enormous moving mass appeared but as a cloud in the +distant horizon. Still, Crockett, his mind entirely absorbed in the +excitement of the chase, urged his weary steed on, until the buffalos +entirely disappeared from view in the distance. Crockett writes: +</P> + +<P> +"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 +always been my principle to go ahead, and so I turned to the west and +pushed forward. +</P> + +<P> +"I had not rode more than an hour before I found, I was completely +bewildered. I looked around, and there was, as far as the eye could +reach, spread before me a country apparently 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. +</P> + +<P> +"I pushed along, following the sun, for I had no compass to guide me, +and there was no other path than that which my mustang made. Indeed, if +I had found a beaten tract, 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 travelled 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." +</P> + +<P> +For several hours Crockett rode through these vast and lonely +solitudes, the Eden of nature, without meeting with the slightest trace +of a human being. Evening was approaching, still, calm, and bright. The +most singular and even oppressive silence prevailed, for neither voice +of bird nor insect was to be heard. Crockett began to feel very uneasy. +The fact that he was lost himself did not trouble him much, but he felt +anxious for his simple-minded, good-natured friend, the juggler, who +was left entirely alone and quite unable to take care of himself under +such circumstances. +</P> + +<P> +As he rode along, much disturbed by these unpleasant reflections, +another novelty, characteristic of the Great West, arrested his +attention and elicited his admiration. He was just emerging from a very +lovely grove, carpeted with grass, which grew thick and green beneath +the leafy canopy which overarched it. There was not a particle of +underbrush to obstruct one's movement through this natural park. Just +beyond the grove there was another expanse of treeless prairie, so +rich, so beautiful, so brilliant with flowers, that even Colonel +Crockett, all unaccustomed as he was to the devotional mood, reined in +his horse, and gazing entranced upon the landscape, exclaimed: +</P> + +<P> +"O God, what a world of beauty hast thou made for man! And yet how +poorly does he requite thee for it! He does not even repay thee with +gratitude." +</P> + +<P> +The attractiveness of the scene was enhanced by a drove of more than a +hundred wild horses, really beautiful animals, quietly pasturing. It +seemed impossible but that the hand of man must have been employed in +embellishing this fair creation. It was all God's work. "When I looked +around and fully realized it all," writes Crockett, "I thought of the +clergyman who had preached to me in the wilds of Arkansas." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Crockett rode out upon the prairie. The horses no sooner espied +him than, excited, but not alarmed, the whole drove, with neighings, +and tails uplifted like banners, commenced coursing around him in an +extended circle, which gradually became smaller and smaller, until they +came in close contact; and the Colonel, not a little alarmed, found +himself completely surrounded, and apparently the prisoner of these +powerful steeds. +</P> + +<P> +The little mustang upon which the Colonel was mounted seemed very happy +in its new companionship. It turned its head to one side, and then to +the other, and pranced and neighed, playfully biting at the mane of one +horse, rubbing his nose against that of another, and in joyous gambols +kicking up its heels. The Colonel was anxious to get out of the mess. +But his little mustang was not at all disposed to move in that +direction; neither did the other horses seem disposed to acquiesce in +such a plan. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett's heels were armed with very formidable Spanish spurs, with +prongs sharp and long. The hunter writes: +</P> + +<P> +"To escape from the annoyance, I beat the devil's 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 +mane streaming. My little critter, who was both blood and bottom, +seemed delighted at being at the head of the heap; and having once +fairly got 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, clatter, 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. +</P> + +<P> +"My little animal was full of fire and mettle, and as it was the first +bit of genuine sport that he had had for some time, 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 in the 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." +</P> + +<P> +This could not last long. The wild steed of the prairie soon +outstripped the heavily burdened mustang, and shooting ahead, kicked up +his heels as in derision. The rest of the herd followed, in the same +disrespectful manner. Crockett jogged quietly on in the rear, glad to +be rid of such troublesome and dangerous companions. The horses soon +reached a stream, which Crockett afterward learned was called the +Navasola River. The whole herd, following an adventurous leader, rushed +pell-mell into the stream and swam to the other side. It was a +beautiful sight to behold these splendid animals, in such a dense +throng, crossing the stream, and then, refreshed by their bath, +sweeping like a whirlwind over the plain beyond. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett's exhausted pony could go no further. He fairly threw himself +upon the ground as if in despair. Crockett took from the exhausted +animal the saddle, and left the poor creature to roll upon the grass +and graze at pleasure. He thought it not possible that the mustang +could wander to any considerable distance. Indeed, he fully expected to +find the utterly exhausted beast, who could no longer stand upon his +legs, dead before morning. +</P> + +<P> +Night was fast closing around him. He began to look around for shelter. +There was a large tree blown down by the side of the stream, its top +branching out very thick and bushy. Crockett thought that with his +knife, in the midst of that dense foliage with its interlacing +branches, he could make himself a snug arbor, where, wrapped in his +blanket, he could enjoy refreshing sleep. He approached the tree, and +began to work among the almost impervious branches, when he heard a low +growl, which he says he interpreted to mean, "Stranger, these +apartments are already taken." +</P> + +<P> +Looking about to see what kind of an animal he had disturbed, and whose +displeasure he had manifestly encountered, he saw the brilliant eyes +glaring through the leaves of a large Mexican cougar, sometimes called +the panther or American lion. This animal, endowed with marvellous +agility and strength, will pounce from his lair on a deer, and even a +buffalo, and easily with tooth and claw tear him to pieces. +</P> + +<P> +"He was not more than five or six paces from me," writes Crockett, "and +was eying me as an epicure surveys the table before he selects his +dish, I have no doubt the cougar looked upon me as the subject of a +future supper. Rays 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." +</P> + +<P> +The conflict which ensued cannot be more graphically described than in +Crocket's own words: +</P> + +<P> +"One glance satisfied me that there was no time to be lost. There was +no retreat either for me or the cougar. So I levelled my Betsey and +blazed away. The report was followed by a furious growl, and the next +moment, when I expected to find the tarnal critter struggling with +death, I beheld him shaking his head, as if nothing 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 tearing 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 +retreated three steps before he sprang at me like a steamboat; 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 to close +quarters before the fight would be over. This time he succeeded in +fastening on my left arm, and was just beginning to amuse himself by +tearing the flesh off with his fangs, when I ripped my knife into his +side, and he let go his hold, much to my satisfaction. +</P> + +<P> +"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 become 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 towards my +face; I grasped his tail with my left hand, and tickled his ribs with +my haunting-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 presented a fair mark for my hunting-knife. +Without 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." +</P> + +<P> +Crockett, breathless and bleeding, but signally a victor, took quiet +possession of the treetop, the conquest of which he had so valiantly +achieved. He parted some of the branches, cut away others, and +intertwining the softer twigs, something like a bird's nest, made for +himself a very comfortable bed. There was an abundance of moss, dry, +pliant, and crispy, hanging in festoons from the trees. This, spread in +thick folds over his litter, made as luxuriant a mattress as one could +desire. His horse-blanket being laid down upon this, the weary +traveller, with serene skies above him and a gentle breeze breathing +through his bower, had no cause to envy the occupant of the most +luxurious chamber wealth can furnish. +</P> + +<P> +He speedily prepared for himself a frugal supper, carried his saddle +into the treetop, and, though oppressed with anxiety in view of the +prospect before him, fell asleep, and in blissful unconsciousness the +hours passed away until the sun was rising in the morning. Upon +awaking, he felt very stiff and sore from the wounds he had received in +his conflict with the cougar. Looking over the bank, he saw the dead +body of the cougar lying there, and felt that he had much cause of +gratitude that he had escaped so great a danger. +</P> + +<P> +He then began to look around for his horse. But the animal was nowhere +to be seen. He ascended one of the gentle swells of land, whence he +could look far and wide over the unobstructed prairie. To his surprise, +and not a little to his consternation, the animal had disappeared, +"without leaving trace of hair or hide." At first he thought the +mustang must have been devoured by wolves or some other beasts of prey. +But then it was manifest they could not have eaten his bones, and +something would have remained to indicate the fate of the poor +creature. While thus perplexed, Crockett reflected sadly that he was +lost, alone and on foot, on the boundless prairie. He was, however, too +much accustomed to scenes of the wildest adventure to allow himself to +be much cast down. His appetite was not disturbed, and he began to feel +the cravings of hunger. +</P> + +<P> +He took his rifle and stepped out in search of his breakfast. He had +gone but a short distance ere he saw a large flock of wild geese, on +the bank of the river. Selecting a large fat gander, he shot him, soon +stripped him of his feathers, built a fire, ran a stick through the +goose for a spit, and then, supporting it on two sticks with prongs, +roasted his savory viand in the most approved style. He had a little +tin cup with him, and a paper of ground coffee, with which he made a +cup of that most refreshing beverage. Thus he breakfasted sumptuously. +</P> + +<P> +He was just preparing to depart, with his saddle upon his shoulder, +much perplexed as to the course he should pursue, when he was again +alarmed by one of those wild scenes ever occurring in the West. First +faintly, then louder and louder came the sound as of the trampling of +many horses on the full gallop. His first thought was that another +enormous herd of buffaloes was sweeping down upon him. But soon he saw, +in the distance, a band of about fifty Comanche Indians, well mounted, +painted, plumed, and bannered, the horse and rider apparently one +animal, coming down upon him, their horses being urged to the utmost +speed. It was a sublime and yet an appalling spectacle, as this band of +half-naked savages, their spears glittering in the morning sun, and +their long hair streaming behind, came rushing on. +</P> + +<P> +Crockett was standing in full view upon the banks of the stream. The +column swept on, and, with military precision, as it approached, +divided into two semicircles, and in an instant the two ends of the +circle reached the river, and Crockett was surrounded. Three of the +savages performed the part of trumpeters, and with wonderful +resemblance, from their lips, emitted the pealing notes of the bugle. +Almost by instinct he grasped his rifle, but a flash of thought taught +him that, under the circumstances, any attempt at resistance would be +worse than unavailing. +</P> + +<P> +The chief sprang from his horse, and advancing with proud strides +toward Crockett, was struck with admiration at sight of his magnificent +rifle. Such a weapon, with such rich ornamentation, had never before +been seen on the prairies. The eagerness with which the savage regarded +the gun led Crockett to apprehend that he intended to appropriate it to +himself. +</P> + +<P> +The Comanches, though a very warlike tribe, had held much intercourse +with the Americans, and friendly relations then existed between them +and our Government. Crockett, addressing the chief, said: +</P> + +<P> +"Is your nation at war with the Americans?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," was the reply; "they are our friends." +</P> + +<P> +"And where," Crockett added, "do your get your spear-heads, your +rifles, your blankets, and your knives?" +</P> + +<P> +"We get them from our friends the Americans," the chief replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Well," said Crockett, "do you think that if you were passing through +their country, as I am passing through yours, they would attempt to rob +you of your property?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," answered the savage; "they would feed me and protect me. And the +Comanche will do the same by his white brother." +</P> + +<P> +Crockett then inquired of the chief what had guided him and his party +to the spot where they had found him? The chief said that they were at +a great distance, but had seen the smoke from his fire, and had come to +ascertain the cause of it. +</P> + +<P> +"He inquired," writes Crockett, "what had brought me there alone. I +told him 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 this the chief gave a low chuckling laugh, and said that 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." +</P> + +<P> +The savages speedily discovered the dead body of the cougar, and +commenced skinning him. They were greatly surprised on seeing the +number of the stabs, and inquired into the cause. When Crockett +explained to them the conflict, the proof of which was manifest in his +own lacerated skin, and in the wounds inflicted upon the cougar, they +were greatly impressed with the valor he had displayed. The chief +exclaimed several times, in tones of commingled admiration and +astonishment, "Brave hunter! brave man!" He also expressed the earnest +wish that Crockett would consent to be adopted as a son of the tribe. +But this offer was respectfully declined. +</P> + +<P> +This friendly chief kindly consented to escort Crockett as far as the +Colorado River. Crockett put his saddle on a fresh horse, and having +mounted, the chief, with Crockett at his side, took the lead, and off +the whole band went, scouring over the pathless prairie at a rapid +speed. Several of the band were squaws. They were the trumpeters. They +made the prairie echo with their bugle-blasts, or, as Crockett +irreverently, but perhaps more correctly says, "The old squaws, at the +head of the troop, were braying like young jackasses the whole way." +</P> + +<P> +After thus riding over the green and treeless expanse for about three +hours, they came upon a drove of wild horses, quietly pasturing on the +rich herbage. One of the Indians immediately prepared his lasso, and +darted out toward the herd to make a capture. The horses did not seem +to be alarmed by his approach, but when he got pretty nigh them they +began to circle around him, keeping at a cautious distance, with their +heads elevated and with loud neighings. They then, following the +leadership of a splendid stallion, set off on a brisk canter, and soon +disappeared beyond the undulations of the prairie. +</P> + +<P> +One of the mustangs remained quietly grazing. The Indian rode to within +a few yards of him, and very skilfully threw his lasso. The mustang +seemed to be upon the watch, for he adroitly dodged his head between +his forefeet and thus escaped the fatal noose. The Indian rode up to +him, and the horse patiently submitted to be bridled and thus secured. +</P> + +<P> +"When I approached," writes Crockett, "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 sheepish, 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 any effort to escape. He told me that they were generally +hurled to the ground with such violence, when first taken with the +lasso, that they remembered it ever after; and that the sight of the +lasso will subdue them to submission, though they may have run wild for +years." +</P> + +<P> +All the day long, Crockett, with his convoy of friendly savages, +travelled over the beautiful prairie. Toward evening they came across a +drove of fat buffaloes grazing in the richest of earthly pastures. It +was a beautiful sight to witness the skill with which the Indians +pursued and hunted down the noble game. Crockett was quite charmed with +the spectacle. It is said that the Comanche Indians are the finest +horsemen in the world. Always wandering about over the boundless +prairies, where wild horses are found in countless numbers, they are +ever on horseback, men, women, and children. Even infants, almost in +their earliest years, are taught to cling to the mane of the horse. +Thus the Comanche obtains the absolute control of the animal; and when +scouring over the plain, bareheaded and with scanty dress, the horse +and rider seem veritably like one person. +</P> + +<P> +The Comanches were armed only with bows and arrows. The herd early took +fright, and fled with such speed that the somewhat exhausted horses of +the Comanches could not get within arrow-shot of them. Crockett, +however, being well mounted and unsurpassed by any Indian in the arts +of hunting, selected a fat young heifer, which he knew would furnish +tender steaks, and with his deadly bullet struck it down. This was the +only beef that was killed. All the rest of the herd escaped. +</P> + +<P> +The Indians gathered around the slain animal for their feast. With +their sharp knives the heifer was soon skinned and cut up into savory +steaks and roasting-pieces. Two or three fires were built. The horses +were hobbled and turned loose to graze. Every one of the Indians +selected his own portion, and all were soon merrily and even +affectionately engaged in this picnic feast, beneath skies which Italy +never rivalled, and surrounded with the loveliness of a park surpassing +the highest creations of art in London, Paris, or New York. +</P> + +<P> +The Indians were quite delighted with their guest. He told them stories +of his wild hunting excursions, and of his encounters with panthers and +bears. They were charmed by his narratives, and they sat eager +listeners until late into the night, beneath the stars and around the +glowing camp-fires. Then, wrapped in their blankets, they threw +themselves down on the thick green grass and slept. Such are the joys +of peace and friendship. +</P> + +<P> +They resumed their journey in the morning, and pressed along, with +nothing of special interest occurring until they reached the Colorado +River. As they were following down this stream, to strike the road +which leads to Bexar, they saw in the distance a single column of smoke +ascending the clear sky. Hastening toward it, they found that it rose +from the centre of a small grove near the river. When within a few +hundred yards the warriors extended their line, so as nearly to +encircle the grove, while the chief and Crockett advanced cautiously to +reconnoitre. To their surprise they saw a solitary man seated upon the +ground near the fire, so entirely absorbed in some occupation that he +did not observe their approach. +</P> + +<P> +In a moment, Crockett, much to his joy, perceived that it was his lost +friend the juggler. He was all engaged in practising his game of +thimbles on the crown of his hat. Crockett was now restored to his +companion, and was near the plain road to Bexar. In describing this +scene and the departure of his kind Indian friends, the hunter writes: +</P> + +<P> +"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 greater degree what may be called true spontaneous +politeness than this Comanche 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, that I mightn't be ashamed to fill as much as I wanted. +That was what I call doing the fair thing." +</P> + +<P> +The poor juggler was quite overjoyed in meeting his friend again, whom +he evidently regarded with much reverence. He said that he was very +much alarmed when he found himself alone on the pathless prairie. After +waiting two hours in much anxiety, he mounted his mustang, and was +slowly retracing his steps, when he spied the bee-hunter returning. He +was laden with honey. They had then journeyed on together to the +present spot. The hunter had just gone out in search of game. He soon +returned with a plump turkey upon his shoulders. They built their fire, +and were joyously cooking their supper, when the neighing of a horse +near by startled them. Looking up, they saw two men approaching on +horseback. They proved to be the old pirate and the young Indian with +whom they had lodged a few nights before. Upon being hailed they +alighted, and politely requested permission to join their party. This +was gladly assented to, as they were now entering a region desolated by +the war between the Texans and the Mexicans, and where many small bands +of robbers were wandering, ready to plunder any weaker party they might +encounter. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning they crossed the river and pushed on for the fortress +of Alamo. When within about twenty miles of San Antonio, they beheld +about fifteen mounted men, well armed, approaching them at full speed. +Crockett's party numbered five. They immediately dismounted, made a +rampart of their horses, and with the muzzles of their rifles pointed +toward the approaching foe, were prepared for battle. +</P> + +<P> +It was a party of Mexicans. When within a few hundred yards they reined +in their horses, and the leader, advancing a little, called out to them +in Spanish to surrender. +</P> + +<P> +"We must have a brush with those blackguards," said the pirate. "Let +each one single out his man for the first fire. They are greater fools +than I take them for if they give us a chance for a second shot. +Colonel, just settle the business with that talking fellow with the red +feather. He's worth any three of the party." +</P> + +<P> +"Surrender, or we fire!" shouted the fellow with the red feather. The +pirate replied, with a piratic oath, "Fire away." +</P> + +<P> +"And sure enough," writes Crockett, "they took his advice, for the next +minute we were saluted with a discharge of musketry, the report of +which was 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. We 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 approached. We hastily mounted and commenced pursuit, +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." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Conclusion. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +The Fortress of Alamo.—Colonel Bowie.—Bombardment of the +Fort.—Crockett's Journal.—Sharpshooting.—Fight outside of the +Fort.—Death of the Bee Hunter.—Kate of Nacogdoches.—Assault on the +Citadel.—Crockett a Prisoner.—His Death. +</P> + +<P> +The fortress of Alamo is just outside of the town of Bexar, on the San +Antonio River. The town is about one hundred and forty miles from the +coast, and contained, at that time, about twelve hundred inhabitants. +Nearly all were Mexicans, though there were a few American families. In +the year 1718, the Spanish Government had established a military +outpost here; and in the year 1721, a few emigrants from Spain +commenced a flourishing settlement at this spot. Its site is beautiful, +the air salubrious, the soil highly fertile, and the water of crystal +purity. +</P> + +<P> +The town of Bexar subsequently received the name of San Antonio. On the +tenth of December, 1835, the Texans captured the town and citadel from +the Mexicans. These Texan Rangers were rude men, who had but little +regard for the refinements or humanities of civilization. When Crockett +with his companions arrived, Colonel Bowie, of Louisiana, one of the +most desperate of Western adventurers, was in the fortress. The +celebrated bowie-knife was named after this man. There was but a feeble +garrison, and it was threatened with an attack by an overwhelming force +of Mexicans under Santa Anna. Colonel Travis was in command. He was +very glad to receive even so small a reinforcement. The fame of Colonel +Crockett, as one of the bravest of men, had already reached his ears. +</P> + +<P> +"While we were conversing," writes Crockett, "Colonel Bowie had +occasion to draw his famous knife, 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 +colic. He saw I was admiring it, and said he, 'Colonel, you might +tickle a fellow's ribs a long time with this little instrument before +you'd make make him laugh.'" +</P> + +<P> +According to Crockett's account, many shameful orgies took place in the +little garrison. They were evidently in considerable trepidation, for a +large force was gathering against them, and they could not look for any +considerable reinforcements from any quarter. Rumors were continually +reaching them of the formidable preparations Santa Anna was making to +attack the place. Scouts ere long brought in the tidings that Santa +Anna, President of the Mexican Republic, at the head of sixteen hundred +soldiers, and accompanied by several of his ablest generals, was within +six miles of Bexar. It was said that he was doing everything in his +power to enlist the warlike Comanches in his favor, but that they +remained faithful in their friendship to the United States. +</P> + +<P> +Early in the month of February, 1836, the army of Santa Anna appeared +before the town, with infantry, artillery, and cavalry. With military +precision they approached, their banners waving, and their bugle-notes +bearing defiance to the feeble little garrison. The Texan invaders, +seeing that they would soon be surrounded, abandoned the town to the +enemy, and fled to the protection of the citadel. They were but one +hundred and fifty in number. Almost without exception they were hardy +adventurers, and the most fearless and desperate of men. They had +previously stored away in the fortress all the provisions, arms, and +ammunition, of which they could avail themselves. Over the battlements +they unfurled an immense flag of thirteen stripes, and with a large +white star of five points, surrounded by the letters "Texas." As they +raised their flag, they gave three cheers, while with drums and +trumpets they hurled back their challenge to the foe. +</P> + +<P> +The Mexicans raised over the town a blood-red banner. It was their +significant intimation to the garrison that no quarter was to be +expected. Santa Anna, having advantageously posted his troops, in the +afternoon sent a summons to Colonel Travis, demanding an unconditional +surrender, threatening, in case of refusal, to put every man to the +sword. The only reply Colonel Travis made was to throw a cannon-shot +into the town. The Mexicans then opened fire from their batteries, but +without doing much harm. +</P> + +<P> +In the night, Colonel Travis sent the old pirate on an express to +Colonel Fanning, who, with a small military force, was at Goliad, to +entreat him to come to his aid. Goliad was about four days' march from +Bexar. The next morning the Mexicans renewed their fire from a battery +about three hundred and fifty yards from the fort. A three-ounce ball +struck the juggler on the breast, inflicting a painful but not a +dangerous wound. +</P> + +<P> +Day after day this storm of war continued. The walls of the citadel +were strong, and the bombardment inflicted but little injury. The +sharpshooters within the fortress struck down many of the assailants at +great distances. +</P> + +<P> +"The bee-hunter," writes Crockett, "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 that it would be a waste of ammunition to attempt it." +Provisions were beginning to become scarce, and the citadel was so +surrounded that it was impossible for the garrison to cut its way +through the lines and escape. +</P> + +<P> +Under date of February 28th, Crockett writes in his Journal: +</P> + +<P> +"Last night our hunters brought in some corn, and had a brush with a +scout from the enemy beyond gunshot 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 invader, who is literally +engaged in a war of extermination 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 blooming paradise into a howling wilderness. For just one +fair crack at that rascal, even at a hundred yards' distance, 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 +remainder of my life. +</P> + +<P> +"The scouts report that a settler by the name of Johnson, flying with +his wife and three little children, when they reached the Colorado, +left his family on the shore, and waded into the river to see whether +it would be safe to ford with his wagon. When about the middle of the +river he was seized by an alligator, and after a struggle was dragged +under the water, and perished. The helpless woman and her babes were +discovered, gazing in agony on the spot, by other fugitives, 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 +intervals throughout the day, and all hands were kept up to their work." +</P> + +<P> +The next day he writes: "I had a little sport this morning before +breakfast. The enemy had planted a piece of ordnance within gunshot of +the fort during the night, and the first thing in the morning they +commenced a brisk cannonade, 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 the +juggler, 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. My companion handed me another gun, and I fixed him +off in like manner. A fourth, then a fifth seized the match, who both +met with the same fate. Then the whole party gave it up as a bad job, +and hurried off to the camp, leaving the cannon ready charged where +they had planted it. I came down, took my bitters, and went to +breakfast." +</P> + +<P> +In the course of a week the Mexicans lost three hundred men. But still +reinforcements were continually arriving, so that their numbers were on +the rapid increase. The garrison no longer cherished any hope of +receiving aid from abroad. +</P> + +<P> +Under date of March 4th and 5th, 1836, we have the last lines which +Crockett ever penned. +</P> + +<P> +"March 4th. 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 pirate, 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. Before we reached the spot the Mexicans were close on the +heels 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 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 continued about five minutes, a detachment +was seen issuing from the fort to our relief, and the Mexicans +scampered of, 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 without 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 anything. +'Nothing,' he replied, 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: +</P> + +<P> +'But toom cam' the saddle, all bluidy to see, And hame came the steed, +but hame never came he.' +</P> + +<P> +He spoke no more, and a few minutes after died. Poor Kate, who will +tell this to thee? +</P> + +<P> +The romantic bee-hunter had a sweetheart by the name of Kate in +Nacogdoches. She seems to have been a very affectionate and religious +girl. In parting, she had presented her lover with a Bible, and in +anguish of spirit had expressed her fears that he would never return +from his perilous enterprise. +</P> + +<P> +The next day, Crockett simply writes, "March 5th. Pop, pop, pop! Bom, +bom, bom! throughout the day. No time for memorandums now. Go ahead! +Liberty and Independence forever." +</P> + +<P> +Before daybreak on the 6th of March, the citadel of the Alamo was +assaulted by the whole Mexican army, then numbering about three +thousand men. Santa Anna in person commanded. The assailants swarmed +over the works and into the fortress. The battle was fought with the +utmost desperation until daylight. Six only of the Garrison then +remained alive. They were surrounded, and they surrendered. Colonel +Crockett was one. He at the time stood alone in an angle of the fort, +like a lion at bay. His eyes flashed fire, his shattered rifle in his +right hand, and in his left a gleaming bowie-knife streaming with +blood. His face was covered with blood flowing from a deep gash across +his forehead. About twenty Mexicans, dead and dying, were lying at his +feet. The juggler was also there dead. With one hand he was clenching +the hair of a dead Mexican, while with the other he had driven his +knife to the haft in the bosom of his foe. +</P> + +<P> +The Mexican General Castrillon, to whom the prisoners had surrendered, +wished to spare their lives. He led them to that part of the fort where +Santa Anna stood surrounded by his staff. As Castrillon marched his +prisoners into the presence of the President, he said: +</P> + +<P> +"Sir, here are six prisoners I have taken alive. How shall I dispose of +them?" +</P> + +<P> +Santa Anna seemed much annoyed, and said, "Have I not told you before +how to dispose of them? Why do you bring them to me?" +</P> + +<P> +Immediately several Mexicans commenced plunging their swords into the +bosoms of the captives. Crockett, entirely unarmed, sprang, like a +tiger, at the throat of Santa Anna. But before he could reach him, a +dozen swords were sheathed in his heart, and he fell without a word or +a groan. But there still remained upon his brow the frown of +indignation, and his lip was curled with a smile of defiance and scorn. +</P> + +<P> +And thus was terminated the earthly life of this extraordinary man. In +this narrative it has been the object of the writer faithfully to +record the influences under which Colonel Crockett was reared, and the +incidents of his wild and wondrous life, leaving it with the reader to +form his own estimate of the character which these exploits indicate. +David Crockett has gone to the tribunal of his God, there to be judged +for all the deeds done in the body. Beautifully and consolingly the +Psalmist has written: +</P> + +<P> +"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that +fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="finis"> +THE END +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of David Crockett: His Life and Adventures, by +John S. C. Abbott + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAVID CROCKETT: LIFE, ADVENTURES *** + +***** This file should be named 4355-h.htm or 4355-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/5/4355/ + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo. HTML version by Al Haines. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: David Crockett: His Life and Adventures + +Author: John S. C. Abbott + +Posting Date: August 1, 2009 [EBook #4355] +Release Date: August, 2003 +First Posted: January 14, 2002 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAVID CROCKETT: LIFE, ADVENTURES *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo. HTML version by Al Haines. + + + + + + + + + +AMERICAN PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS. + + + + +DAVID CROCKETT: + + +HIS + +LIFE AND ADVENTURES + + +BY + +JOHN S. C. ABBOTT + + + +ILLUSTRATED. + + + + + +PREFACE. + + +David Crockett certainly was not a model man. But he was a +representative man. He was conspicuously one of a very numerous class, +still existing, and which has heretofore exerted a very powerful +influence over this republic. As such, his wild and wondrous life is +worthy of the study of every patriot. Of this class, their modes of +life and habits of thought, the majority of our citizens know as little +as they do of the manners and customs of the Comanche Indians. + +No man can make his name known to the forty millions of this great and +busy republic who has not something very remarkable in his character or +his career. But there is probably not an adult American, in all these +widespread States, who has not heard of David Crockett. His life is a +veritable romance, with the additional charm of unquestionable truth. +It opens to the reader scenes in the lives of the lowly, and a state of +semi-civilization, of which but few of them can have the faintest idea. + +It has not been my object, in this narrative, to defend Colonel +Crockett or to condemn him, but to present his peculiar character +exactly as it was. I have therefore been constrained to insert some +things which I would gladly have omitted. + +JOHN S. C. ABBOTT. + +FAIR HAVEN, CONN. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER I. + +Parentage and Childhood. + +The Emigrant.--Crossing the Alleghanies.--The Boundless +Wilderness.--The Hut on the Holston.--Life's Necessaries.--The +Massacre.--Birth of David Crockett.--Peril of the +Boys.--Anecdote.--Removal to Greenville; to Cove Creek.--Increased +Emigration.--Loss of the Mill.--The Tavern.--Engagement with the +Drover.--Adventures in the Wilderness.--Virtual Captivity.--The +Escape.--The Return.--The Runaway.--New Adventures. . . . 7 + + +CHAPTER II. + +Youthful Adventures. + +David at Gerardstown.--Trip to Baltimore.--Anecdotes.--He ships for +London.--Disappointment.--Defrauded of his Wages.--Escapes.--New +Adventures.--Crossing the River.--Returns Home.--His Reception.--A Farm +Laborer.--Generosity to his Father.--Love Adventure.--The Wreck of his +Hopes.--His School Education.--Second Love adventure.--Bitter +Disappointment.--Life in the Backwoods.--Third Love Adventure. . . . 35 + + +CHAPTER III. + +Marriage and Settlement. + +Rustic Courtship.--The Rival Lover.--Romantic Incident. The Purchase of +a Horse.--The Wedding.--Singular Ceremonies.--The Termagant.--Bridal +Days.--They commence Housekeeping.--The Bridal mansion and +Outfit.--Family Possessions.--The Removal to Central Tennessee.--Mode +of Transportation.--The New Income and its Surroundings.--Busy +Idleness.--The Third Move.--The Massacre at Fort Mimms. . . . 54 + + +CHAPTER IV. + +The Soldier Life. + +War with the Creeks.--Patriotism of Crockett.--Remonstrances of his +Wife.--Enlistment.--The Rendezvous.--Adventure of the Scouts.--Friendly +Indians,--A March through the Forest.--Picturesque Scene.--The Midnight +Alarm.--March by Moonlight.--Chagrin of Crockett.--Advance into +Alabama.--War's Desolations.--Indian Stoicism.--Anecdotes of Andrew +Jackson.--Battles, Carnage, and Woe. . . . 93 + + +CHAPTER V. + +Indian Warfare. + +The Army at Fort Strother.--Crockett's Regiment.--Crockett at +Home.--His Reenlistment.--Jackson Surprised.--Military Ability of the +Indians.--Humiliation of the Creeks.--March to Florida.--Affairs at +Pensacola.--Capture of the City.--Characteristics of Crockett.--The +Weary March,--Inglorious Expedition.--Murder of Two +Indians.--Adventures at the Island.--The Continued March.--Severe +Sufferings.--Charge upon the Uninhabited Village. . . . 124 + + +CHAPTER VI. + +The Camp and the Cabin. + +Deplorable Condition of the Army.--Its wanderings.--Crockett's +Benevolence.--Cruel Treatment of the Indians.--A Gleam of Good +Luck.--The Joyful Feast.--Crockett's Trade with the Indian.--Visit to +the Old Battlefield.--Bold Adventure of Crockett.--His Arrival +Home.--Death of his Wife.--Second Marriage.--Restlessness.--Exploring +Tour.--Wild Adventures.--Dangerous Sickness.--Removal to the West.--His +New Home. . . . 155 + + +CHAPTER VII. + +The Justice of Peace and the Legislator. + +Vagabondage.--Measures of Protection.--Measures of +Government.--Crockett's Confession.--A Candidate for Military +Honors.--Curious Display of Moral Courage.--The Squirrel Hunt.--A +Candidate for the Legislature.--Characteristic +Electioneering.--Specimens of his Eloquence.--Great Pecuniary +Calamity.--Expedition to the Far West.--Wild Adventures.--The Midnight +Carouse.--A Cabin Reared. . . . 183 + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +Life on the Obion. + +Hunting Adventures.--The Voyage up the River.--Scenes in the +Cabin.--Return Home.--Removal of the Family.--Crockett's Riches.--A +Perilous Enterprise.--Reasons for his Celebrity.--Crockett's +Narrative.--A Bear-Hunt.--Visit to Jackson.--Again a Candidate for the +Legislature.--Electioneering and Election. . . . 212 + + +CHAPTER IX. + +Adventures in the Forest, on the River, and in the City + +The Bear Hunter's Story.--Service in the Legislature.--Candidate for +Congress.--Electioneering.--The New Speculation.--Disastrous +Voyage.--Narrow Escape.--New Electioneering Exploits.--Odd +Speeches.--The Visit to Crockett's Cabin.--His Political Views.--His +Honesty.--Opposition to Jackson.--Scene at Raleigh.--Dines with the +President.--Gross Caricature.--His Annoyance. . . . 240 + + +CHAPTER X. + +Crockett's Tour to the North and the East. + +His Reelection to Congress.--The Northern Tour.--First Sight of a +Railroad.--Reception in Philadelphia.--His First Speech.--Arrival in +New York.--The Ovation there.--Visit to Boston.--Cambridge and +Lowell.--Specimens of his Speeches.--Expansion of his Ideas.--Rapid +Improvement. . . . 267 + + +CHAPTER XI. + +The Disappointed Politician.--Off for Texas. + +Triumphal Return.--Home Charms Vanish.--Loses His Election.--Bitter +Disappointment.--Crockett's Poetry.--Sets out for Texas.--Incidents of +the Journey.--Reception at Little Rock.--The Shooting Match.--Meeting a +Clergyman.--The Juggler.--Crockett a Reformer.--The Bee Hunter.--The +Rough Strangers.--Scene on the Prairie. . . . 290 + + +CHAPTER XII. + +Adventures on the Prairie. + +Disappearance of the Bee Hunter.--The Herd of Buffalo Crockett +lost.--The Fight with the Cougar.--Approach of Savages.--Their +Friendliness.--Picnic on the Prairie.--Picturesque Scene.--The Lost +Mustang recovered.--Unexpected Reunion.--Departure of the +Savages.--Skirmish with the Mexicans.--Arrival at the Alamo. . . .312 + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +Conclusion. + +The Fortress of Alamo.--Colonel Bowie.--Bombardment of the +Fort.--Crockett's Journal.--Sharpshooting.--Fight outside of the +Fort.--Death of the Bee Hunter.--Kate of Nacogdoches.--Assault on the +Citadel.--Crockett a Prisoner.--His Death. . . . 340 + + + + +DAVID CROCKETT. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +Parentage and Childhood. + +The Emigrant.--Crossing the Alleghanies.--The boundless +Wilderness.--The Hut on the Holston.--Life's Necessaries.--The +Massacre.--Birth of David Crockett.--Peril of the +Boys.--Anecdote.--Removal to Greenville; to Cove Creek.--Increased +Emigration.--Loss of the Mill.--The Tavern.--Engagement with the +Drover.--Adventures in the Wilderness.--Virtual Captivity.--The +Escape.--The Return.--The Runaway.--New Adventures. + + +A little more than a hundred years ago, a poor man, by the name of +Crockett, embarked on board an emigrant-ship, in Ireland, for the New +World. He was in the humblest station in life. But very little is known +respecting his uneventful career excepting its tragical close. His +family consisted of a wife and three or four children. Just before he +sailed, or on the Atlantic passage, a son was born, to whom he gave the +name of John. The family probably landed in Philadelphia, and dwelt +somewhere in Pennsylvania, for a year or two, in one of those slab +shanties, with which all are familiar as the abodes of the poorest +class of Irish emigrants. + +After a year or two, Crockett, with his little family, crossed the +almost pathless Alleghanies. Father, mother, and children trudged along +through the rugged defiles and over the rocky cliffs, on foot. Probably +a single pack-horse conveyed their few household goods. The hatchet and +the rifle were the only means of obtaining food, shelter, and even +clothing. With the hatchet, in an hour or two, a comfortable camp could +be constructed, which would protect them from wind and rain. The +camp-fire, cheering the darkness of the night, drying their often wet +garments, and warming their chilled limbs with its genial glow, enabled +them to enjoy that almost greatest of earthly luxuries, peaceful sleep. + +The rifle supplied them with food. The fattest of turkeys and the most +tender steaks of venison, roasted upon forked sticks, which they held +in their hands over the coals, feasted their voracious appetites. This, +to them, was almost sumptuous food. The skin of the deer, by a rapid +and simple process of tanning, supplied them with moccasons, and +afforded material for the repair of their tattered garments. + +We can scarcely comprehend the motive which led this solitary family to +push on, league after league, farther and farther from civilization, +through the trackless forests. At length they reached the Holston +River. This stream takes its rise among the western ravines of the +Alleghanies, in Southwestern Virginia. Flowing hundreds of miles +through one of the most solitary and romantic regions upon the globe, +it finally unites with the Clinch River, thus forming the majestic +Tennessee. + +One hundred years ago, this whole region, west of the Alleghanies, was +an unexplored and an unknown wilderness. Its silent rivers, its +forests, and its prairies were crowded with game. Countless Indian +tribes, whose names even had never been heard east of the Alleghanies, +ranged this vast expanse, pursuing, in the chase, wild beasts scarcely +more savage than themselves. + +The origin of these Indian tribes and their past history are lost in +oblivion. Centuries have come and gone, during which joys and griefs, +of which we now can know nothing, visited their humble lodges. +Providence seems to have raised up a peculiar class of men, among the +descendants of the emigrants from the Old World, who, weary of the +restraints of civilization, were ever ready to plunge into the wildest +depths of the wilderness, and to rear their lonely huts in the midst of +all its perils, privations, and hardships. + +This solitary family of the Crocketts followed down the northwestern +banks of the Hawkins River for many a weary mile, until they came to a +spot which struck their fancy as a suitable place to build their Cabin. +In subsequent years a small village called Rogersville was gradually +reared upon this spot, and the territory immediately around was +organized into what is now known as Hawkins County. But then, for +leagues in every direction, the solemn forest stood in all its +grandeur. Here Mr. Crockett, alone and unaided save by his wife and +children, constructed a little shanty, which could have been but little +more than a hunter's camp. He could not lift solid logs to build a +substantial house. The hard-trodden ground was the only floor of the +single room which he enclosed. It was roofed with bark of trees piled +heavily on, which afforded quite effectual protection from the rain. A +hole cut through the slender logs was the only window. A fire was built +in one corner, and the smoke eddied through a hole left in the roof. +The skins of bears, buffaloes, and wolves provided couches, all +sufficient for weary ones, who needed no artificial opiate to promote +sleep. Such, in general, were the primitive homes of many of those bold +emigrants who abandoned the comforts of civilized life for the +solitudes of the wilderness. + +They did not want for most of what are called the necessaries of life. +The river and the forest furnished a great variety of fish and game. +Their hut, humble as it was, effectually protected them from the +deluging tempest and the inclement cold. The climate was genial in a +very high degree, and the soil, in its wonderful fertility, abundantly +supplied them with corn and other simple vegetables. But the silence +and solitude which reigned are represented, by those who experienced +them, as at times something dreadful. + +One principal motive which led these people to cross the mountains, was +the prospect of an ultimate fortune in the rise of land. Every man who +built a cabin and raised a crop of grain, however small, was entitled +to four hundred acres of land, and a preemption right to one thousand +more adjoining, to be secured by a land-office warrant. + +In this lonely home, Mr. Crockett, with his wife and children, dwelt +for some months, perhaps years--we know not how long. One night, the +awful yell of the savage was heard, and a band of human demons came +rushing upon the defenceless family. Imagination cannot paint the +tragedy which ensued. Though this lost world, ever since the fall of +Adam, has been filled to repletion with these scenes of woe, it causes +one's blood to curdle in his veins as he contemplates this one deed of +cruelty and blood. + +The howling fiends were expeditious in their work. The father and +mother were pierced by arrows, mangled with the tomahawk, and scalped. +One son, severely wounded, escaped into the forest. Another little boy, +who was deaf and dumb, was taken captive and carried by the Indians to +their distant tribe, where he remained, adopted into the tribe, for +about eighteen years. He was then discovered by some of his relatives, +and was purchased back at a considerable ransom. The torch was applied +to the cabin, and the bodies of the dead were consumed in the crackling +flames. + +What became of the remainder of the children, if there were any others +present in this midnight scene of conflagration and blood, we know not. +There was no reporter to give us the details. We simply know that in +some way John Crockett, who subsequently became the father of that +David whose history we now write, was not involved in the general +massacre. It is probable that he was not then with the family, but that +he was a hired boy of all work in some farmer's family in Pennsylvania. + +As a day-laborer he grew up to manhood, and married a woman in his own +sphere of life, by the name of Mary Hawkins. He enlisted as a common +soldier in the Revolutionary War, and took part in the battle of King's +Mountain. At the close of the war he reared a humble cabin in the +frontier wilds of North Carolina. There he lived for a few years, at +but one remove, in point of civilization, from the savages around him. +It is not probable that either he or his wife could read or write. It +is not probable that they had any religious thoughts; that their minds +ever wandered into the regions of that mysterious immortality which +reaches out beyond the grave. Theirs was apparently purely an animal +existence, like that of the Indian, almost like that of the wild +animals they pursued in the chase. + +At length, John Crockett, with his wife and three or four children, +unintimidated by the awful fate of his father's family, wandered from +North Carolina, through the long and dreary defiles of the mountains, +to the sunny valleys and the transparent skies of East Tennessee. It +was about the year 1783. Here he came to a rivulet of crystal water, +winding through majestic forests and plains of luxuriant verdure. Upon +a green mound, with this stream flowing near his door, John Crockett +built his rude and floorless hut. Punching holes in the soil with a +stick, he dropped in kernels of corn, and obtained a far richer harvest +than it would be supposed such culture could produce. As we have +mentioned, the building of this hut and the planting of this crop made +poor John Crockett the proprietor of four hundred acres of land of +almost inexhaustible fertility. + +In this lonely cabin, far away in the wilderness, David Crockett was +born, on the 17th of August, 1786. He had then four brothers. +Subsequently four other children were added to the family. + +His childhood's home was more humble than the majority of the readers +of this volume can imagine. It was destitute of everything which, in a +higher state of civilization, is deemed essential to comfort. The +wigwam of the Indian afforded as much protection from the weather, and +was as well furnished, as the cabin of logs and bark which sheltered +his father's family. It would seem, from David Crockett's +autobiography, that in his childhood he went mainly without any +clothing, like the pappooses of an Indian squaw. These facts of his +early life must be known, that we may understand the circumstances by +which his peculiar character was formed. + +He had no instruction whatever in religion, morals, manners, or mental +culture. It cannot be supposed that his illiterate parents were very +gentle in their domestic discipline, or that their example could have +been of any essential advantage in preparing him for the arduous +struggle of life. It would be difficult to find any human being, in a +civilized land, who can have enjoyed less opportunities for moral +culture than David Crockett enjoyed in his early years. + +There was quite a fall on the Nolachucky River, a little below the +cabin of John Crockett. Here the water rushed foaming over the rocks, +with fury which would at once swamp any canoe. When David was four or +five years old, and several other emigrants had come and reared their +cabins in that vicinity, he was one morning out playing with his +brothers on the bank of the river. There was a canoe tied to the shore. +The boys got into it, and, to amuse themselves, pushed out into the +stream, leaving little David, greatly to his indignation, on the shore. + +But the boys did not know how to manage the canoe, and though they +plied the paddies with all vigor, they soon found themselves caught in +the current, and floating rapidly down toward the falls, where, should +they be swept over, the death of all was inevitable. + +A man chanced to be working in a field not far distant. He heard the +cries of the boys and saw their danger. There was not a moment to be +lost. He started upon the full run, throwing off coat and waistcoat and +shoes, in his almost frantic speed, till he reached the water. He then +plunged in, and, by swimming and wading, seized the canoe when it was +within but about twenty feet of the roaring falls. With almost +superhuman exertions he succeeded in dragging it to the shore. + +This event David Crockett has mentioned as the first which left any +lasting imprint upon his memory. Not long after this, another +occurrence took place characteristic of frontier life. Joseph Hawkins, +a brother of David's mother, crossed the mountains and joined the +Crockett family in their forest home. One morning he went out to shoot +a deer, repairing to a portion of the forest much frequented by this +animal. As he passed a very dense thicket, he saw the boughs swaying to +and fro, where a deer was apparently browsing. Very cautiously he crept +within rifle-shot, occasionally catching a glimpse, through the thick +foliage, of the ear of the animal,--as he supposed. + +Taking deliberate aim he fired, and immediately heard a loud outcry. +Rushing to the spot, he found that he had shot a neighbor, who was +there gathering grapes. The ball passed through his side, inflicting a +very serious though not a fatal wound, as it chanced not to strike any +vital part. The wounded man was carried home; and the rude surgery +which was practised upon him was to insert a silk handkerchief with a +ramrod in at the bullet-hole, and draw it through his body. He +recovered from the wound. + +Such a man as John Crockett forms no local attachments, and never +remains long in one place. Probably some one came to his region and +offered him a few dollars for his improvements. He abandoned his cabin, +with its growing neighborhood, and packing his few household goods upon +one or two horses, pushed back fifty miles farther southwest, into the +trackless wilderness. Here he found, about ten miles above the present +site of Greenville, a fertile and beautiful region. Upon the banks of a +little brook, which furnished him with an abundant supply of pure +water, he reared another shanty, and took possession of another four +hundred acres of forest land. Some of his boys were now old enough to +furnish efficient help in the field and in the chase. + +How long John Crockett remained here we know not. Neither do we know +what induced him to make another move. But we soon find him pushing +still farther back into the wilderness, with his hapless family of sons +and daughters, dooming them, in all their ignorance, to the society +only of bears and wolves. He now established himself upon a +considerable stream, unknown to geography, called Cue Creek. + +David Crockett was now about eight years old. During these years +emigration had been rapidly flowing from the Atlantic States into this +vast and beautiful valley south of the Ohio. With the increasing +emigration came an increasing demand for the comforts of civilization. +Framed houses began to rise here and there, and lumber, in its various +forms, was needed. + +John Crockett, with another man by the name of Thomas Galbraith, +undertook to build a mill upon Cove Creek. They had nearly completed +it, having expended all their slender means in its construction, when +there came a terrible freshet, and all their works were swept away. The +flood even inundated Crockett's cabin, and the family was compelled to +fly to a neighboring eminence for safety. + +Disheartened by this calamity, John Crockett made another move. +Knoxville, on the Holston River, had by this time become quite a +thriving little settlement of log huts. The main route of emigration +was across the mountains to Abingdon, in Southwestern Virginia, and +then by an extremely rough forest-road across the country to the valley +of the Holston, and down that valley to Knoxville. This route was +mainly traversed by pack-horses and emigrants on foot. But stout +wagons, with great labor, could be driven through. + +John Crockett moved still westward to this Holston valley, where he +reared a pretty large log house on this forest road; and opened what he +called a tavern for the entertainment of teamsters and other emigrants. +It was indeed a rude resting-place. But in a fierce storm the exhausted +animals could find a partial shelter beneath a shed of logs, with corn +to eat; and the hardy pioneers could sleep on bear-skins, with their +feet perhaps soaked with rain, feeling the warmth of the cabin fire. +The rifle of John Crockett supplied his guests with the choicest +venison steaks, and his wife baked in the ashes the "journey cake," +since called johnny cake, made of meal from corn pounded in a mortar or +ground in a hand-mill. The brilliant flame of the pitch-pine knot +illumined the cabin; and around the fire these hardy men often kept +wakeful until midnight, smoking their pipes, telling their stories, and +singing their songs. + +This house stood alone in the forest. Often the silence of the night +was disturbed by the cry of the grizzly bear and the howling of wolves. +Here David remained four years, aiding his father in all the laborious +work of clearing the land and tending the cattle. There was of course +no school here, and the boy grew up in entire ignorance of all book +learning. But in these early years he often went into the woods with +his gun in pursuit of game, and, young as he was, acquired considerable +reputation as a marksman. + +One day, a Dutchman by the name of Jacob Siler came to the cabin, +driving a large herd of cattle. He had gathered them farther west, from +the luxuriant pastures in the vicinity of Knoxville, where cattle +multiplied with marvellous rapidity, and was taking them back to market +in Virginia. The drover found some difficulty in managing so many half +wild cattle, as he pressed them forward through the wilderness, and he +bargained with John Crockett to let his son David, who, as we have +said, was then twelve years of age, go with him as his hired help. +Whatever wages he gave was paid to the father. + +The boy was to go on foot with this Dutchman four hundred miles, +driving the cattle. This transaction shows very clearly the hard and +unfeeling character of David's parents. When he reached the end of his +journey, so many weary leagues from home, the only way by which he +could return was to attach himself to some emigrant party or some +company of teamsters, and walk back, paying for such food as he might +consume, by the assistance he could render on the way. There are few +parents who could thus have treated a child of twelve years. + +The little fellow, whose affections had never been more cultivated than +those of the whelp of the wolf or the cub of the bear, still left home, +as he tells us, with a heavy heart. The Dutchman was an entire stranger +to him, and he knew not what treatment he was to expect at his hands. +He had already experienced enough of forest travel to know its +hardships. A journey of four hundred miles seemed to him like going to +the uttermost parts of the earth. As the pioneers had smoked their +pipes at his father's cabin fire, he had heard many appalling accounts +of bloody conflicts with the Indians, of massacres, scalpings, +tortures, and captivity. + +David's father had taught him, very sternly, one lesson, and that was +implicit and prompt obedience to his demands. The boy knew full well +that it would be of no avail for him to make any remonstrance. +Silently, and trying to conceal his tears, he set out on the perilous +enterprise. The cattle could be driven but about fifteen or twenty +miles a day. Between twenty and thirty days were occupied in the +toilsome and perilous journey. The route led them often through marshy +ground, where the mire was trampled knee-deep. All the streams had to +be forded. At times, swollen by the rains, they were very deep. There +were frequent days of storm, when, through the long hours, the poor boy +trudged onward, drenched with rain and shivering with cold. Their fare +was most meagre, consisting almost entirely of such game as they +chanced to shoot, which they roasted on forked sticks before the fire. + +When night came, often dark and stormy, the cattle were generally too +much fatigued by their long tramp to stray away. Some instinct also +induced them to cluster together. A rude shanty was thrown up. Often +everything was so soaked with rain that it was impossible to build a +fire. The poor boy, weary and supperless, spattered with mud and +drenched with rain, threw himself upon the wet ground for that blessed +sleep in which the weary forget their woes. Happy was he if he could +induce one of the shaggy dogs to lie down by his side, that he might +hug the faithful animal in his arms, and thus obtain a little warmth. + +Great was the luxury when, at the close of a toilsome day, a few pieces +of bark could be so piled as to protect from wind and rain, and a +roaring fire could blaze and crackle before the little camp. Then the +appetite which hunger gives would enable him to feast upon the tender +cuts of venison broiled upon the coals, with more satisfaction than the +gourmand takes in the choicest viands of the restaurant. Having feasted +to satiety, he would stretch himself upon the ground, with his feet to +the fire, and soon be lost to all earth's cares, in sweet oblivion. + +The journey was safely accomplished. The Dutchman had a father-in-law, +by the name of Hartley, who lived in Virginia, having reared his cabin +within about three miles of the Natural Bridge. Here the boy's contract +came to an end. It would seem that the Dutchman was a good sort of man, +as the world goes, and that he treated the boy kindly. He was so well +pleased with David's energy and fidelity, that he was inclined to +retain him in his service. Seeing the boy's anxiety to return home, he +was disposed to throw around him invisible chains, and to hold him a +captive. He thus threw every possible hindrance in the way of his +return, offered to hire him as his boy of all work, and made him a +present of five or six dollars, which perhaps he considered payment in +advance, which bound the boy to remain with him until he had worked it +out. + +David soon perceived that his movements were watched, and that he was +not his own master to go or stay as he pleased. This increased his +restlessness. Four or five weeks thus passed away, when, one morning, +three wagons laden with merchandise came along, bound to Knoxville. +They were driven by an old man by the name of Dugan, and his two +stalwart sons. They had traversed the road before, and David had seen +the old man at his father's tavern. Secretly the shrewd boy revealed to +him his situation, and his desire to get back to his home. The father +and sons conferred together upon the subject. They were moved with +sympathy for the boy, and, after due deliberation, told him that they +should stop for the night about seven miles from that place, and should +set out again on their journey with the earliest light of the morning; +and that if he could get to them before daylight, he might follow their +wagons. + +It was Sunday morning, and it so happened that the Dutchman and the +family had gone away on a visit. David collected his clothes and the +little money he had, and hid them in a bundle under his bed. A very +small bundle held them all. The family returned, and, suspecting +nothing, all retired to sleep. + +David had naturally a very affectionate heart. He never had been from +home before. His lonely situation roused all the slumbering emotions of +his childhood. In describing this event, he writes: + +"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." + +A little after midnight, when the family were in profoundest sleep, +David cautiously rose, and taking his little bundle, crept out doors. +To his disappointment he found that it was snowing fast, eight inches +having already fallen; and the wintry gale moaned dismally through the +treetops. It was a dark, moonless night. The cabin was in the fields, +half a mile from the road along which the wagons had passed. This boy +of twelve years, alone in the darkness, was to breast the gale and wade +through the snow, amid forest glooms, a distance of seven miles, before +he could reach the appointed rendezvous. + +For a moment his heart sank within him. Then recovering his resolution, +he pushed out boldly into the storm. For three hours he toiled along, +the snow rapidly increasing in depth until it reached up to his knees. +Just before the dawn of the morning he reached the wagons. The men were +up, harnessing their teams. The Dunns were astounded at the appearance +of the little boy amid the darkness and the tempest. They took him into +the house, warmed him by the fire, and gave him a good breakfast, +speaking to him words of sympathy and encouragement. The affectionate +heart of David was deeply moved by this tenderness, to which he was +quite unaccustomed. + +And then, though exhausted by the toil of a three hours' wading through +the drifts, he commenced, in the midst of a mountain storm, a long +day's journey upon foot. It was as much as the horses could do to drag +the heavily laden wagons over the encumbered road. However weary, he +could not ride. However exhausted, the wagons could not wait for him; +neither was there any place in the smothering snow for rest. + +Day after day they toiled along, in the endurance of hardships now with +difficulty comprehended. Sometimes they were gladdened with sunny skies +and smooth paths. Again the clouds would gather, and the rain, the +sleet, and the snow would envelop them in glooms truly dismal. Under +these circumstances the progress of the wagons was very slow. David was +impatient. As he watched the sluggish turns of the wheels, he thought +that he could travel very much faster if he should push forward alone, +leaving the wagons behind him. + +At length he became so impatient, thoughts of home having obtained +entire possession of his mind, that he informed Mr. Dunn of his +intention to press forward as fast as he could. His elder companions +deemed it very imprudent for such a mere child, thus alone, to attempt +to traverse the wilderness, and they said all they could to dissuade +him, but in vain. He therefore, early the next morning, bade them +farewell, and with light footsteps and a light heart tripped forward, +leaving them behind, and accomplishing nearly as much in one day as the +wagons could in two. We are not furnished with any of the details of +this wonderful journey of a solitary child through a wilderness of one +or two hundred miles. We know not how he slept at night, or how he +obtained food by day. He informs us that he was at length overtaken by +a drover, who had been to Virginia with a herd of cattle, and was +returning to Knoxville riding one horse and leading another. + +The man was amazed in meeting a mere child in such lonely wilds, and +upon hearing his story, his kind heart was touched. David was a frail +little fellow, whose weight would be no burden for a horse, and the +good man directed him to mount the animal which he led. The boy had +begun to be very tired. He was just approaching a turbid stream, whose +icy waters, reaching almost to his neck, he would have had to wade but +for this Providential assistance. + +Travellers in the wilderness seldom trot their horses. On such a +journey, an animal who naturally walks fast is of much more value than +one which has attained high speed upon the race-course. Thus pleasantly +mounted, David and his kind protector rode along together until they +came within about fifteen miles of John Crockett's tavern, where their +roads diverged. Here David dismounted, and bidding adieu to his +benefactor, almost ran the remaining distance, reaching home that +evening. + +"The name of this kind gentleman," he writes, "I have forgotten; for it +deserves a high place in my little book. A remembrance of his kindness +to a little straggling boy has, however, a resting-place in my heart, +and there it will remain as long as I live." + +It was the spring of the year when David reached his father's cabin. He +spent a part of the summer there. The picture which David gives of his +home is revolting in the extreme. John Crockett, the tavern-keeper, had +become intemperate, and he was profane and brutal. But his son, never +having seen any home much better, does not seem to have been aware that +there were any different abodes upon earth. Of David's mother we know +nothing. She was probably a mere household drudge, crushed by an +unfeeling husband, without sufficient sensibilities to have been aware +of her degraded condition. + +Several other cabins had risen in the vicinity of John Crockett's. A +man came along, by the name of Kitchen, who undertook to open a school +to teach the boys to read. David went to school four days, but found it +very difficult to master his letters. He was a wiry little fellow, very +athletic, and his nerves seemed made of steel. When roused by anger, he +was as fierce and reckless as a catamount. A boy, much larger than +himself, had offended him. David decided not to attack him near the +school-house, lest the master might separate them. + +He therefore slipped out of school, just before it was dismissed, and +running along the road, hid in a thicket, near which his victim would +have to pass on his way home. As the boy came unsuspectingly along, +young Crockett, with the leap of a panther, sprang upon his back. With +tooth and nail he assailed him, biting, scratching, pounding, until the +boy cried for mercy. + +The next morning, David was afraid to go to school, apprehending the +severe punishment he might get from the master. He therefore left home +as usual, but played truant, hiding himself in the woods all day. He +did the same the next morning, and so continued for several days. At +last the master sent word to John Crockett, inquiring why his son David +no longer came to school. The boy was called to an account, and the +whole affair came out. + +John Crockett had been drinking. His eyes flashed fire. He cut a stout +hickory stick, and with oaths declared that he would give his boy an +"eternal sight" worse whipping than the master would give him, unless +he went directly back to school. As the drunken father approached +brandishing his stick, the boy ran, and in a direction opposite from +that of the school-house. The enraged father pursued, and the unnatural +race continued for nearly a mile. A slight turn in the road concealed +the boy for a moment from the view of his pursuer, and he plunged into +the forest and hid. The father, with staggering gait, rushed along, but +having lost sight of the boy, soon gave up the chase, and returned home. + +This revolting spectacle, of such a father and such a son, over which +one would think that angels might weep, only excited the derision of +this strange boy. It was what he had been accustomed to all his life. +He describes it in ludicrous terms, with the slang phrases which were +ever dropping from his lips. David knew that a terrible whipping +awaited him should he go back to the cabin. + +He therefore pushed on several miles, to the hut of a settler whom he +knew. He was, by this time, too much accustomed to the rough and tumble +of life to feel any anxiety about the future. Arriving at the cabin, it +so chanced that he found a man, by the name of Jesse Cheek, who was +just starting with a drove of cattle for Virginia. Very readily, David, +who had experience in that business, engaged to accompany him. An elder +brother also, either weary of his wretched home or anxious to see more +of the world, entered into the same service. + +The incidents of this journey were essentially the same with those of +the preceding one, though the route led two hundred miles farther into +the heart of Virginia. The road they took passed through Abingdon, +Witheville, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Orange Court House, to Front +Royal in Warren County. Though these frontier regions then, +seventy-five years ago, were in a very primitive condition, still young +Crockett caught glimpses of a somewhat higher civilization than he had +ever encountered before in his almost savage life. + +Here the drove was sold, and David found himself with a few dollars in +his pocket. His brother decided to look for work in that region. David, +then thirteen years of age, hoping tremblingly that time enough had +elapsed to save him from a whipping, turned his thoughts homeward. A +brother of the drover was about to return on horseback. David decided +to accompany him, thinking that the man would permit him to ride a part +of the way. + +Much to his disgust, the man preferred to ride himself. The horse was +his own. David had no claim to it whatever. He was therefore left to +trudge along on foot. Thus he journeyed for three days. He then made an +excuse for stopping a little while, leaving his companion to go on +alone. He was very careful not again to overtake him. The boy had then, +with four dollars in his pocket, a foot journey before him of between +three and four hundred miles. And this was to be taken through desolate +regions of morass and forest, where, not unfrequently, the lurking +Indian had tomahawked, or gangs of half-famished wolves had devoured +the passing traveller. He was also liable, at any time, to be caught by +night and storm, without any shelter. + +As he was sauntering along slowly, that he might be sure and not +overtake his undesirable companion, he met a wagoner coming from +Greenville, in Tennessee, and bound for Gerardstown, Berkeley County, +in the extreme northerly part of Virginia. His route lay directly over +the road which David had traversed. The man's name was Adam Myers. He +was a jovial fellow, and at once won the heart of the vagrant boy. +David soon entered into a bargain with Myers, and turned back with him. +The state of mind in which the boy was may be inferred from the +following extract taken from his autobiography. I omit the profanity, +which was ever sprinkled through all his utterances: + +"I often thought of home, and, indeed, wished bad enough to be there. +But when I thought of the school-house, and of Kitchen, my master, and +of the race with my father, and of the big hickory stick he carried, +and of the fierceness of the storm of wrath I had left him in, I was +afraid to venture back. I knew my father's nature so well, that I was +certain his anger would hang on to him like a turtle does to a +fisherman's toe. The promised whipping came slap down upon every +thought of home." + +Travelling back with the wagon, after two days' journey, he met his +brother again, who had then decided to return himself to the parental +cabin in Tennessee. He pleaded hard with David to accompany him +reminding him of the love of his mother and his sisters. The boy, +though all unused to weeping, was moved to tears. But the thought of +the hickory stick, and of his father's brawny arm, decided the +question. With his friend Myers he pressed on, farther and farther from +home, to Gerardstown. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +Youthful Adventures. + +David at Gerardstown.--Trip to Baltimore.--Anecdotes.--He ships for +London.--Disappointment.--Defrauded of his Wages.--Escapes.--New +Adventures.--Crossing the River.--Returns Home.--His Reception.--A Farm +Laborer.--Generosity to his Father.--Love Adventure.--The Wreck of his +Hopes.--His School Education.--Second Love Adventure.--Bitter +Disappointment.--Life in the Backwoods.--Third Love Adventure. + + +The wagoner whom David had accompanied to Gerardstown was disappointed +in his endeavors to find a load to take back to Tennessee. He therefore +took a load to Alexandria, on the Potomac. David decided to remain at +Gerardstown until Myers should return. He therefore engaged to work for +a man by the name of John Gray, for twenty-five cents a day. It was +light farm-work in which he was employed, and he was so faithful in the +performance of his duties that he pleased the farmer, who was an old +man, very much. + +Myers continued for the winter in teaming backward and forward between +Gerardstown and Baltimore, while David found a comfortable home of easy +industry with the farmer. He was very careful in the expenditure of his +money, and in the spring found that he had saved enough from his small +wages to purchase him a suit of coarse but substantial clothes. He +then, wishing to see a little more of the world, decided to make a trip +with the wagoner to Baltimore. + +David had then seven dollars in his pocket, the careful savings of the +labors of half a year. He deposited the treasure with the wagoner for +safe keeping. They started on their journey, with a wagon heavily laden +with barrels of flour. As they were approaching a small settlement +called Ellicott's Mills, David, a little ashamed to approach the houses +in the ragged and mud-bespattered clothes which he wore on the way, +crept into the wagon to put on his better garments. + +While there in the midst of the flour barrels piled up all around him, +the horses took fright at some strange sight which they encountered, +and in a terrible scare rushed down a steep hill, turned a sharp +corner, broke the tongue of the wagon and both of the axle-trees, and +whirled the heavy barrels about in every direction. The escape of David +from very serious injuries seemed almost miraculous. But our little +barbarian leaped from the ruins unscathed. It does not appear that he +had ever cherished any conception whatever of an overruling Providence. +Probably, a religious thought had never entered his mind. A colt +running by the side of the horses could not have been more insensible +to every idea of death, and responsibility at God's bar, than was David +Crockett. And he can be hardly blamed for this. The savages had some +idea of the Great Spirit and of a future world. David was as +uninstructed in those thoughts as are the wolves and the bears. Many +years afterward, in writing of this occurrence, he says, with +characteristic flippancy, interlarded with coarse phrases: + +"This proved to me, 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. I didn't know how soon I should +be knocked into a cocked hat, and get my walking-papers for another +country." + +The wagon was quite demolished by the disaster. Another was obtained, +the flour reloaded, and they proceeded to Baltimore, dragging the wreck +behind them, to be repaired there. Here young Crockett was amazed at +the aspect of civilization which was opened before him. He wandered +along the wharves gazing bewildered upon the majestic ships, with their +towering masts, cordage, and sails, which he saw floating there He had +never conceived of such fabrics before. The mansions, the churches, the +long lines of brick stores excited his amazement. It seemed to him that +he had been suddenly introduced into a sort of fairy-land. All thoughts +of home now vanished from his mind. The great world was expanding +before him, and the curiosity of his intensely active mind was roused +to explore more of its wonders. + +One morning he ventured on board one of the ships at a wharf, and was +curiously and cautiously peering about, when the captain caught sight +of him. It so happened that he was in need of a sailor-boy, and being +pleased with the appearance of the lad, asked David if he would not +like to enter into his service to take a voyage to London. The boy had +no more idea of where London was, or what it was, than of a place in +the moon. But eagerly he responded, "Yes," for he cared little where he +went or what became of him, he was so glad of an opportunity to see +more of the wonders of this unknown world. + +The captain made a few inquiries respecting his friends, his home, and +his past modes of life, and then engaged him for the cruise. David, in +a state of high, joyous excitement, hurried back to the wagoner, to get +his seven dollars of money and some clothes he had left with him. But +Myers put a very prompt veto upon the lad's procedure, assuming that he +was the boy's master, he declared that he should not go to sea. He +refused to let him have either his clothes or his money, asserting that +it was his duty to take him back to his parents in Tennessee. David +would gladly have fled from him, and embarked without money and without +clothes; but the wagoner watched him so closely that escape was +impossible. + +David was greatly down-hearted at this disappointment, and watched +eagerly for an opportunity to obtain deliverance from his bondage. But +Myers was a burly teamster who swung a very heavy wagon-whip, +threatening the boy with a heavy punishment if he should make any +attempt to run away. + +After a few days, Myers loaded his team for Tennessee, and with his +reluctant boy set out on his long journey. David was exceedingly +restless. He now hated the man who was so tyranically domineering over +him. He had no desire to return to his home, and he dreaded the hickory +stick with which he feared his brutal father would assail him. One dark +night, an hour or two before the morning, David carefully took his +little bundle of clothes, and creeping noiselessly from the cabin, +rushed forward as rapidly as his nimble feet could carry him. He soon +felt quite easy in reference to his escape. He knew that the wagoner +slept soundly, and that two hours at least must elapse before he would +open his eyes. He then would not know with certainty in what direction +the boy had fled. He could not safely leave his horses and wagon alone +in the wilderness, to pursue him; and even should he unharness one of +the horses and gallop forward in search of the fugitive, David, by +keeping a vigilant watch, would see him in the distance and could +easily plunge into the thickets of the forest, and thus elude pursuit. + +He had run along five or six miles, when just as the sun was rising he +overtook another wagon. He had already begun to feel very lonely and +disconsolate. He had naturally an affectionate heart and a strong mind; +traits of character which gleamed through all the dark clouds that +obscured his life. He was alone in the wilderness, without a penny; and +he knew not what to do, or which way to turn. The moment he caught +sight of the teamster his heart yearned for sympathy. Tears moistened +his eyes, and hastening to the stranger, the friendless boy of but +thirteen years frankly told his whole story. The wagoner was a rough, +profane, burly man, of generous feelings. There was an air of sincerity +in the boy, which convinced him of the entire truth of his statements. +His indignation was aroused, and he gave expression to that indignation +in unmeasured terms. Cracking his whip in his anger, he declared that +Myers was a scoundrel, thus to rob a friendless boy, and that he would +lash the money out of him. + +This man, whose name also chanced to be Myers, was of the tiger breed, +fearing nothing, ever ready for a fight, and almost invariably coming +off conqueror. In his generous rage he halted his team, grasped his +wagon-whip, and, accompanied by the trembling boy, turned back, +breathing vengeance. David was much alarmed, and told his protector +that he was afraid to meet the wagoner, who had so often threatened him +with his whip. But his new friend said, "Have no fear. The man shall +give you back your money, or I will thrash it out of him." + +They had proceeded but about two miles when they met the approaching +team of Adam Myers. Henry Myers, David's new friend, leading him by the +hand, advanced menacingly upon the other teamster, and greeted him with +the words: + +"You accursed scoundrel, what do you mean by robbing this friendless +boy of his money?" Adam Myers confessed that he had received seven +dollars of the boy's money. He said, however, that he had no money with +him; that he had invested all he had in articles in his wagon, and that +he intended to repay the boy as soon as they got back to Tennessee. +This settled the question, and David returned with Henry Myers to his +wagon, and accompanied him for several days on his slow and toilsome +journey westward. + +The impatient boy, as once before, soon got weary of the loitering pace +of the heavily laden team, and concluded to leave his friend and press +forward more rapidly alone. It chanced, one evening, that several +wagons met, and the teamsters encamped for the night together. Henry +Myers told them the story of the friendless boy, and that he was now +about to set out alone for the long journey, most of it through an +entire wilderness, and through a land of strangers wherever there might +chance to be a few scattered cabins. They took up a collection for +David, and presented him with three dollars. + +The little fellow pressed along, about one hundred and twenty-five +miles, down the valley between the Alleghany and the Blue ridges, until +he reached Montgomery Court House. The region then, nearly three +quarters of a century ago, presented only here and there a spot where +the light of civilization had entered. Occasionally the log cabin of +some poor emigrant was found in the vast expanse. David, too proud to +beg, when he had any money with which to pay, found his purse empty +when he had accomplished this small portion of his journey. + +In this emergence, he hired out to work for a man a month for five +dollars, which was at the rate of about one shilling a day. Faithfully +he fulfilled his contract, and then, rather dreading to return home, +entered into an engagement with a hatter, Elijah Griffith, to work in +his shop for four years. Here he worked diligently eighteen months +without receiving any pay. His employer then failed, broke up, and left +the country. Again this poor boy, thus the sport of fortune, found +himself without a penny, with but few clothes, and those much worn. + +But it was not his nature to lay anything very deeply to heart. He +laughed at misfortune, and pressed on singing and whistling through all +storms. He had a stout pair of hands, good nature, and adaptation to +any kind of work. There was no danger of his starving; and exposures, +which many would deem hardships, were no hardships for him. Undismayed +he ran here and there, catching at such employment as he could find, +until he had supplied himself with some comfortable clothing, and had a +few dollars of ready money in his purse. Again he set out alone and on +foot for his far-distant home. He had been absent over two years, and +was new fifteen years of age. + +He trudged along, day after day, through rain and sunshine, until he +reached a broad stream called New River. It was wintry weather. The +stream was swollen by recent rains, and a gale then blowing was +ploughing the surface into angry waves. Teams forded the stream many +miles above. There was a log hut here, and the owner had a frail canoe +in which he could paddle an occasional traveller across the river. But +nothing would induce him to risk his life in an attempt to cross in +such a storm. + +The impetuous boy, in his ignorance of the effect of wind upon waves, +resolved to attempt to cross, at every hazard, and notwithstanding all +remonstrances. He obtained a leaky canoe, which was half stranded upon +the shore, and pushed out on his perilous voyage. He tied his little +bundle of clothes to the bows of the boat, that they might not be +washed or blown away, and soon found himself exposed to the full force +of the wind, and tossed by billows such as he had never dreamed of +before. He was greatly frightened, and would have given all he had in +the world, to have been safely back again upon the shore. But he was +sure to be swamped if he should attempt to turn the boat broadside to +the waves in such a gale. The only possible salvation for him was to +cut the approaching billows with the bows of the boat. Thus he might +possibly ride over them, though at the imminent peril, every moment, of +shipping a sea which would engulf him and his frail boat in a watery +grave. + +In this way he reached the shore, two miles above the proper +landing-place. The canoe was then half full of water. He was drenched +with spray, which was frozen into almost a coat of mail upon his +garments. Shivering with cold, he had to walk three miles through the +forest before he found a cabin at whose fire he could warm and dry +himself. Without any unnecessary delay he pushed on until he crossed +the extreme western frontier line of Virginia, and entered Sullivan +County, Tennessee. + +An able-bodied young man like David Crockett, strong, athletic, willing +to work, and knowing how to turn his hand to anything, could, in the +humblest cabin, find employment which would provide him with board and +lodging. He was in no danger of starving. There was, at that time, but +one main path of travel from the East into the regions of the boundless +West. + +As David was pressing along this path he came to a little hamlet of log +huts, where he found the brother whom he had left when he started from +home eighteen months before with the drove of cattle. He remained with +him for two or three weeks, probably paying his expenses by farm labor +and hunting. Again he set out for home. The evening twilight was +darkening into night when he caught sight of his father's humble cabin. +Several wagons were standing around, showing that there must be +considerable company in the house. + +With not a little embarrassment, he ventured in. It was rather dark. +His mother and sisters were preparing supper at the immense fireside. +Quite a group of teamsters were scattered around the room, smoking +their pipes, and telling their marvellous stories. David, during his +absence of two years, had grown, and changed considerably in personal +appearance. None of the family recognized him. They generally supposed, +as he had been absent so long, that he was dead. + +David inquired if he could remain all night. Being answered in the +affirmative, he took a seat in a corner and remained perfectly silent, +gazing upon the familiar scene, and watching the movements of his +father, mother, and sisters. At length supper was ready, and all took +seats at the table. As David came more into the light, one of his +sisters, observing him, was struck with his resemblance to her lost +brother. Fixing her eyes upon him, she, in a moment, rushed forward and +threw her arms around his neck, exclaiming, "Here is my brother David." + +Quite a scene ensued. The returning prodigal was received with as much +affection as could be expected in a family with such uncultivated +hearts and such unrefined habits as were found in the cabin of John +Crockett. Even the stern old man forgot his hickory switch, and David, +much to his relief, found that he should escape the long-dreaded +whipping. Many years after this, when David Crockett, to his own +surprise, and that of the whole nation, found himself elevated to the +position of one of our national legislators, he wrote: + +"But it will be a source of astonishment to many, who reflect that I am +now a member of the American Congress, the most enlightened body of men +in the world, that, at so advanced an age, the age of fifteen, I did +not know the first letter in the book." + +By the laws and customs of our land, David was bound to obey his father +and work for him until he was twenty-one years of age. Until that time, +whatever wages he might earn belonged to his father. It is often an act +of great generosity for a hard-working farmer to release a stout lad of +eighteen or nineteen from this obligation, and "to give him," as it is +phrased, "his time." + +John Crockett owed a neighbor, Abraham Wilson, thirty-six dollars. He +told David that if he would work for Mr. Wilson until his wages paid +that sum, he would then release him from all his obligations to his +father, and his son might go free. It was a shrewd bargain for the old +man, for he had already learned that David was abundantly capable of +taking care of himself, and that he would come and go when and where he +pleased. + +The boy, weary of his wanderings, consented to the arrangement, and +engaged to work for Mr. Wilson for six months, in payment for which, +the note was to be delivered up to his father. It was characteristic of +David that whatever he undertook he engaged in with all his might. He +was a rude, coarse boy. It was scarcely possible, with his past +training, that he should be otherwise. But he was very faithful in +fulfilling his obligations. Though his sense of right and wrong was +very obtuse, he was still disposed to do the right so far as his +uncultivated conscience revealed it to him. + +For six months, David worked for Mr. Wilson with the utmost fidelity +and zeal. He then received the note, presented it to his father, and, +before he was sixteen years of age, stood up proudly his own man. His +father had no longer the right to whip him. His father had no longer +the right to call upon him for any service without paying him for it. +And on the other hand, he could no longer look to his father for food +or clothing. This thought gave him no trouble. He had already taken +care of himself for two years, and he felt no more solicitude in regard +to the future than did the buffalo's calf or the wolf's whelp. + +Wilson was a bad man, dissipated and unprincipled. But he had found +David to be so valuable a laborer that he offered him high wages if he +would remain and work for him. It shows a latent, underlying principle +of goodness in David, that he should have refused the offer. He writes: + +"The reason was, it was a place where a heap of bad company 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." + +About this time a Quaker, somewhat advanced in years, a good, honest +man, by the name of John Kennedy, emigrated from North Carolina, and +selecting his four hundred acres of land about fifteen miles from John +Crockett's, reared a log hut and commenced a clearing. In some +transaction with Crockett he took his neighbor's note for forty +dollars. He chanced to see David, a stout lad of prepossessing +appearance, and proposed that he should work for him for two shillings +a day taking him one week upon trial. At the close of the week the +Quaker expressed himself as highly satisfied with his work, and offered +to pay him with his father's note of forty dollars for six months' +labor on his farm. + +David knew full well how ready his father was to give his note, and how +slow he was to pay it. He was fully aware that the note was not worth, +to him, the paper upon which it was written. But he reflected that the +note was an obligation upon his father, that he was very poor, and his +lot in life was hard. It certainly indicated much innate nobility of +nature that this boy, under these circumstances, should have accepted +the offer of the Quaker. But David did this. For six months he labored +assiduously, without the slightest hope of reward, excepting that he +would thus relieve his father, whom he had no great cause either to +respect or love, from the embarrassment of the debt. + +For a whole half-year David toiled upon the farm of the Quaker, never +once during that time visiting his home. At the end of the term he +received his pay for those long months of labor, in a little piece of +rumpled paper, upon which his father had probably made his mark. It was +Saturday evening. The next morning he borrowed a horse of his employer +and set out for a visit home. He was kindly welcomed. His father knew +nothing of the agreement which his son had made with Mr. Kennedy. As +the family were talking together around the cabin fire, David drew the +note from his pocket and presented it to his father. The old man seemed +much troubled. He supposed Mr. Kennedy had sent it for collection. As +usual, he began to make excuses. He said that he was very sorry that he +could not pay it, that he had met with many misfortunes, that he had no +money, and that he did not know what to do. + +David then told his father that he did not hand him the bill for +collection, but that it was a present from him--that he had paid it in +full. It is easy for old and broken-down men to weep. John Crockett +seemed much affected by this generosity of his son, and David says "he +shed a heap of tears." He, however, avowed his inability to pay +anything whatever, upon the note. + +David had now worked a year without getting any money for himself. His +clothes were worn out, and altogether he was in a very dilapidated +condition. He went back to the Quaker's, and again engaged in his +service, desiring to earn some money to purchase clothes. Two months +thus passed away. Every ardent, impetuous boy must have a love +adventure. David had his. A very pretty young Quakeress, of about +David's age, came from North Carolina to visit Mr. Kennedy, who was her +uncle. David fell desperately in love with her. We cannot better +describe this adventure than in the unpolished diction of this +illiterate boy. If one would understand this extraordinary character, +it is necessary thus to catch such glimpses as we can of his inner +life. Let this necessity atone for the unpleasant rudeness of speech. +Be it remembered that this reminiscence was written after David +Crockett was a member of Congress. + +"I soon found myself head over heels in love with this girl. 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. 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 I loved her; that she was the darling object of +my soul and body, and I must have her, or else I should pine down to +nothing, and just die away with consumption. + +"I found my talk was not disagreeable to her. But she was an honest +girl, and didn't want to deceive nobody. She 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 know'd 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 enough, 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." + +David's grief was very sincere, and continued as long as is usually the +case with disappointed lovers. + +David soon began to cherish some slight idea of the deficiency in his +education. He had never been to school but four days; and in that time +he had learned absolutely nothing. A young man, a Quaker, had opened a +school about a mile and a half from Mr. Kennedy's. David made an +arrangement with his employer by which he was to go to school four days +in the week, and work the other two days for his board. He continued in +this way for six months. But it was very evident that David was not +born for a scholar. At the end of that time he could read a little in +the first primer. With difficulty he could make certain hieroglyphics +which looked like his name. He could also perform simple sums in +addition, subtraction, and multiplication. The mysteries of division he +never surmounted. + +This was the extent of his education. He left school, and in the +laborious life upon which he entered, never after improved any +opportunity for mental culture. The disappointment which David had +encountered in his love affair, only made him more eager to seek a new +object upon which he might fix his affections. Not far from Mr. +Kennedy's there was the cabin of a settler, where there were two or +three girls. David had occasionally met them. Boy as he was, for he was +not yet eighteen, he suddenly and impetuously set out to see if he +could not pick, from them, one for a wife. + +Without delay he made his choice, and made his offer, and was as +promptly accepted as a lover. Though they were both very young, and +neither of them had a dollar, still as those considerations would not +have influenced David in the slightest degree, we know not why they +where not immediately married. Several months of very desperate and +satisfactory courtship passed away, when the time came for the nuptials +of the little Quaker girl, which ceremony was to take place at the +cabin of her uncle David and his "girl" were invited to the wedding. +The scene only inflamed the desires of David to hasten his +marriage-day. He was very importunate in pressing his claims. She +seemed quite reluctant to fix the day, but at last consented; and says +David, "I thought if that day come, I should be the happiest man in the +created world, or in the moon, or anywhere else." + +In the mean time David had become very fond of his rifle, and had +raised enough money to buy him one. He was still living with the +Quaker. Game was abundant, and the young hunter often brought in +valuable supplies of animal food. There were frequent shooting-matches +in that region. David, proud of his skill, was fond of attending them. +But his Quaker employer considered them a species of gambling, which +drew together all the idlers and vagrants of the region, and he could +not approve of them. + +There was another boy living at that time with the Quaker. They +practised all sorts of deceptions to steal away to the shooting-matches +under pretence that they were engaged in other things. This boy was +quite in love with a sister of David's intended wife. The staid member +of the Society of Friends did not approve of the rude courting frolics +of those times, which frequently occupied nearly the whole night. + +The two boys slept in a garret, in what was called the gable end of the +house. There was a small window in their rough apartment. One Sunday, +when the Quaker and his wife were absent attending a meeting, the boys +cut a long pole, and leaned it up against the side of the house, as +high as the window, but so that it would not attract any attention. +They were as nimble as catamounts, and could run up and down the pole +without the slightest difficulty. They would go to bed at the usual +early hour. As soon as all were quiet, they would creep from the house, +dressed in their best apparel, and taking the two farm-horses, would +mount their backs and ride, as fast as possible, ten miles through the +forest road to where the girls lived. They were generally expected. +After spending all the hours of the middle of the night in the varied +frolics of country courtship, they would again mount their horses and +gallop home, being especially careful to creep in at their window +before the dawn of day The course of true love seemed for once to be +running smoothly. Saturday came, and the next week, on Thursday, David +was to be married. + +It so happened that there was to be a shooting match on Saturday, at +one of the cabins not far from the home of his intended bride. David +made some excuse as to the necessity of going home to prepare for his +wedding, and in the morning set out early, and directed his steps +straight to the shooting-match. Here he was very successful in his +shots, and won about five dollars. In great elation of spirits, and +fully convinced that he was one of the greatest and happiest men in the +world, he pressed on toward the home of his intended bride. + +He had walked but a couple of miles, when he reached the cabin of the +girl's uncle. Considering the members of the family already as his +relatives, he stepped in, very patronizingly, to greet them. He doubted +not that they were very proud of the approaching alliance of their +niece with so distinguished a man as himself--a man who had actually +five dollars, in silver, in his pocket. Entering the cabin, he found a +sister of his betrothed there. Instead of greeting him with the +cordiality he expected, she seemed greatly embarrassed. David had +penetration enough to see that something was wrong. The reception she +gave him was not such as he thought a brother-in-law ought to receive. +He made more particular inquiries. The result we will give in David's +language. + +"She then burst into tears, and told me that her sister was going to +deceive me; and that she was to be married to another man the next day. +This was as sudden to me as a clap of thunder of a bright sunshiny 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 the shock +after a little, and rose and started without any ceremony, or even +bidding anybody good-bye. The young woman followed me out to the gate, +and entreated 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 that her father and +mother both preferred me to him; and that she had no doubt that if I +would go on I could break off the match. But I found that I could go no +farther. 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 hardship, 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." + +For some time David continued in a state of great dejection, a lovelorn +swain of seventeen years. Thus disconsolate, he loved to roam the +forest alone, with his rifle as his only companion, brooding over his +sorrows. The gloom of the forest was congenial to him, and the +excitement of pursuing the game afforded some slight relief to his +agitated spirit. One day, when he had wandered far from home, he came +upon the cabin of a Dutchman with whom he had formed some previous +acquaintance. He had a daughter, who was exceedingly plain in her +personal appearance, but who had a very active mind, and was a bright, +talkative girl. + +She had heard of David's misadventure, and rather unfeelingly rallied +him upon his loss. She however endeavored to comfort him by the +assurance that there were as good fish in the sea as had ever been +caught out of it. David did not believe in this doctrine at all, as +applied to his own case, He thought his loss utterly irretrievable. And +in his still high appreciation of himself, notwithstanding his deep +mortification, he thought that the lively Dutch girl was endeavoring to +catch him for her lover. In this, however, he soon found himself +mistaken. + +She told him that there was to be a reaping frolic in their +neighborhood in a few days, and that if he would attend it, she would +show him one of the prettiest girls upon whom he ever fixed his eyes. +Difficult as he found it to shut out from his mind his lost love, upon +whom his thoughts were dwelling by day and by night, he very wisely +decided that his best remedy would be found in what Dr. Chalmers calls +"the expulsive power of a new affection;" that is, that he would try +and fall in love with some other girl as soon as possible. His own +language, in describing his feelings at that time, is certainly very +different from that which the philosopher or the modern novelist would +have used, but it is quite characteristic of the man. The Dutch maiden +assured him that the girl who had deceived him was not to be compared +in beauty with the one she would show to him. He writes: + +"I didn't believe a word of all this, for I had thought that such a +piece of flesh and blood as she had never been manufactured, and never +would again. I agreed with her that the little varmint had treated me +so bad that I ought to forget her, and yet I couldn't do it. I +concluded that 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 reaping, and would bring as many as I +could with me." + +David seems at this time to have abandoned all constant industry, and +to be loafing about with his rifle, thus supporting himself with the +game he took. He traversed the still but slightly broken forest in all +directions, carrying to many scattered farm-houses intelligence of the +approaching reaping frolic. He informed the good Quaker with whom he +had worked of his intention to be there. Mr. Kennedy endeavored to +dissuade him. He said that there would be much bad company there; that +there would be drinking and carousing, and that David had been so good +a boy that he should be very sorry to have him get a bad name. + +The curiosity of the impetuous young man was, however, by this time, +too much aroused for any persuasions to hold him back. Shouldering his +rifle, he hastened to the reaping at the appointed day. Upon his +arrival at the place he found a large company already assembled. He +looked around for the pretty girl, but she was nowhere to be seen. She +chanced to be in a shed frolicking with some others of the young people. + +But as David, with his rifle on his shoulder, sauntered around, an aged +Irish woman, full of nerve and volubility, caught sight of him. She was +the mother of the girl, and had been told of the object of David's +visit. He must have appeared very boyish, for he had not yet entered +his eighteenth year, and though very wiry and athletic, he was of +slender frame, and rather small in stature. + +The Irish woman hastened to David; lavished upon him compliments +respecting his rosy cheeks, and assured him that she had exactly such a +sweet heart for him as he needed. She did not allow, David to have any +doubt that she would gladly welcome him as the husband of her daughter. + +Pretty soon the young, fresh, blooming, mirthful girl came along; and +David fell in love with her at first sight. Not much formality of +introduction was necessary: each was looking for the other. Both of the +previous loves of the young man were forgotten in an instant. He +devoted himself with the utmost assiduity, to the little Irish girl. He +was soon dancing with her. After a very vigorous "double shuffle," as +they were seated side by side on a bench intensely talking, for David +Crockett was never at a loss for words, the mother came up, and, in her +wonderfully frank mode of match-making, jocosely addressed him as her +son-in-law. + +Even David's imperturbable self-possession was disturbed by this +assailment. Still he was much pleased to find both mother and daughter +so favorably disposed toward him. The rustic frolicking continued +nearly all night. In the morning, David, in a very happy frame of mind, +returned to the Quaker's, and in anticipation of soon setting up +farming for himself, engaged to work for him for six months for a +low-priced horse. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +Marriage and Settlement. + +Rustic Courtship.--The Rival Lover.--Romantic Incident.--The Purchase +of a Horse.--The Wedding.--Singular Ceremonies.--The Termagant.--Bridal +Days.--They commence Housekeeping.--The Bridal Mansion and +Outfit.--Family Possessions.--The Removal to Central Tennessee.--Mode +of Transportation.--The New Home and its Surroundings.--Busy +Idleness.--The Third Move.--The Massacre at Fort Mimms. + + +David took possession of his horse, and began to work very diligently +to pay for it. He felt that now he was a man of property. After the +lapse of a few weeks he mounted his horse and rode over to the +Irishman's cabin to see his girl, and to find out how she lived, and +what sort of people composed the family. Arriving at the log hut, he +found the father to be a silent, staid old man, and the mother as +voluble and nervous a little woman as ever lived. Much to his +disappointment, the girl was away. After an hour or two she returned, +having been absent at some meeting or merry-making, and, much to his +chagrin, she brought back with her a stout young fellow who was +evidently her lover. + +The new-comer was not at all disposed to relinquish his claims in favor +of David Crockett. He stuck close to the maiden, and kept up such an +incessant chatter that David could scarcely edge in a word. In +characteristic figure of speech he says, "I began to think I was +barking up the wrong tree again. But I determined to stand up to my +rack, fodder or no fodder." He thought he was sure of the favor of her +parents, and he was not certain that the girl herself had not given him +sundry glances indicative of her preference. Dark night was now coming +on, and David had a rough road of fifteen miles to traverse through the +forest before he could reach home. He thought that if the Irishman's +daughter cherished any tender feelings toward him, she would be +reluctant to have him set out at that late hour on such a journey. He +therefore rose to take leave. + +His stratagem proved successful. The girl immediately came, leaving her +other companion, and in earnest tones entreated him not to go that +evening. The lover was easily persuaded. His heart grew lighter and his +spirit bolder. She soon made it so manifest in what direction her +choice lay, that David was left entire master of the field. His +discomfited rival soon took his hat and withdrew, David thus was freed +from all his embarrassments. + +It was Saturday night. He remained at the cabin until Monday morning, +making very diligent improvement of his time in the practice of all +those arts of rural courtship which instinct teaches. He then returned +home, not absolutely engaged, but with very sanguine hopes. + +At that time, in that region, wolves were abundant and very +destructive. The neighbors, for quite a distance, combined for a great +wolf-hunt, which should explore the forest for many miles. By the +hunters thus scattering on the same day, the wolves would have no place +of retreat. If they fled before one hunter they would encounter +another. Young Crockett, naturally confident, plunged recklessly into +the forest, and wandered to and fro until, to his alarm, he found +himself bewildered and utterly lost. There were no signs of human +habitations near, and night was fast darkening around him. + +Just as he was beginning to feel that he must look out for a night's +encampment, he saw in the distance, through the gigantic trees, a young +girl running at her utmost speed, or, as he expressed it in the +Crockett vernacular, "streaking it along through the woods like all +wrath." David gave chase, and soon overtook the terrified girl, whom he +found, to his surprise and delight, to be his own sweetheart, who had +also by some strange accident got lost. + +Here was indeed a romantic and somewhat an embarrassing adventure. The +situation was, however, by no means so embarrassing as it would have +been to persons in a higher state of civilization. The cabin of the +emigrant often consisted of but one room, where parents and children +and the chance guest passed the night together. They could easily throw +up a camp. David with his gun could kindle a fire and get some game. +The girl could cook it. All their physical wants would thus be +supplied. They had no material inconveniences to dread in camping out +for a night. The delicacy of the situation would not be very keenly +felt by persons who were at but one remove above the native Indian. + +The girl had gone out in the morning into the woods, to hunt up one of +her father's horses. She missed her way, became lost, and had been +wandering all day long farther and farther from home. Soon after the +two met they came across a path which they knew must lead to some +house. Following this, just after dark they came within sight of the +dim light of a cabin fire. They were kindly received by the inmates, +and, tired as they were, they both sat up all night. Upon inquiry they +found that David had wandered ten miles from his home, and the young +girl seven from hers. Their paths lay in different directions, but the +road was plain, and in the morning they separated, and without +difficulty reached their destination. + +David was now anxious to get married immediately. It will be remembered +that he had bought a horse; but he had not paid for it. The only +property he had, except the coarse clothes upon his back, was a rifle. +All the land in that neighborhood was taken up. He did not even own an +axe with which to build him a log cabin. It would be necessary for him +to hire some deserted shanty, and borrow such articles as were +indispensable. Nothing could be done to any advantage without a horse. +To diminish the months which he had promised to work in payment for the +animal, he threw in his rifle. + +After a few weeks of toil the horse was his. He mounted his steed, +deeming himself one of the richest men in the far West, and rode to see +his girl and fix upon his wedding-day. He confesses that as he rode +along, considering that he had been twice disappointed, he experienced +no inconsiderable trepidation as to the result of this third +matrimonial enterprise. He reached the cabin, and his worst fears were +realized. + +The nervous, voluble, irritable little woman, who with all of a +termagant's energy governed both husband and family, had either become +dissatisfied with young Crockett's poverty, or had formed the plan of +some other more ambitious alliance for her daughter. She fell upon +David in a perfect tornado of vituperation, and ordered him out of the +house. She was "mighty wrathy," writes David, "and looked at me as +savage as a meat-axe." + +David was naturally amiable, and in the depressing circumstances had no +heart to return railing for railing. He meekly reminded the infuriate +woman that she had called him "son-in-law" before he had attempted to +call her "mother-in-law," and that he certainly had been guilty of no +conduct which should expose him to such treatment. He soon saw, to his +great satisfaction, that the daughter remained faithful to him, and +that the meek father was as decidedly on his side as his timid nature +would permit him to be. Though David felt much insulted, he restrained +his temper, and, turning from the angry mother, told her daughter that +he would come the next Thursday on horseback, leading another horse for +her; and that then he would take her to a justice of the peace who +lived at the distance of but a few miles from them, where they would be +married. David writes of the mother: + +"Her Irish was too high to do anything with her; so I quit trying. All +I cared for was to have her daughter on my side, which I know'd was the +case then. But how soon some other fellow might knock my nose out of +joint again, I couldn't tell. Her mother declared I shouldn't have her. +But I knowed I should, if somebody else didn't get her before Thursday." + +The all-important wedding-day soon came David was resolved to crush out +all opposition and consummate the momentous affair with very +considerable splendor. He therefore rode to the cabin with a very +imposing retinue. Mounted proudly upon his own horse, and leading a +borrowed steed, with a blanket saddle, for his bride, and accompanied +by his elder brother and wife and a younger brother and sister, each on +horseback, he "cut out to her father's house to get her." + +When this cavalcade of six horses had arrived within about two miles of +the Irishman's cabin, quite a large party was found assembled from the +log huts scattered several miles around. David, kind-hearted, generous, +obliging, was very popular with his neighbors. They had heard of the +approaching nuptials of the brave boy of but eighteen years, and of the +wrath of the brawling, ill-tempered mother. They anticipated a scene, +and wished to render David the support of their presence and sympathy. +This large party, some on foot and some on horseback, proceeded +together to the Irishman's cabin. The old man met them with smiles, +whiskey bottle in hand, ready to offer them all a drink. The wife, +however, was obdurate as ever. She stood at the cabin door, her eyes +flashing fire, and quite bewildered to decide in what way to attempt to +repel and drive off her foe. + +She expected that the boy would come alone, and that, with her +all-potent tongue, she would so fiercely assail him and so frighten her +young girl as still to prevent the marriage. But here was quite an army +of the neighbors, from miles around, assembled. They were all evidently +the friends of David. Every eye was fixed upon her. Every ear was +listening to hear what she would say. Every tongue was itching to cry +out shame to her opposition, and to overwhelm her with reproaches. For +once the termagant found herself baffled, and at her wits' end. + +The etiquette of courts and cabins are quite different. David paid no +attention to the mother, but riding up to the door of the log house, +leading the horse for his bride, he shouted to her to come out. The +girl had enjoyed no opportunity to pay any attention to her bridal +trousseau. But undoubtedly she had contrived to put on her best attire. +We do not know her age, but she was ever spoken of as a remarkably +pretty little girl, and was probably about seventeen years old. + +David did not deem it necessary to dismount, but called upon his "girl" +to jump upon the horse he was leading. She did so. The mother was +powerless. It was a waterloo defeat. In another moment they would +disappear, riding away along the road, which wound through the gigantic +trees of the forest. In another hour they would be married. And then +they would forever be beyond the reach of the clamor of her voluble +tongue. She began to relent. The old man, accustomed to her wayward +humors, instinctively perceived it. Stepping up to David, and placing +his hand upon the neck of his horse, he said: + +"I wish you would stay and be married here. My woman has too much +tongue. You oughtn't mind her." + +Having thus, for a moment, arrested their departure, he stepped back to +the door, where his discomfited wife stood, and entreated her to +consent to their being married there. After much persuasion, common +sense triumphed over uncommon stubbornness. She consented. David and +his expectant bride were both on horseback, all ready to go. The woman +rather sullenly came forward and said: + +"I am sorry for the words I have spoken. This girl is the only child I +have ever had to marry. I cannot bear to see her go off in this way. If +you'll come into the house and be married here, I will do the best I +can for you." + +The good-natured David consented. They alighted from their horses, and +the bridal party entered the log hut. The room was not large, and the +uninvited guests thronged it and crowded around the door. The justice +of peace was sent for, and the nuptial knot was tied. + +The wedding ceremonies on such occasions were sufficiently curious to +be worthy of record. They certainly were in very wide contrast with the +pomp and splendor of nuptials in the palatial mansions of the present +day. A large party usually met at some appointed place, some mounted +and others on foot, to escort the bridegroom to the house of the bride. +The horses were decorated with all sorts of caparisons, with ropes for +bridles, with blankets or furs for saddles. The men were dressed in +deerskin moccasins, leather breeches, leggins, coarse hunting-shirts of +all conceivable styles of material, and all homemade. + +The women wore gowns of very coarse homespun and home-woven cloth, +composed of linen and wool, and called linsey-woolsey, very coarse +shoes, and sometimes with buckskin gloves of their own manufacture. If +any one chanced to have a ring or pretty buckle, it was a relic of +former times. + +There were no carriages, for there were no roads. The narrow trail they +traversed in single file was generally a mere horse-path, often so +contracted in width that two horses could not pass along abreast. As +they marched along in straggling line, with shouts and jokes, and with +the interchange of many gallant acts of rustic love-making between the +coquettish maidens and the awkward swains, they encountered frequent +obstacles on the way. It was a part of the frolic for the young men to +throw obstructions in their path, and thus to create surprises. There +were brooks to be forded. Sometimes large trees were mischievously +felled across the trail. Grape-vines were tied across from tree to +tree, to trip up the passers-by or to sweep off their caps. It was a +great joke for half a dozen young men to play Indian. They would lie in +ambuscade, and suddenly, as the procession was passing, would raise the +war-whoop, discharge their guns, and raise shouts of laughter in view +of the real or feigned consternation thus excited. + +The maidens would of course shriek. The frightened horses would spring +aside. The swains would gallantly rush to the rescue of their +sweethearts. When the party had arrived within about a mile of the +house where the marriage ceremony was to take place, two of the most +daring riders among the young men who had been previously selected for +the purpose, set out on horseback on a race for "the bottle." The +master of the house was expected to be standing at his door, with a jug +of whiskey in his hand. This was the prize which the victor in the race +was to seize and take back in triumph to his companions. + +The start was announced by a general Indian yell. The more rough the +road--the more full of logs, stumps, rocks, precipitous hills, and +steep glens, the better. This afforded a better opportunity for the +display of intrepidity and horsemanship. It was a veritable +steeple-chase. The victor announced his success by one of those shrill, +savage yells, which would almost split the ears of the listener. +Grasping the bottle, he returned in triumph. On approaching the party, +he again gave forth the Indian war-whoop. + +The bottle or jug was first presented to the bridegroom. He applied the +mouth of the bottle to his lips, and took a dram of raw whiskey. He +then handed it to his next of kin, and so the bottle passed through the +whole company. It is to be supposed that the young women did not burn +their throats with very copious drafts of the poisonous fire-water. + +When they arrived at the house, the brief ceremony of marriage +immediately took place, and then came the marriage feast. It was a very +substantial repast of pork, poultry, wild turkeys, venison, and bear's +meat. There was usually the accompaniment of corn-bread, potatoes, and +other vegetables. Great hilarity prevailed on these occasions, with +wonderful freedom of manners, coarse jokes, and shouts of laughter. + +The table was often a large slab of timber, hewn out with a broad-axe, +and supported by four stakes driven into auger-holes. The table +furniture consisted of a few pewter dishes, with wooden plates and +bowls. There were generally a few pewter spoons, much battered about +the edges, but most of the spoons were of horn, homemade. Crockery, so +easily broken, was almost unknown. Table knives were seldom seen. The +deficiency was made up by the hunting-knives which all the men carried +in sheaths attached to their hunting-shirts. + +After dinner the dancing began. There was invariably some musical +genius present who could play the fiddle. The dances were what were +called three or four handed reels, or square sets and jigs. With all +sorts of grotesque attitudes, pantomime and athletic displays, the +revelry continued until late into the night, and often until the dawn +of the morning. As there could be no sleeping accommodations for so +large a company in the cabin of but one room, the guests made up for +sleep in merriment. + +The bridal party stole away in the midst of the uproar, one after +another, up a ladder into the loft or garret above, which was floored +with loose boards made often of split timber. This furnished a very +rude sleeping apartment. As the revelry below continued, seats being +scarce, every young man offered his lap as a seat for the girls; and +the offer was always promptly accepted; Always, toward morning, some +one was sent up into the loft with a bottle of whiskey, to offer the +bridegroom and his bride a drink. The familiar name of the bottle was +"Black Betty." One of the witticisms ever prominent on the occasion +was, "Where is Black Betty? I want to kiss her sweet lips." At some +splendid weddings, where the larder was abundantly stored with game, +this feasting and dancing was continued for several days. + +Such, in the main, was the wedding of David Crockett with the +Irishman's daughter. In the morning the company dispersed. David also +and his young bride left, during the day, for his father's cabin. As +the families of the nuptial party both belonged to the aristocracy of +the region, quite a splendid marriage reception was held at John +Crockett's. There were feasting and dancing; and "Black Betty received +many a cordial kiss. The bridegroom's heart was full of exultant joy. +David writes: + +"Having gotten my wife, I thought I was completely made up, and needed +nothing more in the whole world." + +He soon found his mistake, and awoke to the consciousness that he +needed everything, and had nothing. He had no furniture, no cabin, no +land, no money. And he had a wife to support. His only property +consisted of a cheap horse. He did not even own a rifle, an article at +that time so indispensable to the backwoodsman. + +After spending a few days at David's father's, the bridegroom and bride +returned to the cabin of her father, the Irishman. Here they found that +a wonderful change had taken place in the mother's feelings and +conduct. She had concluded to submit good-naturedly to the inevitable. +Her "conversational powers" were wonderful. With the most marvellous +volubility of honeyed words she greeted them. She even consented to +have two cows given them, each with a calf. This was the dowry of the +bride--her only dowry. David, who had not expected anything, felt +exceedingly rich with this herd. + +Near by there was a vacated log cabin with a few acres of land attached +to it. Our boy bridegroom and bride hired the cabin at a very small +rent. But then they had nothing whatever to put into it. They had not a +bed, or a table or a chair; no cooking utensils; not even a knife or a +fork. He had no farming tools; not a spade or a hoe. The whole capital +with which they commenced life consisted of the clothes they had on, a +farm-horse, two cows, and two calves. + +In this emergence the good old Quaker, for whom David had worked, came +forward, and loaned him fifteen dollars. In that wilderness, food, that +is game and corn, was cheap. But as nearly everything else had to be +brought from beyond the mountains, all tools and furniture commanded +high prices. With the fifteen dollars, David and his little wife +repaired to a country store a few miles distant, to furnish their house +and farm. Under these circumstances, the china-closet of the bride must +have been a curiosity. David says, "With this fifteen dollars we fixed +up pretty grand, as we thought." + +After a while, in some unexplained way, they succeeded in getting a +spinning-wheel. The little wife, says David, "knowed exactly how to use +it. She was also a good weaver. Being very industrious, she had, in +little or no time, a fine web of cloth ready to make up. She was good +at that too, and at almost anything else a woman could do." + +Here this humble family remained for two years. They were both as +contented with their lot as other people are. They were about as well +off as most of their neighbors. Neither of them ever cherished a doubt +that they belonged to the aristocracy of the region. They did not want +for food or clothing, or shelter, or a warm fireside. They had their +merry-makings, their dances, and their shooting-matches. Let it be +remembered that this was three quarters of a century ago, far away in +the wilds of an almost untamed wilderness. + +Two children were born in this log cabin. David began to feel the +responsibilities of a father who had children to provide for. Both of +the children were sons. Though David's family was increasing, there was +scarcely any increase of his fortune. He therefore decided that the +interests of his little household demanded that he should move still +farther back into the almost pathless wilderness, where the land was +not yet taken up, and where he could get a settler's title to four +hundred acres, simply by rearing a cabin and planting some corn. + +He had one old horse, and a couple of colts, each two years old. The +colts were broken, as it was called, to the halter; that is, they could +be led, with light burdens upon their backs, but could not be ridden. +Mrs. Crockett mounted the old horse, with her babe in her arms, and the +little boy, two years old, sitting in front of her, astride the horse's +neck, and occasionally carried on his father's shoulders. Their few +articles of household goods were fastened upon the backs of the two +colts. David led one, and his kind-hearted father-in-law, who had very +generously offered to help him move, led the other. Thus this party set +out for a journey of two hundred and fifty miles, over unbridged +rivers, across rugged mountains, and through dense forests, whose +Indian trails had seldom if ever been trodden by the feet of white men. + +This was about the year 1806. The whole population of the State then +amounted to but about one hundred thousand. They were generally widely +dispersed through the extensive regions of East Tennessee. But very few +emigrants had ventured across the broad and rugged cliffs of the +Cumberland Mountains into the rich and sunny plains of Western +Tennessee. But a few years before, terrible Indian wars desolated the +State. The powerful tribes of the Creeks and Cherokees had combined all +their energies for the utter extermination of the white men, seeking to +destroy all their hamlets and scattered cabins. + +At a slow foot-pace the pioneers followed down the wild valley of the +Holston River, often with towering mountains rising upon each side of +them. If they chanced, at nightfall, to approach the lonely hut of a +settler, it was especial good fortune, as they thus found shelter +provided, and a fire built, and hospitable entertainment ready for +them. If, however, they were overtaken in the wilderness by darkness, +and even a menacing storm, it was a matter of but little moment, and +caused no anxiety. A shelter, of logs and bark, was soon thrown up, +with a crackling fire, illuminating the wilderness, blazing before it. +A couch, as soft as they had ever been accustomed to, could speedily be +spread from the pliant boughs of trees. Upon the pack-colts there were +warm blankets. And during the journey of the day they had enjoyed ample +opportunity to take such game as they might need for their supper and +their morning breakfast. + +At length they reached the majestic flood of the Tennessee River, and +crossed it, we know not how. Then, directing their steps toward the +setting sun, they pressed on, league after league, and day after day, +in toilsome journey, over prairies and through forests and across +mountain-ridges, for a distance of nearly four hundred miles from their +starting-place, until they reached a small stream, called Mulberry +Creek which flows into the Elk River, in what is now Lincoln County. + +At the mouth of Mulberry Creek the adventurous emigrant found his +promised land. It was indeed a beautiful region. The sun shines upon +none more so. The scenery, which, however, probably had but few +attractions for David Crockett's uncultivated eye, was charming. The +soil was fertile. The streams abounded with fish and waterfowl; and +prairie and forest were stocked with game. No family need suffer from +hunger here, if the husband had a rifle and knew how to use it. A few +hours' labor would rear a cabin which would shut out wind and rain as +effectually as the gorgeous walls of Windsor or Versailles. + +No jets of gas or gleam of wax candles ever illumined an apartment more +brilliantly than the flashing blaze of the wood fire. And though the +refectories of the Palais Royal may furnish more scientific cookery +than the emigrant's hut, they cannot furnish fatter turkeys, or more +tender venison, or more delicious cuts from the buffalo and the bear +than are often found browning before the coals of the log cabin. And +when we take into consideration the voracious appetites engendered in +those wilds, we shall see that the emigrant needed not to look with +envy upon the luxuriantly spread tables of Paris or New York. + +Upon the crystal banks of the Mulberry River, David, aided by his +father-in-law, reared his log cabin. It is a remote and uncultivated +region even now. Then it was an almost unbroken wilderness, the axe of +the settler having rarely disturbed its solitude. + +A suitable spot for the cabin was selected, and a space of about +fifteen feet by twenty feet was marked out and smoothed down for the +floor. There was no cellar. Trees near by, of straight trunks, were +felled and trimmed, and cut into logs of suitable length. These were +piled one above another, in such a way as to enclose the space, and +were held in their place by being notched at the corners. Rough boards +were made for the roof by splitting straight-grained logs about four +feet long. + +The door was made by cutting or sawing the logs on one side of the hut, +about three feet in width. This opening was secured by upright pieces +of timber pinned to the end of the logs. A similar opening was left in +the end for the chimney, which was built of logs outside of the hut. +The back and jambs of the fireplace was of stone. A hole about two feet +square constituted the window. Frequently the floor was the smooth, +solid earth. A split slab supported by sticks driven into auger-holes, +formed a table. A few three-legged stools supplied the place of chairs. +Some wooden pins, driven into holes bored in the logs, supported +shelves. A bedstead was framed by a network of poles in one corner. + +Such was the home which David and his kind father reared in a few days. +It will be perceived that it was but little in advance of the wigwam of +the Indian. Still it afforded a comfortable shelter for men, women, and +children who had no aspirations above a mere animal life; who thought +only of warmth, food, and clothing; who had no conception of +intellectual, moral, or religious cravings. + +The kind-hearted father-in-law, who had accompanied his children on +foot upon this long journey, that he might see them settled in their +own home, now bade them adieu, and retraced the forest trails back to +his own far-distant cabin. A man who could develop, unostentatiously, +such generosity and such self-sacrifice, must have possessed some rare +virtues. We regret our inability to record the name of one who thus +commands our esteem and affection. + +In this humble home, David Crockett and his family resided two years. +He appears to have taken very little interest in the improvement of his +homestead. It must be admitted that Crockett belonged to the class of +what is called loafers. He was a sort of Rip Van Winkle. The forest and +the mountain stream had great charms for him. He loved to wander in +busy idleness all the day, with fishing-rod and rifle; and he would +often return at night with a very ample supply of game. He would then +lounge about his hut, tanning deerskins for moccasins and breeches, +performing other little jobs, and entirely neglecting all endeavors to +improve his farm, or to add to the appearance or comfort of the +miserable shanty which he called his home. + +He had an active mind, and a very singular command of the language of +low, illiterate life, and especially of backwoodman's slang. Though not +exactly a vain man, his self-confidence was imperturbable, and there +was perhaps not an individual in the world to whom he looked up as in +any sense his superior. In hunting, his skill became very remarkable, +and few, even of the best marksmen, could throw the bullet with more +unerring aim. + +At the close of two years of this listless, solitary life, Crockett, +without any assigned reason, probably influenced only by that vagrancy +of spirit which had taken entire possession of the man, made another +move. Abandoning his crumbling shanty and untilled fields, he directed +his steps eastwardly through the forest, a distance of about forty +miles, to what is now Franklin County. Here he reared another hut, on +the banks of a little stream called Bear's Creek. This location was +about ten miles below the present hamlet of Winchester. + +An event now took place which changed the whole current of David +Crockett's life, leading him from his lonely cabin and the peaceful +scenes of a hunter's life to the field of battle, and to all the cruel +and demoralizing influences of horrid war. + +For many years there had been peace with the Indians in all that +region. But unprincipled and vagabond white men, whom no law in the +wilderness could restrain, were ever plundering them, insulting them, +and wantonly shooting them down on the slightest provocation. The +constituted authorities deplored this state of things, but could no +more prevent it than the restraints of justice can prevent robberies +and assassinations in London or New York. + +The Indians were disposed to be friendly. There can be no question +that, but for these unendurable outrages, inflicted upon them by vile +and fiend-like men, many of whom had fled from the avenging arm of law, +peace between the white man and the red man would have remained +undisturbed. In the extreme southern region of Alabama, near the +junction of the Alabama River with the almost equally majestic +Tombeckbee River, there had been erected, several years before, for the +protection of the emigrants, a fort called Mimms. It consisted of +several strong log huts, surrounded by palisades which enclosed several +acres. A strongly barred gate afforded entrance to the area within. +Loop-holes were cut through the palisades, just sufficiently large to +allow the barrel of a musket to be thrust through, and aim to be taken +at any approaching foe. + +The space within was sufficient to accommodate several families, who +were thus united for mutual protection. Their horses and other cattle +could be driven within the enclosure at night. In case of a general +alarm, the pioneers, occupying huts scattered through the region for +miles around, could assemble in the fort. Their corn-fields were +outside, to cultivate which, even in times of war, they could resort in +armed bands, setting a watch to give warning of any signs of danger. + +The fort was in the middle of a small and fertile prairie. The +forest-trees were cut down around, and every obstacle removed which +could conceal the approach of a foe or protect him from the fire of the +garrison. The long-continued peace had caused vigilance to slumber. A +number of families resided in the fort, unapprehensive of danger. + +One evening, a negro boy, who had been out into the forest at some +distance from the fort in search of cattle, came back saying that he +saw far in the distance quite a number of Indians, apparently armed +warriors. As it was known that the Creek Indians had been greatly +exasperated by recent outrages inflicted upon them, this intelligence +created some anxiety. The gate was carefully closed. A guard was set +through the night, and some slight preparations were made to repel an +assault, should one be made. + +Thus several days were passed, and there was no attack, and no signs of +Indians being near. The general impression was that the timid negro boy +was the victim of his own fears. Many jokes were perpetrated at his +expense. With wonted carelessness, all precautions were forgotten, and +the men sallied thoughtlessly forth to disperse through the fields in +their labors. + +But after several days, the boy was again sent out into the woods upon +the same errand as before. He was a timid little fellow, and had a +great dread of the Indian. Tremblingly and cautiously he threaded the +paths of the forest for several miles, keeping a vigilant lookout for +any signs of the savage foe, when his eye fell upon a sight which +appalled him. At but a short distance, as he stood concealed by the +thickets through which he was moving, he saw several hundred Indian +warriors, plumed and painted, and armed to the teeth. They had probably +just broken up from a council, and were moving about among the trees. +His fears magnified their numbers to thousands. + +Terror-stricken, he turned for the fort, and with almost the fleetness +of a deer entered the gate with his tidings. Even his black face was +pallid with fright, as he breathlessly told his story. "The Indians," +said he, "were as many, and as close together as the trees. There were +thousands." The alarm was sounded in the garrison. All the outsiders +were called in. The sun shone serenely, the gentle breeze swept over +the fertile prairie; not a sight was to be seen but what was peaceful, +not a sound came from the forest but the songs of birds. + +It was generally believed that the silly, cowardly boy had given a +false alarm. They cross-examined him. He was so frightened that he +could not tell a straight story. The men, indignant at being thus a +second time duped, as they supposed, actually tied the poor boy to the +whipping-post and commenced whipping him. But a few lashes had left +their bloody marks upon his back when the uplifted arm of the +executioner was arrested. + +The awful Indian war-whoop, the precursor of blood and flame and +torture, which even the boldest heart could seldom hear without terror, +burst as it were simultaneously from a hundred warrior lips. The wary +savages had provided themselves with sharpened sticks. Rending the +skies with their yells, they rushed forward from the gloom of the woods +upon the totally unprovided garrison, and very speedily plugged up the +loop-holes, so that not a musket could be discharged through them. + +Then with their hatchets they commenced cutting down the palisades. The +bewilderment and consternation within was indescribable. A few of the +assailants hewing at the barricades were shot down, but others +instantly took their places. Soon a breach was cut through, and the +howling warriors like maddened demons rushed in. There was no mercy +shown. The gleaming tomahawk, wielded by hundreds of brawny arms, +expeditiously did its work. Men, women, and children were +indiscriminately cut down and scalped. It was an awful scene of +butchery. Scarcely an individual escaped. + +One athletic boy, after having seen his father, mother, four sisters, +and four brothers tomahawked and scalped, pursued by the savages, with +frantic energy succeeded in leaping the palisades. Several Indians gave +chase. He rushed for the woods. They hotly pursued. He reached a +sluggish stream, upon the shore of which, half-imbedded in sand and +water, there was a mouldering log, which he chanced to know was hollow +beneath. He had but just time to slip into this retreat, when the +baffled Indians came up. They actually walked over the log in their +unavailing search for him. Here he remained until night, when he stole +from his hiding-place, and in safety reached Fort Montgomery, which was +distant about two miles from Fort Mimms. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +The Soldier Life. + +War with the Creeks.--Patriotism of Crockett.--Remonstrances of his +Wife.--Enlistment.--The Rendezvous.--Adventure of the +Scouts.--Friendlier Indians.--A March through the Forest.--Picturesque +Scene.--The Midnight Alarm.--March by Moon-light.--Chagrin of +Crockett.--Advance into Alabama.--War's Desolations.--Indian +Stoicism.--Anecdotes of Andrew Jackson.--Battles, Carnage, and Woe. + + +The awful massacre at Fort Mimms, by the Creek Indians, summoned, as +with a trumpet peal, the whole region to war. David Crockett had +listened eagerly to stories of Indian warfare in former years, and as +he listened to the tales of midnight conflagration and slaughter, his +naturally peaceful spirit had no yearnings for the renewal of such +sanguinary scenes. Crockett was not a quarrelsome man. He was not fond +of brawls and fighting. Nothing in his life had thus far occurred to +test his courage. Though there was great excitement to be found in +hunting, there was but little if any danger. The deer and all smaller +game were harmless. And even the grizzly bear had but few terrors for a +marksman who, with unerring aim, could strike him with the deadly +bullet at the distance of many rods. + +But the massacre at Fort Mimms roused a new spirit in David Crockett. +He perceived at once, that unless the savages were speedily quelled, +they would ravage the whole region; and that his family as well as that +of every other pioneer must inevitably perish. It was manifest to him +that every man was bound immediately to take arms for the general +defence. In a few days a summons was issued for every able-bodied man +in all that region to repair to Winchester, which, as we have said, was +a small cluster of houses about ten miles from Crockett's cabin. + +When he informed his wife of his intention, her womanly heart was +appalled at the thought of being left alone and unprotected in the vast +wilderness. She was at a distance of hundreds of miles from all her +connections. She had no neighbors near. Her children were too young to +be of any service to her. If the dreadful Indians should attack them, +she had no one to look to for protection. If anything should happen to +him in battle so that he should not return, they must all perish of +starvation. These obvious considerations she urged with many tears. + +"It was mighty hard," writes Crockett, "to go against such arguments as +these. But my countrymen 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 all should be killed in our own houses; that as +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 was to cry a little, and turn about to her work." + +David Crockett hastened to Winchester. There was a large gathering +there from all the hamlets and cabins for many miles around. The +excitement was intense. The nation of Creek Indians was a very powerful +one, and in intelligence and military skill far in advance of most of +the Indian tribes. Mr. Crockett was one of the first to volunteer to +form a company to serve for sixty days, under Captain Jones, who +subsequently was a member of Congress from Tennessee. In a week the +whole company was organized, and commenced its march to join others for +the invasion of the Creek country. It was thought that by carrying the +war directly into the Indian towns, their warriors might be detained at +home to protect their wives and children, and could thus be prevented +from carrying desolation into the settlements of the whites. + +In the mean time David Crockett revisited his humble home, where his +good but anxious and afflicted wife fitted him out as well as she could +for the campaign. David was not a man of sentiment and was never +disposed to contemplate the possibility of failure in any of his plans. +With a light heart he bade adieu to his wife and his children, and +mounting his horse, set out for his two months' absence to hunt up and +shoot the Indians. He took only the amount of clothing he wore, as he +wished to be entirely unencumbered when he should meet the sinewy and +athletic foe on the battle-field. + +This company, of about one hundred mounted men, commenced its march for +an appointed rendezvous called Beatty's Spring. Here they encamped for +several days, waiting the arrival of other companies from distant +quarters. Ere long there was collected quite an imposing army of +thirteen hundred men, all on horseback, and all hardy backwoodsmen, +armed with the deadly rifle. A more determined set of men was perhaps +never assembled. While they were thus gathering from far and near, and +making all preparations to burst upon the foe in one of war's most +terrific tempests, Major Gibson came, and wanted a few men, of tried +sagacity and hardihood, to accompany him on a reconnoitring tour across +the Tennessee River, down through the wilderness, into the country of +the Creek Indians. It was a very hazardous enterprise. The region +swarmed with savages. They were very vigilant. They were greatly and +justly exasperated. If the reconnoitring party were captured, the +certain doom of its members would be death by the most dreadful +tortures. + +Captain Jones pointed out David Crockett as one of the most suitable +men for this enterprise. Crockett unhesitatingly consented to go, and, +by permission, chose a companion by the name of George Russel, a young +man whose courage and sagacity were far in advance of his years. + +"I called him up," writes Crockett, "but Major Gibson said he thought +he hadn't beard enough to please him; he wanted men, 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 told the Major he was on the wrong 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." + +The heroic little band, thirteen in number, well armed and well +mounted, set out early in the morning on their perilous enterprise. +They crossed the Tennessee River, and directing their steps south, +through a region almost entirely uninhabited by white men, journeyed +cautiously along, keeping themselves concealed as much as possible in +the fastnesses of the forest. They crossed the river, at what was +called Ditto's Landing, and advancing about seven miles beyond, found a +very secluded spot, one of nature's hiding-places, where they took up +their encampment for the night. + +Here they chanced to come across a man by the name of John Haynes, who +for several years had been a trader among the Indians. He was +thoroughly acquainted with the whole region about to be traversed, and +consented to act as a guide. For the next day's march, instructed by +their guide, the party divided into two bands, following along two +obscure trails, which came together again after winding through the +wilderness a distance of about twenty miles. Major Gibson led a party +of seven, and David Crockett the other party of six. + +The Cherokee Indians, a neighboring nation, powerful and warlike, were +not in alliance with the Creeks in this war. They were, at that time, +in general friendly to the whites. Many of their warriors were even +induced to join the whites and march under their banners. On each of +the trails that day to be passed over, there was the lodge of a +Cherokee Indian. Both of them were friendly. Each of the parties was to +collect all the information possible from these Indians, and then to +meet where the trails came together again. + +When Crockett arrived at the wigwam of the Indian he met with a very +friendly reception. He also found there a half-breed Cherokee, by the +name of Jack Thompson. This man, of savage birth and training, but with +the white man's blood in his veins, offered to join the reconnoitring +party. He however was not ready just then to set out, but in a few +hours would follow and overtake the band at its night's encampment. + +It was not safe to encamp directly upon the trail, lest some Creek +war-party should be passing along, and should discover them. It was +necessary to seek concealment where even the prying eyes of the savage +would with difficulty search them out. The cry of the shriek-owl is +exceedingly shrill, and can be heard at a great distance. A particular +spot on the trail was designated, near which Crockett would seek his +secret encampment. When Jack Thompson reached that spot, he was to +imitate the cry of the owl. Crockett would respond, and thus guide the +Indian to his retreat. As night approached, Crockett, with his party, +found a deep and dark ravine, where, encircled by almost impenetrable +thickets, he hid his men and the horses. No campfires could be built. +It was ten o'clock in the night when, in the distance, he heard the +signal shriek of the owl, a cry too common to arrest the attention of +any Indian bands who might be in the vicinity. Jack, guided by a +responsive cry, soon found the place of concealment, and there the +party remained through the night. + +The next morning after breakfast they set out to join Major Gibson and +his band; but, in some way, they had lost track of him, and he could +not be found. Some were alarmed, as, in so small a band, they were +entering the domains of their powerful foe. Crockett taunted them with +their fears; and indeed fear kept them together. The party consisted +now of seven, including the Indian guide. Most of them determined to +press on. The two or three who were in favor of going back dared not +separate from the rest. + +At the distance of about twenty miles, Jack Thompson told them that +there was a village of friendly Cherokee Indians. As he was leading +them through obscure trails toward that place, they came across the hut +of a white man, by the name of Radcliff, who had married a Creek woman, +and had been adopted into their tribe. The man had two nearly grown-up +boys, stout, burly fellows, half-breeds by birth, and more than half +savage in character and training. The old man's cabin was slightly +above the usual style of Indian wigwams. It was in a region of utter +solitude. + +There Radcliff had taught his barbarian boys some of the arts of +industry. He had cleared quite a space of ground around his hut, and +was raising a supply of corn and potatoes ample for his family wants. +With these vegetable productions, and with the game which the rifle +supplied them, they lived in abundance, and free from most of those +cares which agitate a higher civilization. + +But the old man was quite agitated in receiving and entertaining his +unwelcome guests. He was an adopted Creek, and ought to be in sympathy +with his nation. He was bound to regard the white men as his enemies, +to withhold from them all important information, and to deliver them up +to the Creeks if possible. Should he be suspected of sympathy with the +white men, the tomahawk of the savage would soon cleave his brain. He +entreated Crockett immediately to leave him. + +"Only an hour ago," said he, "there were ten Creek warriors here, all +on horseback, and painted and armed. Should they come back and discover +you here, they would certainly kill you all, and put me and my family +to death also." + +But Crockett, instead of being alarmed by this intelligence, was only +animated by it. He assured Radcliff that he could desire no better luck +than to meet a dozen Indians on the war-path. He considered his party +quite strong enough to meet, at any time, three times their number. +Evening was approaching, and the full moon, in cloudless brilliance, +was rising over the forest, flooding the whole landscape with +extraordinary splendor. After feeding their horses abundantly and +feasting themselves from the fat larder of their host, they saddled +their steeds and resumed their journey by moonlight. + +The trail still led through the silent forest. It was, as usual, very +narrow, so that the horses walked along in single file. As there was +danger of falling into an ambush, not a word was spoken, and, as +noiselessly as possible, they moved onward, every eye on the eager +lookout. They had been thus riding along when Crockett, in the advance, +heard the noise of some animals or persons apparently approaching. At a +given signal, instantly the whole party stopped. Every man grasped his +rifle, ready in case of need, to leap from his horse, and select the +largest tree near him as a rampart for the battle. + +All solicitude was, however, soon dispelled by seeing simply two +persons advancing along the trail on Indian ponies. They proved to be +two negro slaves who had been captured by the Indians, and who, having +escaped, were endeavoring to make their way back to their former +master. They were brothers, and being both very stout men, and able to +speak the Indian as well as the English language, were esteemed quite a +powerful reinforcement to the Crockett party. + +They rode quietly along another hour and a half, when toward midnight +they saw in the distance the gleam of camp-fires, and heard shouts of +merriment and revelry. They knew that these must come from the camp of +the friendly Cherokees, to which their Indian guide, Jack Thompson, was +leading them. Soon a spectacle of wonderful picturesque beauty was +opened to their view. + +Upon the banks of a beautiful mountain stream there was a wide plateau, +carpeted with the renowned blue-grass, as verdant and soft as could be +found in any gentleman's park. There was no underbrush. The trees were +two or three yards from each other, composing a luxuriant overhanging +canopy of green leaves, more beautiful than art could possibly create. +Beneath this charming grove, and illumined by the moonshine which, in +golden tracery, pierced the foliage, there were six or eight Indian +lodges scattered about. + +An immense bonfire was crackling and blazing, throwing its rays far and +wide through the forest. Moving around, in various engagements and +sports, were about forty men, women, and children, in the fringed, +plumed, and brilliantly colored attire of which the Indians were so +fond. Quite a number of them, with bows and arrows, were shooting at a +mark, which was made perfectly distinct by the blaze of pitch-pine +knots, a light which no flame of candle or gas could outvie. It was a +scene of sublimity and beauty, of peace and loveliness, which no artist +could adequately transfer to canvas. + +The Cherokees received very cordially the newcomers, took care of their +horses, and introduced them to their sports. Many of the Indians had +guns, but powder and bullets were too precious to be expended in mere +amusements. Indeed, the Indians were so careful of their ammunition, +that they rarely put more than half as much powder into a charge as a +white man used. They endeavored to make up for the deficiency by +creeping nearer to their prey. + +Crockett and his men joined these barbarians, merry in their pleasant +sports. Such are the joys of peace, so different from the miseries of +demoniac war. At length the festivities were closed, and all began to +prepare to retire to sleep. + +The Cherokees were neutral in the war between the whites and the Creek +Indians. It was very important for them to maintain this neutrality +strictly, that they might not draw down upon themselves the vengeance +of either party. Some of the Cherokees now began to feel anxious lest a +war-party of the Creeks should come along and find them entertaining a +war-party of whites, who were entering their country as spies. They +therefore held an interview with one of the negroes, and requested him +to inform Mr. Crockett that should a war-party come and find his men in +the Cherokee village, not only would they put all the white men to +death, but there would be also the indiscriminate massacre of all the +men, women, and children in the Cherokee lodges. + +Crockett, wrapped in his blanket, was half asleep when this message was +brought to him. Raising his head, he said to the negro, in terms rather +savoring of the spirit of the braggadocio than that of a high-minded +and sympathetic man: + +"Tell the Cherokees that I will keep a sharp lookout, and if a single +Creek comes near the camp to-night, I will carry the skin of his head +home to make me a moccasin." + +When this answer was reported to the Indians they laughed aloud and +dispersed. It was not at all improbable that there might be an alarm +before morning. The horses were therefore, after being well fed, tied +up with their saddles upon them, that they might be instantly mounted +in case of emergence. They all slept, also, with their arms in their +hands. + +Just as Crockett was again falling into a doze, a very shrill Indian +yell was heard in the forest, the yell of alarm. Every man, white and +red, was instantly upon his feet. An Indian runner soon made his +appearance, with the tidings that more than a thousand Creek warriors +had, that day, crossed the Coosa River, but a few leagues south of +them, at what was called the Ten Islands, and were on the march to +attack an American force, which, under General Jackson, was assembling +on another portion of the Coosa River. + +The friendly Indians were so greatly alarmed that they immediately +fled. Crockett felt bound to carry back this intelligence as speedily +as possible to the headquarters from which he had come. He had +traversed a distance of about sixty miles in a southerly direction. +They returned, by the same route over which they had passed. But they +found that a general alarm had pervaded the country, Radcliff and his +family, abandoning everything, had fled, they knew not where. When they +reached the Cherokee town of which we have before spoken, not a single +Indian was to be seen. Their fires were still burning, which showed the +precipitancy with which they had taken flight. This rather alarmed the +party of the whites. They feared that the Indian warriors were +assembling from all quarters, at some secret rendezvous, and would soon +fall upon them in overwhelming numbers. They therefore did not venture +to replenish the Indian fires and lie down by the warmth of them, but +pushed rapidly on their way. + +It chanced to be a serene, moonlight night. The trail through the +forest, which the Indian's foot for countless generations had trodden +smooth, illumined by the soft rays of the moon, was exceedingly +beautiful. They travelled in single file, every nerve at its extreme +tension in anticipation of falling into some ambush. Before morning +they had accomplished about thirty miles. In the grey dawn they again +reached Mr. Brown's. Here they found grazing for their horses, and corn +and game for them selves. + +Horses and riders were equally fatigued. The weary adventurers were in +no mood for talking. After dozing for an hour or two, they again set +out, and about noon reached the general rendezvous, from which they had +departed but a few days before. Here Crockett was not a little +disappointed in the reception he encountered. He was a young, raw +backwoodsman, nearly on a level with the ordinary savage. He was +exceedingly illiterate, and ignorant. And yet he had the most amazing +self-confidence, with not a particle of reverence for any man, whatever +his rank or culture. He thought no one his superior. Colonel Coffee +paid very little respect to his vainglorious report. In the following +characteristic strain Crockett comments on the event: + +"He didn't seem to mind my report a bit. This raised my dander higher +than ever. But I know'd that I had to be on my best behavior, 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 had not been pouring out +of me at all points. The next day, Major Gibson got in. He brought a +worse tale than I had, though he stated the same facts as 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. When I made my +report I was not 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 then it was all true as preaching, and the Colonel +believed it every word." + +There was indeed cause for alarm. Many of the Indian chiefs displayed +military ability of a very high order. Our officers were frequently +outgeneralled by their savage antagonists. This was so signally the +case that the Indians frequently amused themselves in laughing to scorn +the folly of the white men. Every able-bodied man was called to work in +throwing up breastworks. A line of ramparts was speedily constructed, +nearly a quarter of a mile in circuit. An express was sent to +Fayetteville, where General Jackson was assembling an army, to summon +him to the rescue. With characteristic energy he rushed forward, by +forced marches day and night, until his troops stood, with blistered +feet, behind the newly erected ramparts. + +They felt now safe from attack by the Indians. An expedition of eight +hundred volunteers, of which Crockett was one, was fitted out to +recross the Tennessee River, and marching by the way of Huntsville, to +attack the Indians from an unexpected quarter. This movement involved a +double crossing of the Tennessee. They pressed rapidly along the +northern bank of this majestic stream, about forty or fifty miles, due +west, until they came to a point where the stream expands into a width +of nearly two miles. This place was called Muscle Shoals. The river +could here be forded, though the bottom was exceedingly rough. The men +were all mounted. Several horses got their feet so entangled in the +crevices of the rocks that they could not be disengaged, and they +perished there. The men, thus dismounted, were compelled to perform the +rest of the campaign on foot. + +A hundred miles south of this point, in the State of Alabama, the +Indians had a large village, called Black Warrior. The lodges of the +Indians were spread over the ground where the city of Tuscaloosa now +stands. The wary Indians kept their scouts out in all directions. The +runners conveyed to the warriors prompt warning of the approach of +their foes. These Indians were quite in advance of the northern tribes. +Their lodges were full as comfortable as the log huts of the pioneers, +and in their interior arrangements more tasteful. The buildings were +quite numerous. Upon many of them much labor had been expended. +Luxuriant corn-fields spread widely around, and in well-cultivated +gardens they raised beans and other vegetables in considerable +abundance. + +The hungry army found a good supply of dried beans for themselves, and +carefully housed corn for their horses. They feasted themselves, loaded +their pack-horses with corn and beans, applied the torch to every +lodge, laying the whole town in ashes, and then commenced their +backward march. Fresh Indian tracks indicated that many of them had +remained until the last moment of safety. + +The next day the army marched back about fifteen miles to the spot +where it had held its last encampment. Eight hundred men, on a +campaign, consume a vast amount of food. Their meat was all devoured. +They had now only corn and beans. The soldiers were living mostly on +parched corn. Crockett went to Colonel Coffee, then in command, and +stating, very truthfully, that he was an experienced hunter, asked +permission to draw aside from the ranks, and hunt as they marched +along. The Colonel gave his consent, but warned him to be watchful in +the extreme, lest he should fall into an Indian ambush. + +Crockett was brave, but not reckless. He plunged into the forest, with +vigilant gaze piercing the solitary space in all directions. He was +alone, on horseback. He had not gone far when he found a deer just +killed by a noiseless arrow. The animal was but partially skinned, and +still warm and smoking. The deer had certainly been killed by an +Indian; and it was equally certain that the savage, seeing his +approach, had fled. The first thought of Crockett was one of alarm. The +Indian might be hidden behind some one of the gigantic trees, and the +next moment a bullet, from the Indian's rifle, might pierce his heart. + +But a second thought reassured him. The deer had been killed by an +arrow. Had the Indian been armed with a rifle, nothing would have been +easier, as he saw the approach of Crockett in the distance than for him +to have concealed himself, and then to have taken such deliberate aim +at his victim as to be sure of his death. Mounting the horse which +Crockett rode, the savage might have disappeared in the wilderness +beyond all possibility of pursuit. But this adventure taught Crockett +that he might not enjoy such good luck the next time. Another Indian +might be armed with a rifle, and Crockett, self-confident as he was, +could not pretend to be wiser in woodcraft than were the savages. + +Crockett dismounted, took up the body of the deer, laid it upon the +mane of his horse, in front of the saddle, and remounting, with +increasing vigilance made his way, as rapidly as he could, to the trail +along which the army was advancing. He confesses to some qualms of +conscience as to the right of one hunter thus to steal away the game +killed by another. + +It was late in the afternoon when he reached the rear. He pressed along +to overtake his own company. The soldiers looked wistfully at the +venison. They offered him almost any price for it. Crockett was by +nature a generous man. There was not a mean hair in his head. This +generosity was one of the virtues which gave him so many friends. +Rather boastfully, and yet it must be admitted truthfully, he writes, +in reference to this adventure: + +"I could have sold it for almost any price 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 the present day. But it is my way. And while it has often left +me with an empty purse, yet it has never left my heart empty of +consolations which money couldn't buy; the consolation of having +sometimes fed the hungry and covered the naked. I gave all my deer away +except a small part, which I kept for myself, and just sufficient to +make a good supper for my mess." + +The next day, in their march, they came upon a drove of swine, which +belonged to a Cherokee farmer. The whites were as little disposed as +were the Indians, in this war, to pay any respect to private property. +Hundreds of rifles were aimed at the poor pigs, and their squealing +indicated that they had a very hard time of it. The army, in its +encampment that night, feasted very joyously upon fresh pork. This +thrifty Cherokee was also the possessor of a milch cow. The animal was +speedily slaughtered and devoured. + +They soon came upon another detachment of the army, and uniting, +marched to Ten Islands, on the Coosa River, where they established a +fort, which they called Fort Strother, as a depot for provisions and +ammunition. They were here not far from the centre of the country +inhabited by the hostile Indians. This fort stood on the left bank of +the river, in what is now St. Clair County, Alabama. It was a region +but little explored, and the whites had but little acquaintance with +the nature of the country around them, or with the places occupied by +the Indians. Some scouts, from the friendly Creeks, brought the +intelligence that, at the distance of about eight miles from the fort, +there was an Indian town, where a large party of warriors was assembled +in preparation for some secret expedition. A large and select band was +immediately dispatched, on horseback, to attack them by surprise. Two +friendly Creeks led them with Indian sagacity through circuitous +trails. Stealthily they approached the town, and dividing their force, +marched on each side so as to encircle it completely. Aided by their +Creek guides, this important movement was accomplished without the +warriors discovering their approach. The number of the whites was so +great that they were enabled to surround the town with so continuous a +line that escape was impossible for any enclosed within that fearful +barrier of loaded rifles wielded by unerring marksmen. Closer and more +compactly the fatal line was drawn. These movements were accomplished +in the dim morning twilight. + +All being ready, Captain Hammond, and a few rangers, were sent forward +to show themselves, and to bring on the fight. The moment the warriors +caught sight of them, one general war-whoop rose from every throat. +Grasping their rifles, they rushed headlong upon the rangers, who +retired before them. They soon reached one portion of the compact line, +and were received with a terrible fire, which struck many of them down +in instant death. The troops then closed rapidly upon the doomed +Indians, and from the north, the south, the east, and the west, they +were assailed by a deadly storm of bullets. + +Almost immediately the Indians saw that they were lost. There was no +possibility of escape. This was alike manifest to every one, to +warrior, squaw, and pappoose. All surrendered themselves to despair. +The warriors threw down their weapons, in sign of surrender. Some +rushed into the lodges. Some rushed toward the soldiers, stretching out +their unarmed hands in supplication for life. The women in particular, +panic-stricken, ran to the soldiers, clasped them about the knees, and +looked up into their faces with piteous supplications for life. +Crockett writes: + +"I saw seven squaws have hold of one man. 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." + +Forty-six warriors, by count, threw down their arms in token of +surrender, and ran into one of the large houses. A band of soldiers +pursued them, with the apparent intent of shooting them down. It was +considered rare sport to shoot an Indian. A woman came to the door, bow +and arrow in hand. Fixing the arrow upon the string, she drew the bow +with all the strength of her muscular arm, and let the arrow fly into +the midst of the approaching foe. It nearly passed through the body of +Lieutenant Moore, killing him instantly. The woman made no attempt to +evade the penalty which she knew weald follow this act. In an instant +twenty bullets pierced her body, and she fell dead at the door of the +house. + +The infuriate soldiers rushed in and shot the defenceless warriors +mercilessly, until every one was fatally wounded or dead. They then set +the house on fire and burned it up, with the forty-six warriors in it. +It mattered not to them whether the flames consumed the flesh of the +living or of the dead. + +There was something very remarkable in the stoicism which the Indians +ever manifested. There was a bright-looking little Indian boy, not more +than twelve years of age, whose arm was shattered by one bullet and his +thigh-bone by another. Thus terribly wounded, the poor child crept from +the flames of the burning house. There was no pity in that awful hour +to come to his relief. The heat was so intense that his almost naked +body could be seen blistering and frying by the fire. The heroic boy, +striving in vain to crawl along, was literally roasted alive; and yet +he did not utter an audible groan. + +The slaughter was awful. But five of the Americans were killed. One +hundred and eighty-six of the Indians were either killed or taken +prisoners. The party returned with their captives the same day to Fort +Strother. The army had so far consumed its food that it was placed on +half rations. The next day a party was sent back to the smouldering +town to see if any food could be found. Even these hardy pioneers were +shocked at the awful spectacle which was presented. The whole place was +in ruins. The half-burned bodies of the dead, in awful mutilation, were +scattered around. Demoniac war had performed one of its most fiend-like +deeds. + +On this bloody field an Indian babe was found clinging to the bosom of +its dead mother. Jackson urged some of the Indian women who were +captives to give it nourishment. They replied: + +"All the child's friends are killed. There is no one to care for the +helpless babe. It is much better that it should die." + +Jackson took the child under his own care, ordered it to be conveyed to +his tent, nursed it with sugar and water, took it eventually with him +to the Hermitage, and brought it up as his son. He gave the boy the +name of Lincoyer. He grew up a finely formed young man, and died of +consumption at the age of seventeen. + +Jackson was a very stern man. The appeals of pity could seldom move his +heart. Still there were traits of heroism which marked his character. +On the return march, a half-starved soldier came to Jackson with a +piteous story of his famished condition. Jackson drew from his pocket a +handful of acorns, and presenting a portion to the man, said: + +"This is all the fare I have. I will share it with you." + +Beneath one of the houses was found quite a large cellar, well stored +with potatoes. These were eagerly seized. All the other stores of the +Indians the insatiable flames had consumed. Starvation now began to +threaten the army. The sparsely settled country afforded no scope for +forage. There were no herds of cattle, no well-replenished magazines +near at hand. Neither was there game enough in the spreading wilderness +to supply so many hungry mouths. The troops were compelled to eat even +the very hides of the cattle whom they had driven before them, and who +were now all slaughtered. + +While in this forlorn condition, awaiting the arrival of food, and +keeping very vigilant guard against surprise, one night an Indian, +cautiously approaching from the forest, shouted out that he wished to +see General Jackson, for he had important information to communicate. +He was conducted to the General's tent. The soldiers knew not the news +which he brought. But immediately the beat of drums summoned all to +arms. In less than an hour a strong party of cavalry and infantry, in +the darkness, were on the march. General Andrew Jackson was one of the +most energetic of men. The troops crossed the Coosa River to the +eastern shore, and as rapidly as possible pressed forward in a +southerly direction toward Talladega, which was distant about thirty +miles. Gradually the rumor spread through the ranks that General +Jackson had received the following intelligence: At Talladega there was +a pretty strong fort, occupied by friendly Indians. They had resolutely +refused to take part in the war against the Americans. Eleven hundred +hostile warriors, of the Creek nation, marched upon the fort, encamped +before it, and sent word to the friendly Indians within the palisades, +that if they did not come out and join them in an expedition against +the whites, they would utterly demolish the fort and take all their +provisions and ammunition. The Creeks were in sufficient strength to +accomplish their threat. + +The friendly Indians asked for three days to consider the proposition. +They stated that if, at the end of this time, they did not come out to +join them in an expedition against the whites, they would surrender the +fort. The request was granted. Instantly an Indian runner was +dispatched to inform General Jackson, at Fort Strother, of their danger +and to entreat him to come to their aid. Hence the sudden movement. + +The Creek warriors had their scouts out, carefully watching, and were +speedily apprised of the approach of General Jackson's band. +Immediately they sent word into the fort, to the friendly Indians +there, that the American soldiers were coming, with many fine horses, +and richly stored with guns, blankets, powder, bullets, and almost +everything else desirable. They promised that if the Indians would come +out from the fort, and help them attack and conquer the whites, they +would divide the rich plunder with them. They assured them that, by +thus uniting, they could easily gain the victory over the whites, who +were the deadly foes of their whole race. The appeal was not responded +to. + +A little south of the fort there was a stream, which, in its circuitous +course, partially encircled it. The bank was high, leaving a slight +level space or meadow between it and the stream. Here the hostile +Indians were encamped, and concealed from any approaches from the +north. It was at midnight, on the 7th of December, that Jackson set out +on this expedition. He had with him, for the occasion, a very strong +force, consisting of twelve hundred infantry and eight hundred cavalry. + +When they reached the fort, the army divided, passing on each side, and +again uniting beyond, as they approached the concealed encampment of +the enemy. While passing the fort, the friendly Indians clambered the +palisades, and shouted out joyously to the soldiers "How-de-do, +brother--how-de-do, brother?" + +The lines, meeting beyond the fort, formed for battle. No foe was +visible. Nearly a thousand warriors, some armed with arrows, but many +with rifles, were hidden, but a few rods before them, beneath the +curving bank, which was fringed with bushes. Major Russel, with a small +party, was sent cautiously forward to feel for the enemy, and to bring +on the battle. He was moving directly into the curve, where a +concentric fire would soon cut down every one of his men. + +The Indians in the fort perceived his danger, and shouted warning to +him. He did not understand their language. They made the most earnest +gestures. He did not comprehend their meaning. Two Indians then leaped +from the fort, and running toward him, seized his horse by the bridle. +They made him understand that more than a thousand warriors, with rifle +in hand and arrows on the string, were hidden, at but a short distance +before him, ready to assail him with a deadly fire. The account which +Crockett gives of the battle, though neither very graphic nor classic, +is worthy of insertion here, as illustrative of the intellectual and +moral traits of that singular man. + +"This brought them to a halt; and about this moment the Indians fired +upon 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 arses and took +into the fort. Their horses ran up to our line, which was then in view. +The warriors then came yelling on, meeting us, and continued till they +were within shot of us, when we fired and killed a considerable number +of them. They broke like a gang of steers, and ran across to the other +line. + +"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 bow 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." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +Indian Warfare. + +The Army at Fort Strother.--Crockett's Regiment.--Crockett at +Home.--His Reenlistment.--Jackson Surprised.--Military Ability of the +Indians.--Humiliation of the Creeks.--March to Florida.--Affairs at +Pensacola.--Capture of the City.--Characteristics of Crockett.--The +Weary March,--Inglorious Expedition.--Murder of Two +Indians.--Adventures at the Island.--The Continued March.--Severe +Sufferings.--Charge upon the Uninhabited Village. + + +The army, upon its return to Fort Strother, found itself still in a +starving condition. Though the expedition had been eminently successful +in the destruction of Indian warriors, it had consumed their +provisions, without affording them any additional supply. The weather +had become intensely cold. The clothing of the soldiers, from hard +usage, had become nearly worn out. The horses were also emaciate and +feeble. There was danger that many of the soldiers must perish from +destitution and hunger. + +The regiment to which Crockett belonged had enlisted for sixty days. +Their time had long since expired. The officers proposed to Jackson +that they and their soldiers might be permitted to return to their +homes, promising that they would immediately re-enlist after having +obtained fresh horses and fresh clothing. Andrew Jackson was by nature +one of the most unyielding of men. His will was law, and must be +obeyed, right or wrong. He was at that time one of the most profane of +men. He swore by all that was sacred that they should not go; that the +departure of so many of the men would endanger the possession of the +fort and the lives of the remaining soldiers. There were many of the +soldiers in the same condition, whose term of service had expired. They +felt that they were free and enlightened Americans, and resented the +idea of being thus enslaved and driven, like cattle, at the will of a +single man. Mutinous feelings were excited. The camp was filled with +clamor. The soldiers generally were in sympathy with those who demanded +their discharge, having faithfully served out the term of their +enlistment. Others felt that their own turn might come when they too +might be thus enslaved. + +There was a bridge which it was necessary for the soldiers to cross on +the homeward route. The inflexible General, supposing that the regulars +would be obedient to military discipline, and that it would be for +their interest to retain in the camp those whose departure would +endanger all their lives placed them upon the bridge, with cannon +loaded to the muzzle with grape-shot. They were ordered mercilessly to +shoot down any who should attempt to cross without his permission. In +Crockett's ludicrous account of this adventure, he writes: + +"The General refused to let us go. We were, however, determined to go. +With this, the General issued his orders against it. We began to fix +for a start. The General went and placed his cannon on a bridge we had +to cross, and ordered out his regulars and drafted men to prevent our +crossing. But when the militia started to guard the bridge, they would +holler back to us to bring their knapsacks along when we came; for they +wanted to go as bad as we did. We got ready, and moved on till we came +near the bridge, where the General's men were all strung along on both +sides. 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. + +"When we came still nearer the bridge we heard the guards cocking their +guns, and we did the same. But we marched boldly on, and not a gun was +fired, nor a life lost. When we had passed, no further attempt was made +to stop us. We went on, and near Huntsville we met a reinforcement who +were going on to join the army. It consisted of a regiment of sixty-day +volunteers. We got home pretty safely, and in a short time we had +procured fresh horses, and a supply of clothing better suited for the +season." + +The officers and soldiers ere long rendezvoused again at Fort Deposit. +Personally interested as every one was in subduing the Creeks, whose +hostility menaced every hamlet with flames and the inmates of those +hamlets with massacre, still the officers were so annoyed by the +arrogance of General Jackson that they were exceedingly unwilling to +serve again under his command. + +Just as they came together, a message came from General Jackson, +demanding that, on their return, they should engage to serve for six +months. He regarded enlistment merely for sixty days as absurd. With +such soldiers, he justly argued that no comprehensive campaign could be +entered upon. The officers held a meeting to decide upon this question. +In the morning, at drum-beat, they informed the soldiers of the +conclusion they had formed. Quite unanimously they decided that they +would not go back on a six-months term of service, but that each +soldier might do as he pleased. Crockett writes: + +"I know'd 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 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 Crockett reached Fort Strother he was placed in a company of +scouts under Major Russel. Just before they reached the fort, General +Jackson had set out on an expedition in a southeasterly direction, to +what was called Horseshoe Bend, on the Tallapoosa River. The party of +scouts soon overtook him and led the way. As they approached the spot +through the silent trails which threaded the wide solitudes, they came +upon many signs of Indians being around. The scouts gave the alarm, and +the main body of the army came up. The troops under Jackson amounted to +about one thousand men. It was the evening of January 23d, 1814. + +The camp-fires were built, supper prepared, and sentinels being +carefully stationed all around to prevent surprise, the soldiers, +protected from the wintry wind only by the gigantic forest, wrapped +themselves in their blankets and threw themselves down on the withered +leaves for sleep. The Indians crept noiselessly along from tree to +tree, each man searching for a sentinel, until about too hours before +day, when they opened a well-aimed fire from the impenetrable darkness +in which they stood. The sentinels retreated back to the encampment, +and the whole army was roused. + +The troops were encamped in the form of a hollow square, and thus were +necessarily between the Indians and the light of their own camp-fires. +Not a warrior was to be seen. The only guide the Americans had in +shooting, was to notice the flash of the enemy's guns. They fired at +the flash. But as every Indian stood behind a tree, it is not probable +that many, if any, were harmed. The Indians were very wary not to +expose themselves. They kept at a great distance, and were not very +successful in their fire. Though they wounded quite a number, only four +men were killed. With the dawn of the morning they all vanished. + +General Jackson did not wish to leave the corpses of the slain to be +dug up and scalped by the savages. He therefore erected a large funeral +pyre, placed the bodies upon it, and they were soon consumed to ashes. +Some litters were made of long and flexible poles, attached to two +horses, one at each end, and upon these the wounded were conveyed over +the rough and narrow way. The Indians, thus far, had manifestly been +the victors They had inflicted serious injury upon the Americans; and +there is no evidence that a single one of their warriors had received +the slightest harm. This was the great object of Indian strategy. In +the wars of civilization, a great general has ever been willing to +sacrifice the lives of ten thousand of his own troops if, by so doing, +he could kill twenty thousand of the enemy. But it was never so with +the Indians. They prized the lives of their warriors too highly. + +On their march the troops came to a wide creek, which it was necessary +to cross. Here the Indians again prepared for battle. They concealed +themselves so effectually as to elude all the vigilance of the scouts. +When about half the troops had crossed the stream, the almost invisible +Indians commenced their assault, opening a very rapid but scattering +fire. Occasionally a warrior was seen darting from one point to +another, to obtain better vantage-ground. + +Major Russel was in command of a small rear-guard. His soldiers soon +appeared running almost breathless to join the main body, pursued by a +large number of Indians. The savages had chosen the very best moment +for their attack. The artillery-men were in an open field surrounded by +the forest. The Indians, from behind stumps, logs, and trees, took +deliberate aim, and almost every bullet laid a soldier prostrate. Quite +a panic ensued. Two of the colonels, abandoning their regiments, rushed +across the creek to escape the deadly fire. There is no evidence that +the Indians were superior in numbers to the Americans. But it cannot be +denied that the Americans, though under the leadership of Andrew +Jackson, were again outgeneralled. General Jackson lost, in this short +conflict, in killed and wounded, nearly one hundred men. His +disorganized troops at length effected the passage of the creek, beyond +which the Indians did not pursue them. Crockett writes: + +"I will not say exactly that the old General was whipped. But I think +he would say himself that he was nearer whipped this time than any +other; for I know that all the world couldn't make him acknowledge that +he was pointedly whipped. I know I was mighty glad when it was over, +and the savages quit us, for I began to think there was one behind +every tree in the woods." + +Crockett, having served out his term, returned home. But he was +restless there. Having once experienced the excitements of the camp, +his wild, untrained nature could not repose in the quietude of domestic +life. The conflict between the United States and a small band of +Indians was very unequal. The loss of a single warrior was to the +Creeks irreparable. General Jackson was not a man to yield to +difficulties. On the 27th of March, 1814, he drove twelve hundred Creek +warriors into their fort at Tohopeka. They were then surrounded, so +that escape was impossible, and the fort was set on fire. The carnage +was awful. Almost every warrior perished by the bullet or in the +flames. The military power of the tribe was at an end. The remnant, +utterly dispirited, sued for peace. + +Quite a number of the Creek warriors fled to Florida, and joined the +hostile Indian tribes there. We were at this time involved in our +second war with Great Britain. The Government of our mother country was +doing everything in its power to rouse the savages against us. The +armies in Canada rallied most of the Northern tribes beneath their +banners. Florida, at that time, belonged to Spain. The Spanish +Government was nominally neutral in the conflict between England and +the United States. But the Spanish governor in Florida was in cordial +sympathy with the British officers. He lent them all the aid and +comfort in his power, carefully avoiding any positive violation of the +laws of neutrality. He extended very liberal hospitality to the refugee +Creek warriors, and in many ways facilitated their cooperation with the +English. + +A small British fleet entered the mouth of the Apalachicola River and +landed three hundred soldiers. Here they engaged vigorously in +constructing a fort, and in summoning all the surrounding Indian tribes +to join them in the invasion of the Southern States. General Jackson, +with a force of between one and two thousand men, was in Northern +Alabama, but a few days' march north of the Florida line. He wrote to +the Secretary of War, in substance, as follows: + +"The hostile Creeks have taken refuge in Florida. They are there fed, +clothed, and protected. The British have armed a large force with +munitions of war, and are fortifying and stirring up the savages. If +you will permit me to raise a few hundred militia, which can easily be +done, I will unite them with such a force of regulars as can easily be +collected, and will make a descent on Pensacola, and will reduce it. I +promise you I will bring the war in the South to a speedy termination; +and English influence with the savages, in this quarter, shall be +forever destroyed." + +The President was not prepared thus to provoke war with Spain, by the +invasion of Florida. Andrew Jackson assumed the responsibility. The +British had recently made an attack upon Mobile, and being repulsed, +had retired with their squadron to the harbor of Pensacola. Jackson +called for volunteers to march upon Pensacola. Crockett roused himself +at the summons, like the war-horse who snuffs the battle from afar. "I +wanted," he wrote, "a small taste of British fighting, and I supposed +they would be there." + +His wife again entered her tearful remonstrance. She pointed to her +little children, in their lonely hut far away in the wilderness, remote +from all neighborhood, and entreated the husband and the father not +again to abandon them. Rather unfeelingly he writes, "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." + +Many who have perused this sketch thus far, may inquire, with some +surprise, "What is it which has given this man such fame as is even +national? He certainly does not develop a very attractive character; +and there is but little of the romance of chivalry thrown around his +exploits. The secret is probably to be found in the following +considerations, the truth of which the continuation of this narrative +will be continually unfolding." + +Without education, without refinement, without wealth or social +position, or any special claims to personal beauty, he was entirely +self-possessed and at home under all circumstances. He never manifested +the slightest embarrassment. The idea seemed never to have entered his +mind that there could be any person superior to David Crockett, or any +one so humble that Crockett was entitled to look down upon him with +condescension. He was a genuine democrat. All were in his view equal. +And this was not the result of thought, of any political or moral +principle. It was a part of his nature, which belonged to him without +any volition, like his stature or complexion. This is one of the rarest +qualities to be found in any man. We do not here condemn it, or applaud +it. We simply state the fact. + +In the army he acquired boundless popularity from his fun-making +qualities. In these days he was always merry. Bursts of laughter +generally greeted Crockett's approach and followed his departure. He +was blessed with a memory which seemed absolutely never to have +forgotten anything. His mind was an inexhaustable store-house of +anecdote. These he had ever at command. Though they were not always, +indeed were seldom, of the most refined nature, they were none the less +adapted to raise shouts of merriment in cabin and camp. What Sydney +Smith was at the banqueting board in the palatial saloon, such was +David Crockett at the campfire and in the log hut. If ever in want of +an illustrative anecdote he found no difficulty in manufacturing one. + +His thoughtless kindness of heart and good nature were inexhaustible. +Those in want never appealed to him in vain. He would even go hungry +himself that he might feed others who were more hungry. He would, +without a moment's consideration, spend his last dollar to buy a +blanket for a shivering soldier, and, without taking any merit for the +deed, would never think of it again. He did it without reflection, as +he breathed. + +Such was the David Crockett who, from the mere love of adventure, left +wife and children, in the awful solitude of the wilderness, to follow +General Jackson in a march to Pensacola. He seems fully to have +understood the character of the General, his merits and his defects. +The main body of the army, consisting of a little more than two +thousand men, had already commenced its march, when Crockett repaired +to a rendezvous, in the northern frontiers of Alabama, where another +company was being formed, under Major Russel, soon to follow. The +company numbered one hundred and thirty men, and commenced its march. + +They forded the Tennessee River at Muscle Shoals, and marched south +unmolested, through the heart of the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, and +pressed rapidly forward two or three hundred miles, until they reached +the junction of the Tombeckbee and Alabama rivers, in the southern +section of the State. The main army was now but two days' march before +them. The troops, thus far, had been mounted, finding sufficient +grazing for their horses by the way. But learning that there was no +forage to be found between there and Pensacola, they left their animals +behind them, under a sufficient guard, at a place called Cut-off, and +set out for the rest of the march, a distance of about eighty miles, on +foot. The slight protective works they threw up here, they called Fort +Stoddart. + +These light troops, hardy men of iron nerves, accomplished the distance +in about two days. On the evening of the second day, they reached an +eminence but a short distance out from Pensacola, where they found the +army encamped. Not a little to Crockett's disappointment, he learned +that Pensacola was already captured. Thus he lost his chance of having +"a small taste of British fighting." + +The British and Spaniards had obtained intelligence of Jackson's +approach, and had made every preparation to drive him back. The forts +were strongly garrisoned, and all the principal streets of the little +Spanish city were barricaded. Several British war-vessels were anchored +in the bay, and so placed as to command with their guns the principal +entrance to the town. Jackson, who had invaded the Spanish province +unsanctioned by the Government, was anxious to impress upon the Spanish +authorities that the measure had been reluctantly adopted, on his own +authority, as a military necessity; that he had no disposition to +violate their neutral rights; but that it was indispensable that the +British should be dislodged and driven away. + +The pride of the Spaniard was roused, and there was no friendly +response to this appeal. But the Spanish garrison was small, and, +united with the English fleet, could present no effectual opposition to +the three thousand men under such a lion-hearted leader as General +Jackson. On the 7th of January the General opened fire upon the foe. +The conflict was short. The Spaniards were compelled to surrender their +works. The British fled to the ships. The guns were turned upon them. +They spread sail and disappeared. Jackson was severely censured, at the +time, for invading the territory of a neutral power. The final verdict +of his countrymen has been decidedly in his favor. + +It was supposed that the British would move for the attack of Mobile. +This place then consisted of a settlement of but about one hundred and +fifty houses. General Jackson, with about two thousand men, marched +rapidly for its defence. A few small, broken bands of hostile, yet +despairing Creeks, fled back from Florida into the wilds of Alabama. A +detachment of nearly a thousand men, under Major Russell, were sent in +pursuit of these fleas among the mountains. Crockett made part of this +expedition. The pursuing soldiers directed their steps northwest about +a hundred miles to Fort Montgomery, on the Alabama, just above its +confluence with the Tornbeckbee, about twelve miles above Fort +Stoddart. Not far from there was Fort Mimms, where the awful massacre +had taken place which opened the Creek war. + +There were many cattle grazing in the vicinity of the fort at the time +of the massacre, which belonged to the garrison. These animals were now +running wild. A thousand hungry men gave them chase. The fatal bullet +soon laid them all low, and there was great feasting and hilarity in +the camp. The carouse was much promoted by the arrival that evening of +a large barge, which had sailed up the Alabama River from Mobile, with +sugar, coffee, and,--best of all, as the soldiers said--worst of all, +as humanity cries,--with a large amount of intoxicating liquors. + +The scene presented that night was wild and picturesque in the extreme. +The horses of the army were scattered about over the plain grazing upon +the rich herbage. There was wood in abundance near, and the camp-fires +for a thousand men threw up their forked flames, illumining the whole +region with almost the light of day. The white tents of the officers, +the varied groups of the soldiers, running here and there, in all +possible attitudes, the cooking and feasting, often whole quarters of +beef roasting on enormous spits before the vast fires, afforded a +spectacle such as is rarely seen. + +One picture instantly arrested the eye of every beholder. There were +one hundred and eighty-six friendly Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians, who +had enlisted in the army. They formed a band by themselves under their +own chiefs. They were all nearly naked, gorgeously painted, and +decorated with the very brilliant attire of the warrior, with +crimson-colored plumes, and moccasins and leggins richly fringed, and +dyed in bright and strongly contrasting hues. These savages were in the +enjoyment of their greatest delight, drinking to frenzy, and performing +their most convulsive dances, around the flaming fires. + +In addition to this spectacle which met the eye, there were sounds of +revelry which fell almost appallingly upon the ear. The wide expanse +reverberated with bacchanal songs, and drunken shouts, and frenzied +war-whoops. These were all blended in an inextricable clamor. With the +unrefined eminently, and in a considerable degree with the most +refined, noise is one of the essential elements of festivity. A +thousand men were making all the noise they could in this midnight +revel. Probably never before, since the dawn of creation, had the banks +of the Alabama echoed with such a clamor as in this great carouse, +which had so suddenly burst forth from the silence of the almost +uninhabited wilderness. + +This is the poetry of war. This it is which lures so many from the +tameness of ordinary life to the ranks of the army. In such scenes, +Crockett, bursting with fun, the incarnation of wit and good nature, +was in his element. Here he was chief. All did him homage. His pride +was gratified by his distinction. Life in his lonely hut, with wife and +children, seemed, in comparison, too spiritless to be endured. + +The Alabama here runs nearly west. The army was on the south side of +the river. The next day the Indians asked permission to cross to the +northern bank on an exploring expedition. Consent was given; but Major +Russel decided to go with them, taking a company of sixteen men, of +whom Crockett was one. They crossed the river and encamped upon the +other side, seeing no foe and encountering no alarm. They soon came to +a spot where the winding river, overflowing its banks, spread over a +wide extent of the flat country. It was about a mile and a half across +this inundated meadow. To journey around it would require a march of +many miles. They waded the meadow. The water was very cold, often up to +their armpits, and they stumbled over the rough ground. This was not +the poetry of war. But still there is a certain degree of civilization +in which the monotony of life is relieved by such adventures. + +When they reached the other side they built large fires, and warmed and +dried themselves. They were in search of a few fugitive Indian +warriors, who, fleeing from Pensacola, had scattered themselves over a +wilderness many hundred square miles in extent. This pursuit of them, +by a thousand soldiers, seems now very foolish. But it is hardly safe +for us, seated by our quiet firesides, and with but a limited knowledge +of the circumstances, to pass judgment upon the measure. + +The exploring party consisted, as we have mentioned, of nearly two +hundred Indians, and sixteen white men. They advanced very cautiously. +Two scouts were kept some distance in the advance, two on the side +nearest the river, and five on their right. In this way they had moved +along about six miles, when the two spies in front came rushing +breathlessly back, with the tidings that they had discovered a camp of +Creek Indians. They halted for a few moments while all examined their +guns and their priming and prepared for battle. + +The Indians went through certain religious ceremonies, and getting out +their war-paint, colored their bodies anew. They then came to Major +Russell, and told him that, as he was to lead them in the battle, he +must be painted too. He humored them, and was painted in the most +approved style of an Indian warrior. The plan of battle was arranged to +strike the Indian camp by surprise, when they were utterly unprepared +for any resistance. The white men were cautiously to proceed in the +advance, and pour in a deadly fire to kill as many as possible. The +Indians were then, taking advantage of the panic, to rush in with +tomahawk and scalping-knife, and finish the scene according to their +style of battle, which spared neither women nor children. It is not +pleasant to record such a measure. They crept along, concealed by the +forest, and guided by the sound of pounding, till they caught sight of +the camp. A little to their chagrin they found that it consisted of two +peaceful wigwams, where there was a man, a woman, and several children. +The wigwams were also on an island of the river, which could not be +approached without boats. There could not be much glory won by an army +of two hundred men routing such a party and destroying their home. +There was also nothing to indicate that these Indians had even any +unfriendly feelings. The man and woman were employed in bruising what +was called brier root, which they had dug from the forest, for food. It +seems that this was the principal subsistence used by the Indians in +that vicinity. + +While the soldiers were deliberating what next to do, they heard a gun +fired in the direction of the scouts, at some distance on the right, +followed by a single shrill war-whoop. This satisfied them that if the +scouts had met with a foe, it was indeed war on a small scale. There +seemed no need for any special caution. They all broke and ran toward +the spot from which the sounds came. They soon met two of the spies, +who told the following not very creditable story, but one highly +characteristic of the times. + +As they were creeping along through the forest, they found two Indians, +who they said were Creeks, out hunting. As they were approaching each +other, it so happened that there was a dense cluster of bushes between +them, so that they were within a few feet of meeting before either +party was discovered. The two spies were Choctaws. They advanced +directly to the Indians, and addressed them in the most friendly +manner; stating that they had belonged to General Jackson's army, but +had escaped, and were on their way home. They shook hands, kindled a +fire, and sat down and smoked in apparent perfect cordiality. + +One of the Creeks had a gun. The other had only a bow and arrows. After +this friendly interview, they rose and took leave of each other, each +going in opposite directions. As soon as their backs were turned, and +they were but a few feet from each other, one of the Choctaws turned +around and shot the unsuspecting Creek who had the gun. He fell dead, +without a groan. The other Creek attempted to escape, while the other +Choctaw snapped his gun at him repeatedly, but it missed fire. They +then pursued him, overtook him, knocked him down with the butt of their +guns, and battered his head until he also was motionless in death. One +of the Choctaws, in his frenzied blows, broke the stock of his rifle. +They then fired off the gun of the Creek who was killed, and one of +them uttered the war-whoop which was heard by the rest of the party. + +These two savages drew their scalping-knives and cut off the heads of +both their victims. As the whole body came rushing up, they found the +gory corpses of the slain, with their dissevered heads near by. Each +Indian had a war-club. With these massive weapons each savage, in his +turn, gave the mutilated heads a severe blow. When they had all +performed this barbaric deed, Crockett, whose peculiar type of good +nature led him not only to desire to please the savages, but also to +know what would please them, seized a war-club, and, in his turn, smote +with all his strength the mangled, blood-stained heads. The Indians +were quite delighted. They gathered around him with very expressive +grunts of satisfaction, and patting him upon the back, exclaimed, "Good +warrior! Good warrior!" + +The Indians then scalped the heads, and, leaving the bodies unburied, +the whole party entered a trail which led to the river, near the point +where the two wigwams were standing. As they followed the narrow path +they came upon the vestiges of a cruel and bloody tragedy. The +mouldering corpses of a Spaniard, his wife, and four children lay +scattered around, all scalped. Our hero Crockett, who had so valiantly +smitten the dissevered heads of the two Creeks who had been so +treacherously murdered, confesses that the revolting spectacle of the +whites, scalped and half devoured, caused him to shudder. He writes: + +"I began to feel mighty ticklish along about this time; for I knowed if +there was no danger then, there had been, and I felt exactly like there +still was." + +The white soldiers, leading the Indians, continued their course until +they reached the river. Following it down, they came opposite the point +where the wigwams stood upon the island. The two Indian hunters who had +been killed had gone out from this peaceful little encampment. Several +Indian children were playing around, and the man and woman whom they +had before seen were still beating their roots. Another Indian woman +was also there seen. These peaceful families had no conception of the +disaster which had befallen their companions who were hunting in the +woods. Even if they had heard the report of the rifles, they could only +have supposed that it was from the guns of the hunters firing at game. + +The evening twilight was fading away. The whole party was concealed in +a dense canebrake which fringed the stream. Two of the Indians were +sent forward as a decoy--a shameful decoy--to lure into the hands of +two hundred warriors an unarmed man, two women, and eight or ten +children. The Indians picked out some of their best marksmen and hid +them behind trees and logs near the river. They were to shoot down the +Indians whom others should lure to cross the stream. + +The creek which separated the island from the mainland was deep, but +not so wide but that persons without much difficulty could make +themselves heard across it. Two of the Indians went down to the +river-side, and hailed those at the wigwams, asking them to send a +canoe across to take them over. An Indian woman came down to the bank +and informed them that the canoe was on their side, that two hunters +had crossed the creek that morning, and had not yet returned. These +were the two men who had been so inhumanly murdered. Immediate search +was made for the canoe, and it was found a little above the spot where +the men were hiding. It was a very large buoyant birch canoe, +constructed for the transportation of a numerous household, with all +their goods, and such game as they might take. + +This they loaded with warriors to the water's edge, and they began +vigorously to paddle over to the island. When the one solitary Indian +man there saw this formidable array approaching he fled into the woods. +The warriors landed, and captured the two women and the little +children, ten in number, and conveyed their prisoners, with the plunder +of the wigwams, back across the creek to their own encampment. This was +not a very brilliant achievement to be accomplished by an army of two +hundred warriors aided by a detachment of sixteen white men under Major +Russel. What finally became of these captives we know not. It is +gratifying to be informed by David Crockett that they did not kill +either the squaws or the pappooses. + +The company then marched through the silent wilderness, a distance of +about thirty miles east, to the Conecuh River. This stream, in its +picturesque windings through a region where even the Indian seldom +roved, flowed into the Scambia, the principal river which pours its +floods, swollen by many tributaries, into Pensacola Bay. It was several +miles above the point where the detachment struck the river that the +Indian encampment, to which the two murdered men had alluded, was +located. But the provisions of the party were exhausted. There was +scarcely any game to be found. Major Russel did not deem it prudent to +march to the attack of the encampment, until he had obtained a fresh +supply of provisions. The main body of the army, which had remained in +Florida, moving slowly about, without any very definite object, waiting +for something to turn up was then upon the banks of the Scambia. +Colonel Blue was in command. + +David Crockett was ordered to take a light birch canoe, and two men, +one a friendly Creek Indian, and paddle down the stream about twenty +miles to the main camp. Here he was to inform Colonel Blue of Major +Russel's intention to ascend the Conecuh to attack the Creeks, and to +request the Colonel immediately to dispatch some boats up the river +with the needful supplies. + +It was a romantic adventure descending in the darkness that wild and +lonely stream, winding through the dense forest of wonderful exuberance +of vegetation. In the early evening he set out. The night proved very +dark. The river, swollen by recent rains, overflowed its banks and +spread far and wide over the low bottoms. The river was extremely +crooked, and it was with great difficulty that they could keep the +channel. But the instinct of the Indian guide led them safely along, +through overhanging boughs and forest glooms, until, a little before +midnight, they reached the camp. There was no time to be lost. Major +Russel was anxious to have the supplies that very night dispatched to +him, lest the Indians should hear of their danger and should escape. + +But Colonel Blue did not approve of the expedition. There was no +evidence that the Indian encampment consisted of anything more than +half a dozen wigwams, where a few inoffensive savages, with their wives +and children, were eking out a half-starved existence by hunting, +fishing, and digging up roots from the forest. It did not seem wise to +send an army of two hundred and sixteen men to carry desolation and woe +to such humble homes. Crockett was ordered to return with this message +to the Major. Military discipline, then and there, was not very rigid. +He hired another man to carry back the unwelcome answer in his place. +In the light canoe the three men rapidly ascended the sluggish stream. +Just as the sun was rising over the forest, they reached the camp of +Major Russell. The detachment then immediately commenced its march down +the River Scambia, and joined the main body at a point called Miller's +Landing. Here learning that some fugitive Indians were on the eastern +side of the stream, a mounted party was sent across, swimming their +horses, and several Indians were hunted down and shot. + +Soon after this, the whole party, numbering nearly twelve hundred in +all, commenced a toilsome march of about two or three hundred miles +across the State to the Chattahoochee River, which constitutes the +boundary-line between Southern Alabama and Georgia. Their route led +through pathless wilds. No provisions, of any importance, could be +found by the way. They therefore took with them rations for +twenty-eight days. But their progress was far more slow and toilsome +than they had anticipated. Dense forests were to be threaded, where it +was necessary for them to cut their way through almost tropical +entanglement of vegetation. Deep and broad marshes were to be waded, +where the horses sank almost to their saddle-girths. There were rivers +to be crossed, which could only be forded by ascending the banks +through weary leagues of wilderness. + +Thus, when twenty-eight days had passed, and their provisions were +nearly expended, though they had for some time been put on short +allowance, they found that they had accomplished but three-quarters of +their journey. Actual starvation threatened them. But twice in nineteen +days did Crockett Taste of any bread. Despondency spread its gloom over +the half-famished army. Still they toiled along, almost hopeless, with +tottering footsteps. War may have its excitements and its charms. But +such a march as this, of woe-begone, emaciate, skeleton bands, is not +to be counted as among war's pomps and glories. + +One evening, in the deepening twilight, when they had been out +thirty-four days, the Indian scouts, ever sent in advance, came into +camp with the announcement, that at the distance of but a few hours' +march before them, the Chattahoochee River was to be found, with a +large Indian village upon its banks. We know not what reason there was +to suppose that the Indians inhabiting this remote village were +hostile. But as the American officers decided immediately upon +attacking them, we ought to suppose that they, on the ground, had +sufficient reason to justify this course. + +The army was immediately put in motion. The rifles were loaded and +primed, and the flints carefully examined, that they might not fall +into ambush unprepared. The sun was just rising as they cautiously +approached the doomed village. There was a smooth green meadow a few +rods in width on the western bank of the river, skirted by the +boundless forest. The Indian wigwams and lodges, of varied structure, +were clustered together on this treeless, grassy plain, in much +picturesque beauty. The Indians had apparently not been apprised of the +approach of the terrible tempest of war about to descend upon them. +Apparently, at that early hour, they were soundly asleep. Not a man, +woman, or child was to be seen. + +Silently, screened by thick woods, the army formed in line of battle. +The two hundred Indian warriors, rifle in hand and tomahawk at belt, +stealthily took their position. The white men took theirs. At a given +signal, the war-whoop burst from the lips of the savages, and the wild +halloo of the backwoodsmen reverberated through the forest, as both +parties rushed forward in the impetuous charge. "We were all so +furious," writes Crockett, "that even the certainty of a pretty hard +fight could not have restrained us." + +But to the intense mortification of these valiant men, not a single +living being was to be found as food for bullet or tomahawk. The huts +were all deserted, and despoiled of every article of any value. There +was not a skin, or an unpicked bone, or a kernel of corn left behind. +The Indians had watched the march of the foe, and, with their wives and +little ones, had retired to regions where the famishing army could not +follow them. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +The Camp and the Cabin. + +Deplorable Condition of the Army.--Its wanderings.--Crockett's +Benevolence.--Cruel Treatment of the Indians.--A Gleam of Good +Luck.--The Joyful Feast.--Crockett's Trade with the Indian.--Visit to +the Old Battlefield.--Bold Adventure of Crockett.--His Arrival +Home.--Death of his Wife.--Second Marriage.--Restlessness.--Exploring +Tour.--Wild Adventures.--Dangerous Sickness.--Removal to the West.--His +New Home. + + +The army, far away in the wilds of Southern Alabama, on the banks of +the almost unknown Chattahoochee, without provisions, and with leagues +of unexplored wilderness around, found itself in truly a deplorable +condition. The soldiers had hoped to find, in the Indian village, +stores of beans and corn, and quantities of preserved game. In the +impotence of their disappointment they applied the torch, and laid the +little village in ashes. + +A council was held, and it was deemed best to divide their forces. +Major Childs took one-half of the army and retraced their steps +westward, directing their course toward Baton Rouge, where they hoped +to find General Jackson with a portion of the army with which he was +returning from New Orleans. The other division, under Major Russel, +pressed forward, as rapidly as possible, nearly north, aiming for Fort +Decatur, on the Tallapoosa River, where they expected to find shelter +and provisions. Crockett accompanied Major Russel's party. Indian +sagacity was now in great requisition. The friendly savages led the way +through scenes of difficulty and entanglement where, but for their aid, +the troops might all have perished. So great was the destitution of +food that the soldiers were permitted to stray, almost at pleasure, on +either side of the line of march. Happy was the man who could shoot a +raccoon or a squirrel, or even the smallest bird. Implicit confidence +was placed in the guidance of the friendly Indians, and the army +followed in single file, along the narrow trail which the Indians trod +before them. + +Crockett, in this march, had acquired so much the confidence of the +officers that he seems to have enjoyed quite unlimited license. He went +where he pleased and did what he would. Almost invariably at night, +keeping pace with the army, he would bring in some small game, a bird +or a squirrel, and frequently several of these puny animals. It was a +rule, when night came, for all the hunters to throw down what they had +killed in one pile. This was then divided among the messes as equitably +as possible. + +One night, Crockett returned empty-handed. He had killed nothing, and +he was very hungry. But there was a sick man in his mess, who was +suffering far more than he. Crockett, with his invariable unselfishness +and generosity, forgot his own hunger in his solicitude for his sick +comrade. He went to the fire of Captain Cowen, who was commandant of +the company to which Crockett belonged, and told him his story. Captain +Cowen was broiling, for his supper, the gizzard of a turkey. He told +Crockett that the turkey was all that had fallen to the share of his +company that night, and that the bird had already been divided, in very +small fragments, among the sick. There was nothing left for Crockett's +friend. + +On this march the army was divided into messes of eight or ten men, who +cooked and ate their food together. This led Crockett to decide that he +and his mess would separate themselves from the rest of the army, and +make a small and independent band. The Indian scouts, well armed and +very wary, took the lead. They kept several miles in advance of the +main body of the troops, that they might give timely warning should +they encounter any danger. Crockett and his mess kept close after them, +following their trail, and leaving the army one or two miles behind. + +One day the scouts came across nine Indians. We are not informed +whether they were friends or enemies, whether they were hunters or +warriors, whether they were men, women, or children, whether they were +in their wigwams or wandering through the forest, whether they were all +together or were found separately: we are simply told that they were +all shot down. The circumstances of the case are such, that the +probabilities are very strong that they were shot as a wolf or a bear +would be shot, at sight, without asking any questions. The next day the +scouts found a frail encampment where there were three Indians. They +shot them all. + +The sufferings of the army, as it toiled along through these vast +realms of unknown rivers and forest glooms, and marshes and +wide-spread, flower-bespangled prairies, became more and more severe. +Game was very scarce. For three days, Crockett's party killed barely +enough to sustain life. He writes: + +"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 knowed we +couldn't go much farther without it." + +While in this condition they came upon one of those wide and beautiful +prairies which frequently embellish the landscape of the South and the +West This plain was about six miles in width, smooth as a floor, and +waving with tall grass and the most brilliantly colored flowers. It was +bordered with a forest of luxuriant growth, but not a tree dotted its +surface. They came upon a trail leading through the tall, thick grass. +Crockett's practised eye saw at once that it was not a trail made by +human foot-steps, but the narrow path along which deer strolled and +turkeys hobbled in their movement across the field from forest to +forest. + +Following this trail, they soon came to a creek of sluggish water. The +lowlands on each side were waving with a rank growth of wild rye, +presenting a very green and beautiful aspect. The men were all mounted, +as indeed was nearly the whole army. By grazing and browsing, the +horses, as they moved slowly along at a foot-pace, kept in comfortable +flesh. This rye-field presented the most admirable pasturage for the +horses. Crockett and his comrades dismounted, and turned the animals +loose. There was no danger of their straying far in so fat a field. + +Crockett and another man, Vanzant by name, leaving the horses to feed, +pushed across the plain to the forest, in search of some food for +themselves They wandered for some time, and found nothing. At length, +Crockett espied a squirrel on the limb of a tall tree. He shot at the +animal and wounded it but it succeeded in creeping into a small hole in +the tree, thirty feet from the ground. There was not a limb for that +distance to aid in climbing. Still the wants of the party were such +that Crockett climbed the tree to get the squirrel, and felt that he +had gained quite a treasure. + +"I shouldn't relate such small matters," he writes, "only to show what +lengths a hungry man will go to, to get something to eat." + +Soon after, he killed two more squirrels. Just as he was reloading his +gun, a large flock of fat turkeys rose from the marshy banks of the +creek along which they were wandering, and flying but a short distance, +relighted. Vanzant crept forward, and aiming at a large gobbler, fired, +and brought him down. The flock immediately flew back to near the spot +where Crockett stood. He levelled his rifle, took deliberate aim, and +another fine turkey fell. The flock then disappeared. + +The two hunters made the forest resound with shouts of triumph. They +had two large, fat turkeys, which would be looked at wistfully upon any +gourmand's table, and for side-dishes they had three squirrels. Thus +they were prepared for truly a thanksgiving feast. Hastily they +returned with their treasure, when they learned that the others of +their party had found a bee-tree, that is, a tree where a swarm of bees +had taken lodgment, and were laying in their winter stores. They cut +down the tree with their hatchets, and obtained an ample supply of wild +honey. They all felt that they had indeed fallen upon a vein of good +luck. + +It was but a short distance from the creek to the gigantic forest, +rising sublimely in its luxuriance, with scarcely an encumbering shrub +of undergrowth. They entered the edge of the forest, built a hot fire, +roasted their game, and, while their horses were enjoying the richest +of pasturage, they, with their keen appetites, enjoyed a more delicious +feast than far-famed Delmonico ever provided for his epicurean guests. + +The happy party, rejoicing in the present, and taking no thought for +the morrow, spent the night in this camp of feasting. The next morning +they were reluctant to leave such an inviting hunting-ground. Crockett +and Vanzant again took to their rifles, and strolled into the forest in +search of game. Soon they came across a fine buck, which seemed to have +tarried behind to watch the foe, while the rest of the herd, of which +he was protector, had taken to flight. The beautiful creature, with +erect head and spreading antlers, gallantly stopping to investigate the +danger to which his family was exposed, would have moved the sympathies +of any one but a professed hunter. Crockett's bullet struck him, +wounded him severely, and he limped away. Hotly the two hunters +pursued. They came to a large tree which had been blown down, and was +partly decayed. An immense grizzly bear crept growling from the hollow +of this tree, and plunged into the forest. It was in vain to pursue +him, without dogs to retard his flight. They however soon overtook the +wounded buck, and shot him. With this treasure of venison upon their +shoulders, they had but just returned to their camp when the main body +of the army came up. The game which Crockett had taken, and upon which +they had feasted so abundantly, if divided among twelve hundred men, +would not have afforded a mouthful apiece. + +The army was in the most deplorable condition of weakness and hunger. +Ere long they reached the Coosa, and followed up its eastern bank. +About twenty miles above the spot where they struck the river there was +a small military post, called Fort Decatur. They hoped to find some +food there. And yet, in that remote, almost inaccessible station, they +could hardly expect to meet with anything like a supply for twelve +hundred half-famished men. + +Upon reaching the river, Crockett took a canoe and paddled across. On +the other shore he found an Indian. Instead of shooting him, he much +more sensibly entered into relations of friendly trade with the savage. +The Indian had a little household in his solitary wigwam, and a small +quantity of corn in store. Crockett wore a large hat. Taking it from +his head, he offered the Indian a silver dollar if he would fill it +with corn. But the little bit of silver, with enigmatical characters +stamped upon it, was worth nothing to the Indian. He declined the +offer. Speaking a little broken English, he inquired, "You got any +powder? You got any bullets?" Crockett told him he had. He promptly +replied, "Me will swap my corn for powder and bullets." + +Eagerly the man gave a hatful of corn for ten bullets and ten charges +of powder. He then offered another hatful at the same price. Crockett +took off his hunting-shirt, tied it up so as to make a sort of bag, +into which he poured his two hatfuls of corn. With this great treasure +he joyfully paddled across the stream to rejoin his companions. It is +pleasant to think that the poor Indian was not shot, that his wigwam +was not burned over his head, and that he was left with means to +provide his wife and children with many luxurious meals. + +The army reached Fort Decatur. One single meal consumed all the +provisions which the garrison could by any possibility spare. They had +now entered upon a rough, hilly, broken country. The horses found but +little food, and began to give out. About fifty miles farther up the +Coosa River there was another military station, in the lonely wilds, +called Fort William. Still starving, and with tottering horses, they +toiled on. Parched corn, and but a scanty supply of that, was now +almost their only subsistence. + +They reached the fort. One ration of pork and one ration of flour were +mercifully given them. It was all which could be spared. To remain +where they were was certain starvation. Forty miles above them on the +same stream was Fort Strother. Sadly they toiled along. The skeleton +horses dropped beneath their riders, and were left, saddled and +bridled, for the vultures and the wolves. On their route to Fort +Strother they passed directly by the ancient Indian fort of Talladega. +It will be remembered that a terrible battle had been fought here by +General Jackson with the Indians, on the 7th of December, 1813. In the +carnage of that bloody day nearly five hundred Indians fell. Those who +escaped scattered far and wide. A few of them sought refuge in distant +Florida. + +The bodies of the slain were left unburied. Slowly the flesh +disappeared from the bones, either devoured by wild beasts or +decomposed by the action of the atmosphere. The field, as now visited, +presented an appalling aspect. Crockett writes: + +"We went through the old battle-ground, and it looked like a great +gourd-patch. The skulls of the Indians who were killed, still lay +scattered all about. Many of their frames were still perfect, as their +bones had not separated." + +As they were thus despairingly tottering along, they came across a +narrow Indian trail, with fresh footmarks, indicating that moccasined +Indians had recently passed along. It shows how little they had cause +to fear from the Indians, that Crockett, entirely alone, should have +followed that trail, trusting that it would lead him to some Indian +village, where he could hope to buy some more corn. He was not deceived +in his expectation. After threading the narrow and winding path about +five miles, he came to a cluster of Indian wigwams. Boldly he entered +the little village, without apparently the slightest apprehension that +he should meet with any unfriendly reception. + +He was entirely at the mercy of the savages Even if he were murdered, +it would never be known by whom. And if it were known, the starving +army, miles away, pressing along in its flight, was in no condition to +send a detachment to endeavor to avenge the deed. The savages received +him as though he had been one of their own kith and kin, and readily +exchanged corn with him, for powder and bullets. He then returned, but +did not overtake the rest of the army until late in the night. + +The next morning they were so fortunate as to encounter a detachment of +United States troops on the march to Mobile. These troops, having just +commenced their journey, were well supplied; and they liberally +distributed their corn and provisions. Here Crockett found his youngest +brother, who had enlisted for the campaign. There were also in the band +many others of his old friends and neighbors. The succeeding day, the +weary troops, much refreshed, reached a point on the River Coosa +opposite Fort Strother, and crossing the stream, found there shelter +and plenty of provisions. + +We know not, and do not care to know, who was responsible for this +military movement, which seems to us now as senseless as it was cruel +and disastrous. But it is thus that poor humanity has ever gone +blundering on, displaying but little wisdom in its affairs. Here +Crockett had permission to visit his home, though he still owed the +country a month of service. In his exceeding rude, unpolished style +which pictures the man, he writes: + +"Once more I was safely landed at home with my wife and children. 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 in the +backwood country as any people in the whole creation. + +"But I had been home only a few days, when we received orders to start +again, and go on to the Black Warrior and Cahaula rivers, to see if +there were no Indians 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. 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 I am +glad, I just mean that I am glad that I am alive, for there is a +confounded heap of things I ain't glad of at all." + +When Crockett wrote the above he was a member of Congress, and a very +earnest politician. He was much opposed to the measure of President +Jackson in removing the deposits from the United States Bank--a +movement which greatly agitated the whole country at that time. In +speaking of things of which he was not glad, he writes: + +"I ain't glad, for example, that the Government moved the deposits; and +if my military glory should take such a turn as to make me President +after the General's time, I will 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." + +The hardships of war had blighted Crockett's enthusiasm for wild +adventures, and had very considerably sobered him. He remained at home +for two years, diligently at work upon his farm. The battle of New +Orleans was fought. The war with England closed, and peace was made +with the poor Indians, who, by British intrigue, had been goaded to the +disastrous fight. Death came to the cabin of Crockett; and his faithful +wife, the tender mother of his children, was taken from him. We cannot +refrain from quoting his own account of this event as it does much +honor to his heart. + +"In this time I met with the hardest trial which ever falls to the lot +of man. Death, that cruel leveller of all distinctions, to whom the +prayers and tears of husbands, and even of helpless infancy, are +addressed in vain, entered my humble cottage, and tore from my children +an affectionate, good mother, and from me a tender 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 upon it, it seems but +as the work of yesterday. + +"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 even yet +is the remembrance of her sufferings, and the loss sustained by my +little children and myself, yet I have no wish 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 married, 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, in 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 +that it wouldn't do, but that I must have another wife." + +One sees strikingly, in the above quotation, the softening effect of +affliction on the human heart There was a widow in the neighborhood, a +very worthy woman, who had lost her husband in the war. She had two +children, a son and a daughter, both quite young. She owned a snug +little farm, and being a very capable woman, was getting along quite +comfortably. Crockett decided that he should make a good step-father to +her children, and she a good step-mother for his. The courtship was in +accordance with the most approved style of country love-making. It +proved to be a congenial marriage. The two families came very +harmoniously together, and in their lowly hut enjoyed peace and +contentment such as frequently is not found in more ambitious homes. + +But the wandering propensity was inherent in the very nature of +Crockett. He soon tired of the monotony of a farmer's life, and longed +for change. A few months after his marriage he set out, with three of +his neighbors, all well mounted, on an exploring tour into Central +Alabama, hoping to find new homes there. Taking a southerly course, +they crossed the Tennessee River, and striking the upper waters of the +Black Warrior, followed down that stream a distance of about two +hundred miles from their starting-point, till they came near to the +place where Tuscaloosa, the capital of the State, now stands. + +This region was then almost an unbroken wilderness. But during the war +Crockett had frequently traversed it, and was familiar with its general +character. On the route they came to the hut of a man who was a comrade +of Crockett in the Florida campaign. They spent a day with the retired +soldier, and all went out in the woods together to hunt. Frazier +unfortunately stepped upon a venomous snake, partially covered with +leaves. The reptile struck its deadly fangs into his leg. The effect +was instantaneous and awful. They carried the wounded man, with his +bloated and throbbing limb, back to the hut. Here such remedies were +applied as backwoods medical science suggested; but it was evident that +many weeks would elapse ere the man could move, even should he +eventually recover. Sadly they were constrained to leave their +suffering companion there. What became of him is not recorded. + +The three others, Crockett, Robinson, and Rich, continued their +journey. Their route led them through a very fertile and beautiful +region, called Jones's Valley. Several emigrants had penetrated and +reared their log huts upon its rich and blooming meadows. + +When they reached the spot where the capital of the State now stands, +with its spacious streets, its public edifices, its halls of learning, +its churches, and its refined and cultivated society, they found only +the silence, solitude, and gloom of the wilderness. With their hatchets +they constructed a rude camp to shelter them from the night air and the +heavy dew. It was open in front. Here they built their camp-fire, whose +cheerful glow illumined the forest far and wide, and which converted +midnight glooms into almost midday radiance. The horses were hobbled +and turned out to graze on a luxuriant meadow. It was supposed that the +animals, weary of the day's journey, and finding abundant pasturage, +would not stray far. The travellers cooked their supper, and throwing +themselves upon their couch of leaves, enjoyed that sound sleep which +fatigue, health, and comfort give. + +When they awoke in the morning the horses were all gone. By examining +the trail it seemed that they had taken the back-track in search of +their homes. Crockett, who was the most vigorous and athletic of the +three, leaving Robinson and Rich in the camp, set out in pursuit of the +runaways. It was a rough and dreary path he had to tread. There was no +comfortable road to traverse, but a mere path through forest, bog, and +ravine, which, at times, it was difficult to discern. He had hills to +climb, creeks to ford, swamps to wade through. Hour after hour he +pressed on, but the horses could walk faster than he could. There was +nothing in their foot-prints which indicated that he was approaching +any nearer to them. + +At last, when night came, and Crockett judged that he had walked fifty +miles, he gave up the chase as hopeless. Fortunately he reached the +cabin of a settler, where he remained until morning. A rapid walk, +almost a run, of fifty miles in one day, is a very severe operation +even for the most hardy of men. When Crockett awoke, after his night's +sleep, he found himself so lame that he could scarcely move. He was, +however, anxious to get back with his discouraging report to his +companions. He therefore set out, and hobbled slowly and painfully +along, hoping that exercise would gradually loosen his stiffened joints. + +But, mile after mile, he grew worse rather than better. His head began +to ache very severely. A burning fever spread through his veins. He +tottered in his walk, and his rifle seemed so heavy that he could +scarcely bear its weight. He was toiling through a dark and gloomy +ravine, damp and cold, and thrown into shade by the thick foliage of +the overhanging trees. So far as he knew, no human habitation was near. +Night was approaching. He could go no farther. He had no food; but he +did not need any, for a deathly nausea oppressed him. Utterly +exhausted, he threw himself down upon the grass and withered leaves, on +a small dry mound formed by the roots of a large tree. + +Crockett had no wish to die. He clung very tenaciously to life, and yet +he was very apprehensive that then and there he was to linger through a +few hours of pain, and then die, leaving his unburied body to be +devoured by wild beasts, and his friends probably forever ignorant of +his fate. Consumed by fever, and agitated by these painful thoughts, he +remained for an hour or two, when he heard the sound of approaching +footsteps and of human voices. His sensibilities were so stupefied by +his sickness that these sounds excited but little emotion. + +Soon three or four Indians made their appearance walking along the +narrow trail in single file. They saw the prostrate form of the poor, +sick white man, and immediately gathered around him. The rifle of +Crockett, and the powder and bullets which he had, were, to these +Indians, articles of almost inestimable value. One blow of the tomahawk +would send the helpless man to realms where rifles and ammunition were +no longer needed, and his priceless treasures would fall into their +hands. Indeed, it was not necessary even to strike that blow. They had +but to pick up the rifle, and unbuckle the belt which contained the +powder-horn and bullet-pouch, and leave the dying man to his fate. + +But these savages, who had never read our Saviour's beautiful parable +of the good Samaritan, acted the Samaritan's part to the white man whom +they found in utter helplessness and destitution. They kneeled around +him, trying to minister to his wants. One of them had a watermelon. He +cut from it a slice of the rich and juicy fruit, and entreated him to +eat it. But his stomach rejected even that delicate food. + +They then, by very expressive signs, told him that if he did not take +some nourishment he would die and be buried there--"a thing," Crockett +writes, "I was confoundedly afraid of, myself." Crockett inquired how +far it was to any house. They signified to him, by signs, that there +was a white man's cabin about a mile and a half from where they then +were, and urged him to let them conduct him to that house. He rose to +make the attempt. But he was so weak that he could with difficulty +stand, and unsupported could not walk a step. + +One of these kind Indians offered to go with him; and relieving +Crockett of the burden of his rifle, and with his strong arm supporting +and half carrying him, at length succeeded in getting him to the log +hut of the pioneer. The shades of night were falling. The sick man was +so far gone that it seemed to him that he could scarcely move another +step. A woman came to the door of the lowly hut and received them with +a woman's sympathy. There was a cheerful fire blazing in one corner, +giving quite a pleasing aspect to the room. In another corner there was +a rude bed, with bed-clothing of the skins of animals. Crockett's +benefactor laid him tenderly upon the bed, and leaving him in the +charge of his countrywoman, bade him adieu, and hastened away to +overtake his companions. + +What a different world would this be from what it has been, did the +spirit of kindness, manifested by this poor Indian, universally animate +human hearts! + +"O brother man! fold to thy heart thy brother: Where pity dwells the +peace of God is there; To worship rightly is to love each other, Each +smile a hymn, each kindly word a prayer." + +The woman's husband was, at the time, absent. But she carefully nursed +her patient, preparing for him some soothing herb-tea. Delirium came, +and for several hours, Crockett, in a state of unconsciousness, dwelt +in the land of troubled dreams. The next morning he was a little more +comfortable, but still in a high fever, and often delirious. + +It so happened that two white men, on an exploring tour, as they passed +along the trail, met the Indians, who informed them that one of their +sick countrymen was at a settler's cabin at but a few miles' distance. +With humanity characteristic of a new and sparsely settled country they +turned aside to visit him. They proved to be old acquaintances of +Crockett. He was so very anxious to get back to the camp where he had +left his companions, and who, knowing nothing of his fate, must think +it very strange that he had thus deserted them, that they, very +reluctantly, in view of his dangerous condition, consented to help him +on his way. + +They made as comfortable a seat as they could, of blankets and skins, +which they buckled on the neck of one of the horses just before the +saddle. Upon this Crockett was seated. One of the men then mounted the +saddle behind him, threw both arms around the patient, and thus they +commenced their journey. The sagacious horse was left to pick out his +own way along the narrow trail at a slow foot-pace. As the horse thus +bore a double burden, after journeying an hour or two, Crockett's seat +was changed to the other horse. Thus alternating, the painful journey +of nearly fifty miles was accomplished in about two days. + +When they reached the camp, Crockett, as was to have been expected, was +in a far worse condition than when they commenced the journey. It was +evident that he was to pass through a long run of fever, and that his +recovery was very doubtful. His companions could not thus be delayed. +They had already left Frazier, one of their company, perhaps to die of +the bite of a venomous snake; and now they were constrained to leave +Crockett, perhaps to die of malarial fever. + +They ascertained that, at the distance of a few miles from them, there +was another log cabin in the wilderness. They succeeded in purchasing a +couple of horses, and in transporting the sick man to this humble house +of refuge. Here Crockett was left to await the result of his sickness, +unaided by any medical skill. Fortunately he fell into the hands of a +family who treated him with the utmost kindness. For a fortnight he was +in delirium, and knew nothing of what was transpiring around him. + +Crockett was a very amiable man. Even the delirium of disease developed +itself in kindly words and grateful feelings. He always won the love of +those around him. He did not miss delicacies and luxuries of which he +had never known anything. Coarse as he was when measured by the +standard of a higher civilization, he was not coarse at all in the +estimation of the society in the midst of which he moved. In this +humble cabin of Jesse Jones, with all its aspect of penury, Crockett +was nursed with brotherly and sisterly kindness, and had every +alleviation in his sickness which his nature craved. + +The visitor to Versailles is shown the magnificent apartment, and the +regal couch, with its gorgeous hangings, upon which Louis XIV., the +proudest and most pampered man on earth, languished and died. Crockett, +on his pallet in the log cabin, with unglazed window and earthern +floor, was a far less unhappy man, than the dying monarch surrounded +with regal splendors. + +At the end of a fortnight the patient began slowly to mend. His +emaciation was extreme, and his recovery very gradual. After a few +weeks he was able to travel. He was then on a route where wagons passed +over a rough road, teaming the articles needed in a new country. +Crockett hired a wagoner to give him a seat in his wagon and to convey +him to the wagoner's house, which was about twenty miles distant. +Gaining strength by the way, when he arrived there he hired a horse of +the wagoner, and set out for home. + +Great was the astonishment of his family upon his arrival, for they had +given him up as dead. The neighbors who set out on this journey with +him had returned and so reported; for they had been misinformed. They +told Mrs. Crockett that they had seen those who were with him when he +died, and had assisted in burying him. + +Still the love of change had not been dispelled from the bosom of +Crockett. He did not like the place where he resided. After spending a +few months at home, he set out, in the autumn, upon another exploring +tour. Our National Government had recently purchased, of the Chickasaw +Indians, a large extent of territory in Southern Tennessee. Crockett +thought that in those new lands he would find the earthly paradise of +which he was in search. The region was unsurveyed, a savage wilderness, +and there were no recognized laws and no organized government there. + +Crockett mounted his horse, lashed his rifle to his back, filled his +powder-horn and bullet-pouch, and journeying westward nearly a hundred +miles, through pathless wilds whose solitudes had a peculiar charm for +him, came to a romantic spot, called Shoal Creek, in what is now Giles +County, in the extreme southern part of Tennessee. He found other +adventurers pressing into the new country, where land was abundant and +fertile, and could be had almost for nothing. + +Log cabins were rising in all directions, in what they deemed quite +near neighborhood, for they were not separated more than a mile or two +from each other. Crockett, having selected his location on the banks of +a crystal stream, summoned, as was the custom, some neighbors to his +aid, and speedily constructed the cabin, of one apartment, to shield +his family from the wind and the rain. Moving with such a family is not +a very arduous undertaking. One or two pack-horses convey all the +household utensils. There are no mirrors, bedsteads, bureaus, or chairs +to be transported. With an auger and a hatchet, these articles are soon +constructed in their new home. The wife, with the youngest child, +rides. The husband, with his rifle upon his shoulder, and followed by +the rest of the children, trudges along on foot. + +Should night or storm overtake them, an hour's work would throw up a +camp, with a cheerful fire in front, affording them about the same +cohorts which they enjoyed in the home they had left. A little meal, +baked in the ashes, supplied them with bread. And during the journey of +the day the rifle of the father would be pretty sure to pick up some +game to add to the evening repast. + +Crockett and his family reached their new home in safety. Here quite a +new sphere of life opened before the adventurer, and he became so +firmly settled that he remained in that location for three years. In +the mean time, pioneers from all parts were rapidly rearing their +cabins upon the fertile territory, which was then called The New +Purchase. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +The Justice of Peace and the Legislator. + +Vagabondage.--Measures of Protection.--Measures of +Government.--Crockett's Confession.--A Candidate for Military +Honors.--Curious Display of Moral Courage.--The Squirrel Hunt.--A +Candidate for the Legislature.--Characteristic +Electioneering.--Specimens of his Eloquence.--Great Pecuniary +Calamity.--Expedition to the Far West.--Wild Adventures.--The Midnight +Carouse.--A Cabin Reared. + + +The wealthy and the prosperous are not disposed to leave the comforts +of a high civilization for the hardships of the wilderness. Most of the +pioneers who crowded to the New Purchase were either energetic young +men who had their fortunes to make, or families who by misfortune had +encountered impoverishment. But there was still another class. There +were the vile, the unprincipled, the desperate; vagabonds seeking whom +they might devour; criminals escaping the penalty of the laws which +they had violated. + +These were the men who shot down an Indian at sight, as they would +shoot a wolf; merely for the fun of it; who robbed the Indian of his +gun and game, burned his wigwam, and atrociously insulted his wife and +daughters. These were the men whom no law could restrain; who brought +disgrace upon the name of a white man, and who often provoked the +ignorant savage to the most dreadful and indiscriminate retaliation. + +So many of these infamous men flocked to this New Purchase that life +there became quite undesirable. There were no legally appointed +officers of justice, no organized laws. Every man did what was pleasing +in his own sight. There was no collecting of debts, no redress for +violence, no punishment for cheating or theft. + +Under these circumstances, there was a general gathering of the +well-disposed inhabitants of the cabins scattered around, to adopt some +measures for their mutual protection. Several men were appointed +justices of peace, with a set of resolute young men, as constables, to +execute their commissions. These justices were invested with almost +dictatorial power. They did not pretend to know anything about written +law or common law. They were merely men of good sound sense, who could +judge as to what was right in all ordinary intercourse between man and +man. + +A complaint would be entered to Crockett that one man owed another +money and refused to pay him. Crockett would send his constables to +arrest the man, and bring him to his cabin. After hearing both parties, +if Crockett judged the debt to be justly due, and that it could be +paid, he would order the man's horse, cow, rifle, or any other property +he owned, to be seized and sold, and the debt to be paid. If the man +made any resistance he would be very sure to have his cabin burned down +over his head; and he would be very lucky if he escaped a bullet +through his own body. + +One of the most common and annoying crimes committed by these +desperadoes was shooting an emigrant's swine. These animals, regarded +as so invaluable in a new country, each had its owner's mark, and +ranged the woods, fattening upon acorns and other nuts. Nothing was +easier than for a lazy man to wander into the woods, shoot one of these +animals, take it to his cabin, devour it there, and obliterate all +possible traces of the deed. Thus a large and valuable herd would +gradually disappear. This crime was consequently deemed to merit the +most severe punishment. It was regarded as so disgraceful that no +respectable man was liable to suspicion. + +The punishment for the crime was very severe, and very summary. If one +of these swine-thieves was brought before Justice Crockett, and in his +judgment the charge was proved against him, the sentence was-- + +"Take the thief, strip off his shirt, tie him to a tree, and give him a +severe flogging. Then burn down his cabin, and drive him out of the +country." + +There was no appeal from this verdict, and no evading its execution. +Such was the justice which prevailed, in this remote region, until the +Legislature of Alabama annexed the territory to Giles County, and +brought the region under the dominion of organized law. Crockett, who +had performed his functions to the entire satisfaction of the +community, then was legally appointed a justice of peace, and became +fully entitled to the appellation of esquire. He certainly could not +then pretend to any profound legal erudition, for at this time he could +neither read nor write. + +Esquire Crockett, commenting upon this transaction, says, "I was made a +Squire, according to law; though now the honor rested more heavily upon +me than before. For, at first, whenever I told my constable, says I, +'Catch that fellow, and bring him up for trial,' away he went, and the +fellow must come, dead or alive. For we considered this a good warrant, +though it was only in verbal writing. + +"But after I was appointed by the Assembly, they told me that my +warrants must be in real writing and signed; and that I must keep a +book and write my proceedings in it. This was a hard business on me, +for I could just barely write my own name. But to do this, and write +the warrants too, was at least a huckleberry over my persimmon. I had a +pretty well informed constable, however, and he aided me very much in +this business. Indeed, I told him, when he should happen to be out +anywhere, and see that a warrant was necessary, and would have a good +effect, he needn't take the trouble to come all the way to me to get +one, but he could just fill out one; and then, on the trial, I could +correct the whole business if he had committed any error. + +"In this way I got on pretty well, till, by care and attention, I +improved my handwriting in such a manner as to be able to prepare my +warrants and keep my record-books without much difficulty. My judgments +were never appealed from; and if they had been, they would have stuck +like wax, as I gave my decisions on the principles of common justice +and honesty between man and man, and relied on natural-born sense, and +not on law-learning, to guide me; for I had never read a page in a +law-book in all my life." + +Esquire Crockett was now a rising man. He was by no means diffident. +With strong native sense, imperturbable self-confidence, a memory +almost miraculously stored with rude anecdotes, and an astonishing +command of colloquial and slang language, he was never embarrassed, and +never at a loss as to what to say or to do. + +They were about getting up a new regiment of militia there, and a +Captain Mathews, an ambitious, well-to-do settler, with cribs full of +corn, was a candidate for the colonelship. He came to Crockett to +insure his support, and endeavored to animate him to more cordial +cooperation by promising to do what he could to have him elected major +of the regiment. Esquire Crockett at first declined, saying that he was +thoroughly disgusted with all military operations, and that he had no +desire for any such honors. But as Captain Mathews urged the question, +and Crockett reflected that the office would give him some additional +respect and influence with his neighbors, and that Major Crockett was a +very pleasantly sounding title, he finally consented, and, of course, +very soon became deeply interested in the enterprise. + +Captain Mathews, as an electioneering measure, invited all his +neighbors, far and near, to a very magnificent corn-husking frolic. +There was to be a great treat on the occasion, and "all the world," as +the French say, were eager to be there. Crockett and his family were of +course among the invited guests. When Crockett got there he found an +immense gathering, all in high glee, and was informed, much to his +surprise and chagrin, that Captain Mathews's son had offered himself +for the office of major, in opposition to Crockett. + +The once had, in reality, but few charms for Crockett, and he did not +care much for it. But this unworthy treatment roused his indignation. +He was by nature one of the most frank and open-hearted of men, and +never attempted to do anything by guile. Immediately he called Captain +Mathews aside, and inquired what this all meant. The Captain was much +embarrassed, and made many lame excuses, saying that he would rather +his son would run against any man in the county than against Squire +Crockett. + +"You need give yourself no uneasiness about that," Crockett replied. "I +care nothing for the office of major; I shall not allow my name to be +used against your son for that office. But I shall do everything in my +power to prevent his father from being colonel." + +In accordance with the custom of the region and the times, after the +feasting and the frolicking, Captain Mathews mounted a stump, and +addressed the assembly in what was appropriately called a stump speech, +advocating his election. + +The moment he closed, Squire Crockett mounted the stump, and on the +Captain's own grounds, addressing the Captain's guests, and himself one +of those guests, totally unabashed, made his first stump speech. He was +at no loss for words or ideas. He was full to the brim of fun. He +could, without any effort, keep the whole assembly in roars of +laughter. And there, in the presence of Captain Mathews and his family, +he argued his total unfitness to be the commander of a regiment. + +It is to be regretted that there was no reporter present to transmit to +us that speech. It must have been a peculiar performance. It certainly +added much to Crockett's reputation as an able man and an orator. When +the election came, both father and son were badly beaten. Soon after, a +committee waited upon Crockett, soliciting him to stand as candidate +for the State Legislature, to represent the two counties of Lawrence +and Hickman. + +Crockett was beginning to be ambitious. He consented. But he had +already engaged to take a drove of horses from Central Tennessee to the +lower part of North Carolina. This was a long journey, and going and +coming would take three months. He set out early in March, 1821. Upon +his return in June, he commenced with all zeal his electioneering +campaign. Characteristically he says: + +"It was a bran-fire new business to me. It now became necessary that I +should tell the people something about the Government, and an eternal +sight of other things that I know'd nothing more about than I did about +Latin, and law, and such things as that. I have said before, that in +those days none of us called General Jackson the Government. But I +know'd so little about it that if any one had told me that he was the +Government, I should have believed it; for I had never read even a +newspaper in my life, or anything else on the subject." + +Lawrence County bounded Giles County on the west. Just north of +Lawrence came Hickman County. Crockett first directed his steps to +Hickman County, to engage in his "bran-fire" new work of electioneering +for himself as a candidate for the Legislature. What ensued cannot be +more graphically told than in Crockett's own language: + +"Here they told me that they wanted to move their town nearer to the +centre of the county, and I must come out in favor of it. There's no +devil if I know'd what this meant, or how the town was to be moved. And +so I kept dark, going on the identical same plan that I now find is +called non-committal. + +"About this time there was a great squirrel-hunt, on Duck River, which +was among my people. They were to hunt two days; then to meet and count +the scalps, and have a big barbecue, and what might be called a tip-top +country frolic. The dinners and a general treat was all to be paid for +by the party having taken the fewest scalps. I joined one side, and got +a gun ready for the hunt. I killed a great many squirrels, and when we +counted scalps my party was victorious. + +"The company had everything to eat and drink that could be furnished in +a new country; and much fun and good humor prevailed. But before the +regular frolic commenced, I was called on to make a speech as a +candidate, which was a business I was as ignorant of as an outlandish +negro. + +"A public document I had never seen. How to begin I couldn't tell. I +made many apologies, and tried to get off, for I know'd I had a man to +run against who could speak prime. And I know'd, too that I wasn't able +to cut and thrust with him. He was there, and knowing my ignorance as +well as I did myself, he urged me to make a speech. The truth is, he +thought my being a candidate was a mere matter of sport, and didn't +think for a moment that he was in any danger from an ignorant back +woods bear-hunter. + +"But I found I couldn't get off. So I determined to go ahead, and leave +it to chance what I should say. I got up and told the people I reckoned +they know'd what I had come for; but if not, I could tell them. I had +come for their votes, and if they didn't watch mighty close I'd get +them too. But the worst of all was, that I could not tell them anything +about Government. I tried to speak about something, and I cared very +little what, until I choked up as bad as if my mouth had been jamm'd +and cramm'd chock-full of dry mush. There the people stood, listening +all the while, with their eyes, mouths, and ears all open to catch +every word I could speak. + +"At last I told them I was like a fellow I had heard of not long +before. He was beating on the head of an empty barrel on the roadside, +when a traveller, who was passing along, asked him what he was doing +that for? The fellow replied that there was some cider in that barrel a +few days before, and he was trying to see if there was any then; but if +there was, he couldn't get at it. I told them that there had been a +little bit of a speech in me a while ago, but I believed I couldn't get +it out. + +"They all roared out in a mighty laugh, and I told some other +anecdotes, equally amusing to them, and believing I had them in a +first-rate way, I quit and got down, thanking the people for their +attention. But I took care to remark that I was as dry as a +powder-horn, and that I thought that it was time for us all to wet our +whistles a little. And so I put off to a liquor-stand, and was followed +by the greater part of the crowd. + +"I felt certain this was necessary, for I know'd my competitor could +talk Government matters to them as easy as he pleased. He had, however, +mighty few left to hear him, as I continued with the crowd, now and +then taking a horn, and telling good-humored stories till he was done +speaking. I found I was good for the votes at the hunt; and when we +broke up I went on to the town of Vernon, which was the same they +wanted me to move. Here they pressed me again on the subject. I found I +could get either party by agreeing with them. But I told them I didn't +know whether it would be right or not, and so couldn't promise either +way." + +This famous barbecue was on Saturday. The next Monday the county court +held its session at Vernon. There was a great gathering of the pioneers +from all parts of the county. The candidates for the Governor of the +State, for a representative in Congress, and for the State Legislature, +were all present. Some of these men were of considerable ability, and +certainly of very fluent speech. The backwoodsmen, from their huts, +where there were no books, no newspapers, no intelligent companionship, +found this a rich intellectual treat. Their minds were greatly excited +as they listened to the impassioned and glowing utterances of speaker +after speaker; for many of these stump orators had command of a rude +but very effective eloquence. + +Crockett listened also, with increasing anxiety. He knew that his turn +was to come; that he must mount the stump and address the listening +throng. He perceived that he could not speak as these men were +speaking; and perhaps for the first time in his life began to +experience some sense of inferiority. He writes: + +"The thought of having to make a speech made my knees feel mighty weak, +and set my heart to fluttering almost as bad as my first love-scrape +with the Quaker's niece. But as good luck would have it, these big +candidates spoke nearly all day, and when they quit the people were +worn out with fatigue, which afforded me a good apology for not +discussing the Government. But I listened mighty close to them, and was +learning pretty fast about political matters. When they were all done, +I got up and told some laughable story, and quit. I found I was safe in +those parts; and so I went home, and did not go back again till after +the election was over. But to cut this matter short, I was elected, +doubling my competitor, and nine votes over. + +"A short time after this, I was at Pulaski, where I met with Colonel +Polk, now a member of Congress from Tennessee. He was at that time a +member elected to the Legislature, as well as myself. In a large +company he said to me, 'Well, Colonel, I suppose we shall have a +radical change of the judiciary at the next session of the +Legislature.' 'Very likely, sir,' says I. And I put out quicker, for I +was afraid some one would ask me what the judiciary was; and if I +know'd I wish I may be shot. I don't indeed believe I had ever before +heard that there was any such thing in all nature. But still I was not +willing that the people there should know how ignorant I was about it." + +At length the day arrived for the meeting of the Legislature. Crockett +repaired to the seat of government. With all his self-complacency he +began to appreciate that he had much to learn. The two first items of +intelligence which he deemed it important that he, as a member of the +Legislature, should acquire, were the meaning of the words government +and judiciary. By adroit questioning and fixed thought, he ere long +stored up those intellectual treasures. Though with but little capacity +to obtain knowledge from books, he became an earnest student of the +ideas of his fellow-legislators as elicited in conversation or debate. +Quite a heavy disaster, just at this time, came upon Crockett. We must +again quote his own words, for it is our wish, in this volume, to give +the reader a correct idea of the man. Whatever Crockett says, ever +comes fresh from his heart. He writes: + +"About this time I met with a very severe misfortune, which I may be +pardoned for naming, as it made a great change in my circumstances, and +kept me back very much in the world. I had built an extensive +grist-mill and powder-mill, all connected together, and also a large +distillery. They had cost me upward of three thousand dollars; more +than I was worth in the world. The first news that I heard, after I got +to the Legislature, was that my mills were all swept to smash by a +large freshet that came soon after I left home. + +"I had, of course, to stop my distillery, as my grinding was broken up. +And indeed I may say that the misfortune just made a complete mash of +me. I had some likely negroes, and a good stock of almost everything +about me, and, best of all, I had an honest wife. She didn't advise me, +as is too fashionable, to smuggle up this, and that, and t'other, to go +on at home. But she told me, says she, 'Just pay up as long as you have +a bit's worth in the world; and then everybody will be satisfied, and +we will scuffle for more.' + +"This was just such talk as I wanted to hear, for a man's wife can hold +him devilish uneasy if she begins to scold and fret, and perplex him, +at a time when he has a full load for a railroad car on his mind +already. And so, you see, I determined not to break full-handed, but +thought it better to keep a good conscience with an empty purse, than +to get a bad opinion of myself with a full one. I therefore gave up all +I had, and took a bran-fire new start." + +Crockett's legislative career was by no means brilliant, but +characteristic. He was the fun-maker of the house, and, like Falstaff, +could boast that he was not only witty himself, but the cause of wit in +others. His stories were irresistibly comic; but they almost always +contained expressions of profanity or coarseness which renders it +impossible for us to transmit them to these pages. He was an inimitable +mimic, and had perfect command of a Dutchman's brogue. One of the least +objectionable of his humorous stories we will venture to record. + +There were, he said, in Virginia, two Dutchmen, brothers, George and +Jake Fulwiler. They were both well to do in the world, and each owned a +grist mill. There was another Dutchman near by, by the name of Henry +Snyder. He was a mono-maniac, but a harmless man, occasionally thinking +himself to be God. He built a throne, and would often sit upon it, +pronouncing judgment upon others, and also upon himself. He would send +the culprits to heaven or to hell, as his humor prompted. + +One day he had a little difficulty with the two Fulwilers. He took his +seat upon his throne, and in imagination summoning the culprits before +him, thus addressed them: + +"Shorge Fulwiler, stand up. What hash you been dain in dis lower world?" + +"Ah! Lort, ich does not know." + +"Well, Shorge Fulwiler, hasn't you got a mill?" + +"Yes, Lort, ich hash." + +"Well, Shorge Fulwiler, didn't you never take too much toll?" + +"Yes, Lort, ich hash; when der water wash low, and mein stones wash +dull, ich take leetle too much toll." + +"Well, den, Shorge Fulwiler, you must go to der left mid der goats." + +"Well, Shake Fulwiler, now you stand up. What hash you been doin in dis +lower world?" + +"Ah! Lort, ich does not know." + +"Well, Shake Fulwiler, hasn't you got a mill?" + +"Yes, Lort, ich hash." + +"Well, Shake Fulwiler hasn't you never taken too much toll?" + +"Yes Lort, ich hash; when der water wash low, and mein stones wash +dull, ich take leetle too much toll." + +"Well, den, Shake Fuhviler, you must go to der left mid der goats." + +"Now ich try menself. Henry Snyder, Henry Snyder, stand up. What hash +you bin dain in die lower world?" + +"Ah, Lort, ich does not know." + +"Well, Henry Snyder, hasn't you got a mill?" + +"Yes, Lort, ich hash." + +"Well, Henry Snyder, didn't you never take too much toll?" + +"Yes, Lort, ich hash; when der water wash low, and mein stones wash +dull, ich hash taken leetle too much toll." + +"But, Henry Snyder, vat did you do mid der toll?" + +"Ah, Lort, ich gives it to der poor." + +The judge paused for a moment, and then said, "Well, Henry Snyder, you +must go to der right mid der sheep. But it is a tight squeeze." + +Another specimen of his more sober forensic eloquence is to be found in +the following speech. There was a bill before the house for the +creation of a new county, and there was a dispute about the +boundary-line. The author of the bill wished to run the line in a +direction which would manifestly promote his own interest. Crockett +arose and said: + +"Mr. Speaker: Do you know what that man's bill reminds me of? Well, I +s'pose you don't, so I'll tell you. Well, Mr. Speaker, when I first +came to this country a blacksmith was a rare thing. But there happened +to be one in my neighborhood. He had no striker; and whenever one of +the neighbors wanted any work done, he had to go over and strike until +his work was finished. These were hard times, Mr. Speaker, but we had +to do the best we could. + +"It happened that one of my neighbors wanted an axe. So he took along +with him a piece of iron, and went over to the blacksmith's to strike +till his axe was done. The iron was heated, and my neighbor fell to +work, and was striking there nearly all day; when the blacksmith +concluded that the iron wouldn't make an axe, but 'twould make a fine +mattock. + +"So my neighbor, wanting a mattock, concluded that he would go over and +strike till the mattock was done. Accordingly he went over the next +day, and worked faithfully. But toward night the blacksmith concluded +his iron wouldn't make a mattock but 'twould make a fine ploughshare. + +"So my neighbor, wanting a ploughshare, agreed that he would go over +the next day and strike till that was done. Accordingly he went over, +and fell hard at work. But toward night the blacksmith concluded his +iron wouldn't make a ploughshare, but 'twould make a fine skow. So my +neighbor, tired of working, cried, 'A skow let it be;' and the +blacksmith, taking up the red-hot iron, threw it into a trough of hot +water near him, and as it fell in, it sung out skow. And this, Mr. +Speaker, will be the way of that man's bill for a county. He'll keep +you all here, doing nothing, and finally his bill will turn up a skow; +now mind if it don't." + +At this time, Crockett, by way of courtesy, was usually called colonel, +as with us almost every respectable man takes the title of esquire. One +of the members offended Colonel Crockett by speaking disrespectfully of +him as from the back woods, or, as he expressed it, the gentleman from +the cane. Crockett made a very bungling answer, which did not satisfy +himself. After the house adjourned, he very pleasantly invited the +gentleman to take a walk with him. They chatted very sociably by the +way, till, at the distance of about a mile, they reached a very +secluded spot, when the Colonel, turning to his opponent, said: + +"Do you know what I brought you here for?" + +"No," was the reply. + +"Well," added the Colonel, "I brought you here for the express purpose +of whipping you; and now I mean to do it." + +"But," says the Colonel, in recording the event, "the fellow said he +didn't mean anything, and kept 'pologizing till I got into good humor." + +They walked back as good friends as ever, and no one but themselves +knew of the affair. + +After the adjournment of the Legislature, Crockett returned to his +impoverished home. The pecuniary losses he had encountered, induced him +to make another move, and one for which it is difficult to conceive of +any adequate motive. He took his eldest son, a boy about eight years of +age, and a young man by the name of Abram Henry, and with one +pack-horse to carry their blankets and provisions, plunged into the +vast wilderness west of them, on an exploring tour, in search of a new +home. + +Crockett and the young man shouldered their rifles. Day after day the +three trudged along, fording streams, clambering hills, wading +morasses, and threading ravines, each night constructing a frail +shelter, and cooking by their camp-fire such game as they had taken by +the way. + +After traversing these almost pathless wilds a hundred and fifty miles, +and having advanced nearly fifty miles beyond any white settlement, +they reached the banks of a lonely stream, called Obion River, on the +extreme western frontier of Tennessee. This river emptied into the +Mississippi but a few miles from the spot where Crockett decided to +rear his cabin. His nearest neighbor was seven miles distant, his next +fifteen, his next twenty. + +About ten years before, that whole region had been convulsed by one of +the most terrible earthquakes recorded in history. One or two awful +hurricanes had followed the earthquake, prostrating the gigantic +forest, and scattering the trees in all directions. Appalling +indications remained of the power expended by these tremendous forces +of nature. The largest forest-trees were found split from their roots +to their tops, and lying half on each side of a deep fissure. The +opening abysses, the entanglement of the prostrate forest, and the +dense underbrush which had sprung up, rendered the whole region almost +impenetrable. The country was almost entirely uninhabited. It had, +however, become quite celebrated as being the best hunting-ground in +the West. The fear of earthquakes and the general desolation had +prevented even the Indians from rearing their wigwams there. +Consequently wild animals had greatly increased. The country was filled +with bears, wolves, panthers, deer, elks, and other smaller game. + +The Indians had recently made this discovery, and were, in +ever-increasing numbers, exploring the regions in hunting-bands. +Crockett does not seem to have had much appreciation of the beautiful. +In selecting a spot for his hut, he wished to be near some crystal +stream where he could get water, and to build his hut upon land +sufficiently high to be above the reach of freshets. It was also +desirable to find a small plain or meadow free from trees, where he +could plant his corn; and to be in the edge of the forest, which would +supply him with abundance of fuel. Crockett found such a place, exactly +to his mind. Being very fond of hunting, he was the happiest of men. A +few hours' labor threw up a rude hut which was all the home he desired. +His rifle furnished him with food, and with the skins of animals for +bed and bedding. Every frontiersman knew how to dress the skin of deer +for moccasins and other garments. With a sharpened stick he punched +holes through the rank sod, and planted corn, in soil so rich that it +would return him several hundred-fold. + +Thus his tastes, such as they were, were gratified, and he enjoyed what +to him were life's luxuries. He probably would not have been willing to +exchange places with the resident in the most costly mansion in our +great cities. In a few days he got everything comfortable around him. +Crockett's cabin, or rather camp, was on the eastern side of the Obion +River. Seven miles farther up the stream, on the western bank, a Mr. +Owen had reared his log house. One morning, Crockett, taking the young +man Henry and his son with him, set out to visit Mr. Owen, his nearest +neighbor. He hobbled his horse, leaving him to graze until he got back. + +They followed along the banks of the river, through the forest, until +they reached a point nearly opposite Owen's cabin. By crossing the +stream there, and following up the western bank they would be sure to +find his hut. There was no boat, and the stream must be swum or forded. +Recent rains had caused it to overflow its banks and spread widely over +the marshy bottoms and low country near by. The water was icy cold. And +yet they took to it, says Crockett, "like so many beavers." + +The expanse to be crossed was very wide, and they knew not how deep +they should find the channel. For some distance the water continued +quite shoal. Gradually it deepened. Crockett led the way, with a pole +in his hand. Cautiously he sounded the depth before him, lest they +should fall into any slough. A dense growth of young trees covered the +inundated bottom over which they were wading. Occasionally they came to +a deep but narrow gully. Crockett, with his hatchet, would cut down a +small tree, and by its aid would cross. + +At length the water became so deep that Crockett's little boy had to +swim, though they evidently had not yet reached the channel of the +stream. Having waded nearly half a mile, they came to the channel. The +stream, within its natural banks, was but about forty feet wide. Large +forest-trees fringed the shores. One immense tree, blown down by the +wind, reached about halfway across. Crockett, with very arduous labor +with his hatchet, cut down another, so that it fell with the branches +of the two intertwining. + +Thus aided they reached the opposite side. But still the lowlands +beyond were overflowed as far as the eye could see through the dense +forest. On they waded, for nearly a mile, when, to their great joy, +they came in sight of dry land. Their garments were dripping and they +were severely chilled as they reached the shore. But turning their +steps up the stream, they soon came in sight of the cabin, which looked +to them like a paradise of rest. It was one of the rudest of huts. The +fenceless grounds around were rough and ungainly. The dismal forest, +which chanced there to have escaped both earthquake and hurricane, +spread apparently without limits in all directions. + +Most men, most women, gazing upon a scene so wild, lonely, cheerless, +would have said, "Let me sink into the grave rather than be doomed to +such a home as that." But to Crockett and his companions it presented +all the attractions their hearts could desire. Mr. Owen and several +other men were just starting away from the cabin, when, to their +surprise, they saw the party of strangers approaching. They waited +until Crockett came up and introduced himself. The men with Mr. Owen +were boatmen, who had entered the Obion River from the Mississippi with +a boat-load of articles for trade. They were just leaving to continue +their voyage. + +Such men are seldom in a hurry. Time is to them of but very little +value. Hospitality was a virtue which cost nothing. Any stranger, with +his rifle, could easily pay his way in the procurement of food. They +all turned back and entered the cabin together. Mrs. Owen was an +excellent, motherly woman, about fifty years of age. Her sympathies +were immediately excited for the poor little boy, whose garments were +drenched, and who was shivering as if in an ague-fit. She replenished +the fire, dried his clothes, and gave him some warm and nourishing +food. The grateful father writes: + +"Her kindness to my little boy did me ten times as much good as +anything she could have done for me, if she had tried her best." + +These were not the days of temperance. The whiskey-bottle was +considered one of the indispensables of every log cabin which made any +pretences to gentility. The boat, moored near the shore, was loaded +with whiskey, flour, sugar, hardware, and other articles, valuable in +the Indian trade in the purchase of furs, and in great demand in the +huts of pioneers. There was a small trading-post at what was called +McLemone's Bluff; about thirty miles farther up the river by land, and +nearly one hundred in following the windings of the stream. This point +the boatmen were endeavoring to reach. + +For landing their cargo at this point the boatmen were to receive five +hundred dollars, besides the profits of any articles they could sell in +the scattered hamlets they might encounter by the way. The +whiskey-bottle was of course brought out. Crockett drank deeply; he +says, at least half a pint. His tongue was unloosed, and he became one +of the most voluble and entertaining of men. His clothes having been +dried by the fire, and all having with boisterous merriment partaken of +a hearty supper, as night came on the little boy was left to the tender +care of Mrs. Owen, while the rest of the party repaired to the cabin of +the boat, to make a night of it in drinking and carousal. + +They had indeed a wild time. There was whiskey in abundance. Crockett +was in his element, and kept the whole company in a constant roar. +Their shouts and bacchanal songs resounded through the solitudes, with +clamor and profaneness which must have fallen painfully upon angels' +ears, if any of heaven's pure and gentle spirits were within hearing +distance. + +"We had," writes Crockett, "a high night of it, as I took steam enough +to drive out all the cold that was in me, and about three times as much +more." + +These boon companions became warm friends, according to the most +approved style of backwoods friendship. Mr. Owen told the boatmen that +a few miles farther up the river a hurricane had entirely prostrated +the forest, and that the gigantic trees so encumbered the stream that +he was doubtful whether the boat could pass, unless the water should +rise higher. Consequently he, with Crockett and Henry, accompanied the +boatmen up to that point to help them through, should it be possible to +effect a passage. But it was found impossible, and the boat dropped +down again to its moorings opposite Mr. Owen's cabin. + +As it was now necessary to wait till the river should rise, the boatmen +and Mr. Owen all consented to accompany Crockett to the place where he +was to settle, and build his house for him. It seems very strange that, +in that dismal wilderness, Crockett should not have preferred to build +his cabin near so kind a neighbor. But so it was. He chose his lot at a +distance of seven miles from any companionship. + +"And so I got the boatmen," he writes, "all to go out with me to where +I was going to settle, and we slipped up a cabin in little or no time. +I got from the boat four barrels of meal, one of salt, and about ten +gallons of whiskey." + +For these he paid in labor, agreeing to accompany the boatmen up the +river as far as their landing-place at McLemone's Bluff. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +Life on the Obion. + +Hunting Adventures.--The Voyage up the River.--Scenes in the +Cabin.--Return Home.--Removal of the Family.--Crockett's Riches.--A +Perilous Enterprise.--Reasons for his Celebrity.--Crockett's +Narrative.--A Bear-Hunt.--Visit to Jackson.--Again a Candidate for the +Legislature.--Electioneering and Election. + + +The next day after building the cabin, to which Crockett intended to +move his family, it began to rain, as he says, "rip-roariously." The +river rapidly rose, and the boatmen were ready to resume their voyage. +Crockett stepped out into the forest and shot a deer, which he left as +food for Abram Henry and his little boy, who were to remain in the +cabin until his return. He expected to be absent six or seven days. The +stream was very sluggish. By poling, as it was called, that is, by +pushing the boat with long poles, they reached the encumbrance caused +by the hurricane, where they stopped for the night. + +In the morning, as soon as the day dawned, Crockett, thinking it +impossible for them to get through the fallen timber that day, took his +rifle and went into the forest in search of game. He had gone but a +short distance when he came across a fine buck. The animal fell before +his unerring aim, and, taking the prize upon his shoulders, he +commenced a return to the boat. + +He had not proceeded far before he came upon the fresh tracks of a herd +of elks. The temptation to follow their trail was to a veteran hunter +irresistible. He threw down his buck, and had not gone far before he +came upon two more bucks, very large and splendid animals. The +beautiful creatures, though manifesting some timidity, did not seem +disposed to run, but, with their soft, womanly eyes, gazed with wonder +upon the approaching stranger. The bullet from Crockett's rifle struck +between the eyes of one, and he fell dead. The other, his companion, +exhibited almost human sympathy. Instead of taking to flight, he clung +to his lifeless associate, looking down upon him as if some +incomprehensible calamity had occurred. Crockett rapidly reloaded his +rifle, and the other buck fell dead. + +He hung them both upon the limb of a tree, so that they should not be +devoured by the wolves, and followed on in the trail of the elks. He +did not overtake them until nearly noon. They were then beyond +rifle-shot, and kept so, luring him on quite a distance. At length he +saw two other fine bucks, both of which he shot. The intellectual +culture of the man may be inferred from the following characteristic +description which he gives of these events: + +"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 stopped, +and stood there until I loaded again and fired at him. I knocked his +trotters from under him, and then I hung them both up. I pushed on +again, and about sunset I saw three other bucks. I down'd with one of +them, and the other two ran off. I hung this one up also, having killed +six that day. + +"I then pushed on till I got to the hurricane, and at the lower edge of +it, about where I expected the boat was. Here I hollered as hard as I +could roar, but could get no answer. I fired off my gun, and the men on +the boat fired one too. But, quite contrary to my expectations, they +had got through the timber, 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 couldn't much more than get along. I got through at last, +and went on to near where I had killed my last deer, and once more +fired off my gun, which was again answered from the boat, which was 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 without further difficulty. +But the 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 scarcely work my +jaws to eat." + +The next morning, Crockett took a young man with him and went out into +the woods to bring in the game he had shot. They brought in two of the +bucks, which afforded them all the supply of venison they needed, and +left the others hanging upon the trees. The boatmen then pushed their +way up the river. The progress was slow, and eleven toilsome days +passed before they reached their destination. Crockett had now +discharged his debt, and prepared to return to his cabin. There was a +light skiff attached to the large flat-bottomed boat in which they had +ascended the river. This skiff Crockett took, and, accompanied by a +young man by the name of Flavius Harris, who had decided to go back +with him, speedily paddled their way down the stream to his cabin. + +There were now four occupants of this lonely, dreary hut, which was +surrounded by forests and fallen trees and briers and brambles. They +all went to work vigorously in clearing some land for a corn field, +that they might lay in a store for the coming winter. The spring was +far advanced, and the season for planting nearly gone. They had brought +some seed with them on their pack-horse, and they soon had the pleasure +of seeing the tender sprouts pushing up vigorously through the +luxuriant virgin soil. It was not necessary to fence their field. +Crockett writes: + +"There was no stock nor anything else to disturb our corn except the +wild varmints; and the old serpent himself, with a fence to help him, +couldn't keep them out." + +Here Crockett and his three companions remained through the summer and +into the autumn, until they could gather in their harvest of corn. +During that time they lived, as they deemed, sumptuously, upon game. To +kill a grizzly bear was ever considered an achievement of which any +hunter might boast. During the summer, Crockett killed ten of these +ferocious monsters. Their flesh was regarded as a great delicacy. And +their shaggy skins were invaluable in the cabin for beds and bedding. +He also shot deer in great abundance. The smaller game he took, of fat +turkeys, partridges, pigeons, etc., he did not deem worth enumerating. + +It was a very lazy, lounging, indolent life. Crockett could any morning +go into the woods and shoot a deer. He would bring all the desirable +parts of it home upon his shoulders, or he would take his pack-horse +out with him for that purpose. At their glowing fire, outside of the +cabin if the weather were pleasant, inside if it rained, they would +cook the tender steaks. They had meal for corn bread; and it will also +be remembered that they had sugar, and ten gallons of whiskey. + +The deerskins were easily tanned into soft and pliant leather. They all +knew how to cut these skins, and with tough sinews to sew them into +hunting-shirts, moccasins, and other needed garments. Sitting +Indian-fashion on mattresses or cushions of bearskin, with just enough +to do gently to interest the mind, with no anxiety or thought even +about the future, they would loiter listlessly through the long hours +of the summer days. + +Occasionally two or three Indians, on a hunting excursion, would visit +the cabin. These Indians were invariably friendly. Crockett had no more +apprehension that they would trouble him than he had that the elk or +the deer would make a midnight attack upon his cabin. Not unfrequently +they would have a visit from Mr. Owen's household; or they would all go +up to his hut for a carouse. Two or three times, during the summer, +small parties exploring the country came along, and would rest a day or +two under Crockett's hospitable roof. Thus with these men, with their +peculiar habits and tastes, the summer probably passed away as +pleasantly as with most people in this world of care and trouble. + +Early in the autumn, Crockett returned to Central Tennessee to fetch +his family to the new home. Upon reaching his cabin in Giles County, he +was met by a summons to attend a special session of the Legislature. He +attended, and served out his time, though he took but little interest +in legislative affairs. His thoughts were elsewhere, and he was +impatient for removal, before cold weather should set in, to his +far-distant home. + +Late in October he set out with his little family on foot, for their +long journey of one hundred and fifty miles through almost a pathless +forest. His poverty was extreme. But the peculiar character of the man +was such that he did net seem to regard that at all. Two pack-horses +conveyed all their household goods. Crockett led the party, with a +child on one arm and his rifle on the other. He walked gayly along, +singing as merrily as the birds. Half a dozen dogs followed him. Then +came the horses in single file. His wife and older children, following +one after the other in single file along the narrow trail, closed up +the rear. It was a very singular procession, thus winding its way, +through forest and moor, over hills and prairies, to the silent shores +of the Mississippi. The eventful journey was safely accomplished, and +he found all things as he had left them. A rich harvest of golden ears +was waving in his corn-field; and his comfortable cabin, in all +respects as comfortable as the one he had left, was ready to receive +its inmates. + +He soon gathered in his harvest, and was thus amply supplied with bread +for the winter. Fuel, directly at his hand, was abundant, and thus, as +we may say, his coal-bin was full. Game of every kind, excepting +buffaloes, was ranging the woods, which required no shelter or food at +his expense, and from which he could, at pleasure, select any variety +of the most delicious animal food he might desire. Thus his larder was +full to repletion. The skins of animals furnished them with warm and +comfortable clothing, easily decorated with fringes and some bright +coloring, whose beauty was tasteful to every eye. Thus the family +wardrobe was amply stored. Many might have deemed Crockett a poor man. +He regarded himself as one of the lords of creation. + +Christmas was drawing nigh. It may be doubted whether Crockett had the +slightest appreciation of the sacred character of that day which +commemorates the advent of the Son of God to suffer and die for the +sins of the world. With Crockett it had ever been a day of +jollification. He fired salutes with his rifle. He sung his merriest +songs. He told his funniest stories. He indulged himself in the highest +exhilaration which whiskey could induce. + +As this holiday approached, Crockett was much troubled in finding that +his powder was nearly expended, and that he had none "to fire Christmas +guns." This seemed really to annoy him more than that he had none to +hunt with. + +In the mean time, a brother-in-law had moved to that region, and had +reared his cabin at a distance of six miles from the hut of David +Crockett, on the western bank of Rutherford's Fork, one of the +tributaries of Obion River. He had brought with him a keg of powder for +Crockett, which had not yet been delivered. + +The region all around was low and swampy. The fall rains had so swollen +the streams that vast extents of territory were inundated. All the +river-bottoms were covered with water. The meadows which lined the +Obion, where Crockett would have to pass, were so flooded that it was +all of a mile from shore to shore. + +The energy which Crockett displayed on the difficult and perilous +journey, illustrates those remarkable traits of character which have +given him such wide renown. There must be something very extraordinary +about a man which can make his name known throughout a continent. And +of the forty millions of people in the United States, there is scarcely +one, of mature years, who has not heard the name of David Crockett. + +When Crockett told his wife that he had decided to go to his brother's +for the powder, she earnestly remonstrated, saying that it was at the +imminent hazard of his life. The ground was covered with snow. He would +have to walk at least a mile through icy water, up to his waist, and +would probably have to swim the channel. He then, with dripping +clothes, and through the cold wintry blast, would have to walk several +miles before he could reach his brother's home. Crockett persisted in +his determination, saying, "I have no powder for Christmas, and we are +out of meat." + +He put on some woollen wrappers and a pair of deerskin moccasins. He +then tied up a small bundle; of clothes, with shoes and stockings, +which he might exchange for his dripping garments when he should reach +his brother's cabin. I quote from his own account of the adventure. + +"I didn't before know how much a person could suffer and not die. 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 came 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 often crossed it on a log; +but behold, when I got there no log was to be seen. + +"I know'd 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 know'd +further, that the water was about eight or ten feet deep under the log, +and I judged it to be 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 +this I succeeded very well. I then cut me a pole, and then crawled +along on my sapling till I got to the one it was lodged against, which +was about six feet above the water. + +"I then felt about with the 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 to the place of lodgment, and then climbed down the +other sapling so as to get on the log. I 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 when I came to another slough, over which +there was a log, but it was floating on the water. I thought I could +walk it, so I mounted on it. But when I had got about 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 stopped to pull of my wet clothes, and put on +the others which I held up with my gun above water when I fell in." + +This exchanging of his dripping garments for dry clothes, standing in +the snow four inches deep, and exposed to the wintry blast, must have +been a pretty severe operation. Hardy as Crockett was, he was so +chilled and numbed by the excessive cold that his flesh had scarcely +any feeling. He tied his wet clothes together and hung them up on the +limb of a tree, to drip and dry He thought he would then set out on the +full run, and endeavor thus to warm himself by promoting the more rapid +circulation of his blood. But to his surprise he could scarcely move. +With his utmost exertions he could not take a step more than six inches +in length. He had still five miles to walk, through a rough, pathless +forest, encumbered with snow. + +By great and painful effort he gradually recovered the use of his +limbs, and toiling along for two or three hours, late in the evening +was cheered by seeing the light of a bright fire shining through the +chinks between the logs of his brother's lonely cabin. He was received +with the utmost cordiality. Even his hardy pioneer brother listened +with astonishment to the narrative of the perils he had surmounted and +the sufferings he had endured. After the refreshment of a warm supper, +Crockett wrapped himself in a bearskin, and lying down upon the floor, +with his feet to the fire, slept the sweet, untroubled sleep of a babe. +In the morning he awoke as well as ever, feeling no bad consequences +from the hardships of the preceding day. + +The next morning a freezing gale from the north wailed through the +snow-whitened forest, and the cold was almost unendurable. The earnest +persuasions of his brother and his wife induced him to remain with them +for the day. But, with his accustomed energy, instead of enjoying the +cosey comfort of the Fireside, he took his rifle, and went out into the +woods, wading the snow and breasting the gale. After the absence of an +hour or two, he returned tottering beneath the load of two deer, which +he had shot, and which he brought to the cabin on his shoulders. Thus +he made a very liberal contribution to the food of the family, so that +his visit was a source of profit to them, not of loss. + +All the day, and during the long wintry night, the freezing blasts blew +fiercely, and the weather grew more severely cold. The next morning his +friends urged him to remain another day. They all knew that the water +would be frozen over, but not sufficiently hard to bear his weight, and +this would add greatly to the difficulty and the danger of his return. +It seemed impossible that any man could endure, on such a day, fording +a swollen stream, a mile in breadth, the water most of the way up to +his waist, in some places above his head, and breaking the ice at every +step. The prospect appalled even Crockett himself. He therefore decided +to remain till the next morning, though he knew that his family would +be left in a state of great anxiety. He hoped that an additional day +and night might so add to the thickness of the ice that it would bear +his weight. + +He therefore shouldered his musket and again went into the woods on a +hunt. Though he saw an immense bear, and followed him for some +distance, he was unable to shoot him. After several hours' absence, he +returned empty-handed. + +Another morning dawned, lurid and chill, over the gloomy forest. Again +his friends entreated him not to run the risk of an attempt to return +in such fearful weather. "It was bitter cold," he writes, "but I know'd +my family was without meat, and I determined to get home to them, or +die a-trying." + +We will let Crockett tell his own story of his adventures in going back: + +"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 difficulty, and worked +along till I came 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 struggling about in the +water. I therefore fresh-primed my gun, and, cold as I was, I was +determined to make war on him if we met. But I followed the trail till +it led me home. Then I found that it had been 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." + +The night after Crockett's return a heavy rain fell, which, toward +morning, turned to sleet. But there was no meat in the cabin. There +were at that time three men who were inmates of that lowly +hut--Crockett, a young man, Flavius Harris, who had taken up his abode +with the pioneer, and a brother in-law, who had recently emigrated to +that wild country, and had reared his cabin not far distant from +Crockett's. They all turned out hunting. Crockett, hoping to get a +bear, went up the river into the dense and almost impenetrable +thickets, where the gigantic forest had been swept low by the +hurricane. The other two followed down the stream in search of turkeys, +grouse, and such small game. + +Crockett took with him three dogs, one of which was an old hound, +faithful, sagacious, but whose most vigorous days were gone. The dogs +were essential in hunting bears. By their keen scent they would find +the animal, which fact they would announce to the hunter by their loud +barking. Immediately a fierce running fight would ensue. By this attack +the bear would be greatly retarded in his flight, so that the hunter +could overtake him, and he would often be driven into a tree, where the +unerring rifle-bullet would soon bring him down. + +The storm of sleet still raged, and nothing could be more gloomy than +the aspect of dreariness and desolation which the wrecked forest +presented with its dense growth of briers and thorns. Crockett toiled +through the storm and the brush about six miles up the river, and saw +nothing. He then crossed over, about four miles, to another stream. +Still no game appeared. The storm was growing more violent, the sleet +growing worse and worse. Even the bears sought shelter from the +pitiless wintry gale. The bushes were all bent down with the ice which +clung to their branches, and were so bound together that it was almost +impossible for any one to force his way through them. + +The ice upon the stream would bear Crockett's weight. He followed it +down a mile or two, when his dogs started up a large flock of turkeys. +He shot two of them. They were immensely large, fat, and heavy. Tying +their legs together, he slung them over his shoulder, and with this +additional burden pressed on his toilsome way. Ere long he became so +fatigued that he was compelled to sit down upon a log to rest. + +Just then his dogs began to bark furiously. He was quite sure that they +had found a bear. Eagerly he followed the direction they indicated, as +fast as he could force his way along. To his surprise he found that the +three dogs had stopped near a large tree, and were barking furiously at +nothing. But as soon as they saw him approaching they started off +again, making the woods resound with their baying. Having run about a +quarter of a mile, he could perceive that again they had stopped. When +Crockett reached them there was no game in sight. The dogs, barking +furiously again, as soon as they saw him approaching plunged into the +thicket. + +For a third time, and a fourth time, this was repeated. Crockett could +not understand what it meant. Crockett became angry at being thus +deceived, and resolved that he would shoot the old hound, whom he +considered the ringleader in the mischief, as soon as he got near +enough to do so. + +"With this intention," he says, "I pushed on the harder, till I came to +the edge of an open prairie; and looking on before my dogs, I saw 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 stopped so often that I +might overtake them." + +This is certainly a remarkable instance of animal sagacity. The three +dogs, by some inexplicable conference among themselves, decided that +the enemy was too formidable for them to attack alone. They therefore +summoned their master to their aid. As soon as they saw that he was +near enough to lend his cooperation, then they fearlessly assailed the +monster. + +The sight inspired Crockett with new life. Through thickets, briers, +and brambles they all rushed--bear, dogs, and hunter. At length, the +shaggy monster, so fiercely assailed, climbed for refuge a large +black-oak tree, and sitting among the branches, looked composedly down +upon the dogs barking fiercely at its foot. Crockett crept up within +about eighty yards, and taking deliberate aim at his breast, fired. The +bullet struck and pierced the monster directly upon the spot at which +it was aimed. The bear uttered a sharp cry, made a convulsive movement +with one paw, and remained as before. + +Speedily Crockett reloaded his rifle, and sent another bullet to follow +the first. The shaggy brute shuddered in every limb, and then tumbled +head-long to the icy ground. Still he was not killed. The dogs plunged +upon him, and there was a tremendous fight. The howling of the bear, +and the frenzied barking of the dogs, with their sharp cries of pain as +the claws of the monster tore their flesh, and the deathly struggle +witnessed as they rolled over and over each other in the fierce fight, +presented a terrific spectacle. + +Crockett hastened to the aid of his dogs. As soon as the bear saw him +approach, he forsook the inferior, and turned with all fury upon the +superior foe. Crockett was hurrying forward with his tomahawk in one +hand and his big butcher-knife in the other, when the bear, with eyes +flashing fire, rushed upon him. Crockett ran back, seized his rifle, +and with a third bullet penetrated the monster's brain and he fell +dead. The dogs and their master seemed to rejoice alike in their great +achievement. + +By the route which Crockett had pursued, he was about twelve miles from +home. Leaving the huge carcass where the animal had fallen, he +endeavored to make a straight line through the forest to his cabin. +That he might find his way back again, he would, at every little +distance, blaze, as it was called, a sapling, that is, chip off some of +the bark with his hatchet. When he got within a mile of home this was +no longer necessary. + +The other two men had already returned to the cabin. As the wolves +might devour the valuable meat before morning, they all three set out +immediately, notwithstanding their fatigue and the still raging storm, +and taking with them four pack-horses, hastened back to bring in their +treasure. Crockett writes: + +"We got there just before dark, and struck a fire, and commenced +butchering my bear. It was some time in the night 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 back after my powder; +and well satisfied that a dog might sometimes be doing a good business, +even when he seemed to be barking up the wrong tree. + +"We got our meat home, and I had the pleasure to know that we now had a +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." + +In the early spring, Crockett found that he had a large number of +valuable skins on hand, which he had taken during the winter. About +forty miles southeast from Crockett's cabin, in the heart of Madison +County, was the thriving little settlement of Jackson. Crockett packed +his skins on a horse, shouldered his rifle, and taking his hardy little +son for a companion, set off there to barter his peltries for such +articles of household use as he could convey back upon his horse. The +journey was accomplished with no more than the ordinary difficulties. A +successful trade was effected, and with a rich store of coffee, sugar, +powder, lead, and salt, the father and son prepared for their return. + +Crockett found there some of his old fellow-soldiers of the Creek War. +When all things were ready for a start, he went to bid adieu to his +friends and to take a parting dram with them. There were three men +present who were candidates for the State Legislature. While they were +having a very merry time, one, as though uttering a thought which had +that moment occurred to him, exclaimed, "Why, Crockett, you ought to +offer yourself for the Legislature for your district." Crockett +replied, "I live at least forty miles from any white settlement." Here +the matter dropped. + +About ten days after Crockett's return home, a stranger, passing along, +stopped at Crockett's cabin and told him that he was a candidate for +Legislature, and took from his pocket a paper, and read to him the +announcement of the fact. There was something in the style of the +article which satisfied Crockett that there was a little disposition to +make fun of him; and that his nomination was intended as a burlesque. +This roused him, and he resolved to put in his claim with all his zeal. +He consequently hired a man to work upon his farm, and set out on an +electioneering tour. + +Though very few people had seen Crockett, he had obtained very +considerable renown in that community of backwoodsmen as a great +bear-hunter. Dr. Butler, a man of considerable pretensions, and, by +marriage, a nephew of General Jackson, was the rival candidate, and a +formidable one. Indeed, he and his friends quite amused themselves with +the idea that "the gentleman from the cane," as they contemptuously +designated Crockett, could be so infatuated as to think that there was +the least chance for him. The population of that wilderness region was +so scarce that the district for which a representative was to be chosen +consisted of eleven counties. + +A great political gathering was called, which was to be held in Madison +County, which was the strongest of them all. Here speeches were to be +made by the rival candidates and their friends, and electioneering was +to be practised by all the arts customary in that rude community. The +narrative of the events which ensued introduces us to a very singular +state of society. At the day appointed there was a large assembly, in +every variety of backwoods costume, among the stumps and the lowly +cabins of Jackson. Crockett mingled with the crowd, watching events, +listening to everything which was said, and keeping himself as far as +possible unknown. + +Dr. Butler, seeing a group of men, entered among them, and called for +whiskey to treat them all. The Doctor had once met Crockett when a few +weeks before he had been in Jackson selling his furs. He however did +not recognize his rival among the crowd. As the whiskey was passing +freely around, Crockett thought it a favorable moment to make himself +known, and to try his skill at an electioneering speech. He was a +good-looking man, with a face beaming with fun and smiles, and a clear, +ringing voice. He jumped upon a stump and shouted out, in tones which +sounded far and wide, and which speedily gathered all around him. + +"Hallo! Doctor Butler; you don't know me do you? But I'll make you know +me mighty well before August. I see they have weighed you out against +me. But I'll beat you mighty badly." + +Butler pleasantly replied, "Ah, Colonel Crockett, is that you? Where +did you come from?" + +Crockett rejoined, "Oh, I have just crept out from the cane, to see +what discoveries I could make among the white folks. You think you have +greatly the advantage of me, Butler. 'Tis true I live forty miles from +any settlement. I am poor, and you are rich. You see it takes two +coonskins here to buy a quart. But I've good dogs, and my little boys +at home will go to their death to support my election. They are mighty +industrious. They hunt every night till twelve o'clock. It keeps the +little fellows mighty busy to keep me in whiskey. When they gets tired, +I takes my rifle and goes out and kills a wolf, for which the State +pays me three dollars. So one way or other I keeps knocking along." + +Crockett perhaps judged correctly that the candidate who could furnish +the most whiskey would get the most votes. He thus adroitly informed +these thirsty men of his readiness and his ability to furnish them with +all the liquor they might need. Strange as his speech seems to us, it +was adapted to the occasion, and was received with roars of laughter +and obstreperous applause. + +"Well, Colonel," said Dr. Butler, endeavoring to clothe his own +countenance with smiles, "I see you can beat me electioneering." + +"My dear fellow," shouted out Crockett, "you don't call this +electioneering, do you? When you see me electioneering, I goes fixed +for the purpose. I've got a suit of deer-leather clothes, with two big +pockets. So I puts a bottle of whiskey in one, and a twist of tobacco +in t'other, and starts out. Then, if I meets a friend, why, I pulls out +my bottle and gives him a drink. He'll be mighty apt, before he drinks, +to throw away his tobacco. So when he's done, I pulls my twist out of +t'other pocket and gives him a chaw. I never likes to leave a man worse +off than when I found him. If I had given him a drink and he had lost +his tobacco, he would not have made much. But give him tobacco, and a +drink too, and you are mighty apt to get his vote." + +With such speeches as these, interlarded with fun and anecdote, and a +liberal supply of whiskey, Crockett soon made himself known through all +the grounds, and he became immensely popular. The backwoodsmen regarded +him as their man, belonging to their class and representing their +interests. + +Dr. Butler was a man of some culture, and a little proud and +overbearing in his manners. He had acquired what those poor men deemed +considerable property. He lived in a framed house, and in his best room +he had a rug or carpet spread over the middle of the floor. This carpet +was a luxury which many of the pioneers had never seen or conceived of. +The Doctor, standing one day at his window, saw several persons, whose +votes he desired, passing along, and he called them in to take a drink. + +There was a table in the centre of the room, with choice liquors upon +it. The carpet beneath the table covered only a small portion of the +floor, leaving on each side a vacant space around the room. The men +cautiously walked around this space, without daring to put their feet +upon the carpet. After many solicitations from Dr. Butler, and seeing +him upon the carpet, they ventured up to the table and drank. They, +however, were under great restraint, and soon left, manifestly not +pleased with their reception. + +Calling in at the next log house to which they came, they found there +one of Crockett's warm friends. They inquired of him what kind of a man +the great bear-hunter was, and received in reply that he was a +first-rate man, one of the best hunters in the world; that he was not a +bit proud; that he lived in a log cabin, without any glass for his +windows, and with the earth alone for his floor. + +"Ah!" they exclaimed with one voice, "he's the fellow for us. We'll +never give our votes for such a proud man as Butler. He called us into +his house to take a drink, and spread down one of his best bed-quilts +for us to walk on. It was nothing but a piece of pride." + +The day of election came, and Crockett was victorious by a majority of +two hundred and forty-seven votes. Thus he found himself a second time +a member of the Legislature of the State of Tennessee, and with a +celebrity which caused all eyes to be turned toward "the gentleman from +the cane." + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +Adventures in the Forest, on the River, and in the City + +The Bear Hunter's Story.--Service in the Legislature.--Candidate for +Congress.--Electioneering.--The New Speculation.--Disastrous +Voyage.--Narrow Escape.--New Electioneering Exploits.--Odd +Speeches.--The Visit to Crockett's Cabin.--His Political Views.--His +Honesty.--Opposition to Jackson.--Scene at Raleigh.--Dines with the +President.--Gross Caricature.--His Annoyance. + + +Crockett was very fond of hunting-adventures, and told stories of these +enterprises in a racy way, peculiarly characteristic of the man. The +following narrative from his own lips, the reader will certainly peruse +with much interest. + +"I was sitting by a good fire in my little cabin, on a cool November +evening, roasting potatoes I believe, and playing with my children, +when some one halloed at the fence. I went out, and there were three +strangers, who said they come to take an elk-hunt. I was glad to see +'em, invited 'em in, and after supper we cleaned our guns. I took down +old Betsey, rubbed her up, greased her, and laid her away to rest. She +is a mighty rough old piece, but I love her, for she and I have seen +hard times. She mighty seldom tells me a lie. If I hold her right, she +always sends the ball where I tell her, After we were all fixed, I told +'em hunting-stories till bedtime. + +"Next morning was clear and cold, and by times I sounded my horn, and +my dogs came howling 'bout me, ready for a chase. Old Rattler was a +little lame--a bear bit him in the shoulder; but Soundwell, Tiger, and +the rest of 'em were all mighty anxious. We got a bite, and saddled our +horses. I went by to git a neighbor to drive for us, and off we started +for the Harricane. My dogs looked mighty wolfish; they kept jumping on +one another and growling. I knew they were run mad for a fight, for +they hadn't had one for two or three days. We were in fine spirits, and +going 'long through very open woods, when one of the strangers said, 'I +would give my horse now to see a bear.' + +"Said I, 'Well, give me your horse,' and I pointed to an old bear, +about three or four hundred yards ahead of us, feeding on acorns. + +"I had been looking at him some time, but he was so far off; I wasn't +certain what it was. However, I hardly spoke before we all strained +off; and the woods fairly echoed as we harked the dogs on. The old bear +didn't want to run, and he never broke till we got most upon him; but +then he buckled for it, I tell you. When they overhauled him he just +rared up on his hind legs, and he boxed the dogs 'bout at a mighty +rate. He hugged old Tiger and another, till he dropped 'em nearly +lifeless; but the others worried him, and after a while they all come +to, and they give him trouble. They are mighty apt, I tell you, to give +a bear trouble before they leave him. + +"'Twas a mighty pretty fight--'twould have done any one's soul good to +see it, just to see how they all rolled about. It was as much as I +could do to keep the strangers from shooting him; but I wouldn't let +'em, for fear they would kill some of my dogs. After we got tired +seeing 'em fight, I went in among 'em, and the first time they got him +down I socked my knife in the old bear. We then hung him up, and went +on to take our elk-hunt. You never seed fellows so delighted as them +strangers was. Blow me, if they didn't cut more capers, jumping about, +than the old bear. 'Twas a mighty pretty fight, but I believe I seed +more fun looking at them than at the bear. + +"By the time we got to the Harricane, we were all rested, and ripe for +a drive. My dogs were in a better humor, for the fight had just taken +off the wiry edge. So I placed the strangers at the stands through +which I thought the elk would pass, sent the driver way up ahead, and I +went down below. + +"Everything was quiet, and I leaned old Betsey 'gin a tree, and laid +down. I s'pose I had been lying there nearly an hour, when I heard old +Tiger open. He opened once or twice, and old Rattler gave a long howl; +the balance joined in, and I knew the elk were up. I jumped up and +seized my rifle. I could hear nothing but one continued roar of all my +dogs, coming right towards me. Though I was an old hunter, the music +made my hair stand on end. Soon after they first started, I heard one +gun go off, and my dogs stopped, but not long, for they took a little +tack towards where I had placed the strangers. One of them fired, and +they dashed back, and circled round way to my left. I run down 'bout a +quarter of a mile, and I heard my dogs make a bend like they were +coming to me. While I was listening, I heard the bushes breaking still +lower down, and started to run there. + +"As I was going 'long, I seed two elks burst out of the Harricane 'bout +one hundred and thirty or forty yards below me. There was an old buck +and a doe. I stopped, waited till they got into a clear place, and as +the old fellow made a leap, I raised old Bet, pulled trigger, and she +spoke out. The smoke blinded me so, that I couldn't see what I did; but +as it cleared away, I caught a glimpse of only one of them going +through the bushes; so I thought I had the other. I went up, and there +lay the old buck kicking. I cut his throat, and by that time, Tiger and +two of my dogs came up. I thought it singular that all my dogs wasn't +there, and I began to think they had killed another. After the dogs had +bit him, and found out he was dead, old Tiger began to growl, and +curled himself up between his legs. Everything had to stand off then, +for he wouldn't let the devil himself touch him. + +"I started off to look for the strangers. My two dogs followed me. +After gitting away a piece, I looked back, and once in a while I could +see old Tiger git up and shake the elk, to see if he was really dead, +and then curl up between his legs agin. I found the strangers round a +doe elk the driver had killed; and one of 'em said he was sure he had +killed one lower down. I asked him if he had horns. He said he didn't +see any. I put the dogs on where he said he had shot, and they didn't +go fur before they came to a halt. I went up, and there lay a fine buck +elk; and though his horns were four or five feet long, the fellow who +shot him was so scared that he never saw them. We had three elk, and a +bear; and we managed to git it home, then butchered our game, talked +over our hunt, and had a glorious frolic." + +Crockett served in the Legislature for two years, during which time +nothing occurred of special interest. These were the years of 1823 and +1824. Colonel Alexander was then the representative, in the National +Legislature, of the district in which Crockett lived. He had offended +his constituents by voting for the Tariff. It was proposed to run +Crockett for Congress in opposition to him. Crockett says: + +"I told the people that I could not stand that. It was a step above my +knowledge; and I know'd nothing about Congress matters." + +They persisted; but he lost the election; for cotton was very high, and +Alexander urged that it was in consequence of the Tariff. Two years +passed away, which Crockett spent in the wildest adventures of hunting. +He was a true man of the woods with no ambition for any better home +than the log cabin he occupied. There was no excitement so dear to him +as the pursuit and capture of a grizzly bear. There is nothing on +record, in the way of hunting, which surpasses the exploits of this +renowned bear-hunter. But there is a certain degree of sameness in +these narratives of skill and endurance which would weary the reader. + +In the fall of 1825, Crockett built two large flat-boats, to load with +staves for the making of casks, which he intended to take down the +river to market. He employed a number of hands in building the boat and +splitting out the staves, and engaged himself in these labors "till the +bears got fat." He then plunged into the woods, and in two weeks killed +fifteen. The whole winter was spent in hunting with his son and his +dogs. His workmen continued busy getting the staves, and when the +rivers rose with the spring floods, he had thirty thousand ready for +the market. + +With this load he embarked for New Orleans. His boats without +difficulty floated down the Obion into the majestic Mississippi. It was +the first time he had seen the rush of these mighty waters. There was +before him a boat voyage of nearly fifteen hundred miles, through +regions to him entirely unknown. In his own account of this adventure +he writes: + +"When I got into the Mississippi I found all my hands were bad scared. +In fact, I believe I was scared a little the worst of any; for I had +never been down the river, and I soon discovered that my pilot was as +ignorant 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 any +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 deal +rather not. But we couldn't do any other way. In a short distance we +got into what is called the Devil's 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 was ever engaged in in my life, to keep +out of danger. And even then we were 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 instruct us how to +get to shore; but all in vain. Our boats were so heavy that we could +not 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 any 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 hobble 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 hatch-way of 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 were 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 against the +head of an island, where 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 was turning under sure enough. But +when I got to it, the water was 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 found 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 them, and began to +pull. I told them I was sinking, 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 tom off, and I was literally skinn'd like a rabbit. +I was, however, 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 entirely under, and I have +never seen it any more to this day. We all escaped on to the raft, +where we were compelled 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 sitting +there, in the night, floating about on the drift, I felt happier and +better off than I ever had in my life before, for I had just made such +a marvellous escape, that I had forgot almost everything 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 boats, and of my boating; for 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." + +Cotton was down very low. Crockett could now say to the people: "You +see the effects of the Tariff." There were two rival candidates for the +office, Colonel Alexander and General Arnold. Money was needed to carry +the election, and Crockett had no money. He resolved, however, to try +his chances. A friend loaned him a little money to start with; which +sum Crockett, of course, expended in whiskey, as the most potent +influence, then and there, to secure an election. + +"So I was able," writes Crockett, "to buy a little of the 'creature,' +to put my friends in a good humor, 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 to make themselves and their friends +feel their keeping a little." + +The contest was, as usual, made up of drinking, feasting, and speeches. +Colonel Alexander was an intelligent and worthy man, who had been +public surveyor. General Arnold was a lawyer of very respectable +attainments. Neither of these men considered Crockett a candidate in +the slightest degree to be feared. They only feared each other, and +tried to circumvent each other. + +On one occasion there was a large gathering, where all three of the +candidates were present, and each one was expected to make a speech. It +came Crockett's lot to speak first. He knew nothing of Congressional +affairs, and had sense enough to be aware that it was not best for him +to attempt to speak upon subjects of which he was entirely ignorant. He +made one of his funny speeches, very short and entirely non-committal. +Colonel Alexander followed, endeavoring to grapple with the great +questions of tariffs, finance, and internal improvements, which were +then agitating the nation. + +General Arnold then, in his turn, took the stump, opposing the measures +which Colonel Alexander had left. He seemed entirely to ignore the fact +that Crockett was a candidate. Not the slightest allusion was made to +him in his speech. The nervous temperament predominated in the man, and +he was easily annoyed. While speaking, a large flock of guinea-hens +came along, whose peculiar and noisy cry all will remember who have +ever heard it. Arnold was greatly disturbed, and at last requested some +one to drive the fowls away. As soon as he had finished his speech, +Crockett again mounted the stump, and ostensibly addressing Arnold, but +really addressing the crowd, said, in a loud voice, but very jocosely: + +"Well, General, you are the first man I ever saw that understood the +language of fowls. You had not the politeness even to allude to me in +your speech. But when my little friends the guinea-hens came up, and +began to holler 'Crockett, Crockett, Crockett,' you were ungenerous +enough to drive them all away." + +This raised such a universal laugh that even Crockett's opponents +feared that he was getting the best of them in winning the favor of the +people. When the day of election came, the popular bear-hunter beat +both of his competitors by twenty-seven hundred and forty-seven votes. +Thus David Crockett, unable to read and barely able to sign his name, +became a member of Congress, to assist in framing laws for the grandest +republic earth has ever known. He represented a constituency of about +one hundred thousand souls. + +An intelligent gentleman, travelling in West Tennessee, finding himself +within eight miles of Colonel Crockett's cabin, decided to call upon +the man whose name had now become quite renowned. This was just after +Crockett's election to Congress, but before he had set out for +Washington. There was no road leading to the lonely hut. He followed a +rough and obstructed path or trail, which was indicated only by blazed +trees, and which bore no marks of being often travelled. + +At length he came to a small opening in the forest, very rude and +uninviting in its appearance. It embraced eight or ten acres. One of +the humblest and least tasteful of log huts stood in the centre. It was +truly a cabin, a mere shelter from the weather. There was no yard; +there were no fences. Not the slightest effort had been made toward +ornamentation. It would be difficult to imagine a more lonely and +cheerless abode. + +Two men were seated on stools at the door, both in their shirt-sleeves, +engaged in cleaning their rifles. As the stranger rode up, one of the +men rose and came forward to meet him. He was dressed in very plain +homespun attire, with a black fur cap upon his head. He was a finely +proportioned man, about six feet high, apparently forty-five years of +age, and of very frank, pleasing, open countenance. He held his rifle +in his hand, and from his right shoulder hung a bag made of raccoon +skin, to which there was a sheath attached containing a large +butcher-knife. + +"This is Colonel Crockett's residence, I presume," said the stranger. + +"Yes," was the reply, with a smile as of welcome. + +"Have I the pleasure of seeing that gentleman before me?" the stranger +added. + +"If it be a pleasure," was the courtly reply, "you have, sir." + +"Well, Colonel," responded the stranger, "I have ridden much out of my +way to spend a day or two with you, and take a hunt." + +"Get down, sir," said the Colonel, cordially. "I am delighted to see +you. I like to see strangers. And the only care I have is that I cannot +accommodate them as well as I could wish. I have no corn, but my little +boy will take your horse over to my son-in-law's. He is a good fellow, +and will take care of him." + +Leading the stranger into his cabin, Crockett very courteously +introduced him to his brother, his wife, and his daughters. He then +added: + +"You see we are mighty rough here. I am afraid you will think it hard +times. But we have to do the best we can. I started mighty poor, and +have been rooting 'long ever since. But I hate apologies. What I live +upon always, I think a friend can for a day or two. I have but little, +but that little is as free as the water that runs. So make yourself at +home." + +Mrs. Crockett was an intelligent and capable woman for one in her +station in life. The cabin was clean and orderly, and presented a +general aspect of comfort. Many trophies of the chase were in the +house, and spread around the yard. Several dogs, looking like war-worn +veterans, were sunning themselves in various parts of the premises. + +All the family were neatly dressed in home-made garments. Mrs. Crockett +was a grave, dignified woman, very courteous to her guests. The +daughters were remarkably pretty, but very diffident. Though entirely +uneducated, they could converse very easily, seeming to inherit their +father's fluency of utterance. They were active and efficient in aiding +their mother in her household work. Colonel Crockett, with much +apparent pleasure, conducted his guest over the small patch of ground +he had grubbed and was cultivating. He exhibited his growing peas and +pumpkins, and his little field of corn, with as much apparent pleasure +as an Illinois farmer would now point out his hundreds of acres of +waving grain. The hunter seemed surprisingly well informed. As we have +mentioned, nature had endowed him with unusual strength of mind, and +with a memory which was almost miraculous. He never forgot anything he +had heard. His electioneering tours had been to him very valuable +schools of education. Carefully he listened to all the speeches and the +conversation of the intelligent men he met with. + +John Quincy Adams was then in the Presidential chair. It was the year +1827. Nearly all Crockett's constituents were strong Jackson-men. +Crockett, who afterward opposed Jackson, subsequently said, speaking of +his views at that time: + +"I can say on my conscience, that I was, without disguise, the friend +and supporter of General Jackson upon his principles, as he had laid +them down, and as I understood them, before his election as President." + +Alluding to Crockett's political views at that time, his guest writes, +"I held in high estimation the present Administration of our country. +To this he was opposed. His views, however, delighted me. And were they +more generally adopted we should be none the loser. He was opposed to +the Administration, and yet conceded that many of its acts were wise +and efficient, and would have received his cordial support. He admired +Mr. Clay, but had objections to him. He was opposed to the Tariff, yet, +I think, a supporter of the United States Bank. He seemed to have the +most horrible objection to binding himself to any man or set of men. He +said, 'I would as lieve be an old coon-dog as obliged to do what any +man or set of men would tell me to do. I will support the present +Administration as far as I would any other; that is, as far as I +believe its views to be right. I will pledge myself to support no +Administration. I had rather be politically damned than hypocritically +immortalized.'" + +In the winter of 1827, Crockett emerged from his cabin in the +wilderness for a seat in Congress. He was so poor that he had not money +enough to pay his expenses to Washington. His election had cost him one +hundred and fifty dollars, which a friend had loaned him. The same +friend advanced one hundred dollars more to help him on his journey. + +"When I left home," he says, "I was happy, devilish, and full of fun. I +bade adieu to my friends, dogs, and rifle, and took the stage, where I +met with much variety of character, and amused myself when my humor +prompted. Being fresh from the backwoods, my stories amused my +companions, and I passed my time pleasantly. + +"When I arrived at Raleigh the weather was cold and rainy, and we were +all dull and tired. Upon going into the tavern, where I was an entire +stranger, the room was crowded, and the crowd did not give way that I +might come to the fire. I was rooting my way to the fire, not in a good +humor, when some fellow staggered up towards me, and cried out, 'Hurrah +for Adams.' + +"Said I, 'Stranger, you had better hurrah for hell, and praise your own +country.' + +"'And who are you? said he. I replied: + +"'I am that same David Crockett, fresh from the backwoods, half horse, +half alligator, a little touched with the snapping-turtle. I can wade +the Mississippi, leap the Ohio, ride upon a streak of lightning, and +slip without a scratch down a honey-locust. I can whip my weight in +wildcats, and, if any gentleman pleases, for a ten-dollar bill he can +throw in a panther. I can hug a bear too close for comfort, and eat any +man opposed to General Jackson.'" + +All eyes were immediately turned toward this strange man, for all had +heard of him. A place was promptly made for him at the fire. He was +afterward asked if this wondrous outburst of slang was entirely +unpremeditated. He said that it was; that it had all popped into his +head at once; and that he should never have thought of it again, had +not the story gone the round of the newspapers. + +"I came on to Washington," he says, "and drawed two hundred and fifty +dollars, and purchased with it a check on the bank in 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." + +Soon after his arrival at Washington he was invited to dine with +President Adams, a man of the highest culture, whose manners had been +formed in the courts of Europe. Crockett, totally unacquainted with the +usages of society, did not know what the note of invitation meant, and +inquired of a friend, the Hon. Mr. Verplanck. He says: + +"I was wild from the backwoods, and didn't know nothing about eating +dinner with the big folks of our country. And how should I, having been +a hunter all my life? I had eat most of my dinners on a log in the +woods, and sometimes no dinner at all. I knew, whether I ate dinner +with the President or not was a matter of no importance, for my +constituents were not to be benefited by it. I did not go to court the +President, for I was opposed to him in principle, and had no favors to +ask at his hands. I was afraid, however, I should be awkward, as I was +so entirely a stranger to fashion; and in going along, I resolved to +observe the conduct of my friend Mr. Verplanck, and to do as he did. +And I know that I did behave myself right well." + +Some cruel wag wrote the following ludicrous account of this +dinner-party, which went the round of all the papers as veritable +history. The writer pretended to quote Crockett's own account of the +dinner. + +"The first thing I did," said Davy, "after I got to Washington, was to +go to the President's. I stepped into the President's house. Thinks I, +who's afeard. If I didn't, I wish I may be shot. Says I, 'Mr. Adams, I +am Mr. Crockett, from Tennessee.' So, says he, 'How d'ye do, Mr. +Crockett?' And he shook me by the hand, although he know'd I went the +whole hog for Jackson. If he didn't, I wish I may be shot. + +"Not only that, but he sent me a printed ticket to dine with him. I've +got it in my pocket yet. I went to dinner, and I walked all around the +long table, looking for something that I liked. At last I took my seat +beside a fat goose, and I helped myself to as much of it as I wanted. +But I hadn't took three bites, when I looked away up the table at a man +they called Tash (attache'). He was talking French to a woman on +t'other side of the table. He dodged his head and she dodged hers, and +then they got to drinking wine across the table. + +"But when I looked back again my plate was gone, goose and all. So I +jist cast my eyes down to t'other end of the table, and sure enough I +seed a white man walking off with my plate. I says, 'Hello, mister, +bring back my plate.' He fetched it back in a hurry, as you may think. +And when he set it down before me, how do you think it was? Licked as +clean as my hand. If it wasn't, I wish I may be shot! + +"Says he, 'What will you have, sir?' And says I, 'You may well say +that, after stealing my goose.' And he began to laugh. Then says I, +'Mister, laugh if you please; but I don't half-like sich tricks upon +travellers.' I then filled my plate with bacon and greens. And whenever +I looked up or down the table, I held on to my plate with my left hand. + +"When we were all done eating, they cleared everything off the table, +and took away the table-cloth. And what do you think? There was another +cloth under it. If there wasn't, I wish I may be shot! Then I saw a man +coming along carrying a great glass thing, with a glass handle below, +something like a candlestick. It was stuck full of little glass cups, +with something in them that looked good to eat. Says I, 'Mister, bring +that thing here.' Thinks I, let's taste them first. They were mighty +sweet and good, so I took six of them. If I didn't, I wish I may be +shot!" + +This humorous fabrication was copied into almost every paper in the +Union. The more respectable portion of Crockett's constituents were so +annoyed that their representative should be thus held up to the +contempt of the nation, that Crockett felt constrained to present a +reliable refutation of the story. He therefore obtained and published +certificates from three gentlemen, testifying to his good behavior at +the table. Hon. Mr. Verplanck, of New York, testified as follows: + +"I dined at the President's, at the time alluded to, in company with +you, and I had, I recollect, a good deal of conversation with you. Your +behavior there was, I thought, perfectly becoming and proper. And I do +not recollect, or believe, that you said or did anything resembling the +newspaper-account." + +Two other members of Congress were equally explicit in their testimony. + +During Crockett's first two sessions in Congress he got along very +smoothly, cooperating generally with what was called the Jackson party. +In 1829 he was again reelected by an overwhelming majority. On the 4th +of March of this year, Andrew Jackson was inaugurated President of the +United States. It may be doubted whether there ever was a more honest, +conscientious man in Congress than David Crockett. His celebrated +motto, "Be sure that you are right, and then go ahead," seemed ever to +animate him. He could neither be menaced or bribed to support any +measure which he thought to be wrong. Ere long he found it necessary to +oppose some of Jackson's measures. We will let him tell the story in +his own truthful words: + +"Soon after the commencement of this second 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 turnings, +even at the expense of my conscience and judgment. Such a thing was new +to me, and a total stranger to my principles. I know'd well enough, +though, that if I didn't 'hurrah' 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 infamous Indian bill was brought +forward, and I opposed it from the purest motives in the world. Several +of my colleagues got around me, and told me how well they 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. + +"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 Jackson or any one +else; at any rate, I was of age, and determined to trust them. I voted +against this Indian bill, and my conscience yet tells me that I gave a +good, honest 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 district, that I had turned against Jackson. This was +considered the unpardonable sin. I was hunted down like a wild varment, +and in this hunt every little newspaper in the district, and every +little pinhook lawyer was engaged. Indeed, they were ready to print +anything and everything that the ingenuity of man could invent against +me." + +In consequence of this opposition, Crockett lost his next election, and +yet by a majority of but seventy votes. For two years he remained at +home hunting bears. But having once tasted the pleasures of political +life, and the excitements of Washington, his silent rambles in the +woods had lost much of their ancient charms. He was again a candidate +at the ensuing election, and, after a very warm contest gained the day +by a majority of two hundred and two votes. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +Crockett's Tour to the North and the East. + +His Reelection to Congress.--The Northern Tour.--First Sight of a +Railroad.--Reception in Philadelphia.--His First Speech.--Arrival in +New York.--The Ovation there.--Visit to Boston.--Cambridge and +Lowell.--Specimens of his Speeches.--Expansion of his Ideas.--Rapid +Improvement. + + +Colonel Crockett, having been reelected again repaired to Washington. +During the session, to complete his education, and the better to +prepare himself as a legislator for the whole nation, he decided to +take a short trip to the North and the East. His health had also begun +to fail, and his physicians advised him to go. He was thoroughly +acquainted with the Great West. With his rifle upon his shoulder, in +the Creek War, he had made wide explorations through the South. But the +North and the East were regions as yet unknown to him. + +On the 25th of April, 1834, he left Washington for this Northern tour. +He reached Baltimore that evening, where he was invited to a supper by +some of the leading gentlemen. He writes: + +"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 coonskin. + +"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 off we +walked in prime style. + +"Our passage down Chesapeake Bay was very pleasant. In a very short run +we came to a place where we were to get on board the rail-cars. This +was a clean new sight to me. About a dozen big stages hung on to one +machine. After a good deal of fuss we all got seated and moved slowly +off; the engine wheezing as though she had the tizzic. 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. It was run in fifty-five +minutes. + +"At Delaware City, I again embarked on board of a splendid steamboat. +When dinner was ready, I set down with the rest of the passengers. +Among them was Rev. O. B. Brown, of the Post-Office Department, who sat +near me. During dinner he ordered a bottle of wine, and called upon 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 like a blizzard. So our glasses being +filled, the word went round, 'A toast from Colonel Crockett.' I give it +as follows: 'Here's wishing 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 stumpt. 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 standing 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 we moved off. +The streets were crowded to a great distance, and the windows full of +people, looking out, I suppose, to see the wild man. I thought I had +rather be in the wilderness with my gun and dogs, than to be attracting +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 Chesnut Street." + +"The crowd had followed me filling up the street, and pressing into the +house to shake hands. I was conducted 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 OF PHILADELPHIA: + +"'My visit to your city is rather accidental. I had no expectation of +attracting any uncommon attention. I am travelling 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 Philadelphia. However, I am almost induced to believe it +flattery--perhaps a burlesque. This is new to me, yet I 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 people. However, gentlemen, if this is a curiosity to you, +if you will meet me to-morrow, at one o'clock, I will endeavor to +address you, in my plain manner.' + +"So I made my obeisance to them, and retired into the house." + +It is true that there was much of mere curiosity in the desire to see +Colonel Crockett. He was a strange and an incomprehensible man. His +manly, honest course in Congress had secured much respect. But such +developments of character as were shown in his rude and vulgar toast, +before a party of gentlemen and ladies, excited astonishment. His +notoriety preceded him, wherever he went; and all were alike curious to +see so strange a specimen of a man. + +The next morning, several gentlemen called upon him, and took him in a +carriage to see the various objects of interest in the city. The +gentlemen made him a present of a rich seal, representing two horses at +full speed, with the words, "Go Ahead." The young men also made him a +present of a truly magnificent rifle. From Philadelphia he went to New +York. The shipping astonished him. "They beat me all hollow," he says, +"and looked for all the world like a big clearing in the West, with the +dead trees all standing." + +There was a great crowd upon the wharf to greet him. And when the +captain of the boat led him conspicuously forward, and pointed him out +to the multitude, the cheering was tremendous. A committee conducted +him to the American Hotel, and treated him with the greatest +distinction. Again he was feted, and loaded with the greatest +attentions. He was invited to a very splendid supper, got up in his +honor, at which there were a hundred guests. The Hon. Judge Clayton, of +Georgia, was present, and make a speech which, as Crockett says, fairly +made the tumblers hop. + +Crockett was then called up, as the "undeviating supporter of the +Constitution and the laws." In response to this toast, he says, + +"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 +wouldn'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 always kept moving.'" + +His trip to New York was concluded by his visiting Jersey City to +witness a shooting-match with rifles. He was invited to try his hand. +Standing, at the distance of one hundred and twenty feet, he fired +twice, striking very near the centre of the mark. Some one then put up +a quarter of a dollar in the midst of a black spot, and requested him +to shoot at it. The bullet struck the coin, and as Crockett says made +slight-of-hand work with it. + +From New York he went to Boston. There, an the opponent of some of +President Jackson's measures which were most offensive to the New +England people, he was feted with extraordinary enthusiasm. He dined +and supped, made speeches, which generally consisted of but one short +anecdote, and visited nearly all the public institutions. + +Just before this, Andrew Jackson had received from Harvard University +the honorary title of LL.D. Jackson was no longer a favorite of +Crockett. The new distinguished guest, the renowned bear-hunter, was in +his turn invited to visit Harvard. He writes: + +"There were some gentlemen that invited 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 told them that I did not go to this branding school; I did not want +to be tarred with the same stick; one dignitary was enough from +Tennessee; that as far as my learning went, I would stand over it, and +spell a strive or two with any of them, from a-b-ab to crucifix, which +was where I left off at school." + +A gentleman, at a dinner-party, very earnestly invited Crockett to +visit him. He returned the compliment by saying: + +"If you ever come to my part of the country, I hope you will call and +see me." + +"And how shall I find where you live?" the gentleman inquired. + +"Why, sir," Crockett answered, "run down the Mississippi till you come +to the Oberon River. Run a small streak up that; jump ashore anywhere, +and inquire for me." + +From Boston, he went to Lowell. The hospitality he had enjoyed in +Boston won his warmest commendation. At Lowell, he was quite charmed by +the aspect of wealth, industry, and comfort which met his eye. Upon his +return to Boston, he spent the evening, with several gentlemen and +ladies at the pleasant residence of Lieutenant-Governor Armstrong. In +reference to this visit, he writes: + +"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 everybody 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 generally 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 industry, they will see how comfortable +everybody can be that turns his hands to some employment." + +Crockett was not a mere joker. He was an honest man, and an earnest +man; and under the tuition of Congress had formed some very decided +political principles, which he vigorously enforced with his rude +eloquence. + +When he first went to Congress he was merely a big boy, of very strong +mind, but totally uninformed, and uncultivated. He very rapidly +improved under the tuition of Congress; and in some degree awoke to the +consciousness of his great intellectual imperfections. Still he was +never diffident. He closed one of his off-hand after-dinner speeches in +Boston, by saying: + +"Gentlemen of Boston, I come here as a private citizen, to see you, and +not to show myself. I had no idea of attracting attention. But I feel +it my duty to thank you, with my gratitude to you, and with a gratitude +to all who have given a plain man, like me, so kind a reception. I come +from a great way off. But I shall never repent of having been persuaded +to come here, and get a knowledge of your ways, which I can carry home +with me. We only want to do away prejudice and give the people +information. + +"I hope, gentlemen, you will excuse my plain, unvarnished ways, which +may seem strange to you here. I never had but six months' schooling in +all my life. And I confess, I consider myself a poor tyke to be here +addressing the most intelligent people in the world. But I think it the +duty of every representative of the people, when he is called upon, to +give his opinions. And I have tried to give you a little touch of mine." + +Every reader will be interested in the perusal of the following serious +speech, which he made in Boston. It is a fair specimen of his best +efforts, and will give one a very correct idea of his trains of +thought, and modes of expression. It also clearly shows the great +questions which agitated the country at that time. It can easily be +perceived that, as a stump orator in the far West, Crockett might have +exercised very considerable power. This phase of his peculiar character +is as worthy of consideration as any other. + +"GENTLEMEN: + +"By the entire friendship of the citizens of Boston, as well as the +particular friendship with which you have received me this evening, I +have been brought to reflect on times that have gone by, and review a +prejudice that has grown up with me, as well as thousands of my Western +and Southern friends. We have always been taught to look upon the +people of New England as a selfish, cunning set of fellows, that was +fed on fox-ears and thistle-tops; that cut their wisdom-teeth as soon +as they were born; that made money by their wits, and held on to it by +nature; that called cheatery mother-wit; that hung on to political +power because they had numbers; that raised up manufactures to keep +down the South and West; and, in fact, had so much of the devil in all +their machinery, that they would neither lead nor drive, unless the +load was going into their own cribs. But I assure you, gentlemen, I +begin to think different of you, and I think I see a good many good +reasons for so doing. + +"I don't mean that because I eat your bread and drink your liquor, that +I feel so. No; that don't make me see clearer than I did. It is your +habits, and manners, and customs; your industry; your proud, +independent spirits; your hanging on to the eternal principles of right +and wrong; your liberality in prosperity, and your patience when you +are ground down by legislation, which, instead of crushing you, whets +your invention to strike a path without a blaze on a tree to guide you; +and above all, your never-dying, deathless grip to our glorious +Constitution. These are the things that make me think that you are a +mighty good people." + +Here the speaker was interrupted by great applause. + +"Gentlemen, I believe I have spoke the truth, and not flattery; I ain't +used to oily words; I am used to speak what I think, of men, and to +men. I am, perhaps, more of a come-by-chance than any of you ever saw; +I have made my way to the place I now fill, without wealth, and against +education; I was raised from obscurity, and placed in the high councils +of the nation, by the kindness and liberality of the good people of my +district--a people whom I will never be unfaithful to, here or +elsewhere; I love them, and they have honored me; and according as God +has given me judgment, I'll use it for them, come of me what may. + +"These people once passed sentence upon me of a two years' +stay-at-home, for exercising that which I contend belongs to every +freeman in this nation: that was, for differing in opinion with the +chief magistrate of this nation. I was well acquainted with him. He was +but a man; and, if I was not before, my constituents had made a man of +me. I had marched and counter-marched with him: I had stood by him in +the wars, and fought under his flag at the polls: I helped to heap the +measure of glory that has crushed and smashed everything that has come +in contact with it: I helped to give him the name of 'Hero,' which, +like the lightning from heaven, has scorched and blasted everything +that stood in its way--a name which, like the prairie fire, you have to +burn against, or you are gone--a name which ought to be the first in +war, and the last in peace--a name which, like 'Jack-o'-the lantern, +blinds your eyes while you follow it through mud and mire. + +"Gentlemen, I never opposed Andrew Jackson for the sake of popularity. +I knew it was a hard row to hoe; but I stood up to the rack, +considering it a duty I owed to the country that governed me. I had +reviewed the course of other Presidents, and came to the conclusion +that he did not of right possess any more power than those that had +gone before him. When he transcended that power, I put down my foot. I +knew his popularity; that he had come into place with the largest +majority of any one that had gone before him, who had opposition: but +still, I did not consider this as giving him the right to do as he +pleased, and construe our Constitution to meet his own views. + +"We had lived the happiest people under the sun for fifty years, +governed by the Constitution and laws, on well-established +constructions: and when I saw the Government administered on new +principles, I objected, and was politically sacrificed: I persisted in +my sins, having a clear conscience, that before God and my country, I +had done my duty. + +"My constituents began to look at both sides; and finally, at the end +of two years, approving of my course, they sent me back to Congress--a +circumstance which was truly gratifying to me. + +"Gentlemen, I opposed Andrew Jackson in his famous Indian bill, where +five hundred thousand dollars were voted for expenses, no part of which +has yet been accounted for, as I have seen. I thought it extravagant as +well as impolitic. I thought the rights reserved to the Indians were +about to be frittered away; and events prove that I thought correct. + +"I had considered a treaty as the sovereign law of the land; but now +saw it considered as a matter of expedience, or not, as it pleased the +powers that be. Georgia bid defiance to the treaty-making power, and +set at nought the Intercourse Act of 1802; she trampled it under foot; +she nullified it: and for this, she received the smiles and approbation +of Andrew Jackson. And this induced South Carolina to nullify the +Tariff. She had a right to expect that the President was favorable to +the principle: but he took up the rod of correction, and shook it over +South Carolina, and said at the same time to Georgia, 'You may nullify, +but South Carolina shall not.' + +"This was like his consistency in many other matters. When he was a +Senator in Congress, he was a friend to internal improvements, and +voted for them. Everything then that could cement the States together, +by giving them access the one to the other, was right. When he got into +power, some of his friends had hard work to dodge, and follow, and +shout. I called off my dogs, and quit the hunt. Yes, gentlemen, +Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and Tennessee, and other States, voted for him, +as a supporter of internal improvements. + +"Was he not a Tariff man? Who dare deny it! When did we first hear of +his opposition? Certainly not in his expression that he was in favor of +a judicious tariff. That was supposed to be a clincher, even in New +England, until after power lifted him above the opposition of the +supporters of a tariff. + +"He was for putting down the monster 'party,' and being the President +of the people. Well, in one sense, this he tried to do: he put down +every one he could who was opposed to him, either by reward or +punishment; and could all have come into his notions, and bowed the +knee to his image, I suppose it might have done very well, so far as he +was concerned. Whether it would have been a fair reading of his famous +letter to Mr. Monroe, is rather questionable. He was to reform the +Government. Now, if reformation consists in turning out and putting in, +he did it with a vengeance. + +"He was, last of all, to retrench the expenditures. Well, in time, I +have no doubt, this must be done; but it will not consist in the +abolishing useless expenditures of former Administrations. No, +gentlemen; the spoils belonged to the victor; and it would never do to +lessen the teats when the litter was doubled. The treasury trough had +to be extended, and the pap thickened; kin were to be provided for; and +if all things keep on as they are, his own extravagances will have to +be retrenched, or you will get your tariff up again as high as you +please. + +"I recollect a boy once, who was told to turn the pigs out of the +corn-field. Well, he made a great noise, hallooing and calling the +dogs--and came back. By-and-by his master said, 'Jim, you rascal! you +didn't turn out the pigs.' 'Sir,' said he, 'I called the dogs, and set +them a-barking.' + +"So it was with that big Retrenchment Report, in 1828. Major Hamilton +got Chilton's place as chairman--and called the dogs. Ingham worked +honestly, like a beaver; Wickliff was as keen as a cutworm: all of them +worked hard; and they did really, I suppose, convince themselves that +they had found out a great deal of iniquity; or, what was more +desirable, convinced the people that Andrew Jackson and his boys were +the only fellows to mend shoes for nothing, and find their own candles. +Everett and Sargeant, who made the minority report, were scouted at. +What has come of all this? Nothing--worse than nothing. Jackson used +these very men like dogs: they knew too much, and must be got rid off, +or they would stop his profligacy too. They were greased and swallowed: +and he gave them up to the torments of an anti-Jackson conscience. + +"Yes, gentlemen, as long as you think with him, very well; but if +not--clear out; make way for some fellow who has saved his wind; and +because he has just begun to huzza, has more wind to spare. General +Jackson has turned out more men for opinion's sake, than all other +Presidents put together, five times over: and the broom sweeps so low +that it reaches the humblest officer who happens to have a mean +neighbor to retail any little story which he may pick up. + +"I voted for Andrew Jackson because I believed he possessed certain +principles, and not because his name was Andrew Jackson, or the Hero, +or Old Hickory. And when he left those principles which induced me to +support him, I considered myself justified in opposing him. This thing +of man-worship I am a stranger to; I don't like it; it taints every +action of life; it is like a skunk getting into a house--long after he +has cleared out, you smell him in every room and closet, from the +cellar to the garret. + +"I know nothing, by experience, of party discipline. I would rather be +a raccoon-dog, and belong to a negro in the forest, than to belong to +any party, further than to do justice to all, and to promote the +interests of my country. The time will and must come, when honesty will +receive its reward, and when the people of this nation will be brought +to a sense of their duty, and will pause and reflect how much it cost +us to redeem ourselves from the government of one man. It cost the +lives and fortunes of thousands of the best patriots that ever lived. +Yes, gentlemen, hundreds of them fell in sight of your own city. + +"I this day walked over the great battle-ground of Bunker's Hill, and +thought whether it was possible that it was moistened with the sacred +blood of our heroes in vain, and that we should forget what they fought +for. + +"I hope to see our once happy country restored to its former peace and +happiness, and once more redeemed from tyranny and despotism, which, I +fear, we are on the very brink of. We see the whole country in +commotion: and for what? Because, gentlemen, the true friends of +liberty see the laws and Constitution blotted out from the heads and +hearts of the people's leaders: and their requests for relief are +treated with scorn and contempt. They meet the same fate that they did +before King George and his parliament. It has been decided by a +majority of Congress, that Andrew Jackson shall be the Government, and +that his will shall be the law of the land. He takes the +responsibility, and vetoes any bill that does not meet his approbation. +He takes the responsibility, and seizes the treasury, and removes it +from where the laws had placed it; and now, holding purse and sword, +has bid defiance to Congress and to the nation. + +"Gentlemen, if it is for opposing those high-handed measures that you +compliment me, I say I have done so, and will do so, now and forever. I +will be no man's man, and no party's man, other than to be the people's +faithful representative: and I am delighted to see the noble spirit of +liberty retained so boldly here, where the first spark was kindled; and +I hope to see it shine and spread over our whole country. + +"Gentlemen, I have detained you much longer than I intended: allow me +to conclude by thanking you for your attention and kindness to the +stranger from the far West." + +The following extract also shows the candor of his mind, his anxiety to +learn, and the progress his mind was making in the science of political +economy: + +"I come to your country to get a knowledge of things, which I could get +in no other way but by seeing with my own eyes, and hearing with my +awful ears--information I can't get, and nobody else, from book +knowledge. I come, fellow-citizens, to get a knowledge of the +manufacturing interest of New England. I was over-persuaded to come by +a gentleman who had been to Lowell and seen the manufactories of your +State--by General Thomas, of Louisiana. He persuaded me to come and see. + +"When I was first chose to Congress, I was opposed to the protecting +system. They told me it would help the rich, and hurt the poor; and +that we in the West was to be taxed by it for the benefit of New +England. I supposed it was so; but when I come to hear it argued in the +Congress of the nation, I begun to have a different opinion of it. I +saw I was opposing the best interest of the country: especially for the +industrious poor man. I told my people who sent me to Congress, that I +should oppose it no longer: that without it, we should be obliged to +pay a tax to the British Government, and support them, instead of our +own labor. And I am satisfied of it the more since I have visited New +England. Only let the Southern gentlemen come here and examine the +manufactories, and see how it is, and it would make more peace than all +the legislation in Congress can do. It would give different ideas to +them who have been deluded, and spoke in strong terms of dissolving the +Union." + +Crockett returned to Washington just in time to be present at the +closing scenes, and then set out for home. So much had been said of him +in the public journals, of his speeches and his peculiarities, that his +renown now filled the land. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +The Disappointed Politician.--Off for Texas. + +Triumphal Return.--Home Charms Vanish.--Loses His Election.--Bitter +Disappointment.--Crockett's Poetry.--Sets out for Texas.--Incidents of +the Journey.--Reception at Little Rock.--The Shooting Match.--Meeting a +Clergyman.--The Juggler.--Crockett a Reformer.--The Bee Hunter.--The +Rough Strangers.--Scene on the Prairie. + + +Crockett's return to his home was a signal triumph all the way. At +Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, crowds +gathered to greet him. He was feasted, received presents, was +complimented, and was incessantly called upon for a speech. He was an +earnest student as he journeyed along. A new world of wonders were +opening before him. Thoughts which he never before had dreamed of were +rushing into his mind. His eyes were ever watchful to see all that was +worthy of note. His ear was ever listening for every new idea. He +scarcely ever looked at the printed page, but perused with the utmost +diligence the book of nature. His comments upon what he saw indicate +much sagacity. + +At Cincinnatti and Louisville, immense crowds assembled to hear him. In +both places he spoke quite at length. And all who heard him were +surprised at the power he displayed. Though his speech was rude and +unpolished, the clearness of his views, and the intelligence he +manifested, caused the journals generally to speak of him in quite a +different strain from that which they had been accustomed to use. +Probably never did a man make so much intellectual progress, in the +course of a few months, as David Crockett had made in that time. His +wonderful memory of names, dates, facts, all the intricacies of +statistics, was such, that almost any statesman might be instructed by +his addresses, and not many men could safely encounter him in argument. +The views he presented upon the subject of the Constitution, finance, +internal improvements, etc., were very surprising, when one considers +the limited education he had enjoyed. At the close of these agitating +scenes he touchingly writes: + +"In a short time I set out for my own home; yes, my own home, my own +soil, my humble dwelling, my own family, my own hearts, my ocean of +love and affection, which neither circumstances nor time can dry up. +Here, like the wearied bird, let me settle down for a while, and shut +out the world." + +But hunting bears had lost its charms for Crockett. He had been so +flattered that it is probable that he fully expected to be chosen +President of the United States. There were two great parties then +dividing the country, the Democrats and the Whigs. The great object of +each was to find an available candidate, no matter how unfit for the +office. The leaders wished to elect a President who would be, like the +Queen of England, merely the ornamental figure-head of the ship of +state, while their energies should propel and guide the majestic +fabric. For a time some few thought it possible that in the popularity +of the great bear-hunter such a candidate might be found. + +Crockett, upon his return home, resumed his deerskin leggins, his +fringed hunting-shirt, his fox-skin cap, and shouldering his rifle, +plunged, as he thought, with his original zest, into the cheerless, +tangled, marshy forest which surrounded him. But the excitements of +Washington, the splendid entertainments of Philadelphia, New York, and +Boston, the flattery, the speech-making, which to him, with his +marvellous memory and his wonderful fluency of speech, was as easy as +breathing, the applause showered upon him, and the gorgeous vision of +the Presidency looming up before him, engrossed his mind. He sauntered +listlessly through the forest, his bear-hunting energies all paralyzed. +He soon grew very weary of home and of all its employments, and was +eager to return to the infinitely higher excitements of political life. + +General Jackson was then almost idolized by his party. All through the +South and West his name was a tower of strength. Crockett had +originally been elected as a Jackson-man. He had abandoned the +Administration, and was now one of the most inveterate opponents of +Jackson. The majority in Crockett's district were in favor of Jackson. +The time came for a new election of a representative. Crockett made +every effort, in his old style, to secure the vote. He appeared at the +gatherings in his garb as a bear-hunter, with his rifle on his +shoulder. He brought 'coonskins to buy whiskey to treat his friends. A +'coonskin in the currency of that country was considered the equivalent +for twenty-five cents. He made funny speeches. But it was all in vain. + +Greatly to his surprise, and still more to his chagrin, he lost his +election. He was beaten by two hundred and thirty votes. The whole +powerful influence of the Government was exerted against Crockett and +in favor of his competitor. It is said that large bribes were paid for +votes. Crockett wrote, in a strain which reveals the bitterness of his +disappointment: + +"I am gratified that I have spoken the truth to the people of my +district, regardless of the 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 shall be +rewarded for letting my tongue speak what my heart thinks. I have +suffered myself to be politically sacrificed to save my country from +ruin and disgrace; and if I am never again elected, I will have the +gratification to know that I have done my duty. I may add, in the words +of the man in the play, 'Crockett's occupation's gone.'" + +Two weeks after this he writes, "I confess the thorn still rankles, not +so much on my own account as the nation's. 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 nothing more than right +good sport to surmount them. But now I start upon my own hook, and God +only grant that it may be strong enough to support the weight that may +be hung upon it. I have a new row to hoe, a long and rough one; but +come what will, I will go ahead." + +Just before leaving for Texas, he attended a political meeting of his +constituents. The following extract from his autobiography will give +the reader a very vivid idea of his feelings at the time, and of the +very peculiar character which circumstances had developed in him: + +"A few days ago I went to a meeting of my constituents. My 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, 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 consider it a +fair fight anyhow they could fix it. I put the ingredients in the cup +pretty strong I tell you, and I concluded 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 sorrow, it is said, will make even an +oyster feel poetical. I never tried my hand at that sort of writing but +on this particular occasion such was my state of feeling, that I 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 of 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 feelings 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 beautiful 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 worshipped his plan. + + "The home I forsake where my offspring 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. + + "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." + +A party of American adventurers, then called filibusters, had gone into +Texas, in the endeavor to wrest that immense and beautiful territory, +larger than the whole Empire of France, from feeble, distracted, +miserable Mexico, to which it belonged. These filibusters were +generally the most worthless and desperate vagabonds to be found in all +the Southern States. Many Southern gentlemen of wealth and ability, but +strong advocates of slavery, were in cordial sympathy with this +movement, and aided it with their purses, and in many other ways. It +was thought that if Texas could be wrested from Mexico and annexed to +the United States, it might be divided into several slaveholding +States, and thus check the rapidly increasing preponderance of the free +States of the North. + +To join in this enterprise, Crockett now left his home, his wife, his +children. There could be no doubt of the eventual success of the +undertaking. And in that success Crockett saw visions of political +glory opening before him. I determined, he said, "to 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 would be brought about, I +promised to give the Texans a helping hand on the high road to freedom." + +He dressed himself in a new deerskin hunting-shirt, put on a foxskin +cap with the tail hanging behind, shouldered his famous rifle, and +cruelly leaving in the dreary cabin his wife and children whom he +cherished with an "ocean of love and affection," set out on foot upon +his perilous adventure. A days' journey through the forest brought him +to the Mississippi River. Here he took a steamer down that majestic +stream to the mouth of the Arkansas River, which rolls its vast flood +from regions then quite unexplored in the far West. The stream was +navigable fourteen hundred miles from its mouth. + +Arkansas was then but a Territory, two hundred and forty miles long and +two hundred and twenty-eight broad. The sparsely scattered population +of the Territory amounted to but about thirty thousand. Following up +the windings of the river three hundred miles, one came to a cluster of +a few straggling huts, called Little Rock, which constitutes now the +capital of the State. + +Crockett ascended the river in the steamer, and, unencumbered with +baggage, save his rifle, hastened to a tavern which he saw at a little +distance from the shore, around which there was assembled quite a crowd +of men. He had been so accustomed to public triumphs that he supposed +that they had assembled in honor of his arrival. "Strange as it may +seem," he says, "they took no more notice of me than if I had been Dick +Johnson, the wool-grower. This took me somewhat aback;" and he inquired +what was the meaning of the gathering. + +He found that the people had been called together to witness the feats +of a celebrated juggler and gambler. The name of Colonel Crockett had +gone through the nation; and gradually it became noised abroad that +Colonel Crockett was in the crowd. "I wish I may be shot," Crockett +says, "if I wasn't looked upon as almost as great a sight as Punch and +Judy." + +He was invited to a public dinner that very day. As it took some time +to cook the dinner, the whole company went to a little distance to +shoot at a mark. All had heard of Crockett's skill. After several of +the best sharpshooters had fired, with remarkable accuracy, it came to +Crockett's turn. Assuming an air of great carelessness, he raised his +beautiful rifle, which he called Betsey, to his shoulder, fired, and it +so happened that the bullet struck exactly in the centre of the +bull's-eye. All were astonished, and so was Crockett himself. But with +an air of much indifference he turned upon his heel, saying, "There's +no mistake in Betsey." + +One of the best marksmen in those parts, chagrined at being so beaten, +said, "Colonel, that must have been a chance shot." + +"I can do it," Crockett replied, "five times out of six, any day in the +week." + +"I knew," he adds, in his autobiography, "it was not altogether as +correct as it might be; but when a man sets about going the big figure, +halfway measures won't answer no how." + +It was now proposed that there should be a second trial. Crockett was +very reluctant to consent to this, for he had nothing to gain, and +everything to lose. But they insisted so vehemently that he had to +yield. As what ensued does not redound much to his credit, we will let +him tell the story in his own language. + +"So to it again 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 showing +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 examined the bull's-eye pretty +particular, and at length cried out, 'Here it is; there is no snakes if +it ha'n't followed 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 when speaking of me as a marksman: and +they all said they had enough of shooting for that day, and they moved +that we adjourn to the tavern and liquor." + +The dinner consisted of bear's meat, venison, and wild turkey. They had +an "uproarious" time over their whiskey. Crockett made a coarse and +vulgar speech, which was neither creditable to his head nor his heart. +But it was received with great applause. + +The next morning Crockett decided to set out to cross the country in a +southwest direction, to Fulton, on the upper waters of the Red River. +The gentlemen furnished Crockett with a fine horse, and five of them +decided to accompany him, as a mark of respect, to the River Washita, +fifty miles from Little Rock. Crockett endeavored to raise some +recruits for Texas, but was unsuccessful. When they reached the +Washita, they found a clergyman, one of those bold, hardy pioneers of +the wilderness, who through the wildest adventures were distributing +tracts and preaching the gospel in the remotest hamlets. + +He was in a condition of great peril. He had attempted to ford the +river in the wrong place, and had reached a spot where he could not +advance any farther, and yet could not turn his horse round. With much +difficulty they succeeded in extricating him, and in bringing him safe +to the shore. Having bid adieu to his kind friends, who had escorted +him thus far, Crockett crossed the river, and in company with the +clergyman continued his journey, about twenty miles farther west toward +a little settlement called Greenville. He found his new friend to be a +very charming companion. In describing the ride, Crockett writes: + +"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, travelling 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 listened 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 sterile +rocks seemed to be endued with some mysterious influence. We were alone +in the wilderness, but all things told me that God was there. The +thought renewed my strength and courage. I had left my country, felt +somewhat like an outcast, 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, 'Now 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 membership, or obtained a +dispensation. Having liquored, we proceeded on our journey, keeping a +sharp lookout 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 Western States. + +"He was very cheerful and happy, though to all appearances very poor. I +thought that he would make a first-rate agent for taking up lands, and +mentioned it to him. He smiled, and pointing above, said, 'My wealth +lies not in this world.'" + +From Greenville, Crockett pressed on about fifty or sixty miles through +a country interspersed withe forests and treeless prairies, until he +reached Fulton. He had a letter of introduction to one of the prominent +gentlemen here, and was received with marked distinction. After a short +visit he disposed of his horse; he took a steamer to descend the river +several hundred miles to Natchitoches, pronounced Nakitosh, a small +straggling village of eight hundred inhabitants, on the right bank of +the Red River, about two hundred miles from its entrance into the +Mississippi. + +In descending the river there was a juggler on board, who performed +many skilful juggling tricks, and by various feats of gambling won much +money from his dupes. Crockett was opposed to gambling in all its +forms. Becoming acquainted with the juggler and, finding him at heart a +well-meaning, good-natured fellow, he endeavored to remonstrate with +him upon his evil practices. + +"I told him," says Crockett, "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 subsistence to +such a 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 impossible 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 element, 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?' + +"'Die like a brave one. And I know not whether, in the eyes of the +world, a brilliant death is not preferred to an obscure life of +rectitude. Most men are remembered as they died, and not as they lived. +We gaze with admiration upon the glories of the setting sun, yet +scarcely bestow 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 degrading habits and +associates here, and, in fighting for the freedom of the Texans, regain +your own.' + +"The man seemed much moved. He caught up his gambling instruments, +thrust them into his pocket, with hasty strides traversed the floor two +or three times, and then exclaimed: + +"'By heaven, I will try to be a man again. I will live honestly, or die +bravely. I will go with you to Texas.'" + +To confirm him in his good resolution, Crockett "asked him to liquor." +At Natchitoches, Crockett encountered another very singular character. +He was a remarkably handsome young man, of poetic imagination, a sweet +singer, and with innumerable scraps of poetry and of song ever at his +tongue's end. Honey-trees, as they were called, were very abundant in +Texas The prairies were almost boundless parterres of the richest +flowers, from which the bees made large quantities of the most +delicious honey. This they deposited in the hollows of trees. Not only +was the honey valuable, but the wax constituted a very important +article of commerce in Mexico, and brought a high price, being used for +the immense candles which they burned in their churches. The +bee-hunter, by practice, acquired much skill in coursing the bees to +their hives. + +This man decided to join Crockett and the juggler in their journey over +the vast prairies of Texas. Small, but very strong and tough Mexican +ponies, called mustangs, were very cheap. They were found wild, in +droves of thousands, grazing on the prairies. The three adventurers +mounted their ponies, and set out on their journey due west, a distance +of one hundred and twenty miles, to Nacogdoches. Their route was along +a mere trail, which was called the old Spanish road. It led over vast +prairies, where there was no path, and where the bee-hunter was their +guide, and through forests where their course was marked only by blazed +trees. + +The bee-hunter, speaking of the state of society in Texas, said that at +San Felipe he had sat down with a small party at the breakfast-table, +where eleven of the company had fled from the States charged with the +crime of murder. So accustomed were the inhabitants to the appearance +of fugitives from justice, that whenever a stranger came among them, +they took it for granted that he had committed some crime which +rendered it necessary for him to take refuge beyond the grasp of his +country's laws. + +They reached Nacogdoches without any special adventure. It was a +flourishing little Mexican town of about one thousand inhabitants, +situated in a romantic dell, about sixty miles west of the River +Sabine. The Mexicans and the Indians were very nearly on an +intellectual and social equality. Groups of Indians, harmless and +friendly, were ever sauntering through the streets of the little town. + +Colonel Crockett's horse had become lame on the journey. He obtained +another, and, with his feet nearly touching the ground as he bestrode +the little animal, the party resumed its long and weary journey, +directing their course two or three hundred miles farther southwest +through the very heart of Texas to San Antonio. They frequently +encountered vast expanses of canebrakes; such canes as Northern boys +use for fishing-poles. There is one on the banks of Caney Creek, +seventy miles in length, with scarcely a tree to be seen for the whole +distance. There was generally a trail cut through these, barely wide +enough for a single mustang to pass. The reeds were twenty or thirty +feet high, and so slender that, having no support over the path, they +drooped a little inward and intermingled their tops. Thus a very +singular and beautiful canopy was formed, beneath which the travellers +moved along sheltered from the rays of a Texan sun. + +As they were emerging from one of these arched avenues, they saw three +black wolves jogging along very leisurely in front of them, but at too +great a distance to be reached by a rifle-bullet. Wild turkeys were +very abundant, and vast droves of wild horses were cropping the herbage +of the most beautiful and richest pastures to be found on earth. +Immense herds of buffaloes were also seen. + +"These sights," says Crockett, "awakened the ruling passion strong +within me, and I longed to have a hunt on a large scale. For though I +had killed many bears and deer in my time, I had never brought down a +buffalo, and so I told my friends. But they tried to dissuade me from +it, telling me that I would certainly lose my way, and perhaps perish; +for though it appeared a garden to the eye, it was still a wilderness. +I said little more upon the subject until we crossed the Trinidad +River. But every mile we travelled, I found the temptation grew +stronger and stronger." + +The night after crossing the Trinidad River they were so fortunate as +to come across the hut of a poor woman, where they took shelter until +the next morning. They were here joined by two other chance travellers, +who must indeed have been rough specimens of humanity. Crockett says +that though he had often seen men who had not advanced far over the +line of civilization, these were the coarsest samples he had ever met. + +One proved to be an old pirate, about fifty years of age. He was tall, +bony, and in aspect seemed scarcely human. The shaggy hair of his +whiskers and beard covered nearly his whole face. He had on a sailor's +round jacket and tarpaulin hat. The deep scar, apparently of a sword +cut, deformed his forehead, and another similar scar was on the back of +one of his hands. His companion was a young Indian, wild as the wolves, +bareheaded, and with scanty deerskin dress. + +Early the next morning they all resumed their journey, the two +strangers following on foot. Their path led over the smooth and +treeless prairie, as beautiful in its verdure and its flowers as the +most cultivated park could possibly be. About noon they stopped to +refresh their horses and dine beneath a cluster of trees in the open +prairie. They had built their fire, were cooking their game, and were +all seated upon the grass, chatting very sociably, when the bee-hunter +saw a bee, which indicated that a hive of honey might be found not far +distant. He leaped upon his mustang, and without saying a word, +"started off like mad," and scoured along the prairie. "We watched +him," says Crockett, "until he seemed no larger than a rat, and finally +disappeared in the distance." + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +Adventures on the Prairie. + +Disappearance of the Bee Hunter.--The Herd of Buffalo Crockett +lost.--The Fight with the Cougar.--Approach of Savages.--Their +Friendliness.--Picnic on the Prairie.--Picturesque Scene.--The Lost +Mustang recovered.--Unexpected Reunion.--Departure of the +Savages.--Skirmish with the Mexicans.--Arrival at the Alamo. + + +Soon after the bee-hunter had disappeared, all were startled by a +strange sound, as of distant thunder. It was one of the most beautiful +of summer days. There was not a cloud to be seen. The undulating +prairie, waving with flowers, lay spread out before them, more +beautiful under nature's bountiful adornings than the most artistic +parterre, park or lawn which the hand of man ever reared. A gentle, +cool breeze swept through the grove, fragrant and refreshing as if from +Araby the blest. It was just one of those scenes and one of those hours +in which all vestiges of the Fall seemed to have been obliterated, and +Eden itself again appeared blooming in its pristine beauty. + +Still those sounds, growing more and more distinct, were not sounds of +peace, were not eolian warblings; they were mutterings as of a rising +tempest, and inspired awe and a sense of peril. Straining their eyes +toward the far-distant west, whence the sounds came, they soon saw an +immense black cloud just emerging from the horizon and apparently very +low down, sweeping the very surface of the prairie. This strange, +menacing cloud was approaching with manifestly great rapidity. It was +coming directly toward the grove where the travellers were sheltered. A +cloud of dust accompanied the phenomenon, ever growing thicker and +rising higher in the air. + +"What can that all mean?" exclaimed Crockett, in evident alarm. + +The juggler sprang to his feet, saying, "Burn my old shoes if I know." + +Even the mustangs, which were grazing near by, were frightened They +stopped eating, pricked up their ears, and gazed in terror upon the +approaching danger. It was then supposed that the black cloud, with its +muttered thunderings, must be one of those terrible tornadoes which +occasionally swept the region, bearing down everything before it. The +men all rushed for the protection of the mustangs. In the greatest +haste they struck off their hobbles and led them into the grove for +shelter. + +The noise grew louder and louder, and they had scarcely brought the +horses beneath the protection of the trees, when they perceived that it +was an immense herd of buffaloes, of countless hundreds, dishing along +with the speed of the wind, and bellowing and roaring in tones as +appalling as if a band of demons were flying and shrieking in terror +before some avenging arm. + +The herd seemed to fill the horizon. Their numbers could not be +counted. They were all driven by some common impulse of terror. In +their head-long plunge, those in front pressed on by the innumerable +throng behind, it was manifest that no ordinary obstacle would in the +slightest degree retard their rush. The spectacle was sublime and +terrible. Had the travellers been upon the open plain, it seemed +inevitable that they must have been trampled down and crushed out of +every semblance of humanity by these thousands of hard hoofs. + +But it so chanced that they were upon what is called a rolling prairie, +with its graceful undulations and gentle eminences. It was one of these +beautiful swells which the grove crowned with its luxuriance. + +As the enormous herd came along with its rush and roar, like the +bursting forth of a pent-up flood, the terrified mustangs were too much +frightened to attempt to escape. They shivered in every nerve as if +stricken by an ague. + +An immense black bull led the band. He was a few feet in advance of all +the rest. He came roaring along, his tail erect in the air as a +javelin, his head near the ground, and his stout, bony horns projected +as if he were just ready to plunge upon his foe. Crockett writes: + +"I never felt such a desire to have a crack at anything in all my life. +He drew nigh the place where I was standing. I raised my beautiful +Betsey to my shoulder and blazed away. He roared, and suddenly stopped. +Those that were near him did so likewise. The commotion occasioned by +the impetus of those in the rear was such that it was a miracle that +some of them did not break their heads 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 followed, sweeping by like a tornado. And I do say I +never witnessed a sight more beautiful to the eye of a hunter in all my +life." + +The temptation to pursue them was too strong for Crockett to resist. +For a moment he was himself bewildered, and stood gazing with +astonishment upon the wondrous spectacle. Speedily he reloaded his +rifle, sprung upon his horse, and set out in pursuit over the green and +boundless prairie. There was something now quite ludicrous in the +scene. There was spread out an ocean expanse of verdure. A herd of +countless hundreds of majestic buffaloes, every animal very ferocious +in aspect, was clattering along, and a few rods behind them in eager +pursuit was one man, mounted on a little, insignificant Mexican pony, +not much larger than a donkey. It would seem that but a score of this +innumerable army need but turn round and face their foe, and they could +toss horse and rider into the air, and then contemptuously trample them +into the dust. + +Crockett was almost beside himself with excitement. Looking neither to +the right nor the left, unconscious in what direction he was going, he +urged forward, with whip and spur, the little mustang, to the utmost +speed of the animal, and yet scarcely in the least diminished the +distance between him and the swift-footed buffaloes. Ere long, it was +evident that he was losing in the chase. But the hunter, thinking that +the buffaloes could not long continue their flight at such a speed, and +that they would soon, in weariness, loiter and stop to graze, +vigorously pressed on, though his jaded beast was rapidly being +distance by the herd. + +At length the enormous moving mass appeared but as a cloud in the +distant horizon. Still, Crockett, his mind entirely absorbed in the +excitement of the chase, urged his weary steed on, until the buffalos +entirely disappeared from view in the distance. Crockett writes: + +"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 +always 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 was completely +bewildered. I looked around, and there was, as far as the eye could +reach, spread before me a country apparently 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 compass to guide me, +and there was no other path than that which my mustang made. Indeed, if +I had found a beaten tract, 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 travelled 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." + +For several hours Crockett rode through these vast and lonely +solitudes, the Eden of nature, without meeting with the slightest trace +of a human being. Evening was approaching, still, calm, and bright. The +most singular and even oppressive silence prevailed, for neither voice +of bird nor insect was to be heard. Crockett began to feel very uneasy. +The fact that he was lost himself did not trouble him much, but he felt +anxious for his simple-minded, good-natured friend, the juggler, who +was left entirely alone and quite unable to take care of himself under +such circumstances. + +As he rode along, much disturbed by these unpleasant reflections, +another novelty, characteristic of the Great West, arrested his +attention and elicited his admiration. He was just emerging from a very +lovely grove, carpeted with grass, which grew thick and green beneath +the leafy canopy which overarched it. There was not a particle of +underbrush to obstruct one's movement through this natural park. Just +beyond the grove there was another expanse of treeless prairie, so +rich, so beautiful, so brilliant with flowers, that even Colonel +Crockett, all unaccustomed as he was to the devotional mood, reined in +his horse, and gazing entranced upon the landscape, exclaimed: + +"O God, what a world of beauty hast thou made for man! And yet how +poorly does he requite thee for it! He does not even repay thee with +gratitude." + +The attractiveness of the scene was enhanced by a drove of more than a +hundred wild horses, really beautiful animals, quietly pasturing. It +seemed impossible but that the hand of man must have been employed in +embellishing this fair creation. It was all God's work. "When I looked +around and fully realized it all," writes Crockett, "I thought of the +clergyman who had preached to me in the wilds of Arkansas." + +Colonel Crockett rode out upon the prairie. The horses no sooner espied +him than, excited, but not alarmed, the whole drove, with neighings, +and tails uplifted like banners, commenced coursing around him in an +extended circle, which gradually became smaller and smaller, until they +came in close contact; and the Colonel, not a little alarmed, found +himself completely surrounded, and apparently the prisoner of these +powerful steeds. + +The little mustang upon which the Colonel was mounted seemed very happy +in its new companionship. It turned its head to one side, and then to +the other, and pranced and neighed, playfully biting at the mane of one +horse, rubbing his nose against that of another, and in joyous gambols +kicking up its heels. The Colonel was anxious to get out of the mess. +But his little mustang was not at all disposed to move in that +direction; neither did the other horses seem disposed to acquiesce in +such a plan. + +Crockett's heels were armed with very formidable Spanish spurs, with +prongs sharp and long. The hunter writes: + +"To escape from the annoyance, I beat the devil's 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 +mane streaming. My little critter, who was both blood and bottom, +seemed delighted at being at the head of the heap; and having once +fairly got 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, clatter, 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 some time, 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 in the 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 long. The wild steed of the prairie soon +outstripped the heavily burdened mustang, and shooting ahead, kicked up +his heels as in derision. The rest of the herd followed, in the same +disrespectful manner. Crockett jogged quietly on in the rear, glad to +be rid of such troublesome and dangerous companions. The horses soon +reached a stream, which Crockett afterward learned was called the +Navasola River. The whole herd, following an adventurous leader, rushed +pell-mell into the stream and swam to the other side. It was a +beautiful sight to behold these splendid animals, in such a dense +throng, crossing the stream, and then, refreshed by their bath, +sweeping like a whirlwind over the plain beyond. + +Crockett's exhausted pony could go no further. He fairly threw himself +upon the ground as if in despair. Crockett took from the exhausted +animal the saddle, and left the poor creature to roll upon the grass +and graze at pleasure. He thought it not possible that the mustang +could wander to any considerable distance. Indeed, he fully expected to +find the utterly exhausted beast, who could no longer stand upon his +legs, dead before morning. + +Night was fast closing around him. He began to look around for shelter. +There was a large tree blown down by the side of the stream, its top +branching out very thick and bushy. Crockett thought that with his +knife, in the midst of that dense foliage with its interlacing +branches, he could make himself a snug arbor, where, wrapped in his +blanket, he could enjoy refreshing sleep. He approached the tree, and +began to work among the almost impervious branches, when he heard a low +growl, which he says he interpreted to mean, "Stranger, these +apartments are already taken." + +Looking about to see what kind of an animal he had disturbed, and whose +displeasure he had manifestly encountered, he saw the brilliant eyes +glaring through the leaves of a large Mexican cougar, sometimes called +the panther or American lion. This animal, endowed with marvellous +agility and strength, will pounce from his lair on a deer, and even a +buffalo, and easily with tooth and claw tear him to pieces. + +"He was not more than five or six paces from me," writes Crockett, "and +was eying me as an epicure surveys the table before he selects his +dish, I have no doubt the cougar looked upon me as the subject of a +future supper. Rays 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." + +The conflict which ensued cannot be more graphically described than in +Crocket's own words: + +"One glance satisfied me that there was no time to be lost. There was +no retreat either for me or the cougar. So I levelled my Betsey and +blazed away. The report was followed by a furious growl, and the next +moment, when I expected to find the tarnal critter struggling with +death, I beheld him shaking his head, as if nothing 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 tearing 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 +retreated three steps before he sprang at me like a steamboat; 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 to close +quarters before the fight would be over. This time he succeeded in +fastening on my left arm, and was just beginning to amuse himself by +tearing the flesh off with 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 become 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 towards my +face; I grasped his tail with my left hand, and tickled his ribs with +my haunting-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 presented a fair mark for my hunting-knife. +Without 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." + +Crockett, breathless and bleeding, but signally a victor, took quiet +possession of the treetop, the conquest of which he had so valiantly +achieved. He parted some of the branches, cut away others, and +intertwining the softer twigs, something like a bird's nest, made for +himself a very comfortable bed. There was an abundance of moss, dry, +pliant, and crispy, hanging in festoons from the trees. This, spread in +thick folds over his litter, made as luxuriant a mattress as one could +desire. His horse-blanket being laid down upon this, the weary +traveller, with serene skies above him and a gentle breeze breathing +through his bower, had no cause to envy the occupant of the most +luxurious chamber wealth can furnish. + +He speedily prepared for himself a frugal supper, carried his saddle +into the treetop, and, though oppressed with anxiety in view of the +prospect before him, fell asleep, and in blissful unconsciousness the +hours passed away until the sun was rising in the morning. Upon +awaking, he felt very stiff and sore from the wounds he had received in +his conflict with the cougar. Looking over the bank, he saw the dead +body of the cougar lying there, and felt that he had much cause of +gratitude that he had escaped so great a danger. + +He then began to look around for his horse. But the animal was nowhere +to be seen. He ascended one of the gentle swells of land, whence he +could look far and wide over the unobstructed prairie. To his surprise, +and not a little to his consternation, the animal had disappeared, +"without leaving trace of hair or hide." At first he thought the +mustang must have been devoured by wolves or some other beasts of prey. +But then it was manifest they could not have eaten his bones, and +something would have remained to indicate the fate of the poor +creature. While thus perplexed, Crockett reflected sadly that he was +lost, alone and on foot, on the boundless prairie. He was, however, too +much accustomed to scenes of the wildest adventure to allow himself to +be much cast down. His appetite was not disturbed, and he began to feel +the cravings of hunger. + +He took his rifle and stepped out in search of his breakfast. He had +gone but a short distance ere he saw a large flock of wild geese, on +the bank of the river. Selecting a large fat gander, he shot him, soon +stripped him of his feathers, built a fire, ran a stick through the +goose for a spit, and then, supporting it on two sticks with prongs, +roasted his savory viand in the most approved style. He had a little +tin cup with him, and a paper of ground coffee, with which he made a +cup of that most refreshing beverage. Thus he breakfasted sumptuously. + +He was just preparing to depart, with his saddle upon his shoulder, +much perplexed as to the course he should pursue, when he was again +alarmed by one of those wild scenes ever occurring in the West. First +faintly, then louder and louder came the sound as of the trampling of +many horses on the full gallop. His first thought was that another +enormous herd of buffaloes was sweeping down upon him. But soon he saw, +in the distance, a band of about fifty Comanche Indians, well mounted, +painted, plumed, and bannered, the horse and rider apparently one +animal, coming down upon him, their horses being urged to the utmost +speed. It was a sublime and yet an appalling spectacle, as this band of +half-naked savages, their spears glittering in the morning sun, and +their long hair streaming behind, came rushing on. + +Crockett was standing in full view upon the banks of the stream. The +column swept on, and, with military precision, as it approached, +divided into two semicircles, and in an instant the two ends of the +circle reached the river, and Crockett was surrounded. Three of the +savages performed the part of trumpeters, and with wonderful +resemblance, from their lips, emitted the pealing notes of the bugle. +Almost by instinct he grasped his rifle, but a flash of thought taught +him that, under the circumstances, any attempt at resistance would be +worse than unavailing. + +The chief sprang from his horse, and advancing with proud strides +toward Crockett, was struck with admiration at sight of his magnificent +rifle. Such a weapon, with such rich ornamentation, had never before +been seen on the prairies. The eagerness with which the savage regarded +the gun led Crockett to apprehend that he intended to appropriate it to +himself. + +The Comanches, though a very warlike tribe, had held much intercourse +with the Americans, and friendly relations then existed between them +and our Government. Crockett, addressing the chief, said: + +"Is your nation at war with the Americans?" + +"No," was the reply; "they are our friends." + +"And where," Crockett added, "do your get your spear-heads, your +rifles, your blankets, and your knives?" + +"We get them from our friends the Americans," the chief replied. + +"Well," said Crockett, "do you think that if you were passing through +their country, as I am passing through yours, they would attempt to rob +you of your property?" + +"No," answered the savage; "they would feed me and protect me. And the +Comanche will do the same by his white brother." + +Crockett then inquired of the chief what had guided him and his party +to the spot where they had found him? The chief said that they were at +a great distance, but had seen the smoke from his fire, and had come to +ascertain the cause of it. + +"He inquired," writes Crockett, "what had brought me there alone. I +told him 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 this the chief gave a low chuckling laugh, and said that 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." + +The savages speedily discovered the dead body of the cougar, and +commenced skinning him. They were greatly surprised on seeing the +number of the stabs, and inquired into the cause. When Crockett +explained to them the conflict, the proof of which was manifest in his +own lacerated skin, and in the wounds inflicted upon the cougar, they +were greatly impressed with the valor he had displayed. The chief +exclaimed several times, in tones of commingled admiration and +astonishment, "Brave hunter! brave man!" He also expressed the earnest +wish that Crockett would consent to be adopted as a son of the tribe. +But this offer was respectfully declined. + +This friendly chief kindly consented to escort Crockett as far as the +Colorado River. Crockett put his saddle on a fresh horse, and having +mounted, the chief, with Crockett at his side, took the lead, and off +the whole band went, scouring over the pathless prairie at a rapid +speed. Several of the band were squaws. They were the trumpeters. They +made the prairie echo with their bugle-blasts, or, as Crockett +irreverently, but perhaps more correctly says, "The old squaws, at the +head of the troop, were braying like young jackasses the whole way." + +After thus riding over the green and treeless expanse for about three +hours, they came upon a drove of wild horses, quietly pasturing on the +rich herbage. One of the Indians immediately prepared his lasso, and +darted out toward the herd to make a capture. The horses did not seem +to be alarmed by his approach, but when he got pretty nigh them they +began to circle around him, keeping at a cautious distance, with their +heads elevated and with loud neighings. They then, following the +leadership of a splendid stallion, set off on a brisk canter, and soon +disappeared beyond the undulations of the prairie. + +One of the mustangs remained quietly grazing. The Indian rode to within +a few yards of him, and very skilfully threw his lasso. The mustang +seemed to be upon the watch, for he adroitly dodged his head between +his forefeet and thus escaped the fatal noose. The Indian rode up to +him, and the horse patiently submitted to be bridled and thus secured. + +"When I approached," writes Crockett, "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 sheepish, 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 any effort to escape. He told me that they were generally +hurled to the ground with such violence, when first taken with the +lasso, that they remembered it ever after; and that the sight of the +lasso will subdue them to submission, though they may have run wild for +years." + +All the day long, Crockett, with his convoy of friendly savages, +travelled over the beautiful prairie. Toward evening they came across a +drove of fat buffaloes grazing in the richest of earthly pastures. It +was a beautiful sight to witness the skill with which the Indians +pursued and hunted down the noble game. Crockett was quite charmed with +the spectacle. It is said that the Comanche Indians are the finest +horsemen in the world. Always wandering about over the boundless +prairies, where wild horses are found in countless numbers, they are +ever on horseback, men, women, and children. Even infants, almost in +their earliest years, are taught to cling to the mane of the horse. +Thus the Comanche obtains the absolute control of the animal; and when +scouring over the plain, bareheaded and with scanty dress, the horse +and rider seem veritably like one person. + +The Comanches were armed only with bows and arrows. The herd early took +fright, and fled with such speed that the somewhat exhausted horses of +the Comanches could not get within arrow-shot of them. Crockett, +however, being well mounted and unsurpassed by any Indian in the arts +of hunting, selected a fat young heifer, which he knew would furnish +tender steaks, and with his deadly bullet struck it down. This was the +only beef that was killed. All the rest of the herd escaped. + +The Indians gathered around the slain animal for their feast. With +their sharp knives the heifer was soon skinned and cut up into savory +steaks and roasting-pieces. Two or three fires were built. The horses +were hobbled and turned loose to graze. Every one of the Indians +selected his own portion, and all were soon merrily and even +affectionately engaged in this picnic feast, beneath skies which Italy +never rivalled, and surrounded with the loveliness of a park surpassing +the highest creations of art in London, Paris, or New York. + +The Indians were quite delighted with their guest. He told them stories +of his wild hunting excursions, and of his encounters with panthers and +bears. They were charmed by his narratives, and they sat eager +listeners until late into the night, beneath the stars and around the +glowing camp-fires. Then, wrapped in their blankets, they threw +themselves down on the thick green grass and slept. Such are the joys +of peace and friendship. + +They resumed their journey in the morning, and pressed along, with +nothing of special interest occurring until they reached the Colorado +River. As they were following down this stream, to strike the road +which leads to Bexar, they saw in the distance a single column of smoke +ascending the clear sky. Hastening toward it, they found that it rose +from the centre of a small grove near the river. When within a few +hundred yards the warriors extended their line, so as nearly to +encircle the grove, while the chief and Crockett advanced cautiously to +reconnoitre. To their surprise they saw a solitary man seated upon the +ground near the fire, so entirely absorbed in some occupation that he +did not observe their approach. + +In a moment, Crockett, much to his joy, perceived that it was his lost +friend the juggler. He was all engaged in practising his game of +thimbles on the crown of his hat. Crockett was now restored to his +companion, and was near the plain road to Bexar. In describing this +scene and the departure of his kind Indian friends, the hunter writes: + +"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 greater degree what may be called true spontaneous +politeness than this Comanche 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, that I mightn't be ashamed to fill as much as I wanted. +That was what I call doing the fair thing." + +The poor juggler was quite overjoyed in meeting his friend again, whom +he evidently regarded with much reverence. He said that he was very +much alarmed when he found himself alone on the pathless prairie. After +waiting two hours in much anxiety, he mounted his mustang, and was +slowly retracing his steps, when he spied the bee-hunter returning. He +was laden with honey. They had then journeyed on together to the +present spot. The hunter had just gone out in search of game. He soon +returned with a plump turkey upon his shoulders. They built their fire, +and were joyously cooking their supper, when the neighing of a horse +near by startled them. Looking up, they saw two men approaching on +horseback. They proved to be the old pirate and the young Indian with +whom they had lodged a few nights before. Upon being hailed they +alighted, and politely requested permission to join their party. This +was gladly assented to, as they were now entering a region desolated by +the war between the Texans and the Mexicans, and where many small bands +of robbers were wandering, ready to plunder any weaker party they might +encounter. + +The next morning they crossed the river and pushed on for the fortress +of Alamo. When within about twenty miles of San Antonio, they beheld +about fifteen mounted men, well armed, approaching them at full speed. +Crockett's party numbered five. They immediately dismounted, made a +rampart of their horses, and with the muzzles of their rifles pointed +toward the approaching foe, were prepared for battle. + +It was a party of Mexicans. When within a few hundred yards they reined +in their horses, and the leader, advancing a little, called out to them +in Spanish to surrender. + +"We must have a brush with those blackguards," said the pirate. "Let +each one single out his man for the first fire. They are greater fools +than I take them for if they give us a chance for a second shot. +Colonel, just settle the business with 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. The +pirate replied, with a piratic oath, "Fire away." + +"And sure enough," writes Crockett, "they took his advice, for the next +minute we were saluted with a discharge of musketry, the report of +which was 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. We 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 approached. We hastily mounted and commenced pursuit, +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 XIII. + +Conclusion. + +The Fortress of Alamo.--Colonel Bowie.--Bombardment of the +Fort.--Crockett's Journal.--Sharpshooting.--Fight outside of the +Fort.--Death of the Bee Hunter.--Kate of Nacogdoches.--Assault on the +Citadel.--Crockett a Prisoner.--His Death. + + +The fortress of Alamo is just outside of the town of Bexar, on the San +Antonio River. The town is about one hundred and forty miles from the +coast, and contained, at that time, about twelve hundred inhabitants. +Nearly all were Mexicans, though there were a few American families. In +the year 1718, the Spanish Government had established a military +outpost here; and in the year 1721, a few emigrants from Spain +commenced a flourishing settlement at this spot. Its site is beautiful, +the air salubrious, the soil highly fertile, and the water of crystal +purity. + +The town of Bexar subsequently received the name of San Antonio. On the +tenth of December, 1835, the Texans captured the town and citadel from +the Mexicans. These Texan Rangers were rude men, who had but little +regard for the refinements or humanities of civilization. When Crockett +with his companions arrived, Colonel Bowie, of Louisiana, one of the +most desperate of Western adventurers, was in the fortress. The +celebrated bowie-knife was named after this man. There was but a feeble +garrison, and it was threatened with an attack by an overwhelming force +of Mexicans under Santa Anna. Colonel Travis was in command. He was +very glad to receive even so small a reinforcement. The fame of Colonel +Crockett, as one of the bravest of men, had already reached his ears. + +"While we were conversing," writes Crockett, "Colonel Bowie had +occasion to draw his famous knife, 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 +colic. He saw I was admiring it, and said he, 'Colonel, you might +tickle a fellow's ribs a long time with this little instrument before +you'd make make him laugh.'" + +According to Crockett's account, many shameful orgies took place in the +little garrison. They were evidently in considerable trepidation, for a +large force was gathering against them, and they could not look for any +considerable reinforcements from any quarter. Rumors were continually +reaching them of the formidable preparations Santa Anna was making to +attack the place. Scouts ere long brought in the tidings that Santa +Anna, President of the Mexican Republic, at the head of sixteen hundred +soldiers, and accompanied by several of his ablest generals, was within +six miles of Bexar. It was said that he was doing everything in his +power to enlist the warlike Comanches in his favor, but that they +remained faithful in their friendship to the United States. + +Early in the month of February, 1836, the army of Santa Anna appeared +before the town, with infantry, artillery, and cavalry. With military +precision they approached, their banners waving, and their bugle-notes +bearing defiance to the feeble little garrison. The Texan invaders, +seeing that they would soon be surrounded, abandoned the town to the +enemy, and fled to the protection of the citadel. They were but one +hundred and fifty in number. Almost without exception they were hardy +adventurers, and the most fearless and desperate of men. They had +previously stored away in the fortress all the provisions, arms, and +ammunition, of which they could avail themselves. Over the battlements +they unfurled an immense flag of thirteen stripes, and with a large +white star of five points, surrounded by the letters "Texas." As they +raised their flag, they gave three cheers, while with drums and +trumpets they hurled back their challenge to the foe. + +The Mexicans raised over the town a blood-red banner. It was their +significant intimation to the garrison that no quarter was to be +expected. Santa Anna, having advantageously posted his troops, in the +afternoon sent a summons to Colonel Travis, demanding an unconditional +surrender, threatening, in case of refusal, to put every man to the +sword. The only reply Colonel Travis made was to throw a cannon-shot +into the town. The Mexicans then opened fire from their batteries, but +without doing much harm. + +In the night, Colonel Travis sent the old pirate on an express to +Colonel Fanning, who, with a small military force, was at Goliad, to +entreat him to come to his aid. Goliad was about four days' march from +Bexar. The next morning the Mexicans renewed their fire from a battery +about three hundred and fifty yards from the fort. A three-ounce ball +struck the juggler on the breast, inflicting a painful but not a +dangerous wound. + +Day after day this storm of war continued. The walls of the citadel +were strong, and the bombardment inflicted but little injury. The +sharpshooters within the fortress struck down many of the assailants at +great distances. + +"The bee-hunter," writes Crockett, "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 that it would be a waste of ammunition to attempt it." +Provisions were beginning to become scarce, and the citadel was so +surrounded that it was impossible for the garrison to cut its way +through the lines and escape. + +Under date of February 28th, Crockett writes in his Journal: + +"Last night our hunters brought in some corn, and had a brush with a +scout from the enemy beyond gunshot 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 invader, who is literally +engaged in a war of extermination 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 blooming paradise into a howling wilderness. For just one +fair crack at that rascal, even at a hundred yards' distance, 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 +remainder of my life. + +"The scouts report that a settler by the name of Johnson, flying with +his wife and three little children, when they reached the Colorado, +left his family on the shore, and waded into the river to see whether +it would be safe to ford with his wagon. When about the middle of the +river he was seized by an alligator, and after a struggle was dragged +under the water, and perished. The helpless woman and her babes were +discovered, gazing in agony on the spot, by other fugitives, 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 +intervals throughout the day, and all hands were kept up to their work." + +The next day he writes: "I had a little sport this morning before +breakfast. The enemy had planted a piece of ordnance within gunshot of +the fort during the night, and the first thing in the morning they +commenced a brisk cannonade, 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 the +juggler, 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. My companion handed me another gun, and I fixed him +off in like manner. A fourth, then a fifth seized the match, who both +met with the same fate. Then the whole party gave it up as a bad job, +and hurried off to the camp, leaving the cannon ready charged where +they had planted it. I came down, took my bitters, and went to +breakfast." + +In the course of a week the Mexicans lost three hundred men. But still +reinforcements were continually arriving, so that their numbers were on +the rapid increase. The garrison no longer cherished any hope of +receiving aid from abroad. + +Under date of March 4th and 5th, 1836, we have the last lines which +Crockett ever penned. + +"March 4th. 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 pirate, 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. Before we reached the spot the Mexicans were close on the +heels 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 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 continued about five minutes, a detachment +was seen issuing from the fort to our relief, and the Mexicans +scampered of, 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 without 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 anything. +'Nothing,' he replied, 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 came the steed, +but hame never came he.' + +He spoke no more, and a few minutes after died. Poor Kate, who will +tell this to thee? + +The romantic bee-hunter had a sweetheart by the name of Kate in +Nacogdoches. She seems to have been a very affectionate and religious +girl. In parting, she had presented her lover with a Bible, and in +anguish of spirit had expressed her fears that he would never return +from his perilous enterprise. + +The next day, Crockett simply writes, "March 5th. Pop, pop, pop! Bom, +bom, bom! throughout the day. No time for memorandums now. Go ahead! +Liberty and Independence forever." + +Before daybreak on the 6th of March, the citadel of the Alamo was +assaulted by the whole Mexican army, then numbering about three +thousand men. Santa Anna in person commanded. The assailants swarmed +over the works and into the fortress. The battle was fought with the +utmost desperation until daylight. Six only of the Garrison then +remained alive. They were surrounded, and they surrendered. Colonel +Crockett was one. He at the time stood alone in an angle of the fort, +like a lion at bay. His eyes flashed fire, his shattered rifle in his +right hand, and in his left a gleaming bowie-knife streaming with +blood. His face was covered with blood flowing from a deep gash across +his forehead. About twenty Mexicans, dead and dying, were lying at his +feet. The juggler was also there dead. With one hand he was clenching +the hair of a dead Mexican, while with the other he had driven his +knife to the haft in the bosom of his foe. + +The Mexican General Castrillon, to whom the prisoners had surrendered, +wished to spare their lives. He led them to that part of the fort where +Santa Anna stood surrounded by his staff. As Castrillon marched his +prisoners into the presence of the President, he said: + +"Sir, here are six prisoners I have taken alive. How shall I dispose of +them?" + +Santa Anna seemed much annoyed, and said, "Have I not told you before +how to dispose of them? Why do you bring them to me?" + +Immediately several Mexicans commenced plunging their swords into the +bosoms of the captives. Crockett, entirely unarmed, sprang, like a +tiger, at the throat of Santa Anna. But before he could reach him, a +dozen swords were sheathed in his heart, and he fell without a word or +a groan. But there still remained upon his brow the frown of +indignation, and his lip was curled with a smile of defiance and scorn. + +And thus was terminated the earthly life of this extraordinary man. In +this narrative it has been the object of the writer faithfully to +record the influences under which Colonel Crockett was reared, and the +incidents of his wild and wondrous life, leaving it with the reader to +form his own estimate of the character which these exploits indicate. +David Crockett has gone to the tribunal of his God, there to be judged +for all the deeds done in the body. Beautifully and consolingly the +Psalmist has written: + +"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that +fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." + + + + +THE END + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of David Crockett: His Life and Adventures, by +John S. C. 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Hart +and may be reprinted only when these Etexts are free of all fees.] +[Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be used in any sales +of Project Gutenberg Etexts or other materials be they hardware or +software or any other related product without express permission.] + +*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.10/04/01*END* + + + + +Edited by Charles Aldarondo (aldarondo@yahoo.com) + +AMERICAN PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS. + +DAVID CROCKETT: + +HIS + +LIFE AND ADVENTURES + +BY + +JOHN S. C. ABBOTT + +ILLUSTRATED. + + + + + +PREFACE. + + + + + +David Crockett certainly was not a model man. But he was a +representative man. He was conspicuously one of a very numerous +class, still existing, and which has heretofore exerted a very +powerful influence over this republic. As such, his wild and +wondrous life is worthy of the study of every patriot. Of this +class, their modes of life and habits of thought, the majority of +our citizens know as little as they do of the manners and customs of +the Comanche Indians. + +No man can make his name known to the forty millions of this great +and busy republic who has not something very remarkable in his +character or his career. But there is probably not an adult +American, in all these widespread States, who has not heard of David +Crockett. His life is a veritable romance, with the additional charm +of unquestionable truth. It opens to the reader scenes in the lives +of the lowly, and a state of semi-civilization, of which but few of +them can have the faintest idea. + +It has not been my object, in this narrative, to defend Colonel +Crockett or to condemn him, but to present his peculiar character +exactly as it was. I have therefore been constrained to insert some +things which I would gladly have omitted. + +JOHN S. C. ABBOTT. + +FAIR HAVEN, CONN. + + + + + + +CONTENTS + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +Parentage and Childhood. + +The Emigrant.--Crossing the Alleghanies.--The Boundless +Wilderness.--The Hut on the Holston.--Life's Necessaries.--The +Massacre.--Birth of David Crockett.--Peril of the +Boys.--Anecdote.--Removal to Greenville; to Cove Creek.--Increased +Emigration.--Loss of the Mill.--The Tavern.--Engagement with the +Drover.--Adventures in the Wilderness.--Virtual Captivity.--The +Escape.--The Return.--The Runaway.--New Adventures. . . . 7 + +CHAPTER II. + +Youthful Adventures. + +David at Gerardstown.--Trip to Baltimore.--Anecdotes.--He ships for +London.--Disappointment.--Defrauded of his Wages.--Escapes.--New +Adventures.--Crossing the River.--Returns Home.--His Reception.--A +Farm Laborer.--Generosity to his Father.--Love Adventure.--The Wreck +of his Hopes.--His School Education.--Second Love adventure.--Bitter +Disappointment.--Life in the Backwoods.--Third Love Adventure. . . . 35 + +CHAPTER III. + +Marriage and Settlement. + +Rustic Courtship.--The Rival Lover.--Romantic Incident. The Purchase +of a Horse.--The Wedding.--Singular Ceremonies.--The +Termagant.--Bridal Days.--They commence Housekeeping.--The Bridal +mansion and Outfit.--Family Possessions.--The Removal to Central +Tennessee.--Mode of Transportation.--The New Income and its +Surroundings.--Busy Idleness.--The Third Move.--The Massacre at Fort +Mimms. . . . 54 + +CHAPTER IV. + +The Soldier Life. + +War with the Creeks.--Patriotism of Crockett.--Remonstrances of his +Wife.--Enlistment.--The Rendezvous.--Adventure of the +Scouts.--Friendly Indians,--A March through the Forest.--Picturesque +Scene.--The Midnight Alarm.--March by Moonlight.--Chagrin of +Crockett.--Advance into Alabama.--War's Desolations.--Indian +Stoicism.--Anecdotes of Andrew Jackson.--Battles, Carnage, and Woe. +. . . 93 + +CHAPTER V. + +Indian Warfare. + +The Army at Fort Strother.--Crockett's Regiment.--Crockett at +Home.--His Reenlistment.--Jackson Surprised.--Military Ability of +the Indians.--Humiliation of the Creeks.--March to Florida.--Affairs +at Pensacola.--Capture of the City.--Characteristics of +Crockett.--The Weary March,--Inglorious Expedition.--Murder of Two +Indians.--Adventures at the Island.--The Continued March.--Severe +Sufferings.--Charge upon the Uninhabited Village. . . . 124 + +CHAPTER VI. + +The Camp and the Cabin. + +Deplorable Condition of the Army.--Its wanderings.--Crockett's +Benevolence.--Cruel Treatment of the Indians.--A Gleam of Good +Luck.--The Joyful Feast.--Crockett's Trade with the Indian.--Visit +to the Old Battlefield.--Bold Adventure of Crockett.--His Arrival +Home.--Death of his Wife.--Second Marriage.--Restlessness.-- +Exploring Tour.--Wild Adventures.--Dangerous Sickness.--Removal +to the West.--His New Home. . . . 155 + +CHAPTER VII. + +The Justice of Peace and the Legislator. + +Vagabondage.--Measures of Protection.--Measures of +Government.--Crockett's Confession.--A Candidate for Military +Honors.--Curious Display of Moral Courage.--The Squirrel Hunt.--A +Candidate for the Legislature.--Characteristic +Electioneering.--Specimens of his Eloquence.--Great Pecuniary +Calamity.--Expedition to the Far West.--Wild Adventures.--The +Midnight Carouse.--A Cabin Reared. . . . 183 + +CHAPTER VIII. + +Life on the Obion. + +Hunting Adventures.--The Voyage up the River.--Scenes in the +Cabin.--Return Home.--Removal of the Family.--Crockett's Riches.--A +Perilous Enterprise.--Reasons for his Celebrity.--Crockett's +Narrative.--A Bear-Hunt.--Visit to Jackson.--Again a Candidate for +the Legislature.--Electioneering and Election. . . . 212 + +CHAPTER IX. + +Adventures in the Forest, on the River, and in the City + +The Bear Hunter's Story.--Service in the Legislature.--Candidate for +Congress.--Electioneering.--The New Speculation.--Disastrous +Voyage.--Narrow Escape.--New Electioneering Exploits.--Odd +Speeches.--The Visit to Crockett's Cabin.--His Political Views.--His +Honesty.--Opposition to Jackson.--Scene at Raleigh.--Dines with the +President.--Gross Caricature.--His Annoyance. . . . 240 + +CHAPTER X. + +Crockett's Tour to the North and the East. + +His Reelection to Congress.--The Northern Tour.--First Sight of a +Railroad.--Reception in Philadelphia.--His First Speech.--Arrival in +New York.--The Ovation there.--Visit to Boston.--Cambridge and +Lowell.--Specimens of his Speeches.--Expansion of his Ideas.--Rapid +Improvement. . . . 267 + +CHAPTER XI. + +The Disappointed Politician.--Off for Texas. + +Triumphal Return.--Home Charms Vanish.--Loses His Election.--Bitter +Disappointment.--Crockett's Poetry.--Sets out for Texas.--Incidents +of the Journey.--Reception at Little Rock.--The Shooting +Match.--Meeting a Clergyman.--The Juggler.--Crockett a +Reformer.--The Bee Hunter.--The Rough Strangers.--Scene on the +Prairie. . . . 290 + +CHAPTER XII. + +Adventures on the Prairie. + +Disappearance of the Bee Hunter.--The Herd of Buffalo Crockett +lost.--The Fight with the Cougar.--Approach of Savages.--Their +Friendliness.--Picnic on the Prairie.--Picturesque Scene.--The Lost +Mustang recovered.--Unexpected Reunion.--Departure of the +Savages.--Skirmish with the Mexicans.--Arrival at the Alamo. . . .312 + +CHAPTER XIII. + +Conclusion. + +The Fortress of Alamo.--Colonel Bowie.--Bombardment of the +Fort.--Crockett's Journal.--Sharpshooting.--Fight outside of the +Fort.--Death of the Bee Hunter.--Kate of Nacogdoches.--Assault on +the Citadel.--Crockett a Prisoner.--His Death. . . . 340 + + + + + + +DAVID CROCKETT. + +CHAPTER I. + +Parentage and Childhood. + +The Emigrant.--Crossing the Alleghanies.--The boundless +Wilderness.--The Hut on the Holston.--Life's Necessaries.--The +Massacre.--Birth of David Crockett.--Peril of the +Boys.--Anecdote.--Removal to Greenville; to Cove Creek.--Increased +Emigration.--Loss of the Mill.--The Tavern.--Engagement with the +Drover.--Adventures in the Wilderness.--Virtual Captivity.--The +Escape.--The Return.--The Runaway.--New Adventures. + + + + + +A little more than a hundred years ago, a poor man, by the name of +Crockett, embarked on board an emigrant-ship, in Ireland, for the +New World. He was in the humblest station in life. But very little +is known respecting his uneventful career excepting its tragical +close. His family consisted of a wife and three or four children. +Just before he sailed, or on the Atlantic passage, a son was born, +to whom he gave the name of John. The family probably landed in +Philadelphia, and dwelt somewhere in Pennsylvania, for a year or +two, in one of those slab shanties, with which all are familiar as +the abodes of the poorest class of Irish emigrants. + +After a year or two, Crockett, with his little family, crossed the +almost pathless Alleghanies. Father, mother, and children trudged +along through the rugged defiles and over the rocky cliffs, on foot. +Probably a single pack-horse conveyed their few household goods. The +hatchet and the rifle were the only means of obtaining food, +shelter, and even clothing. With the hatchet, in an hour or two, a +comfortable camp could be constructed, which would protect them from +wind and rain. The camp-fire, cheering the darkness of the night, +drying their often wet garments, and warming their chilled limbs +with its genial glow, enabled them to enjoy that almost greatest of +earthly luxuries, peaceful sleep. + +The rifle supplied them with food. The fattest of turkeys and the +most tender steaks of venison, roasted upon forked sticks, which +they held in their hands over the coals, feasted their voracious +appetites. This, to them, was almost sumptuous food. The skin of the +deer, by a rapid and simple process of tanning, supplied them with +moccasons, and afforded material for the repair of their tattered +garments. + +We can scarcely comprehend the motive which led this solitary family +to push on, league after league, farther and farther from +civilization, through the trackless forests. At length they reached +the Holston River. This stream takes its rise among the western +ravines of the Alleghanies, in Southwestern Virginia. Flowing +hundreds of miles through one of the most solitary and romantic +regions upon the globe, it finally unites with the Clinch River, +thus forming the majestic Tennessee. + +One hundred years ago, this whole region, west of the Alleghanies, +was an unexplored and an unknown wilderness. Its silent rivers, its +forests, and its prairies were crowded with game. Countless Indian +tribes, whose names even had never been heard east of the +Alleghanies, ranged this vast expanse, pursuing, in the chase, wild +beasts scarcely more savage than themselves. + +The origin of these Indian tribes and their past history are lost in +oblivion. Centuries have come and gone, during which joys and +griefs, of which we now can know nothing, visited their humble +lodges. Providence seems to have raised up a peculiar class of men, +among the descendants of the emigrants from the Old World, who, +weary of the restraints of civilization, were ever ready to plunge +into the wildest depths of the wilderness, and to rear their lonely +huts in the midst of all its perils, privations, and hardships. + +This solitary family of the Crocketts followed down the northwestern +banks of the Hawkins River for many a weary mile, until they came to +a spot which struck their fancy as a suitable place to build their +Cabin. In subsequent years a small village called Rogersville was +gradually reared upon this spot, and the territory immediately +around was organized into what is now known as Hawkins County. But +then, for leagues in every direction, the solemn forest stood in all +its grandeur. Here Mr. Crockett, alone and unaided save by his wife +and children, constructed a little shanty, which could have been but +little more than a hunter's camp. He could not lift solid logs to +build a substantial house. The hard-trodden ground was the only +floor of the single room which he enclosed. It was roofed with bark +of trees piled heavily on, which afforded quite effectual protection +from the rain. A hole cut through the slender logs was the only +window. A fire was built in one corner, and the smoke eddied through +a hole left in the roof. The skins of bears, buffaloes, and wolves +provided couches, all sufficient for weary ones, who needed no +artificial opiate to promote sleep. Such, in general, were the +primitive homes of many of those bold emigrants who abandoned the +comforts of civilized life for the solitudes of the wilderness. + +They did not want for most of what are called the necessaries of +life. The river and the forest furnished a great variety of fish and +game. Their hut, humble as it was, effectually protected them from +the deluging tempest and the inclement cold. The climate was genial +in a very high degree, and the soil, in its wonderful fertility, +abundantly supplied them with corn and other simple vegetables. But +the silence and solitude which reigned are represented, by those who +experienced them, as at times something dreadful. + +One principal motive which led these people to cross the mountains, +was the prospect of an ultimate fortune in the rise of land. Every +man who built a cabin and raised a crop of grain, however small, was +entitled to four hundred acres of land, and a preemption right to +one thousand more adjoining, to be secured by a land-office warrant. + +In this lonely home, Mr. Crockett, with his wife and children, dwelt +for some months, perhaps years--we know not how long. One night, the +awful yell of the savage was heard, and a band of human demons came +rushing upon the defenceless family. Imagination cannot paint the +tragedy which ensued. Though this lost world, ever since the fall of +Adam, has been filled to repletion with these scenes of woe, it +causes one's blood to curdle in his veins as he contemplates this +one deed of cruelty and blood. + +The howling fiends were expeditious in their work. The father and +mother were pierced by arrows, mangled with the tomahawk, and +scalped. One son, severely wounded, escaped into the forest. Another +little boy, who was deaf and dumb, was taken captive and carried by +the Indians to their distant tribe, where he remained, adopted into +the tribe, for about eighteen years. He was then discovered by some +of his relatives, and was purchased back at a considerable ransom. +The torch was applied to the cabin, and the bodies of the dead were +consumed in the crackling flames. + +What became of the remainder of the children, if there were any +others present in this midnight scene of conflagration and blood, we +know not. There was no reporter to give us the details. We simply +know that in some way John Crockett, who subsequently became the +father of that David whose history we now write, was not involved in +the general massacre. It is probable that he was not then with the +family, but that he was a hired boy of all work in some farmer's +family in Pennsylvania. + +As a day-laborer he grew up to manhood, and married a woman in his +own sphere of life, by the name of Mary Hawkins. He enlisted as a +common soldier in the Revolutionary War, and took part in the battle +of King's Mountain. At the close of the war he reared a humble cabin +in the frontier wilds of North Carolina. There he lived for a few +years, at but one remove, in point of civilization, from the savages +around him. It is not probable that either he or his wife could read +or write. It is not probable that they had any religious thoughts; +that their minds ever wandered into the regions of that mysterious +immortality which reaches out beyond the grave. Theirs was +apparently purely an animal existence, like that of the Indian, +almost like that of the wild animals they pursued in the chase. + +At length, John Crockett, with his wife and three or four children, +unintimidated by the awful fate of his father's family, wandered +from North Carolina, through the long and dreary defiles of the +mountains, to the sunny valleys and the transparent skies of East +Tennessee. It was about the year 1783. Here he came to a rivulet of +crystal water, winding through majestic forests and plains of +luxuriant verdure. Upon a green mound, with this stream flowing near +his door, John Crockett built his rude and floorless hut. Punching +holes in the soil with a stick, he dropped in kernels of corn, and +obtained a far richer harvest than it would be supposed such culture +could produce. As we have mentioned, the building of this hut and +the planting of this crop made poor John Crockett the proprietor of +four hundred acres of land of almost inexhaustible fertility. + +In this lonely cabin, far away in the wilderness, David Crockett was +born, on the 17th of August, 1786. He had then four brothers. +Subsequently four other children were added to the family. + +His childhood's home was more humble than the majority of the +readers of this volume can imagine. It was destitute of everything +which, in a higher state of civilization, is deemed essential to +comfort. The wigwam of the Indian afforded as much protection from +the weather, and was as well furnished, as the cabin of logs and +bark which sheltered his father's family. It would seem, from David +Crockett's autobiography, that in his childhood he went mainly +without any clothing, like the pappooses of an Indian squaw. These +facts of his early life must be known, that we may understand the +circumstances by which his peculiar character was formed. + +He had no instruction whatever in religion, morals, manners, or +mental culture. It cannot be supposed that his illiterate parents +were very gentle in their domestic discipline, or that their example +could have been of any essential advantage in preparing him for the +arduous struggle of life. It would be difficult to find any human +being, in a civilized land, who can have enjoyed less opportunities +for moral culture than David Crockett enjoyed in his early years. + +There was quite a fall on the Nolachucky River, a little below the +cabin of John Crockett. Here the water rushed foaming over the +rocks, with fury which would at once swamp any canoe. When David was +four or five years old, and several other emigrants had come and +reared their cabins in that vicinity, he was one morning out playing +with his brothers on the bank of the river. There was a canoe tied +to the shore. The boys got into it, and, to amuse themselves, pushed +out into the stream, leaving little David, greatly to his +indignation, on the shore. + +But the boys did not know how to manage the canoe, and though they +plied the paddies with all vigor, they soon found themselves caught +in the current, and floating rapidly down toward the falls, where, +should they be swept over, the death of all was inevitable. + +A man chanced to be working in a field not far distant. He heard the +cries of the boys and saw their danger. There was not a moment to be +lost. He started upon the full run, throwing off coat and waistcoat +and shoes, in his almost frantic speed, till he reached the water. +He then plunged in, and, by swimming and wading, seized the canoe +when it was within but about twenty feet of the roaring falls. With +almost superhuman exertions he succeeded in dragging it to the +shore. + +This event David Crockett has mentioned as the first which left any +lasting imprint upon his memory. Not long after this, another +occurrence took place characteristic of frontier life. Joseph +Hawkins, a brother of David's mother, crossed the mountains and +joined the Crockett family in their forest home. One morning he went +out to shoot a deer, repairing to a portion of the forest much +frequented by this animal. As he passed a very dense thicket, he saw +the boughs swaying to and fro, where a deer was apparently browsing. +Very cautiously he crept within rifle-shot, occasionally catching a +glimpse, through the thick foliage, of the ear of the animal,--as he +supposed. + +Taking deliberate aim he fired, and immediately heard a loud outcry. +Rushing to the spot, he found that he had shot a neighbor, who was +there gathering grapes. The ball passed through his side, inflicting +a very serious though not a fatal wound, as it chanced not to strike +any vital part. The wounded man was carried home; and the rude +surgery which was practised upon him was to insert a silk +handkerchief with a ramrod in at the bullet-hole, and draw it +through his body. He recovered from the wound. + +Such a man as John Crockett forms no local attachments, and never +remains long in one place. Probably some one came to his region and +offered him a few dollars for his improvements. He abandoned his +cabin, with its growing neighborhood, and packing his few household +goods upon one or two horses, pushed back fifty miles farther +southwest, into the trackless wilderness. Here he found, about ten +miles above the present site of Greenville, a fertile and beautiful +region. Upon the banks of a little brook, which furnished him with +an abundant supply of pure water, he reared another shanty, and took +possession of another four hundred acres of forest land. Some of his +boys were now old enough to furnish efficient help in the field and +in the chase. + +How long John Crockett remained here we know not. Neither do we know +what induced him to make another move. But we soon find him pushing +still farther back into the wilderness, with his hapless family of +sons and daughters, dooming them, in all their ignorance, to the +society only of bears and wolves. He now established himself upon a +considerable stream, unknown to geography, called Cue Creek. + +David Crockett was now about eight years old. During these years +emigration had been rapidly flowing from the Atlantic States into +this vast and beautiful valley south of the Ohio. With the +increasing emigration came an increasing demand for the comforts of +civilization. Framed houses began to rise here and there, and +lumber, in its various forms, was needed. + +John Crockett, with another man by the name of Thomas Galbraith, +undertook to build a mill upon Cove Creek. They had nearly completed +it, having expended all their slender means in its construction, +when there came a terrible freshet, and all their works were swept +away. The flood even inundated Crockett's cabin, and the family was +compelled to fly to a neighboring eminence for safety. + +Disheartened by this calamity, John Crockett made another move. +Knoxville, on the Holston River, had by this time become quite a +thriving little settlement of log huts. The main route of emigration +was across the mountains to Abingdon, in Southwestern Virginia, and +then by an extremely rough forest-road across the country to the +valley of the Holston, and down that valley to Knoxville. This route +was mainly traversed by pack-horses and emigrants on foot. But stout +wagons, with great labor, could be driven through. + +John Crockett moved still westward to this Holston valley, where he +reared a pretty large log house on this forest road; and opened what +he called a tavern for the entertainment of teamsters and other +emigrants. It was indeed a rude resting-place. But in a fierce storm +the exhausted animals could find a partial shelter beneath a shed of +logs, with corn to eat; and the hardy pioneers could sleep on +bear-skins, with their feet perhaps soaked with rain, feeling the +warmth of the cabin fire. The rifle of John Crockett supplied his +guests with the choicest venison steaks, and his wife baked in the +ashes the "journey cake," since called johnny cake, made of meal +from corn pounded in a mortar or ground in a hand-mill. The +brilliant flame of the pitch-pine knot illumined the cabin; and +around the fire these hardy men often kept wakeful until midnight, +smoking their pipes, telling their stories, and singing their songs. + +This house stood alone in the forest. Often the silence of the night +was disturbed by the cry of the grizzly bear and the howling of +wolves. Here David remained four years, aiding his father in all the +laborious work of clearing the land and tending the cattle. There +was of course no school here, and the boy grew up in entire +ignorance of all book learning. But in these early years he often +went into the woods with his gun in pursuit of game, and, young as +he was, acquired considerable reputation as a marksman. + +One day, a Dutchman by the name of Jacob Siler came to the cabin, +driving a large herd of cattle. He had gathered them farther west, +from the luxuriant pastures in the vicinity of Knoxville, where +cattle multiplied with marvellous rapidity, and was taking them back +to market in Virginia. The drover found some difficulty in managing +so many half wild cattle, as he pressed them forward through the +wilderness, and he bargained with John Crockett to let his son +David, who, as we have said, was then twelve years of age, go with +him as his hired help. Whatever wages he gave was paid to the +father. + +The boy was to go on foot with this Dutchman four hundred miles, +driving the cattle. This transaction shows very clearly the hard and +unfeeling character of David's parents. When he reached the end of +his journey, so many weary leagues from home, the only way by which +he could return was to attach himself to some emigrant party or some +company of teamsters, and walk back, paying for such food as he +might consume, by the assistance he could render on the way. There +are few parents who could thus have treated a child of twelve years. + +The little fellow, whose affections had never been more cultivated +than those of the whelp of the wolf or the cub of the bear, still +left home, as he tells us, with a heavy heart. The Dutchman was an +entire stranger to him, and he knew not what treatment he was to +expect at his hands. He had already experienced enough of forest +travel to know its hardships. A journey of four hundred miles seemed +to him like going to the uttermost parts of the earth. As the +pioneers had smoked their pipes at his father's cabin fire, he had +heard many appalling accounts of bloody conflicts with the Indians, +of massacres, scalpings, tortures, and captivity. + +David's father had taught him, very sternly, one lesson, and that +was implicit and prompt obedience to his demands. The boy knew full +well that it would be of no avail for him to make any remonstrance. +Silently, and trying to conceal his tears, he set out on the +perilous enterprise. The cattle could be driven but about fifteen or +twenty miles a day. Between twenty and thirty days were occupied in +the toilsome and perilous journey. The route led them often through +marshy ground, where the mire was trampled knee-deep. All the +streams had to be forded. At times, swollen by the rains, they were +very deep. There were frequent days of storm, when, through the long +hours, the poor boy trudged onward, drenched with rain and shivering +with cold. Their fare was most meagre, consisting almost entirely of +such game as they chanced to shoot, which they roasted on forked +sticks before the fire. + +When night came, often dark and stormy, the cattle were generally +too much fatigued by their long tramp to stray away. Some instinct +also induced them to cluster together. A rude shanty was thrown up. +Often everything was so soaked with rain that it was impossible to +build a fire. The poor boy, weary and supperless, spattered with mud +and drenched with rain, threw himself upon the wet ground for that +blessed sleep in which the weary forget their woes. Happy was he if +he could induce one of the shaggy dogs to lie down by his side, that +he might hug the faithful animal in his arms, and thus obtain a +little warmth. + +Great was the luxury when, at the close of a toilsome day, a few +pieces of bark could be so piled as to protect from wind and rain, +and a roaring fire could blaze and crackle before the little camp. +Then the appetite which hunger gives would enable him to feast upon +the tender cuts of venison broiled upon the coals, with more +satisfaction than the gourmand takes in the choicest viands of the +restaurant. Having feasted to satiety, he would stretch himself upon +the ground, with his feet to the fire, and soon be lost to all +earth's cares, in sweet oblivion. + +The journey was safely accomplished. The Dutchman had a +father-in-law, by the name of Hartley, who lived in Virginia, having +reared his cabin within about three miles of the Natural Bridge. +Here the boy's contract came to an end. It would seem that the +Dutchman was a good sort of man, as the world goes, and that he +treated the boy kindly. He was so well pleased with David's energy +and fidelity, that he was inclined to retain him in his service. +Seeing the boy's anxiety to return home, he was disposed to throw +around him invisible chains, and to hold him a captive. He thus +threw every possible hindrance in the way of his return, offered to +hire him as his boy of all work, and made him a present of five or +six dollars, which perhaps he considered payment in advance, which +bound the boy to remain with him until he had worked it out. + +David soon perceived that his movements were watched, and that he +was not his own master to go or stay as he pleased. This increased +his restlessness. Four or five weeks thus passed away, when, one +morning, three wagons laden with merchandise came along, bound to +Knoxville. They were driven by an old man by the name of Dugan, and +his two stalwart sons. They had traversed the road before, and David +had seen the old man at his father's tavern. Secretly the shrewd boy +revealed to him his situation, and his desire to get back to his +home. The father and sons conferred together upon the subject. They +were moved with sympathy for the boy, and, after due deliberation, +told him that they should stop for the night about seven miles from +that place, and should set out again on their journey with the +earliest light of the morning; and that if he could get to them +before daylight, he might follow their wagons. + +It was Sunday morning, and it so happened that the Dutchman and the +family had gone away on a visit. David collected his clothes and the +little money he had, and hid them in a bundle under his bed. A very +small bundle held them all. The family returned. and, suspecting +nothing, all retired to sleep. + +David had naturally a very affectionate heart. He never had been +from home before. His lonely situation roused all the slumbering +emotions of his childhood. In describing this event, he writes: + +"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." + +A little after midnight, when the family were in profoundest sleep, +David cautiously rose, and taking his little bundle, crept out +doors. To his disappointment he found that it was snowing fast, +eight inches having already fallen; and the wintry gale moaned +dismally through the treetops. It was a dark, moonless night. The +cabin was in the fields, half a mile from the road along which the +wagons had passed. This boy of twelve years, alone in the darkness, +was to breast the gale and wade through the snow, amid forest +glooms, a distance of seven miles, before he could reach the +appointed rendezvous. + +For a moment his heart sank within him. Then recovering his +resolution, he pushed out boldly into the storm. For three hours he +toiled along, the snow rapidly increasing in depth until it reached +up to his knees. Just before the dawn of the morning he reached the +wagons. The men were up, harnessing their teams. The Dunns were +astounded at the appearance of the little boy amid the darkness and +the tempest. They took him into the house, warmed him by the fire, +and gave him a good breakfast, speaking to him words of sympathy and +encouragement. The affectionate heart of David was deeply moved by +this tenderness, to which he was quite unaccustomed. + +And then, though exhausted by the toil of a three hours' wading +through the drifts, he commenced, in the midst of a mountain storm, +a long day's journey upon foot. It was as much as the horses could +do to drag the heavily laden wagons over the encumbered road. +However weary, he could not ride. However exhausted, the wagons +could not wait for him; neither was there any place in the +smothering snow for rest. + +Day after day they toiled along, in the endurance of hardships now +with difficulty comprehended. Sometimes they were gladdened with +sunny skies and smooth paths. Again the clouds would gather, and the +rain, the sleet, and the snow would envelop them in glooms truly +dismal. Under these circumstances the progress of the wagons was +very slow. David was impatient. As he watched the sluggish turns of +the wheels, he thought that he could travel very much faster if he +should push forward alone, leaving the wagons behind him. + +At length he became so impatient, thoughts of home having obtained +entire possession of his mind, that he informed Mr. Dunn of his +intention to press forward as fast as he could. His elder companions +deemed it very imprudent for such a mere child. thus alone, to +attempt to traverse the wilderness, and they said all they could to +dissuade him, but in vain. He therefore, early the next morning, +bade them farewell, and with light footsteps and a light heart +tripped forward, leaving them behind, and accomplishing nearly as +much in one day as the wagons could in two. We are not furnished +with any of the details of this wonderful journey of a solitary +child through a wilderness of one or two hundred miles. We know not +how he slept at night, or how he obtained food by day. He informs us +that he was at length overtaken by a drover, who had been to +Virginia with a herd of cattle, and was returning to Knoxville +riding one horse and leading another. + +The man was amazed in meeting a mere child in such lonely wilds, and +upon hearing his story, his kind heart was touched. David was a +frail little fellow, whose weight would be no burden for a horse, +and the good man directed him to mount the animal which he led. The +boy had begun to be very tired. He was just approaching a turbid +stream, whose icy waters, reaching almost to his neck, he would have +had to wade but for this Providential assistance. + +Travellers in the wilderness seldom trot their horses. On such a +journey, an animal who naturally walks fast is of much more value +than one which has attained high speed upon the race-course. Thus +pleasantly mounted, David and his kind protector rode along together +until they came within about fifteen miles of John Crockett's +tavern, where their roads diverged. Here David dismounted, and +bidding adieu to his benefactor, almost ran the remaining distance, +reaching home that evening. + +"The name of this kind gentleman," he writes, "I have forgotten; for +it deserves a high place in my little book. A remembrance of his +kindness to a little straggling boy has, however, a resting-place in +my heart, and there it will remain as long as I live." + +It was the spring of the year when David reached his father's cabin. +He spent a part of the summer there. The picture which David gives +of his home is revolting in the extreme. John Crockett, the +tavern-keeper, had become intemperate, and he was profane and +brutal. But his son, never having seen any home much better, does +not seem to have been aware that there were any different abodes +upon earth. Of David's mother we know nothing. She was probably a +mere household drudge, crushed by an unfeeling husband, without +sufficient sensibilities to have been aware of her degraded +condition. + +Several other cabins had risen in the vicinity of John Crockett's. A +man came along, by the name of Kitchen, who undertook to open a +school to teach the boys to read. David went to school four days, +but found it very difficult to master his letters. He was a wiry +little fellow, very athletic, and his nerves seemed made of steel. +When roused by anger, he was as fierce and reckless as a catamount. +A boy, much larger than himself, had offended him. David decided not +to attack him near the school-house, lest the master might separate +them. + +He therefore slipped out of school, just before it was dismissed, +and running along the road, hid in a thicket, near which his victim +would have to pass on his way home. As the boy came unsuspectingly +along, young Crockett, with the leap of a panther, sprang upon his +back. With tooth and nail he assailed him, biting, scratching, +pounding, until the boy cried for mercy. + +The next morning, David was afraid to go to school, apprehending the +severe punishment he might get from the master. He therefore left +home as usual, but played truant, hiding himself in the woods all +day. He did the same the next morning, and so continued for several +days. At last the master sent word to John Crockett, inquiring why +his son David no longer came to school. The boy was called to an +account, and the whole affair came out. + +John Crockett had been drinking. His eyes flashed fire. He cut a +stout hickory stick, and with oaths declared that he would give his +boy an "eternal sight" worse whipping than the master would give +him, unless he went directly back to school. As the drunken father +approached brandishing his stick, the boy ran, and in a direction +opposite from that of the school-house. The enraged father pursued, +and the unnatural race continued for nearly a mile. A slight turn in +the road concealed the boy for a moment from the view of his +pursuer, and he plunged into the forest and hid. The father, with +staggering gait, rushed along, but having lost sight of the boy, +soon gave up the chase, and returned home. + +This revolting spectacle, of such a father and such a son, over +which one would think that angels might weep, only excited the +derision of this strange boy. It was what he had been accustomed to +all his life. He describes it in ludicrous terms, with the slang +phrases which were ever dropping from his lips. David knew that a +terrible whipping awaited him should he go back to the cabin. + +He therefore pushed on several miles, to the hut of a settler whom +he knew. He was, by this time, too much accustomed to the rough and +tumble of life to feel any anxiety about the future. Arriving at the +cabin, it so chanced that he found a man, by the name of Jesse +Cheek, who was just starting with a drove of cattle for Virginia. +Very readily, David, who had experience in that business, engaged to +accompany him. An elder brother also, either weary of his wretched +home or anxious to see more of the world, entered into the same +service. + +The incidents of this journey were essentially the same with those +of the preceding one, though the route led two hundred miles farther +into the heart of Virginia. The road they took passed through +Abingdon, Witheville, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Orange Court +House, to Front Royal in Warren County. Though these frontier +regions then, seventy-five years ago, were in a very primitive +condition, still young Crockett caught glimpses of a somewhat higher +civilization than he had ever encountered before in his almost +savage life. + +Here the drove was sold, and David found himself with a few dollars +in his pocket. His brother decided to look for work in that region. +David, then thirteen years of age, hoping tremblingly that time +enough had elapsed to save him from a whipping, turned his thoughts +homeward. A brother of the drover was about to return on horseback. +David decided to accompany him, thinking that the man would permit +him to ride a part of the way. + +Much to his disgust, the man preferred to ride himself. The horse +was his own. David had no claim to it whatever. He was therefore +left to trudge along on foot. Thus he journeyed for three days. He +then made an excuse for stopping a little while, leaving his +companion to go on alone. He was very careful not again to overtake +him. The boy had then, with four dollars in his pocket, a foot +journey before him of between three and four hundred miles. And this +was to be taken through desolate regions of morass and forest, +where, not unfrequently, the lurking Indian had tomahawked, or gangs +of half-famished wolves had devoured the passing traveller. He was +also liable, at any time, to be caught by night and storm, without +any shelter. + +As he was sauntering along slowly, that he might be sure and not +overtake his undesirable companion, he met a wagoner coming from +Greenville, in Tennessee, and bound for Gerardstown, Berkeley +County, in the extreme northerly part of Virginia. His route lay +directly over the road which David had traversed. The man's name was +Adam Myers. He was a jovial fellow, and at once won the heart of the +vagrant boy. David soon entered into a bargain with Myers, and +turned back with him. The state of mind in which the boy was may be +inferred from the following extract taken from his autobiography. I +omit the profanity, which was ever sprinkled through all his +utterances: + +"I often thought of home, and, indeed, wished bad enough to be +there. But when I thought of the school-house, and of Kitchen, my +master, and of the race with my father, and of the big hickory stick +he carried, and of the fierceness of the storm of wrath I had left +him in, I was afraid to venture back. I knew my father's nature so +well, that I was certain his anger would hang on to him like a +turtle does to a fisherman's toe. The promised whipping came slap +down upon every thought of home." + +Travelling back with the wagon, after two days' journey, he met his +brother again, who had then decided to return himself to the +parental cabin in Tennessee. He pleaded hard with David to accompany +him reminding him of the love of his mother and his sisters. The +boy, though all unused to weeping, was moved to tears. But the +thought of the hickory stick, and of his father's brawny arm, +decided the question. With his friend Myers he pressed on, farther +and farther from home, to Gerardstown. + + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +Youthful Adventures. + +David at Gerardstown.--Trip to Baltimore.--Anecdotes.--He ships for +London.--Disappointment.--Defrauded of his Wages.--Escapes.--New +Adventures.--Crossing the River.--Returns Home.--His Reception.--A +Farm Laborer.--Generosity to his Father.--Love Adventure.--The Wreck +of his Hopes.--His School Education.--Second Love Adventure.--Bitter +Disappointment.--Life in the Backwoods.--Third Love Adventure. + + + + + +The wagoner whom David had accompanied to Gerardstown was +disappointed in his endeavors to find a load to take back to +Tennessee. He therefore took a load to Alexandria, on the Potomac. +David decided to remain at Gerardstown until Myers should return. He +therefore engaged to work for a man by the name of John Gray, for +twenty-five cents a day. It was light farm-work in which he was +employed, and he was so faithful in the performance of his duties +that he pleased the farmer, who was an old man, very much. + +Myers continued for the winter in teaming backward and forward +between Gerardstown and Baltimore, while David found a comfortable +home of easy industry with the farmer. He was very careful in the +expenditure of his money, and in the spring found that he had saved +enough from his small wages to purchase him a suit of coarse but +substantial clothes. He then, wishing to see a little more of the +world, decided to make a trip with the wagoner to Baltimore. + +David had then seven dollars in his pocket, the careful savings of +the labors of half a year. He deposited the treasure with the +wagoner for safe keeping. They started on their journey, with a +wagon heavily laden with barrels of flour. As they were approaching +a small settlement called Ellicott's Mills, David, a little ashamed +to approach the houses in the ragged and mud-bespattered clothes +which he wore on the way, crept into the wagon to put on his better +garments. + +While there in the midst of the flour barrels piled up all around +him, the horses took fright at some strange sight which they +encountered, and in a terrible scare rushed down a steep hill, +turned a sharp corner, broke the tongue of the wagon and both of the +axle-trees, and whirled the heavy barrels about in every direction. +The escape of David from very serious injuries seemed almost +miraculous. But our little barbarian leaped from the ruins +unscathed. It does not appear that he had ever cherished any +conception whatever of an overruling Providence. Probably, a +religious thought had never entered his mind. A colt running by the +side of the horses could not have been more insensible to every idea +of death, and responsibility at God's bar, than was David Crockett. +And he can be hardly blamed for this. The savages had some idea of +the Great Spirit and of a future world. David was as uninstructed in +those thoughts as are the wolves and the bears. Many years +afterward, in writing of this occurrence, he says, with +characteristic flippancy, interlarded with coarse phrases: + +"This proved to me, 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. I didn't know how soon +I should be knocked into a cocked hat, and get my walking-papers for +another country." + +The wagon was quite demolished by the disaster. Another was +obtained, the flour reloaded, and they proceeded to Baltimore, +dragging the wreck behind them, to be repaired there. Here young +Crockett was amazed at the aspect of civilization which was opened +before him. He wandered along the wharves gazing bewildered upon the +majestic ships, with their towering masts, cordage, and sails, which +he saw floating there He had never conceived of such fabrics before. +The mansions, the churches, the long lines of brick stores excited +his amazement. It seemed to him that he had been suddenly introduced +into a sort of fairy-land. All thoughts of home now vanished from +his mind. The great world was expanding before him, and the +curiosity of his intensely active mind was roused to explore more of +its wonders. + +One morning he ventured on board one of the ships at a wharf, and +was curiously and cautiously peering about, when the captain caught +sight of him. It so happened that he was in need of a sailor-boy, +and being pleased with the appearance of the lad, asked David if he +would not like to enter into his service to take a voyage to London. +The boy had no more idea of where London was, or what it was, than +of a place in the moon. But eagerly he responded, "Yes," for he +cared little where he went or what became of him, he was so glad of +an opportunity to see more of the wonders of this unknown world. + +The captain made a few inquiries respecting his friends, his home, +and his past modes of life, and then engaged him for the cruise. +David, in a state of high, joyous excitement, hurried back to the +wagoner, to get his seven dollars of money and some clothes he had +left with him. But Myers put a very prompt veto upon the lad's +procedure, assuming that he was the boy's master, he declared that +he should not go to sea. He refused to let him have either his +clothes or his money, asserting that it was his duty to take him +back to his parents in Tennessee. David would gladly have fled from +him, and embarked without money and without clothes; but the wagoner +watched him so closely that escape was impossible. + +David was greatly down-hearted at this disappointment, and watched +eagerly for an opportunity to obtain deliverance from his bondage. +But Myers was a burly teamster who swung a very heavy wagon-whip, +threatening the boy with a heavy punishment if he should make any +attempt to run away. + +After a few days, Myers loaded his team for Tennessee, and with his +reluctant boy set out on his long journey. David was exceedingly +restless. He now hated the man who was so tyranically domineering +over him. He had no desire to return to his home, and he dreaded the +hickory stick with which he feared his brutal father would assail +him. One dark night, an hour or two before the morning, David +carefully took his little bundle of clothes, and creeping +noiselessly from the cabin, rushed forward as rapidly as his nimble +feet could carry him. He soon felt quite easy in reference to his +escape. He knew that the wagoner slept soundly, and that two hours +at least must elapse before he would open his eyes. He then would +not know with certainty in what direction the boy had fled. He could +not safely leave his horses and wagon alone in the wilderness, to +pursue him; and even should he unharness one of the horses and +gallop forward in search of the fugitive, David, by keeping a +vigilant watch, would see him in the distance and could easily +plunge into the thickets of the forest, and thus elude pursuit. + +He had run along five or six miles, when just as the sun was rising +he overtook another wagon. He had already begun to feel very lonely +and disconsolate. He had naturally an affectionate heart and a +strong mind; traits of character which gleamed through all the dark +clouds that obscured his life. He was alone in the wilderness, +without a penny; and he knew not what to do, or which way to turn. +The moment he caught sight of the teamster his heart yearned for +sympathy. Tears moistened his eyes, and hastening to the stranger, +the friendless boy of but thirteen years frankly told his whole +story. The wagoner was a rough, profane, burly man, of generous +feelings. There was an air of sincerity in the boy, which convinced +him of the entire truth of his statements. His indignation was +aroused, and he gave expression to that indignation in unmeasured +terms. Cracking his whip in his anger, he declared that Myers was a +scoundrel, thus to rob a friendless boy, and that he would lash the +money out of him. + +This man, whose name also chanced to be Myers, was of the tiger +breed, fearing nothing, ever ready for a fight, and almost +invariably coming off conqueror. In his generous rage he halted his +team, grasped his wagon-whip, and, accompanied by the trembling boy, +turned back, breathing vengeance. David was much alarmed, and told +his protector that he was afraid to meet the wagoner, who had so +often threatened him with his whip. But his new friend said," Have +no fear. The man shall give you back your money, or I will thrash it +out of him." + +They had proceeded but about two miles when they met the approaching +team of Adam Myers. Henry Myers, David's new friend, leading him by +the hand, advanced menacingly upon the other teamster, and greeted +him with the words: + +"You accursed scoundrel, what do you mean by robbing this friendless +boy of his money?" Adam Myers confessed that he had received seven +dollars of the boy's money. He said, however, that he had no money +with him; that he had invested all he had in articles in his wagon, +and that he intended to repay the boy as soon as they got back to +Tennessee. This settled the question, and David returned with Henry +Myers to his wagon, and accompanied him for several days on his slow +and toilsome journey westward. + +The impatient boy, as once before, soon got weary of the loitering +pace of the heavily laden team, and concluded to leave his friend +and press forward more rapidly alone. It chanced, one evening, that +several wagons met, and the teamsters encamped for the night +together. Henry Myers told them the story of the friendless boy, and +that he was now about to set out alone for the long journey, most of +it through an entire wilderness, and through a land of strangers +wherever there might chance to be a few scattered cabins. They took +up a collection for David, and presented him with three dollars. + +The little fellow pressed along, about one hundred and twenty-five +miles, down the valley between the Alleghany and the Blue ridges, +until he reached Montgomery Court House. The region then, nearly +three quarters of a century ago, presented only here and there a +spot where the light of civilization had entered. Occasionally the +log cabin of some poor emigrant was found in the vast expanse. +David, too proud to beg, when he had any money with which to pay, +found his purse empty when he had accomplished this small portion of +his journey. + +In this emergence, he hired out to work for a man a month for five +dollars, which was at the rate of about one shilling a day. +Faithfully he fulfilled his contract, and then, rather dreading to +return home, entered into an engagement with a hatter, Elijah +Griffith, to work in his shop for four years. Here he worked +diligently eighteen months without receiving any pay. His employer +then failed, broke up, and left the country. Again this poor boy, +thus the sport of fortune, found himself without a penny, with but +few clothes, and those much worn. + +But it was not his nature to lay anything very deeply to heart. He +laughed at misfortune, and pressed on singing and whistling through +all storms. He had a stout pair of hands, good nature, and +adaptation to any kind of work. There was no danger of his starving; +and exposures, which many would deem hardships, were no hardships +for him. Undismayed he ran here and there, catching at such +employment as he could find, until he had supplied himself with some +comfortable clothing, and had a few dollars of ready money in his +purse. Again he set out alone and on foot for his far-distant home. +He had been absent over two years, and was new fifteen years of age. + +He trudged along, day after day, through rain and sunshine, until he +reached a broad stream called New River. It was wintry weather. The +stream was swollen by recent rains, and a gale then blowing was +ploughing the surface into angry waves. Teams forded the stream many +miles above. There was a log hut here, and the owner had a frail +canoe in which he could paddle an occasional traveller across the +river. But nothing would induce him to risk his life in an attempt +to cross in such a storm. + +The impetuous boy, in his ignorance of the effect of wind upon +waves, resolved to attempt to cross, at every hazard, and +notwithstanding all remonstrances. He obtained a leaky canoe, which +was half stranded upon the shore, and pushed out on his perilous +voyage. He tied his little bundle of clothes to the bows of the +boat, that they might not be washed or blown away, and soon found +himself exposed to the full force of the wind, and tossed by billows +such as he had never dreamed of before. He was greatly frightened, +and would have given all he had in the world, to have been safely +back again upon the shore. But he was sure to be swamped if he +should attempt to turn the boat broadside to the waves in such a +gale. The only possible salvation for him was to cut the approaching +billows with the bows of the boat. Thus he might possibly ride over +them, though at the imminent peril, every moment, of shipping a sea +which would engulf him and his frail boat in a watery grave. + +In this way he reached the shore, two miles above the proper +landing-place. The canoe was then half full of water. He was +drenched with spray, which was frozen into almost a coat of mail +upon his garments. Shivering with cold, he had to walk three miles +through the forest before he found a cabin at whose fire he could +warm and dry himself. Without any unnecessary delay he pushed on +until he crossed the extreme western frontier line of Virginia, and +entered Sullivan County, Tennessee. + +An able-bodied young man like David Crockett, strong, athletic, +willing to work, and knowing how to turn his hand to anything, +could, in the humblest cabin, find employment which would provide +him with board and lodging. He was in no danger of starving. There +was, at that time, but one main path of travel from the East into +the regions of the boundless West. + +As David was pressing along this path he came to a little hamlet of +log huts, where he found the brother whom he had left when he +started from home eighteen months before with the drove of cattle. +He remained with him for two or three weeks, probably paying his +expenses by farm labor and hunting. Again he set out for home. The +evening twilight was darkening into night when he caught sight of +his father's humble cabin. Several wagons were standing around, +showing that there must be considerable company in the house. + +With not a little embarrassment, he ventured in. It was rather dark. +His mother and sisters were preparing supper at the immense +fireside. Quite a group of teamsters were scattered around the room, +smoking their pipes, and telling their marvellous stories. David, +during his absence of two years, had grown, and changed considerably +in personal appearance. None of the family recognized him. They +generally supposed, as he had been absent so long, that he was dead. + +David inquired if he could remain all night. Being answered in the +affirmative, he took a seat in a corner and remained perfectly +silent, gazing upon the familiar scene, and watching the movements +of his father, mother, and sisters. At length supper was ready, and +all took seats at the table. As David came more into the light, one +of his sisters, observing him, was struck with his resemblance to +her lost brother. Fixing her eyes upon him, she, in a moment, rushed +forward and threw her arms around his neck, exclaiming, "Here is my +brother David." + +Quite a scene ensued. The returning prodigal was received with as +much affection as could be expected in a family with such +uncultivated hearts and such unrefined habits as were found in the +cabin of John Crockett. Even the stern old man forgot his hickory +switch, and David, much to his relief, found that he should escape +the long-dreaded whipping. Many years after this, when David +Crockett, to his own surprise, and that of the whole nation, found +himself elevated to the position of one of our national legislators, +he wrote: + +"But it will be a source of astonishment to many, who reflect that I +am now a member of the American Congress, the most enlightened body +of men in the world, that, at so advanced an age, the age of +fifteen, I did not know the first letter in the book." + +By the laws and customs of our land, David was bound to obey his +father and work for him until he was twenty-one years of age. Until +that time, whatever wages he might earn belonged to his father. It +is often an act of great generosity for a hard-working farmer to +release a stout lad of eighteen or nineteen from this obligation, +and "to give him," as it is phrased, "his time." + +John Crockett owed a neighbor, Abraham Wilson, thirty-six dollars. +He told David that if he would work for Mr. Wilson until his wages +paid that sum, he would then release him from all his obligations to +his father, and his son might go free. It was a shrewd bargain for +the old man, for he had already learned that David was abundantly +capable of taking care of himself, and that he would come and go +when and where he pleased. + +The boy, weary of his wanderings, consented to the arrangement, and +engaged to work for Mr. Wilson for six months, in payment for which, +the note was to be delivered up to his father. It was characteristic +of David that whatever he undertook he engaged in with all his +might. He was a rude, coarse boy. It was scarcely possible, with his +past training, that he should be otherwise. But he was very faithful +in fulfilling his obligations. Though his sense of right and wrong +was very obtuse, he was still disposed to do the right so far as his +uncultivated conscience revealed it to him. + +For six months, David worked for Mr. Wilson with the utmost fidelity +and zeal. He then received the note, presented it to his father, +and, before he was sixteen years of age, stood up proudly his own +man. His father had no longer the right to whip him. His father had +no longer the right to call upon him for any service without paying +him for it. And on the other hand, he could no longer look to his +father for food or clothing. This thought gave him no trouble. He +had already taken care of himself for two years, and he felt no more +solicitude in regard to the future than did the buffalo's calf or +the wolf's whelp. + +Wilson was a bad man, dissipated and unprincipled. But he had found +David to be so valuable a laborer that he offered him high wages if +he would remain and work for him. It shows a latent, underlying +principle of goodness in David, that he should have refused the +offer. He writes: + +"The reason was, it was a place where a heap of bad company 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." + +About this time a Quaker, somewhat advanced in years, a good, honest +man, by the name of John Kennedy, emigrated from North Carolina, and +selecting his four hundred acres of land about fifteen miles from +John Crockett's, reared a log hut and commenced a clearing. In some +transaction with Crockett he took his neighbor's note for forty +dollars. He chanced to see David, a stout lad of prepossessing +appearance, and proposed that he should work for him for two +shillings a day taking him one week upon trial. At the close of the +week the Quaker expressed himself as highly satisfied with his work, +and offered to pay him with his father's note of forty dollars for +six months' labor on his farm. + +David knew full well how ready his father was to give his note, and +how slow he was to pay it. He was fully aware that the note was not +worth, to him, the paper upon which it was written. But he reflected +that the note was an obligation upon his father, that he was very +poor, and his lot in life was hard. It certainly indicated much +innate nobility of nature that this boy, under these circumstances, +should have accepted the offer of the Quaker. But David did this. +For six months he labored assiduously, without the slightest hope of +reward, excepting that he would thus relieve his father, whom he had +no great cause either to respect or love, from the embarrassment of +the debt. + +For a whole half-year David toiled upon the farm of the Quaker, +never once during that time visiting his home. At the end of the +term he received his pay for those long months of labor, in a little +piece of rumpled paper, upon which his father had probably made his +mark. It was Saturday evening. The next morning he borrowed a horse +of his employer and set out for a visit home. He was kindly +welcomed. His father knew nothing of the agreement which his son had +made with Mr. Kennedy. As the family were talking together around +the cabin fire, David drew the note from his pocket and presented it +to his father. The old man seemed much troubled. He supposed Mr. +Kennedy had sent it for collection. As usual, he began to make +excuses. He said that he was very sorry that he could not pay it, +that he had met with many misfortunes, that he had no money, and +that he did not know what to do. + +David then told his father that he did not hand him the bill for +collection, but that it was a present from him--that he had paid it +in full. It is easy for old and broken-down men to weep. John +Crockett seemed much affected by this generosity of his son, and +David says "he shed a heap of tears." He, however, avowed his +inability to pay anything whatever, upon the note. + +David had now worked a year without getting any money for himself. +His clothes were worn out, and altogether he was in a very +dilapidated condition. He went back to the Quaker's, and again +engaged in his service, desiring to earn some money to purchase +clothes. Two months thus passed away. Every ardent, impetuous boy +must have a love adventure. David had his. A very pretty young +Quakeress, of about David's age, came from North Carolina to visit +Mr. Kennedy, who was her uncle. David fell desperately in love with +her. We cannot better describe this adventure than in the unpolished +diction of this illiterate boy. If one would understand this +extraordinary character, it is necessary thus to catch such glimpses +as we can of his inner life. Let this necessity atone for the +unpleasant rudeness of speech. Be it remembered that this +reminiscence was written after David Crockett was a member of +Congress. + +"I soon found myself head over heels in love with this girl. 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. 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 I loved her; that she was the darling object +of my soul and body, and I must have her, or else I should pine down +to nothing, and just die away with consumption. + +"I found my talk was not disagreeable to her. But she was an honest +girl, and didn't want to deceive nobody. She 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 know'd 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 enough, 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." + +David's grief was very sincere, and continued as long as is usually +the case with disappointed lovers. + +David soon began to cherish some slight idea of the deficiency in +his education. He had never been to school but four days; and in +that time he had learned absolutely nothing. A young man, a Quaker, +had opened a school about a mile and a half from Mr. Kennedy's. +David made an arrangement with his employer by which he was to go to +school four days in the week, and work the other two days for his +board. He continued in this way for six months. But it was very +evident that David was not born for a scholar. At the end of that +time he could read a little in the first primer. With difficulty he +could make certain hieroglyphics which looked like his name. He +could also perform simple sums in addition, subtraction, and +multiplication. The mysteries of division he never surmounted. + +This was the extent of his education. He left school, and in the +laborious life upon which he entered, never after improved any +opportunity for mental culture. The disappointment which David had +encountered in his love affair, only made him more eager to seek a +new object upon which he might fix his affections. Not far from Mr. +Kennedy's there was the cabin of a settler, where there were two or +three girls. David had occasionally met them. Boy as he was, for he +was not yet eighteen, he suddenly and impetuously set out to see if +he could not pick, from them, one for a wife. + +Without delay he made his choice, and made his offer, and was as +promptly accepted as a lover. Though they were both very young, and +neither of them had a dollar, still as those considerations would +not have influenced David in the slightest degree, we know not why +they where not immediately married. Several months of very desperate +and satisfactory courtship passed away, when the time came for the +nuptials of the little Quaker girl, which ceremony was to take place +at the cabin of her uncle David and his "girl" were invited to the +wedding. The scene only inflamed the desires of David to hasten his +marriage-day. He was very importunate in pressing his claims. She +seemed quite reluctant to fix the day, but at last consented; and +says David, "I thought if that day come, I should be the happiest +man in the created world, or in the moon, or anywhere else." + +In the mean time David had become very fond of his rifle, and had +raised enough money to buy him one. He was still living with the +Quaker. Game was abundant, and the young hunter often brought in +valuable supplies of animal food. There were frequent +shooting-matches in that region. David, proud of his skill, was fond +of attending them. But his Quaker employer considered them a species +of gambling, which drew together all the idlers and vagrants of the +region, and he could not approve of them. + +There was another boy living at that time with the Quaker. They +practised all sorts of deceptions to steal away to the +shooting-matches under pretence that they were engaged in other +things. This boy was quite in love with a sister of David's intended +wife. The staid member of the Society of Friends did not approve of +the rude courting frolics of those times, which frequently occupied +nearly the whole night. + +The two boys slept in a garret, in what was called the gable end of +the house. There was a small window in their rough apartment. One +Sunday, when the Quaker and his wife were absent attending a +meeting, the boys cut a long pole, and leaned it up against the side +of the house, as high as the window, but so that it would not +attract any attention. They were as nimble as catamounts, and could +run up and down the pole without the slightest difficulty. They +would go to bed at the usual early hour. As soon as all were quiet, +they would creep from the house, dressed in their best apparel, and +taking the two farm-horses, would mount their backs and ride, as +fast as possible, ten miles through the forest road to where the +girls lived. They were generally expected. After spending all the +hours of the middle of the night in the varied frolics of country +courtship, they would again mount their horses and gallop home, +being especially careful to creep in at their window before the dawn +of day The course of true love seemed for once to be running +smoothly. Saturday came, and the next week, on Thursday, David was +to be married. + +It so happened that there was to be a shooting match on Saturday, at +one of the cabins not far from the home of his intended bride. David +made some excuse as to the necessity of going home to prepare for +his wedding, and in the morning set out early, and directed his +steps straight to the shooting-match. Here he was very successful in +his shots, and won about five dollars. In great elation of spirits, +and fully convinced that he was one of the greatest and happiest men +in the world, he pressed on toward the home of his intended bride. + +He had walked but a couple of miles, when he reached the cabin of +the girl's uncle. Considering the members of the family already as +his relatives, he stepped in, very patronizingly, to greet them. He +doubted not that they were very proud of the approaching alliance of +their niece with so distinguished a man as himself--a man who had +actually five dollars, in silver, in his pocket. Entering the cabin, +he found a sister of his betrothed there. Instead of greeting him +with the cordiality he expected, she seemed greatly embarrassed. +David had penetration enough to see that something was wrong. The +reception she gave him was not such as he thought a brother-in-law +ought to receive. He made more particular inquiries. The result we +will give in David's language. + +"She then burst into tears, and told me that her sister was going to +deceive me; and that she was to be married to another man the next +day. This was as sudden to me as a clap of thunder of a bright +sunshiny 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 the shock after a little, and rose and +started without any ceremony, or even bidding anybody good-bye. The +young woman followed me out to the gate, and entreated 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 that her father +and mother both preferred me to him; and that she had no doubt that +if I would go on I could break off the match. But I found that I +could go no farther. 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 hardship, 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." + +For some time David continued in a state of great dejection, a +lovelorn swain of seventeen years. Thus disconsolate, he loved to +roam the forest alone, with his rifle as his only companion, +brooding over his sorrows. The gloom of the forest was congenial to +him, and the excitement of pursuing the game afforded some slight +relief to his agitated spirit. One day, when he had wandered far +from home, he came upon the cabin of a Dutchman with whom he had +formed some previous acquaintance. He had a daughter, who was +exceedingly plain in her personal appearance, but who had a very +active mind, and was a bright, talkative girl. + +She had heard of David's misadventure, and rather unfeelingly +rallied him upon his loss. She however endeavored to comfort him by +the assurance that there were as good fish in the sea as had ever +been caught out of it. David did not believe in this doctrine at +all, as applied to his own case, He thought his loss utterly +irretrievable. And in his still high appreciation of himself, +notwithstanding his deep mortification, he thought that the lively +Dutch girl was endeavoring to catch him for her lover. In this, +however, he soon found himself mistaken. + +She told him that there was to be a reaping frolic in their +neighborhood in a few days, and that if he would attend it, she +would show him one of the prettiest girls upon whom he ever fixed +his eyes. Difficult as he found it to shut out from his mind his +lost love, upon whom his thoughts were dwelling by day and by night, +he very wisely decided that his best remedy would be found in what +Dr. Chalmers calls "the expulsive power of a new affection;" that +is, that he would try and fall in love with some other girl as soon +as possible. His own language, in describing his feelings at that +time, is certainly very different from that which the philosopher or +the modern novelist would have used, but it is quite characteristic +of the man. The Dutch maiden assured him that the girl who had +deceived him was not to be compared in beauty with the one she would +show to him. He writes: + +"I didn't believe a word of all this, for I had thought that such a +piece of flesh and blood as she had never been manufactured, and +never would again. I agreed with her that the little varmint had +treated me so bad that I ought to forget her, and yet I couldn't do +it. I concluded that 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 reaping, and would +bring as many as I could with me." + +David seems at this time to have abandoned all constant industry, +and to be loafing about with his rifle, thus supporting himself with +the game he took. He traversed the still but slightly broken forest +in all directions, carrying to many scattered farm-houses +intelligence of the approaching reaping frolic. He informed the good +Quaker with whom he had worked of his intention to be there. Mr. +Kennedy endeavored to dissuade him. He said that there would be much +bad company there; that there would be drinking and carousing, and +that David had been so good a boy that he should be very sorry to +have him get a bad name. + +The curiosity of the impetuous young man was, however, by this time, +too much aroused for any persuasions to hold him back. Shouldering +his rifle, he hastened to the reaping at the appointed day. Upon his +arrival at the place he found a large company already assembled. He +looked around for the pretty girl, but she was nowhere to be seen. +She chanced to be in a shed frolicking with some others of the young +people. + +But as David, with his rifle on his shoulder, sauntered around, an +aged Irish woman, full of nerve and volubility, caught sight of him. +She was the mother of the girl, and had been told of the object of +David's visit. He must have appeared very boyish, for he had not yet +entered his eighteenth year, and though very wiry and athletic, he +was of slender frame, and rather small in stature. + +The Irish woman hastened to David; lavished upon him compliments +respecting his rosy cheeks, and assured him that she had exactly +such a sweet heart for him as he needed. She did not allow, David to +have any doubt that she would gladly welcome him as the husband of +her daughter. + +Pretty soon the young, fresh, blooming, mirthful girl came along; +and David fell in love with her at first sight. Not much formality +of introduction was necessary: each was looking for the other. Both +of the previous loves of the young man were forgotten in an instant. +He devoted himself with the utmost assiduity, to the little Irish +girl. He was soon dancing with her. After a very vigorous "double +shuffle," as they were seated side by side on a bench intensely +talking, for David Crockett was never at a loss for words, the +mother came up, and, in her wonderfully frank mode of match-making, +jocosely addressed him as her son-in-law. + +Even David's imperturbable self-possession was disturbed by this +assailment. Still he was much pleased to find both mother and +daughter so favorably disposed toward him. The rustic frolicking +continued nearly all night. In the morning, David, in a very happy +frame of mind, returned to the Quaker's, and in anticipation of soon +setting up farming for himself, engaged to work for him for six +months for a low-priced horse. + + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +Marriage and Settlement. + +Rustic Courtship.--The Rival Lover.--Romantic Incident.--The +Purchase of a Horse.--The Wedding.--Singular Ceremonies.--The +Termagant.--Bridal Days.--They commence Housekeeping.--The Bridal +Mansion and Outfit.--Family Possessions.--The Removal to Central +Tennessee.--Mode of Transportation.--The New Home and its +Surroundings.--Busy Idleness.--The Third Move.--The Massacre at Fort +Mimms. + + + + + +David took possession of his horse, and began to work very +diligently to pay for it. He felt that now he was a man of property. +After the lapse of a few weeks he mounted his horse and rode over to +the Irishman's cabin to see his girl, and to find out how she lived, +and what sort of people composed the family. Arriving at the log +hut, he found the father to be a silent, staid old man, and the +mother as voluble and nervous a little woman as ever lived. Much to +his disappointment, the girl was away. After an hour or two she +returned, having been absent at some meeting or merry-making, and, +much to his chagrin, she brought back with her a stout young fellow +who was evidently her lover. + +The new-comer was not at all disposed to relinquish his claims in +favor of David Crockett. He stuck close to the maiden, and kept up +such an incessant chatter that David could scarcely edge in a word. +In characteristic figure of speech he says, "I began to think I was +barking up the wrong tree again. But I determined to stand up to my +rack, fodder or no fodder." He thought he was sure of the favor of +her parents, and he was not certain that the girl herself had not +given him sundry glances indicative of her preference. Dark night +was now coming on, and David had a rough road of fifteen miles to +traverse through the forest before he could reach home. He thought +that if the Irishman's daughter cherished any tender feelings toward +him, she would be reluctant to have him set out at that late hour on +such a journey. He therefore rose to take leave. + +His stratagem proved successful. The girl immediately came, leaving +her other companion, and in earnest tones entreated him not to go +that evening. The lover was easily persuaded. His heart grew lighter +and his spirit bolder. She soon made it so manifest in what +direction her choice lay, that David was left entire master of the +field. His discomfited rival soon took his hat and withdrew, David +thus was freed from all his embarrassments. + +It was Saturday night. He remained at the cabin until Monday +morning, making very diligent improvement of his time in the +practice of all those arts of rural courtship which instinct +teaches. He then returned home, not absolutely engaged, but with +very sanguine hopes. + +At that time, in that region, wolves were abundant and very +destructive. The neighbors, for quite a distance, combined for a +great wolf-hunt, which should explore the forest for many miles. By +the hunters thus scattering on the same day, the wolves would have +no place of retreat. If they fled before one hunter they would +encounter another. Young Crockett, naturally confident, plunged +recklessly into the forest, and wandered to and fro until, to his +alarm, he found himself bewildered and utterly lost. There were no +signs of human habitations near, and night was fast darkening around +him. + +Just as he was beginning to feel that he must look out for a night's +encampment, he saw in the distance, through the gigantic trees, a +young girl running at her utmost speed, or, as he expressed it in +the Crockett vernacular, "streaking it along through the woods like +all wrath." David gave chase, and soon overtook the terrified girl, +whom he found, to his surprise and delight, to be his own +sweetheart, who had also by some strange accident got lost. + +Here was indeed a romantic and somewhat an embarrassing adventure. +The situation was, however, by no means so embarrassing as it would +have been to persons in a higher state of civilization. The cabin of +the emigrant often consisted of but one room, where parents and +children and the chance guest passed the night together. They could +easily throw up a camp. David with his gun could kindle a fire and +get some game. The girl could cook it. All their physical wants +would thus be supplied. They had no material inconveniences to dread +in camping out for a night. The delicacy of the situation would not +be very keenly felt by persons who were at but one remove above the +native Indian. + +The girl had gone out in the morning into the woods, to hunt up one +of her father's horses. She missed her way, became lost, and had +been wandering all day long farther and farther from home. Soon +after the two met they came across a path which they knew must lead +to some house. Following this, just after dark they came within +sight of the dim light of a cabin fire. They were kindly received by +the inmates, and, tired as they were, they both sat up all night. +Upon inquiry they found that David had wandered ten miles from his +home, and the young girl seven from hers. Their paths lay in +different directions, but the road was plain, and in the morning +they separated, and without difficulty reached their destination. + +David was now anxious to get married immediately. It will be +remembered that he had bought a horse; but he had not paid for it. +The only property he had, except the coarse clothes upon his back, +was a rifle. All the land in that neighborhood was taken up. He did +not even own an axe with which to build him a log cabin. It would be +necessary for him to hire some deserted shanty, and borrow such +articles as were indispensable. Nothing could be done to any +advantage without a horse. To diminish the months which he had +promised to work in payment for the animal, he threw in his rifle. + +After a few weeks of toil the horse was his. He mounted his steed, +deeming himself one of the richest men in the far West, and rode to +see his girl and fix upon his wedding-day. He confesses that as he +rode along, considering that he had been twice disappointed, he +experienced no inconsiderable trepidation as to the result of this +third matrimonial enterprise. He reached the cabin, and his worst +fears were realized. + +The nervous, voluble, irritable little woman, who with all of a +termagant's energy governed both husband and family, had either +become dissatisfied with young Crockett's poverty, or had formed the +plan of some other more ambitious alliance for her daughter. She +fell upon David in a perfect tornado of vituperation, and ordered +him out of the house. She was "mighty wrathy," writes David, "and +looked at me as savage as a meat-axe." + +David was naturally amiable, and in the depressing circumstances had +no heart to return railing for railing. He meekly reminded the +infuriate woman that she had called him "son-in-law" before he had +attempted to call her "mother-in-law," and that he certainly had +been guilty of no conduct which should expose him to such treatment. +He soon saw, to his great satisfaction, that the daughter remained +faithful to him, and that the meek father was as decidedly on his +side as his timid nature would permit him to be. Though David felt +much insulted, he restrained his temper, and, turning from the angry +mother, told her daughter that he would come the next Thursday on +horseback, leading another horse for her; and that then he would +take her to a justice of the peace who lived at the distance of but +a few miles from them, where they would be married. David writes of +the mother: + +"Her Irish was too high to do anything with her; so I quit trying. +All I cared for was to have her daughter on my side, which I know'd +was the case then. But how soon some other fellow might knock my +nose out of joint again, I couldn't tell. Her mother declared I +shouldn't have her. But I knowed I should, if somebody else didn't +get her before Thursday." + +The all-important wedding-day soon came David was resolved to crush +out all opposition and consummate the momentous affair with very +considerable splendor. He therefore rode to the cabin with a very +imposing retinue. Mounted proudly upon his own horse, and leading a +borrowed steed, with a blanket saddle, for his bride, and +accompanied by his elder brother and wife and a younger brother and +sister, each on horseback, he "cut out to her father's house to get +her." + +When this cavalcade of six horses had arrived within about two miles +of the Irishman's cabin, quite a large party was found assembled +from the log huts scattered several miles around. David, +kind-hearted, generous, obliging, was very popular with his +neighbors. They had heard of the approaching nuptials of the brave +boy of but eighteen years, and of the wrath of the brawling, +ill-tempered mother. They anticipated a scene, and wished to render +David the support of their presence and sympathy. This large party, +some on foot and some on horseback, proceeded together to the +Irishman's cabin. The old man met them with smiles, whiskey bottle +in hand, ready to offer them all a drink. The wife, however, was +obdurate as ever. She stood at the cabin door, her eyes flashing +fire, and quite bewildered to decide in what way to attempt to repel +and drive off her foe. + +She expected that the boy would come alone, and that, with her +all-potent tongue, she would so fiercely assail him and so frighten +her young girl as still to prevent the marriage. But here was quite +an army of the neighbors, from miles around, assembled. They were +all evidently the friends of David. Every eye was fixed upon her. +Every ear was listening to hear what she would say. Every tongue was +itching to cry out shame to her opposition, and to overwhelm her +with reproaches. For once the termagant found herself baffled, and +at her wits' end. + +The etiquette of courts and cabins are quite different. David paid +no attention to the mother, but riding up to the door of the log +house, leading the horse for his bride, he shouted to her to come +out. The girl had enjoyed no opportunity to pay any attention to her +bridal trousseau. But undoubtedly she had contrived to put on her +best attire. We do not know her age, but she was ever spoken of as a +remarkably pretty little girl, and was probably about seventeen +years old. + +David did not deem it necessary to dismount, but called upon his +"girl" to jump upon the horse he was leading. She did so. The mother +was powerless. It was a waterloo defeat. In another moment they +would disappear, riding away along the road, which wound through the +gigantic trees of the forest. In another hour they would be married. +And then they would forever be beyond the reach of the clamor of her +voluble tongue. She began to relent. The old man, accustomed to her +wayward humors, instinctively perceived it. Stepping up to David, +and placing his hand upon the neck of his horse, he said: + +"I wish you would stay and be married here. My woman has too much +tongue. You oughtn't mind her." + +Having thus, for a moment, arrested their departure, he stepped back +to the door, where his discomfited wife stood, and entreated her to +consent to their being married there. After much persuasion, common +sense triumphed over uncommon stubbornness. She consented. David and +his expectant bride were both on horseback, all ready to go. The +woman rather sullenly came forward and said: + +"I am sorry for the words I have spoken. This girl is the only child +I have ever had to marry. I cannot bear to see her go off in this +way. If you'll come into the house and be married here, I will do +the best I can for you." + +The good-natured David consented. They alighted from their horses, +and the bridal party entered the log hut. The room was not large, +and the uninvited guests thronged it and crowded around the door. +The justice of peace was sent for, and the nuptial knot was tied. + +The wedding ceremonies on such occasions were sufficiently curious +to be worthy of record. They certainly were in very wide contrast +with the pomp and splendor of nuptials in the palatial mansions of +the present day. A large party usually met at some appointed place, +some mounted and others on foot, to escort the bridegroom to the +house of the bride. The horses were decorated with all sorts of +caparisons, with ropes for bridles, with blankets or furs for +saddles. The men were dressed in deerskin moccasins, leather +breeches, leggins, coarse hunting-shirts of all conceivable styles +of material, and all homemade. + +The women wore gowns of very coarse homespun and home-woven cloth, +composed of linen and wool, and called linsey-woolsey, very coarse +shoes, and sometimes with buckskin gloves of their own manufacture. +If any one chanced to have a ring or pretty buckle, it was a relic +of former times. + +There were no carriages, for there were no roads. The narrow trail +they traversed in single file was generally a mere horse-path, often +so contracted in width that two horses could not pass along abreast. +As they marched along in straggling line, with shouts and jokes, and +with the interchange of many gallant acts of rustic love-making +between the coquettish maidens and the awkward swains, they +encountered frequent obstacles on the way. It was a part of the +frolic for the young men to throw obstructions in their path, and +thus to create surprises. There were brooks to be forded. Sometimes +large trees were mischievously felled across the trail. Grape-vines +were tied across from tree to tree, to trip up the passers-by or to +sweep off their caps. It was a great joke for half a dozen young men +to play Indian. They would lie in ambuscade, and suddenly, as the +procession was passing, would raise the war-whoop, discharge their +guns, and raise shouts of laughter in view of the real or feigned +consternation thus excited. + +The maidens would of course shriek. The frightened horses would +spring aside. The swains would gallantly rush to the rescue of their +sweethearts. When the party had arrived within about a mile of the +house where the marriage ceremony was to take place, two of the most +daring riders among the young men who had been previously selected +for the purpose, set out on horseback on a race for "the bottle." +The master of the house was expected to be standing at his door, +with a jug of whiskey in his hand. This was the prize which the +victor in the race was to seize and take back in triumph to his +companions. + +The start was announced by a general Indian yell. The more rough the +road--the more full of logs, stumps, rocks, precipitous hills, and +steep glens, the better. This afforded a better opportunity for the +display of intrepidity and horsemanship. It was a veritable +steeple-chase. The victor announced his success by one of those +shrill, savage yells, which would almost split the ears of the +listener. Grasping the bottle, he returned in triumph. On +approaching the party, he again gave forth the Indian war-whoop. + +The bottle or jug was first presented to the bridegroom. He applied +the mouth of the bottle to his lips, and took a dram of raw whiskey. +He then handed it to his next of kin, and so the bottle passed +through the whole company. It is to be supposed that the young women +did not burn their throats with very copious drafts of the poisonous +fire-water. + +When they arrived at the house, the brief ceremony of marriage +immediately took place, and then came the marriage feast. It was a +very substantial repast of pork, poultry, wild turkeys, venison, and +bear's meat. There was usually the accompaniment of corn-bread, +potatoes, and other vegetables. Great hilarity prevailed on these +occasions, with wonderful freedom of manners, coarse jokes, and +shouts of laughter. + +The table was often a large slab of timber, hewn out with a +broad-axe, and supported by four stakes driven into auger-holes. The +table furniture consisted of a few pewter dishes, with wooden plates +and bowls. There were generally a few pewter spoons, much battered +about the edges, but most of the spoons were of horn, homemade. +Crockery, so easily broken, was almost unknown. Table knives were +seldom seen. The deficiency was made up by the hunting-knives which +all the men carried in sheaths attached to their hunting-shirts. + +After dinner the dancing began. There was invariably some musical +genius present who could play the fiddle. The dances were what were +called three or four handed reels, or square sets and jigs. With all +sorts of grotesque attitudes, pantomime and athletic displays, the +revelry continued until late into the night, and often until the +dawn of the morning. As there could be no sleeping accommodations +for so large a company in the cabin of but one room, the guests made +up for sleep in merriment. + +The bridal party stole away in the midst of the uproar, one after +another, up a ladder into the loft or garret above, which was +floored with loose boards made often of split timber. This furnished +a very rude sleeping apartment. As the revelry below continued, +seats being scarce, every young man offered his lap as a seat for +the girls; and the offer was always promptly accepted; Always, +toward morning, some one was sent up into the loft with a bottle of +whiskey, to offer the bridegroom and his bride a drink. The familiar +name of the bottle was "Black Betty." One of the witticisms ever +prominent on the occasion was, "Where is Black Betty? I want to kiss +her sweet lips." At some splendid weddings, where the larder was +abundantly stored with game, this feasting and dancing was continued +for several days. + +Such, in the main, was the wedding of David Crockett with the +Irishman's daughter. In the morning the company dispersed. David +also and his young bride left, during the day, for his father's +cabin. As the families of the nuptial party both belonged to the +aristocracy of the region, quite a splendid marriage reception was +held at John Crockett's. There were feasting and dancing; and "Black +Betty received many a cordial kiss. The bridegroom's heart was full +of exultant joy. David writes: + +"Having gotten my wife, I thought I was completely made up, and +needed nothing more in the whole world." + +He soon found his mistake, and awoke to the consciousness that he +needed everything, and had nothing. He had no furniture, no cabin, +no land, no money. And he had a wife to support. His only property +consisted of a cheap horse. He did not even own a rifle, an article +at that time so indispensable to the backwoodsman. + +After spending a few days at David's father's, the bridegroom and +bride returned to the cabin of her father, the Irishman. Here they +found that a wonderful change had taken place in the mother's +feelings and conduct. She had concluded to submit good-naturedly to +the inevitable. Her "conversational powers" were wonderful. With the +most marvellous volubility of honeyed words she greeted them. She +even consented to have two cows given them, each with a calf. This +was the dowry of the bride--her only dowry. David, who had not +expected anything, felt exceedingly rich with this herd. + +Near by there was a vacated log cabin with a few acres of land +attached to it. Our boy bridegroom and bride hired the cabin at a +very small rent. But then they had nothing whatever to put into it. +They had not a bed, or a table or a chair; no cooking utensils; not +even a knife or a fork. He had no farming tools; not a spade or a +hoe. The whole capital with which they commenced life consisted of +the clothes they had on, a farm-horse, two cows, and two calves. + +In this emergence the good old Quaker, for whom David had worked, +came forward, and loaned him fifteen dollars. In that wilderness, +food, that is game and corn, was cheap. But as nearly everything +else had to be brought from beyond the mountains, all tools and +furniture commanded high prices. With the fifteen dollars, David and +his little wife repaired to a country store a few miles distant, to +furnish their house and farm. Under these circumstances, the +china-closet of the bride must have been a curiosity. David says, +"With this fifteen dollars we fixed up pretty grand, as we thought." + +After a while, in some unexplained way, they succeeded in getting a +spinning-wheel. The little wife, says David, "knowed exactly how to +use it. She was also a good weaver. Being very industrious, she had, +in little or no time, a fine web of cloth ready to make up. She was +good at that too, and at almost anything else a woman could do." + +Here this humble family remained for two years. They were both as +contented with their lot as other people are. They were about as +well off as most of their neighbors. Neither of them ever cherished +a doubt that they belonged to the aristocracy of the region. They +did not want for food or clothing, or shelter, or a warm fireside. +They had their merry-makings, their dances, and their shooting-matches. +Let it be remembered that this was three quarters of a century +ago, far away in the wilds of an almost untamed wilderness. + +Two children were born in this log cabin. David began to feel the +responsibilities of a father who had children to provide for. Both +of the children were sons. Though David's family was increasing, +there was scarcely any increase of his fortune. He therefore decided +that the interests of his little household demanded that he should +move still farther back into the almost pathless wilderness, where +the land was not yet taken up, and where he could get a settler's +title to four hundred acres, simply by rearing a cabin and planting +some corn. + +He had one old horse, and a couple of colts, each two years old. The +colts were broken, as it was called, to the halter; that is, they +could be led, with light burdens upon their backs, but could not be +ridden. Mrs. Crockett mounted the old horse, with her babe in her +arms, and the little boy, two years old, sitting in front of her, +astride the horse's neck, and occasionally carried on his father's +shoulders. Their few articles of household goods were fastened upon +the backs of the two colts. David led one, and his kind-hearted +father-in-law, who had very generously offered to help him move, led +the other. Thus this party set out for a journey of two hundred and +fifty miles, over unbridged rivers, across rugged mountains, and +through dense forests, whose Indian trails had seldom if ever been +trodden by the feet of white men. + +This was about the year 1806. The whole population of the State then +amounted to but about one hundred thousand. They were generally +widely dispersed through the extensive regions of East Tennessee. +But very few emigrants had ventured across the broad and rugged +cliffs of the Cumberland Mountains into the rich and sunny plains of +Western Tennessee. But a few years before, terrible Indian wars +desolated the State. The powerful tribes of the Creeks and Cherokees +had combined all their energies for the utter extermination of the +white men, seeking to destroy all their hamlets and scattered +cabins. + +At a slow foot-pace the pioneers followed down the wild valley of +the Holston River, often with towering mountains rising upon each +side of them. If they chanced, at nightfall, to approach the lonely +hut of a settler, it was especial good fortune, as they thus found +shelter provided, and a fire built, and hospitable entertainment +ready for them. If, however, they were overtaken in the wilderness +by darkness, and even a menacing storm, it was a matter of but +little moment, and caused no anxiety. A shelter, of logs and bark, +was soon thrown up, with a crackling fire, illuminating the +wilderness, blazing before it. A couch, as soft as they had ever +been accustomed to, could speedily be spread from the pliant boughs +of trees. Upon the pack-colts there were warm blankets. And during +the journey of the day they had enjoyed ample opportunity to take +such game as they might need for their supper and their morning +breakfast. + +At length they reached the majestic flood of the Tennessee River, +and crossed it, we know not how. Then, directing their steps toward +the setting sun. they pressed on, league after league, and day after +day, in toilsome journey, over prairies and through forests and +across mountain-ridges, for a distance of nearly four hundred miles +from their starting-place, until they reached a small stream, called +Mulberry Creek which flows into the Elk River, in what is now +Lincoln County. + +At the mouth of Mulberry Creek the adventurous emigrant found his +promised land. It was indeed a beautiful region. The sun shines upon +none more so. The scenery, which, however, probably had but few +attractions for David Crockett's uncultivated eye, was charming. The +soil was fertile. The streams abounded with fish and waterfowl; and +prairie and forest were stocked with game. No family need suffer +from hunger here, if the husband had a rifle and knew how to use it. +A few hours' labor would rear a cabin which would shut out wind and +rain as effectually as the gorgeous walls of Windsor or Versailles. + +No jets of gas or gleam of wax candles ever illumined an apartment +more brilliantly than the flashing blaze of the wood fire. And +though the refectories of the Palais Royal may furnish more +scientific cookery than the emigrant's hut, they cannot furnish +fatter turkeys, or more tender venison, or more delicious cuts from +the buffalo and the bear than are often found browning before the +coals of the log cabin. And when we take into consideration the +voracious appetites engendered in those wilds, we shall see that the +emigrant needed not to look with envy upon the luxuriantly spread +tables of Paris or New York. + +Upon the crystal banks of the Mulberry River, David, aided by his +father-in-law, reared his log cabin. It is a remote and uncultivated +region even now. Then it was an almost unbroken wilderness, the axe +of the settler having rarely disturbed its solitude. + +A suitable spot for the cabin was selected, and a space of about +fifteen feet by twenty feet was marked out and smoothed down for the +floor. There was no cellar. Trees near by, of straight trunks, were +felled and trimmed, and cut into logs of suitable length. These were +piled one above another, in such a way as to enclose the space, and +were held in their place by being notched at the corners. Rough +boards were made for the roof by splitting straight-grained logs +about four feet long. + +The door was made by cutting or sawing the logs on one side of the +hut, about three feet in width. This opening was secured by upright +pieces of timber pinned to the end of the logs. A similar opening +was left in the end for the chimney, which was built of logs outside +of the hut. The back and jambs of the fireplace was of stone. A hole +about two feet square constituted the window. Frequently the floor +was the smooth, solid earth. A split slab supported by sticks driven +into auger-holes, formed a table. A few three-legged stools supplied +the place of chairs. Some wooden pins, driven into holes bored in +the logs, supported shelves. A bedstead was framed by a network of +poles in one corner. + +Such was the home which David and his kind father reared in a few +days. It will be perceived that it was but little in advance of the +wigwam of the Indian. Still it afforded a comfortable shelter for +men, women, and children who had no aspirations above a mere animal +life; who thought only of warmth, food, and clothing; who had no +conception of intellectual, moral, or religious cravings. + +The kind-hearted father-in-law, who had accompanied his children on +foot upon this long journey, that he might see them settled in their +own home, now bade them adieu, and retraced the forest trails back +to his own far-distant cabin. A man who could develop, +unostentatiously, such generosity and such self-sacrifice, must have +possessed some rare virtues. We regret our inability to record the +name of one who thus commands our esteem and affection. + +In this humble home, David Crockett and his family resided two +years. He appears to have taken very little interest in the +improvement of his homestead. It must be admitted that Crockett +belonged to the class of what is called loafers. He was a sort of +Rip Van Winkle. The forest and the mountain stream had great charms +for him. He loved to wander in busy idleness all the day, with +fishing-rod and rifle; and he would often return at night with a +very ample supply of game. He would then lounge about his hut, +tanning deerskins for moccasins and breeches, performing other +little jobs, and entirely neglecting all endeavors to improve his +farm, or to add to the appearance or comfort of the miserable shanty +which he called his home. + +He had an active mind, and a very singular command of the language +of low, illiterate life, and especially of backwoodman's slang. +Though not exactly a vain man, his self-confidence was +imperturdable, and there was perhaps not an individual in the world +to whom he looked up as in any sense his superior. In hunting, his +skill became very remarkable, and few, even of the best marksmen, +could throw the bullet with more unerring aim. + +At the close of two years of this listless, solitary life, Crockett, +without any assigned reason, probably influenced only by that +vagrancy of spirit which had taken entire possession of the man, +made another move. Abandoning his crumbling shanty and untilled +fields, he directed his steps eastwardly through the forest, a +distance of about forty miles, to what is now Franklin County. Here +he reared another hut, on the banks of a little stream called Bear's +Creek. This location was about ten miles below the present hamlet of +Winchester. + +An event now took place which changed the whole current of David +Crockett's life, leading him from his lonely cabin and the peaceful +scenes of a hunter's life to the field of battle, and to all the +cruel and demoralizing influences of horrid war. + +For many years there had been peace with the Indians in all that +region. But unprincipled and vagabond white men, whom no law in the +wilderness could restrain, were ever plundering them, insulting +them, and wantonly shooting them down on the slightest provocation. +The constituted authorities deplored this state of things, but could +no more prevent it than the restraints of justice can prevent +robberies and assassinations in London or New York. + +The Indians were disposed to be friendly. There can be no question +that, but for these unendurable outrages, inflicted upon them by +vile and fiend-like men, many of whom had fled from the avenging arm +of law, peace between the white man and the red man would have +remained undisturbed. In the extreme southern region of Alabama, +near the junction of the Alabama River with the almost equally +majestic Tombeckbee River, there had been erected, several years +before, for the protection of the emigrants, a fort called Mimms. It +consisted of several strong log huts, surrounded by palisades which +enclosed several acres. A strongly barred gate afforded entrance to +the area within. Loop-holes were cut through the palisades, just +sufficiently large to allow the barrel of a musket to be thrust +through, and aim to be taken at any approaching foe. + +The space within was sufficient to accommodate several families, who +were thus united for mutual protection. Their horses and other +cattle could be driven within the enclosure at night. In case of a +general alarm, the pioneers, occupying huts scattered through the +region for miles around, could assemble in the fort. Their +corn-fields were outside, to cultivate which, even in times of war, +they could resort in armed bands, setting a watch to give warning of +any signs of danger. + +The fort was in the middle of a small and fertile prairie. The +forest-trees were cut down around, and every obstacle removed which +could conceal the approach of a foe or protect him from the fire of +the garrison. The long-continued peace had caused vigilance to +slumber. A number of families resided in the fort, unapprehensive of +danger. + +One evening, a negro boy, who had been out into the forest at some +distance from the fort in search of cattle, came back saying that he +saw far in the distance quite a number of Indians, apparently armed +warriors. As it was known that the Creek Indians had been greatly +exasperated by recent outrages inflicted upon them, this +intelligence created some anxiety. The gate was carefully closed. A +guard was set through the night, and some slight preparations were +made to repel an assault, should one be made. + +Thus several days were passed, and there was no attack, and no signs +of Indians being near. The general impression was that the timid +negro boy was the victim of his own fears. Many jokes were +perpetrated at his expense. With wonted carelessness, all +precautions were forgotten, and the men sallied thoughtlessly forth +to disperse through the fields in their labors. + +But after several days, the boy was again sent out into the woods +upon the same errand as before. He was a timid little fellow, and +had a great dread of the Indian. Tremblingly and cautiously he +threaded the paths of the forest for several miles, keeping a +vigilant lookout for any signs of the savage foe, when his eye fell +upon a sight which appalled him. At but a short distance, as he +stood concealed by the thickets through which he was moving, he saw +several hundred Indian warriors, plumed and painted, and armed to +the teeth. They had probably just broken up from a council, and were +moving about among the trees. His fears magnified their numbers to +thousands. + +Terror-stricken, he turned for the fort, and with almost the +fleetness of a deer entered the gate with his tidings. Even his +black face was pallid with fright, as he breathlessly told his +story. "The Indians," said he, "were as many, and as close together +as the trees. There were thousands." The alarm was sounded in the +garrison. All the outsiders were called in. The sun shone serenely, +the gentle breeze swept over the fertile prairie; not a sight was to +be seen but what was peaceful, not a sound came from the forest but +the songs of birds. + +It was generally believed that the silly, cowardly boy had given a +false alarm. They cross-examined him. He was so frightened that he +could not tell a straight story. The men, indignant at being thus a +second time duped, as they supposed, actually tied the poor boy to +the whipping-post and commenced whipping him. But a few lashes had +left their bloody marks upon his back when the uplifted arm of the +executioner was arrested. + +The awful Indian war-whoop, the precursor of blood and flame and +torture, which even the boldest heart could seldom hear without +terror, burst as it were simultaneously from a hundred warrior lips. +The wary savages had provided themselves with sharpened sticks. +Rending the skies with their yells, they rushed forward from the +gloom of the woods upon the totally unprovided garrison, and very +speedily plugged up the loop-holes, so that not a musket could be +discharged through them. + +Then with their hatchets they commenced cutting down the palisades. +The bewilderment and consternation within was indescribable. A few +of the assailants hewing at the barricades were shot down, but +others instantly took their places. Soon a breach was cut through, +and the howling warriors like maddened demons rushed in. There was +no mercy shown. The gleaming tomahawk, wielded by hundreds of brawny +arms, expeditiously did its work. Men, women, and children were +indiscriminately cut down and scalped. It was an awful scene of +butchery. Scarcely an individual escaped. + +One athletic boy, after having seen his father, mother, four +sisters, and four brothers tomahawked and scalped, pursued by the +savages, with frantic energy succeeded in leaping the palisades. +Several Indians gave chase. He rushed for the woods. They hotly +pursued. He reached a sluggish stream, upon the shore of which, +half-imbedded in sand and water, there was a mouldering log, which +he chanced to know was hollow beneath. He had but just time to slip +into this retreat, when the baffled Indians came up. They actually +walked over the log in their unavailing search for him. Here he +remained until night, when he stole from his hiding-place, aud in +safety reached Fort Montgomery, which was distant about two miles +from Fort Mimms. + + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +The Soldier Life. + +War with the Creeks.--Patriotism of Crockett.--Remonstrances of his +Wife.--Enlistment.--The Rendezvous.--Adventure of the +Scouts.--Friendlier Indians.--A March through the Forest.-- +Picturesque Scene.--The Midnight Alarm.--March by Moon-light.-- +Chagrin of Crockett.--Advance into Alabama.--War's Desolations.-- +Indian Stoicism.--Anecdotes of Andrew Jackson.--Battles, Carnage, +and Woe. + + + + + +The awful massacre at Fort Mimms, by the Creek Indians, summoned, as +with a trumpet peal, the whole region to war. David Crockett had +listened eagerly to stories of Indian warfare in former years, and +as he listened to the tales of midnight conflagration and slaughter, +his naturally peaceful spirit had no yearnings for the renewal of +such sanguinary scenes. Crockett was not a quarrelsome man. He was +not fond of brawls and fighting. Nothing in his life had thus far +occurred to test his courage. Though there was great excitement to +be found in hunting, there was but little if any danger. The deer +and all smaller game were harmless. And even the grizzly bear had +but few terrors for a marksman who, with unerring aim, could strike +him with the deadly bullet at the distance of many rods. + +But the massacre at Fort Mimms roused a new spirit in David +Crockett. He perceived at once, that unless the savages were +speedily quelled, they would ravage the whole region; and that his +family as well as that of every other pioneer must inevitably +perish. It was manifest to him that every man was bound immediately +to take arms for the general defence. In a few days a summons was +issued for every able-bodied man in all that region to repair to +Winchester, which, as we have said, was a small cluster of houses +about ten miles from Crockett's cabin. + +When he informed his wife of his intention, her womanly heart was +appalled at the thought of being left alone and unprotected in the +vast wilderness. She was at a distance of hundreds of miles from all +her connections. She had no neighbors near. Her children were too +young to be of any service to her. If the dreadful Indians should +attack them, she had no one to look to for protection. If anything +should happen to him in battle so that he should not return, they +must all perish of starvation. These obvious considerations she +urged with many tears. + +"It was mighty hard," writes Crockett, "to go against such arguments +as these. But my countrymen 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 all should be killed in our own +houses; that as 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 was to cry a little, and turn about to +her work." + +David Crockett hastened to Winchester. There was a large gathering +there from all the hamlets and cabins for many miles around. The +excitement was intense. The nation of Creek Indians was a very +powerful one, and in intelligence and military skill far in advance +of most of the Indian tribes. Mr. Crockett was one of the first to +volunteer to form a company to serve for sixty days, under Captain +Jones, who subsequently was a member of Congress from Tennessee. In +a week the whole company was organized, and commenced its march to +join others for the invasion of the Creek country. It was thought +that by carrying the war directly into the Indian towns, their +warriors might be detained at home to protect their wives and +children, and could thus be prevented from carrying desolation into +the settlements of the whites. + +In the mean time David Crockett revisited his humble home, where his +good but anxious and afflicted wife fitted him out as well as she +could for the campaign. David was not a man of sentiment and was +never disposed to contemplate the possibility of failure in any of +his plans. With a light heart he bade adieu to his wife and his +children, and mounting his horse, set out for his two months' +absence to hunt up and shoot the Indians. He took only the amount of +clothing he wore, as he wished to be entirely unencumbered when he +should meet the sinewy and athletic foe on the battle-field. + +This company, of about one hundred mounted men, commenced its march +for an appointed rendezvous called Beatty's Spring. Here they +encamped for several days, waiting the arrival of other companies +from distant quarters. Ere long there was collected quite an +imposing army of thirteen hundred men, all on horseback, and all +hardy backwoodsmen, armed with the deadly rifle. A more determined +set of men was perhaps never assembled. While they were thus +gathering from far and near, and making all preparations to burst +upon the foe in one of war's most terrific tempests, Major Gibson +came, and wanted a few men, of tried sagacity and hardihood, to +accompany him on a reconnoitring tour across the Tennessee River, +down through the wilderness, into the country of the Creek Indians. +It was a very hazardous enterprise. The region swarmed with savages. +They were very vigilant. They were greatly and justly exasperated. +If the reconnoitring party were captured, the certain doom of its +members would be death by the most dreadful tortures. + +Captain Jones pointed out David Crockett as one of the most suitable +men for this enterprise. Crockett unhesitatingly consented to go, +and, by permission, chose a companion by the name of George Russel, +a young man whose courage and sagacity were far in advance of his +years. + +"I called him up," writes Crockett, "but Major Gibson said he +thought he hadn't beard enough to please him; he wanted men, 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 told the Major +he was on the wrong 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." + +The heroic little band, thirteen in number, well armed and well +mounted, set out early in the morning on their perilous enterprise. +They crossed the Tennessee River, and directing their steps south, +through a region almost entirely uninhabited by white men, journeyed +cautiously along, keeping themselves concealed as much as possible +in the fastnesses of the forest. They crossed the river, at what was +called Ditto's Landing, and advancing about seven miles beyond, +found a very secluded spot, one of nature's hiding-places, where +they took up their encampment for the night. + +Here they chanced to come across a man by the name of John Haynes, +who for several years had been a trader among the Indians. He was +thoroughly acquainted with the whole region about to be traversed, +and consented to act as a guide. For the next day's march, +instructed by their guide, the party divided into two bands, +following along two obscure trails, which came together again after +winding through the wilderness a distance of about twenty miles. +Major Gibson led a party of seven, and David Crockett the other +party of six. + +The Cherokee Indians, a neighboring nation, powerful and warlike, +were not in alliance with the Creeks in this war. They were, at that +time, in general friendly to the whites. Many of their warriors were +even induced to join the whites and march under their banners. On +each of the trails that day to be passed over, there was the lodge +of a Cherokee Indian. Both of them were friendly. Each of the +parties was to collect all the information possible from these +Indians, and then to meet where the trails came together again. + +When Crockett arrived at the wigwam of the Indian he met with a very +friendly reception. He also found there a half-breed Cherokee, by +the name of Jack Thompson. This man, of savage birth and training, +but with the white man's blood in his veins, offered to join the +reconnoitring party. He however was not ready just then to set out, +but in a few hours would follow and overtake the band at its night's +encampment. + +It was not safe to encamp directly upon the trail, lest some Creek +war-party should be passing along, and should discover them. It was +necessary to seek concealment where even the prying eyes of the +savage would with difficulty search them out. The cry of the +shriek-owl is exceedingly shrill, and can be heard at a great +distance. A particular spot on the trail was designated, near which +Crockett would seek his secret encampment. When Jack Thompson +reached that spot, he was to imitate the cry of the owl. Crockett +would respond, and thus guide the Indian to his retreat. As night +approached, Crockett, with his party, found a deep and dark ravine, +where, encircled by almost impenetrable thickets, he hid his men and +the horses. No campfires could be built. It was ten o'clock in the +night when, in the distance, he heard the signal shriek of the owl, +a cry too common to arrest the attention of any Indian bands who +might be in the vicinity. Jack, guided by a responsive cry, soon +found the place of concealment, and there the party remained through +the night. + +The next morning after breakfast they set out to join Major Gibson +and his band; but, in some way, they had lost track of him, and he +could not be found. Some were alarmed, as, in so small a band, they +were entering the domains of their powerful foe. Crockett taunted +them with their fears; and indeed fear kept them together. The party +consisted now of seven, including the Indian guide. Most of them +determined to press on. The two or three who were in favor of going +back dared not separate from the rest. + +At the distance of about twenty miles, Jack Thompson told them that +there was a village of friendly Cherokee Indians. As he was leading +them through obscure trails toward that place, they came across the +hut of a white man, by the name of Radcliff, who had married a Creek +woman, and had been adopted into their tribe. The man had two nearly +grown-up boys, stout, burly fellows, half-breeds by birth, and more +than half savage in character and training. The old man's cabin was +slightly above the usual style of Indian wigwams. It was in a region +of utter solitude. + +There Radcliff had taught his barbarian boys some of the arts of +industry. He had cleared quite a space of ground around his hut, and +was raising a supply of corn and potatoes ample for his family +wants. With these vegetable productions, and with the game which the +rifle supplied them, they lived in abundance, and free from most of +those cares which agitate a higher civilization. + +But the old man was quite agitated in receiving and entertaining his +unwelcome guests. He was an adopted Creek, and ought to be in +sympathy with his nation. He was bound to regard the white men as +his enemies, to withhold from them all important information, and to +deliver them up to the Creeks if possible. Should he be suspected of +sympathy with the white men, the tomahawk of the savage would soon +cleave his brain. He entreated Crockett immediately to leave him. + +"Only an hour ago," said he, "there were ten Creek warriors here, +all on horseback, and painted and armed. Should they come back and +discover you here, they would certainly kill you all, and put me and +my family to death also." + +But Crockett, instead of being alarmed by this intelligence, was +only animated by it. He assured Radcliff that he could desire no +better luck than to meet a dozen Indians on the war-path. He +considered his party quite strong enough to meet, at any time, three +times their number. Evening was approaching, and the full moon, in +cloudless brilliance, was rising over the forest, flooding the whole +landscape with extraordinary splendor. After feeding their horses +abundantly and feasting themselves from the fat larder of their +host, they saddled their steeds and resumed their journey by +moonlight. + +The trail still led through the silent forest. It was, as usual, +very narrow, so that the horses walked along in single file. As +there was danger of falling into an ambush, not a word was spoken, +and, as noiselessly as possible, they moved onward, every eye on the +eager lookout. They had been thus riding along when Crockett, in the +advance, heard the noise of some animals or persons apparently +approaching. At a given signal, instantly the whole party stopped. +Every man grasped his rifle, ready in case of need, to leap from his +horse, and select the largest tree near him as a rampart for the +battle. + +All solicitude was, however, soon dispelled by seeing simply two +persons advancing along the trail on Indian ponies. They proved to +be two negro slaves who had been captured by the Indians, and who, +having escaped, were endeavoring to make their way back to their +former master. They were brothers, and being both very stout men, +and able to speak the Indian as well as the English language, were +esteemed quite a powerful reinforcement to the Crockett party. + +They rode quietly along another hour and a half, when toward +midnight they saw in the distance the gleam of camp-fires, and heard +shouts of merriment and revelry. They knew that these must come from +the camp of the friendly Cherokees, to which their Indian guide, +Jack Thompson, was leading them. Soon a spectacle of wonderful +picturesque beauty was opened to their view. + +Upon the banks of a beautiful mountain stream there was a wide +plateau, carpeted with the renowned blue-grass, as verdant and soft +as could be found in any gentleman's park. There was no underbrush. +The trees were two or three yards from each other, composing a +luxuriant overhanging canopy of green leaves, more beautiful than +art could possibly create. Beneath this charming grove, and +illumined by the moonshine which, in golden tracery, pierced the +foliage, there were six or eight Indian lodges scattered about. + +An immense bonfire was crackling and blazing, throwing its rays far +and wide through the forest. Moving around, in various engagements +and sports, were about forty men, women, and children, in the +fringed, plumed, and brilliantly colored attire of which the Indians +were so fond. Quite a number of them, with bows and arrows, were +shooting at a mark, which was made perfectly distinct by the blaze +of pitch-pine knots, a light which no flame of candle or gas could +outvie. It was a scene of sublimity and beauty, of peace and +loveliness, which no artist could adequately transfer to canvas. + +The Cherokees received very cordially the newcomers, took care of +their horses, and introduced them to their sports. Many of the +Indians had guns, but powder and bullets were too precious to be +expended in mere amusements. Indeed, the Indians were so careful of +their ammunition, that they rarely put more than half as much powder +into a charge as a white man used. They endeavored to make up for +the deficiency by creeping nearer to their prey. + +Crockett and his men joined these barbarians, merry in their +pleasant sports. Such are the joys of peace, so different from the +miseries of demoniac war. At length the festivities were closed, and +all began to prepare to retire to sleep. + +The Cherokees were neutral in the war between the whites and the +Creek Indians. It was very important for them to maintain this +neutrality strictly, that they might not draw down upon themselves +the vengeance of either party. Some of the Cherokees now began to +feel anxious lest a war-party of the Creeks should come along and +find them entertaining a war-party of whites, who were entering +their country as spies. They therefore held an interview with one of +the negroes, and requested him to inform Mr. Crockett that should a +war-party come and find his men in the Cherokee village, not only +would they put all the white men to death, but there would be also +the indiscriminate massacre of all the men, women, and children in +the Cherokee lodges. + +Crockett, wrapped in his blanket, was half asleep when this message +was brought to him. Raising his head, he said to the negro, in terms +rather savoring of the spirit of the braggadocio than that of a +high-minded and sympathetic man: + +"Tell the Cherokees that I will keep a sharp lookout, and if a +single Creek comes near the camp to-night, I will carry the skin of +his head home to make me a moccasin." + +When this answer was reported to the Indians they laughed aloud and +dispersed. It was not at all improbable that there might be an alarm +before morning. The horses were therefore, after being well fed, +tied up with their saddles upon them, that they might be instantly +mounted in case of emergence. They all slept, also, with their arms +in their hands. + +Just as Crockett was again falling into a doze, a very shrill Indian +yell was heard in the forest, the yell of alarm. Every man, white +and red, was instantly upon his feet. An Indian runner soon made his +appearance, with the tidings that more than a thousand Creek +warriors had, that day, crossed the Coosa River, but a few leagues +south of them, at what was called the Ten Islands, and were on the +march to attack an American force, which, under General Jackson, was +assembling on another portion of the Coosa River. + +The friendly Indians were so greatly alarmed that they immediately +fled. Crockett felt bound to carry back this intelligence as +speedily as possible to the headquarters from which he had come. He +had traversed a distance of about sixty miles in a southerly +direction. They returned, by the same route over which they had +passed. But they found that a general alarm had pervaded the +country, Radcliff and his family, abandoning everything, had fled, +they knew not where. When they reached the Cherokee town of which we +have before spoken, not a single Indian was to be seen. Their fires +were still burning, which showed the precipitancy with which they +had taken flight. This rather alarmed the party of the whites. They +feared that the Indian warriors were assembling from all quarters, +at some secret rendezvous, and would soon fall upon them in +overwhelming numbers. They therefore did not venture to replenish +the Indian fires and lie down by the warmth of them, but pushed +rapidly on their way. + +It chanced to be a serene, moonlight night. The trail through the +forest, which the Indian's foot for countless generations had +trodden smooth, illumined by the soft rays of the moon, was +exceedingly beautiful. They travelled in single file, every nerve at +its extreme tension in anticipation of falling into some ambush. +Before morning they had accomplished about thirty miles. In the grey +dawn they again reached Mr. Brown's. Here they found grazing for +their horses, and corn and game for them selves. + +Horses and riders were equally fatigued. The weary adventurers were +in no mood for talking. After dozing for an hour or two, they again +set out, and about noon reached the general rendezvous, from which +they had departed but a few days before. Here Crockett was not a +little disappointed in the reception he encountered. He was a young, +raw backwoodsman, nearly on a level with the ordinary savage. He was +exceedingly illiterate, and ignorant. And yet he had the most +amazing self-confidence, with not a particle of reverence for any +man, whatever his rank or culture. He thought no one his superior. +Colonel Coffee paid very little respect to his vainglorious report. +In the following characteristic strain Crockett comments on the +event: + +"He didn't seem to mind my report a bit. This raised my dander +higher than ever. But I know'd that I had to be on my best behavior, +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 had not +been pouring out of me at all points. The next day, Major Gibson got +in. He brought a worse tale than I had, though he stated the same +facts as 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. When I made my report I was not 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 then it was all +true as preaching, and the Colonel believed it every word." + +There was indeed cause for alarm. Many of the Indian chiefs +displayed military ability of a very high order. Our officers were +frequently outgeneralled by their savage antagonists. This was so +signally the case that the Indians frequently amused themselves in +laughing to scorn the folly of the white men. Every able-bodied man +was called to work in throwing up breastworks. A line of ramparts +was speedily constructed, nearly a quarter of a mile in circuit. An +express was sent to Fayetteville, where General Jackson was +assembling an army, to summon him to the rescue. With characteristic +energy he rushed forward, by forced marches day and night, until his +troops stood, with blistered feet, behind the newly erected +ramparts. + +They felt now safe from attack by the Indians. An expedition of +eight hundred volunteers, of which Crockett was one, was fitted out +to recross the Tennessee River, and marching by the way of +Huntsville, to attack the Indians from an unexpected quarter. This +movement involved a double crossing of the Tennessee. They pressed +rapidly along the northern bank of this majestic stream, about forty +or fifty miles, due west, until they came to a point where the +stream expands into a width of nearly two miles. This place was +called Muscle Shoals. The river could here be forded, though the +bottom was exceedingly rough. The men were all mounted. Several +horses got their feet so entangled in the crevices of the rocks that +they could not be disengaged, and they perished there. The men, thus +dismounted, were compelled to perform the rest of the campaign on +foot. + +A hundred miles south of this point, in the State of Alabama, the +Indians had a large village, called Black Warrior. The lodges of the +Indians were spread over the ground where the city of Tuscaloosa now +stands. The wary Indians kept their scouts out in all directions. +The runners conveyed to the warriors prompt warning of the approach +of their foes. These Indians were quite in advance of the northern +tribes. Their lodges were full as comfortable as the log huts of the +pioneers, and in their interior arrangements more tasteful. The +buildings were quite numerous. Upon many of them much labor had been +expended. Luxuriant corn-fields spread widely around, and in +well-cultivated gardens they raised beans and other vegetables in +considerable abundance. + +The hungry army found a good supply of dried beans for themselves, +and carefully housed corn for their horses. They feasted themselves, +loaded their pack-horses with corn and beans, applied the torch to +every lodge, laying the whole town in ashes, and then commenced +their backward march. Fresh Indian tracks indicated that many of +them had remained until the last moment of safety. + +The next day the army marched back about fifteen miles to the spot +where it had held its last encampment. Eight hundred men, on a +campaign, consume a vast amount of food. Their meat was all +devoured. They had now only corn and beans. The soldiers were living +mostly on parched corn. Crockett went to Colonel Coffee, then in +command, and stating, very truthfully, that he was an experienced +hunter, asked permission to draw aside from the ranks, and hunt as +they marched along. The Colonel gave his consent, but warned him to +be watchful in the extreme, lest he should fall into an Indian +ambush. + +Crockett was brave, but not reckless. He plunged into the forest, +with vigilant gaze piercing the solitary space in all directions. He +was alone, on horseback. He had not gone far when he found a deer +just killed by a noiseless arrow. The animal was but partially +skinned, and still warm and smoking. The deer had certainly been +killed by an Indian; and it was equally certain that the savage, +seeing his approach, had fled. The first thought of Crockett was one +of alarm. The Indian might be hidden behind some one of the gigantic +trees, and the next moment a bullet, from the Indian's rifle, might +pierce his heart. + +But a second thought reassured him. The deer had been killed by an +arrow. Had the Indian been armed with a rifle, nothing would have +been easier, as he saw the approach of Crockett in the distance than +for him to have concealed himself, and then to have taken such +deliberate aim at his victim as to be sure of his death. Mounting +the horse which Crockett rode, the savage might have disappeared in +the wilderness beyond all possibility of pursuit. But this adventure +taught Crockett that he might not enjoy such good luck the next +time. Another Indian might be armed with a rifle, and Crockett, +self-confident as he was, could not pretend to be wiser in woodcraft +than were the savages. + +Crockett dismounted, took up the body of the deer, laid it upon the +mane of his horse, in front of the saddle, and remounting, with +increasing vigilance made his way, as rapidly as he could, to the +trail along which the army was advancing. He confesses to some +qualms of conscience as to the right of one hunter thus to steal +away the game killed by another. + +It was late in the afternoon when he reached the rear. He pressed +along to overtake his own company. The soldiers looked wistfully at +the venison. They offered him almost any price for it. Crockett was +by nature a generous man. There was not a mean hair in his head. +This generosity was one of the virtues which gave him so many +friends. Rather boastfully, and yet it must be admitted truthfully, +he writes, in reference to this adventure: + +"I could have sold it for almost any price 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 the present day. But it is my way. +And while it has often left me with an empty purse, yet it has never +left my heart empty of consolations which money couldn't buy; the +consolation of having sometimes fed the hungry and covered the +naked. I gave all my deer away except a small part, which I kept for +myself, and just sufficient to make a good supper for my mess." + +The next day. in their march, they came upon a drove of swine, which +belonged to a Cherokee farmer. The whites were as little disposed as +were the Indians, in this war, to pay any respect to private +property. Hundreds of rifles were aimed at the poor pigs, and their +squealing indicated that they had a very hard time of it. The army, +in its encampment that night, feasted very joyously upon fresh pork. +This thrifty Cherokee was also the possessor of a milch cow. The +animal was speedily slaughtered and devoured. + +They soon came upon another detachment of the army, and uniting, +marched to Ten Islands, on the Coosa River, where they established a +fort, which they called Fort Strother, as a depot for provisions and +ammunition. They were here not far from the centre of the country +inhabited by the hostile Indians. This fort stood on the left bank +of the river, in what is now St. Clair County, Alabama. It was a +region but little explored, and the whites had but little +acquaintance with the nature of the country around them, or with the +places occupied by the Indians. Some scouts, from the friendly +Creeks, brought the intelligence that, at the distance of about +eight miles from the fort, there was an Indian town, where a large +party of warriors was assembled in preparation for some secret +expedition. A large and select band was immediately dispatched, on +horseback, to attack them by surprise. Two friendly Creeks led them +with Indian sagacity through circuitous trails. Stealthily they +approached the town, and dividing their force, marched on each side +so as to encircle it completely. Aided by their Creek guides, this +important movement was accomplished without the warriors discovering +their approach. The number of the whites was so great that they were +enabled to surround the town with so continuous a line that escape +was impossible for any enclosed within that fearful barrier of +loaded rifles wielded by unerring marksmen. Closer and more +compactly the fatal line was drawn. These movements were +accomplished in the dim morning twilight. + +All being ready, Captain Hammond, and a few rangers, were sent +forward to show themselves, and to bring on the fight. The moment +the warriors caught sight of them, one general war-whoop rose from +every throat. Grasping their rifles, they rushed headlong upon the +rangers, who retired before them. They soon reached one portion of +the compact line, and were received with a terrible fire, which +struck many of them down in instant death. The troops then closed +rapidly upon the doomed Indians, and from the north, the south, the +east, and the west, they were assailed by a deadly storm of bullets. + +Almost immediately the Indians saw that they were lost. There was no +possibility of escape. This was alike manifest to every one, to +warrior, squaw, and pappoose. All surrendered themselves to despair. +The warriors threw down their weapons, in sign of surrender. Some +rushed into the lodges. Some rushed toward the soldiers, stretching +out their unarmed hands in supplication for life. The women in +particular, panic-stricken, ran to the soldiers, clasped them about +the knees, and looked up into their faces with piteous supplications +for life. Crockett writes: + +"I saw seven squaws have hold of one man. 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." + +Forty-six warriors, by count, threw down their arms in token of +surrender, and ran into one of the large houses. A band of soldiers +pursued them, with the apparent intent of shooting them down. It was +considered rare sport to shoot an Indian. A woman came to the door, +bow and arrow in hand. Fixing the arrow upon the string, she drew +the bow with all the strength of her muscular arm, and let the arrow +fly into the midst of the approaching foe. It nearly passed through +the body of Lieutenant Moore, killing him instantly. The woman made +no attempt to evade the penalty which she knew weald follow this +act. In an instant twenty bullets pierced her body, and she fell +dead at the door of the house. + +The infuriate soldiers rushed in and shot the defenceless warriors +mercilessly, until every one was fatally wounded or dead. They then +set the house on fire and burned it up, with the forty-six warriors +in it. It mattered not to them whether the flames consumed the flesh +of the living or of the dead. + +There was something very remarkable in the stoicism which the +Indians ever manifested. There was a bright-looking little Indian +boy, not more than twelve years of age, whose arm was shattered by +one bullet and his thigh-bone by another. Thus terribly wounded, the +poor child crept from the flames of the burning house. There was no +pity in that awful hour to come to his relief. The heat was so +intense that his almost naked body could be seen blistering and +frying by the fire. The heroic boy, striving in vain to crawl along, +was literally roasted alive; and yet he did not utter an audible +groan. + +The slaughter was awful. But five of the Americans were killed. One +hundred and eighty-six of the Indians were either killed or taken +prisoners. The party returned with their captives the same day to +Fort Strother. The army had so far consumed its food that it was +placed on half rations. The next day a party was sent back to the +smouldering town to see if any food could be found. Even these hardy +pioneers were shocked at the awful spectacle which was presented. +The whole place was in ruins. The half-burned bodies of the dead, in +awful mutilation, were scattered around. Demoniac war had performed +one of its most fiend-like deeds. + +On this bloody field an Indian babe was found clinging to the bosom +of its dead mother. Jackson urged some of the Indian women who were +captives to give it nourishment. They replied: + +"All the child's friends are killed. There is no one to care for the +helpless babe. It is much better that it should die." + +Jackson took the child under his own care, ordered it to be conveyed +to his tent, nursed it with sugar and water, took it eventually with +him to the Hermitage, and brought it up as his son. He gave the boy +the name of Lincoyer. He grew up a finely formed young man, and died +of consumption at the age of seventeen. + +Jackson was a very stern man. The appeals of pity could seldom move +his heart. Still there were traits of heroism which marked his +character. On the return march, a half-starved soldier came to +Jackson with a piteous story of his famished condition. Jackson drew +from his pocket a handful of acorns, and presenting a portion to the +man, said: + +"This is all the fare I have. I will share it with you." + +Beneath one of the houses was found quite a large cellar, well +stored with potatoes. These were eagerly seized. All the other +stores of the Indians the insatiable flames had consumed. Starvation +now began to threaten the army. The sparsely settled country +afforded no scope for forage. There were no herds of cattle, no +well-replenished magazines near at hand. Neither was there game +enough in the spreading wilderness to supply so many hungry mouths. +The troops were compelled to eat even the very hides of the cattle +whom they had driven before them, and who were now all slaughtered. + +While in this forlorn condition, awaiting the arrival of food, and +keeping very vigilant guard against surprise, one night an Indian, +cautiously approaching from the forest, shouted out that he wished +to see General Jackson, for he had important information to +communicate. He was conducted to the General's tent. The soldiers +knew not the news which he brought. But immediately the beat of +drums summoned all to arms. In less than an hour a strong party of +cavalry and infantry, in the darkness, were on the march. General +Andrew Jackson was one of the most energetic of men. The troops +crossed the Coosa River to the eastern shore, and as rapidly as +possible pressed forward in a southerly direction toward Talladega, +which was distant about thirty miles. Gradually the rumor spread +through the ranks that General Jackson had received the following +intelligence: At Talladega there was a pretty strong fort, occupied +by friendly Indians. They had resolutely refused to take part in the +war against the Americans. Eleven hundred hostile warriors, of the +Creek nation, marched upon the fort, encamped before it, and sent +word to the friendly Indians within the palisades, that if they did +not come out and join them in an expedition against the whites, they +would utterly demolish the fort and take all their provisions and +ammunition. The Creeks were in sufficient strength to accomplish +their threat. + +The friendly Indians asked for three days to consider the +proposition. They stated that if, at the end of this time, they did +not come out to join them in an expedition against the whites, they +would surrender the fort. The request was granted. Instantly an +Indian runner was dispatched to inform General Jackson, at Fort +Strother, of their danger and to entreat him to come to their aid. +Hence the sudden movement. + +The Creek warriors had their scouts out, carefully watching, and +were speedily apprised of the approach of General Jackson's band. +Immediately they sent word into the fort, to the friendly Indians +there, that the American soldiers were coming, with many fine +horses, and richly stored with guns, blankets, powder, bullets, and +almost everything else desirable. They promised that if the Indians +would come out from the fort, and help them attack and conquer the +whites, they would divide the rich plunder with them. They assured +them that, by thus uniting, they could easily gain the victory over +the whites, who were the deadly foes of their whole race. The appeal +was not responded to. + +A little south of the fort there was a stream, which, in its +circuitous course, partially encircled it. The bank was high, +leaving a slight level space or meadow between it and the stream. +Here the hostile Indians were encamped, and concealed from any +approaches from the north. It was at midnight, on the 7th of +December, that Jackson set out on this expedition. He had with him, +for the occasion, a very strong force, consisting of twelve hundred +infantry and eight hundred cavalry. + +When they reached the fort, the army divided, passing on each side, +and again uniting beyond, as they approached the concealed +encampment of the enemy. While passing the fort, the friendly +Indians clambered the palisades, and shouted out joyously to the +soldiers "How-de-do, brother--how-de-do, brother?" + +The lines, meeting beyond the fort, formed for battle. No foe was +visible. Nearly a thousand warriors, some armed with arrows, but +many with rifles, were hidden, but a few rods before them, beneath +the curving bank, which was fringed with bushes. Major Russel, with +a small party, was sent cautiously forward to feel for the enemy, +and to bring on the battle. He was moving directly into the curve, +where a concentric fire would soon cut down every one of his men. + +The Indians in the fort perceived his danger, and shouted warning to +him. He did not understand their language. They made the most +earnest gestures. He did not comprehend their meaning. Two Indians +then leaped from the fort, and running toward him, seized his horse +by the bridle. They made him understand that more than a thousand +warriors, with rifle in hand and arrows on the string, were hidden, +at but a short distance before him, ready to assail him with a +deadly fire. The account which Crockett gives of the battle, though +neither very graphic nor classic, is worthy of insertion here, as +illustrative of the intellectual and moral traits of that singular +man. + +"This brought them to a halt; and about this moment the Indians +fired upon 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 arses and took into the fort. Their horses ran up to our line, +which was then in view. The warriors then came yelling on, meeting +us, and continued till they were within shot of us, when we fired +and killed a considerable number of them. They broke like a gang of +steers, and ran across to the other line. + +"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 bow 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." + + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +Indian Warfare. + +The Army at Fort Strother.--Crockett's Regiment.--Crockett at +Home.--His Reenlistment.--Jackson Surprised.--Military Ability of +the Indians.--Humiliation of the Creeks.--March to Florida.--Affairs +at Pensacola.--Capture of the City.--Characteristics of +Crockett.--The Weary March,--Inglorious Expedition.--Murder of Two +Indians.--Adventures at the Island.--The Continued March.--Severe +Sufferings.--Charge upon the Uninhabited Village. + + + + + +The army, upon its return to Fort Strother, found itself still in a +starving condition. Though the expedition had been eminently +successful in the destruction of Indian warriors, it had consumed +their provisions, without affording them any additional supply. The +weather had become intensely cold. The clothing of the soldiers, +from hard usage, had become nearly worn out. The horses were also +emaciate and feeble. There was danger that many of the soldiers must +perish from destitution and hunger. + +The regiment to which Crockett belonged had enlisted for sixty days. +Their time had long since expired. The officers proposed to Jackson +that they and their soldiers might be permitted to return to their +homes, promising that they would immediately re-enlist after having +obtained fresh horses and fresh clothing. Andrew Jackson was by +nature one of the most unyielding of men. His will was law, and must +be obeyed, right or wrong. He was at that time one of the most +profane of men. He swore by all that was sacred that they should not +go; that the departure of so many of the men would endanger the +possession of the fort and the lives of the remaining soldiers. +There were many of the soldiers in the same condition, whose term of +service had expired. They felt that they were free and enlightened +Americans, and resented the idea of being thus enslaved and driven, +like cattle, at the will of a single man. Mutinous feelings were +excited. The camp was filled with clamor. The soldiers generally +were in sympathy with those who demanded their discharge, having +faithfully served out the term of their enlistment. Others felt that +their own turn might come when they too might be thus enslaved. + +There was a bridge which it was necessary for the soldiers to cross +on the homeward route. The inflexible General, supposing that the +regulars would be obedient to military discipline, and that it would +be for their interest to retain in the camp those whose departure +would endanger all their lives placed them upon the bridge, with +cannon loaded to the muzzle with grape-shot. They were ordered +mercilessly to shoot down any who should attempt to cross without +his permission. In Crockett's ludicrous account of this adventure, +he writes: + +"The General refused to let us go. We were, however, determined to +go. With this, the General issued his orders against it. We began to +fix for a start. The General went and placed his cannon on a bridge +we had to cross, and ordered out his regulars and drafted men to +prevent our crossing. But when the militia started to guard the +bridge, they would holler back to us to bring their knapsacks along +when we came; for they wanted to go as bad as we did. We got ready, +and moved on till we came near the bridge, where the General's men +were all strung along on both sides. 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. + +"When we came still nearer the bridge we heard the guards cocking +their guns, and we did the same. But we marched boldly on, and not a +gun was fired, nor a life lost. When we had passed, no further +attempt was made to stop us. We went on, and near Huntsville we met +a reinforcement who were going on to join the army. It consisted of +a regiment of sixty-day volunteers. We got home pretty safely, and +in a short time we had procured fresh horses, and a supply of +clothing better suited for the season." + +The officers and soldiers ere long rendezvoused again at Fort +Deposit. Personally interested as every one was in subduing the +Creeks, whose hostility menaced every hamlet with flames and the +inmates of those hamlets with massacre, still the officers were so +annoyed by the arrogance of General Jackson that they were +exceedingly unwilling to serve again under his command. + +Just as they came together, a message came from General Jackson, +demanding that, on their return, they should engage to serve for six +months. He regarded enlistment merely for sixty days as absurd. With +such soldiers, he justly argued that no comprehensive campaign could +be entered upon. The officers held a meeting to decide upon this +question. In the morning, at drum-beat, they informed the soldiers +of the conclusion they had formed. Quite unanimously they decided +that they would not go back on a six-months term of service, but +that each soldier might do as he pleased. Crockett writes: + +"I know'd 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 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 Crockett reached Fort Strother he was placed in a company of +scouts under Major Russel. Just before they reached the fort, +General Jackson had set out on an expedition in a southeasterly +direction, to what was called Horseshoe Bend, on the Tallapoosa +River. The party of scouts soon overtook him and led the way. As +they approached the spot through the silent trails which threaded +the wide solitudes, they came upon many signs of Indians being +around. The scouts gave the alarm, and the main body of the army +came up. The troops under Jackson amounted to about one thousand +men. It was the evening of January 23d, 1814. + +The camp-fires were built, supper prepared, and sentinels being +carefully stationed all around to prevent surprise, the soldiers, +protected from the wintry wind only by the gigantic forest, wrapped +themselves in their blankets and threw themselves down on the +withered leaves for sleep. The Indians crept noiselessly along from +tree to tree, each man searching for a sentinel, until about too +hours before day, when they opened a well-aimed fire from the +impenetrable darkness in which they stood. The sentinels retreated +back to the encampment, and the whole army was roused. + +The troops were encamped in the form of a hollow square, and thus +were necessarily between the Indians and the light of their own +camp-fires. Not a warrior was to be seen. The only guide the +Americans had in shooting, was to notice the flash of the enemy's +guns. They fired at the flash. But as every Indian stood behind a +tree, it is not probable that many, if any, were harmed. The Indians +were very wary not to expose themselves. They kept at a great +distance, and were not very successful in their fire. Though they +wounded quite a number, only four men were killed. With the dawn of +the morning they all vanished. + +General Jackson did not wish to leave the corpses of the slain to be +dug up and scalped by the savages. He therefore erected a large +funeral pyre, placed the bodies upon it, and they were soon consumed +to ashes. Some litters were made of long and flexible poles, +attached to two horses, one at each end, and upon these the wounded +were conveyed over the rough and narrow way. The Indians, thus far, +had manifestly been the victors They had inflicted serious injury +upon the Americans; and there is no evidence that a single one of +their warriors had received the slightest harm. This was the great +object of Indian strategy. In the wars of civilization, a great +general has ever been willing to sacrifice the lives of ten thousand +of his own troops if, by so doing, he could kill twenty thousand of +the enemy. But it was never so with the Indians. They prized the +lives of their warriors too highly. + +On their march the troops came to a wide creek, which it was +necessary to cross. Here the Indians again prepared for battle. They +concealed themselves so effectually as to elude all the vigilance of +the scouts. When about half the troops had crossed the stream, the +almost invisible Indians commenced their assault, opening a very +rapid but scattering fire. Occasionally a warrior was seen darting +from one point to another, to obtain better vantage-ground. + +Major Russel was in command of a small rear-guard. His soldiers soon +appeared running almost breathless to join the main body, pursued by +a large number of Indians. The savages had chosen the very best +moment for their attack. The artillery-men were in an open field +surrounded by the forest. The Indians, from behind stumps, logs, and +trees, took deliberate aim, and almost every bullet laid a soldier +prostrate. Quite a panic ensued. Two of the colonels, abandoning +their regiments, rushed across the creek to escape the deadly fire. +There is no evidence that the Indians were superior in numbers to +the Americans. But it cannot be denied that the Americans, though +under the leadership of Andrew Jackson, were again outgeneralled. +General Jackson lost, in this short conflict, in killed and wounded, +nearly one hundred men. His disorganized troops at length effected +the passage of the creek, beyond which the Indians did not pursue +them. Crockett writes: + +"I will not say exactly that the old General was whipped. But I +think he would say himself that he was nearer whipped this time than +any other; for I know that all the world couldn't make him +acknowledge that he was pointedly whipped. I know I was mighty glad +when it was over, and the savages quit us, for I began to think +there was one behind every tree in the woods." + +Crockett, having served out his term, returned home. But he was +restless there. Having once experienced the excitements of the camp, +his wild, untrained nature could not repose in the quietude of +domestic life. The conflict between the United States and a small +band of Indians was very unequal. The loss of a single warrior was +to the Creeks irreparable. General Jackson was not a man to yield to +difficulties. On the 27th of March, 1814, he drove twelve hundred +Creek warriors into their fort at Tohopeka. They were then +surrounded, so that escape was impossible, and the fort was set on +fire. The carnage was awful. Almost every warrior perished by the +bullet or in the flames. The military power of the tribe was at an +end. The remnant, utterly dispirited, sued for peace. + +Quite a number of the Creek warriors fled to Florida, and joined the +hostile Indian tribes there. We were at this time involved in our +second war with Great Britain. The Government of our mother country +was doing everything in its power to rouse the savages against us. +The armies in Canada rallied most of the Northern tribes beneath +their banners. Florida, at that time, belonged to Spain. The Spanish +Government was nominally neutral in the conflict between England and +the United States. But the Spanish governor in Florida was in +cordial sympathy with the British officers. He lent them all the aid +and comfort in his power, carefully avoiding any positive violation +of the laws of neutrality. He extended very liberal hospitality to +the refugee Creek warriors, and in many ways facilitated their +cooperation with the English. + +A small British fleet entered the mouth of the Apalachicola River +and landed three hundred soldiers. Here they engaged vigorously in +constructing a fort, and in summoning all the surrounding Indian +tribes to join them in the invasion of the Southern States. General +Jackson, with a force of between one and two thousand men, was in +Northern Alabama, but a few days' march north of the Florida line. +He wrote to the Secretary of War, in substance, as follows: + +"The hostile Creeks have taken refuge in Florida. They are there +fed, clothed, and protected. The British have armed a large force +with munitions of war, and are fortifying and stirring up the +savages. If you will permit me to raise a few hundred militia, which +can easily be done, I will unite them with such a force of regulars +as can easily be collected, and will make a descent on Pensacola, +and will reduce it. I promise you I will bring the war in the South +to a speedy termination; and English influence with the savages, in +this quarter, shall be forever destroyed." + +The President was not prepared thus to provoke war with Spain, by +the invasion of Florida. Andrew Jackson assumed the responsibility. +The British had recently made an attack upon Mobile, and being +repulsed, had retired with their squadron to the harbor of +Pensacola. Jackson called for volunteers to march upon Pensacola. +Crockett roused himself at the summons, like the war-horse who +snuffs the battle from afar. "I wanted," he wrote, "a small taste of +British fighting, and I supposed they would be there." + +His wife again entered her tearful remonstrance. She pointed to her +little children, in their lonely hut far away in the wilderness, +remote from all neighborhood, and entreated the husband and the +father not again to abandon them. Rather unfeelingly he writes, "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." + +Many who have perused this sketch thus far, may inquire, with some +surprise, "What is it which has given this man such fame as is even +national? He certainly does not develop a very attractive character; +and there is but little of the romance of chivalry thrown around his +exploits. The secret is probably to be found in the following +considerations, the truth of which the continuation of this +narrative will be continually unfolding." + +Without education, without refinement, without wealth or social +position, or any special claims to personal beauty, he was entirely +self-possessed and at home under all circumstances. He never +manifested the slightest embarrassment. The idea seemed never to +have entered his mind that there could be any person superior to +David Crockett, or any one so humble that Crockett was entitled to +look down upon him with condescension. He was a genuine democrat. +All were in his view equal. And this was not the result of thought, +of any political or moral principle. It was a part of his nature, +which belonged to him without any volition, like his stature or +complexion. This is one of the rarest qualities to be found in any +man. We do not here condemn it, or applaud it. We simply state the +fact. + +In the army he acquired boundless popularity from his fun-making +qualities. In these days he was always merry. Bursts of laughter +generally greeted Crockett's approach and followed his departure. He +was blessed with a memory which seemed absolutely never to have +forgotten anything. His mind was an inexhaustable store-house of +anecdote. These he had ever at command. Though they were not always, +indeed were seldom, of the most refined nature, they were none the +less adapted to raise shouts of merriment in cabin and camp. What +Sydney Smith was at the banqueting board in the palatial saloon, +such was David Crockett at the campfire and in the log hut. If ever +in want of an illustrative anecdote he found no difficulty in +manufacturing one. + +His thoughtless kindness of heart and good nature were +inexhaustible. Those in want never appealed to him in vain. He would +even go hungry himself that he might feed others who were more +hungry. He would, without a moment's consideration, spend his last +dollar to buy a blanket for a shivering soldier, and, without taking +any merit for the deed, would never think of it again. He did it +without reflection, as he breathed. + +Such was the David Crockett who, from the mere love of adventure, +left wife and children, in the awful solitude of the wilderness, to +follow General Jackson in a march to Pensacola. He seems fully to +have understood the character of the General, his merits and his +defects. The main body of the army, consisting of a little more than +two thousand men, had already commenced its march, when Crockett +repaired to a rendezvous, in the northern frontiers of Alabama, +where another company was being formed, under Major Russel, soon to +follow. The company numbered one hundred and thirty men, and +commenced its march. + +They forded the Tennessee River at Muscle Shoals, and marched south +unmolested, through the heart of the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, +and pressed rapidly forward two or three hundred miles, until they +reached the junction of the Tombeckbee and Alabama rivers, in the +southern section of the State. The main army was now but two days' +march before them. The troops, thus far, had been mounted, finding +sufficient grazing for their horses by the way. But learning that +there was no forage to be found between there and Pensacola, they +left their animals behind them, under a sufficient guard, at a place +called Cut-off, and set out for the rest of the march, a distance of +about eighty miles, on foot. The slight protective works they threw +up here, they called Fort Stoddart. + +These light troops, hardy men of iron nerves, accomplished the +distance in about two days. On the evening of the second day, they +reached an eminence but a short distance out from Pensacola, where +they found the army encamped. Not a little to Crockett's +disappointment, he learned that Pensacola was already captured. Thus +he lost his chance of having "a small taste of British fighting." + +The British and Spaniards had obtained intelligence of Jackson's +approach, and had made every preparation to drive him back. The +forts were strongly garrisoned, and all the principal streets of the +little Spanish city were barricaded. Several British war-vessels +were anchored in the bay, and so placed as to command with their +guns the principal entrance to the town. Jackson, who had invaded +the Spanish province unsanctioned by the Government, was anxious to +impress upon the Spanish authorities that the measure had been +reluctantly adopted, on his own authority, as a military necessity; +that he had no disposition to violate their neutral rights; but that +it was indispensable that the British should be dislodged and driven +away. + +The pride of the Spaniard was roused, and there was no friendly +response to this appeal. But the Spanish garrison was small, and, +united with the English fleet, could present no effectual opposition +to the three thousand men under such a lion-hearted leader as +General Jackson. On the 7th of January the General opened fire upon +the foe. The conflict was short. The Spaniards were compelled to +surrender their works. The British fled to the ships. The guns were +turned upon them. They spread sail and disappeared. Jackson was +severely censured, at the time, for invading the territory of a +neutral power. The final verdict of his countrymen has been +decidedly in his favor. + +It was supposed that the British would move for the attack of +Mobile. This place then consisted of a settlement of but about one +hundred and fifty houses. General Jackson, with about two thousand +men, marched rapidly for its defence. A few small, broken bands of +hostile, yet despairing Creeks, fled back from Florida into the +wilds of Alabama. A detachment of nearly a thousand men, under Major +Russell, were sent in pursuit of these fleas among the mountains. +Crockett made part of this expedition. The pursuing soldiers +directed their steps northwest about a hundred miles to Fort +Montgomery, on the Alabama, just above its confluence with the +Tornbeckbee, about twelve miles above Fort Stoddart. Not far from +there was Fort Mimms, where the awful massacre had taken place which +opened the Creek war. + +There were many cattle grazing in the vicinity of the fort at the +time of the massacre, which belonged to the garrison. These animals +were now running wild. A thousand hungry men gave them chase. The +fatal bullet soon laid them all low, and there was great feasting +and hilarity in the camp. The carouse was much promoted by the +arrival that evening of a large barge, which had sailed up the +Alabama River from Mobile, with sugar, coffee, and,--best of all, as +the soldiers said--worst of all, as humanity cries,--with a large +amount of intoxicating liquors. + +The scene presented that night was wild and picturesque in the +extreme. The horses of the army were scattered about over the plain +grazing upon the rich herbage. There was wood in abundance near, and +the camp-fires for a thousand men threw up their forked flames, +illumining the whole region with almost the light of day. The white +tents of the officers, the varied groups of the soldiers, running +here and there, in all possible attitudes, the cooking and feasting, +often whole quarters of beef roasting on enormous spits before the +vast fires, afforded a spectacle such as is rarely seen. + +One picture instantly arrested the eye of every beholder. There were +one hundred and eighty-six friendly Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians, +who had enlisted in the army. They formed a band by themselves under +their own chiefs. They were all nearly naked, gorgeously painted, +and decorated with the very brilliant attire of the warrior, with +crimson-colored plumes, and moccasins and leggins richly fringed, +and dyed in bright and strongly contrasting hues. These savages were +in the enjoyment of their greatest delight, drinking to frenzy, and +performing their most convulsive dances, around the flaming fires. + +In addition to this spectacle which met the eye, there were sounds +of revelry which fell almost appallingly upon the ear. The wide +expanse reverberated with bacchanal songs, and drunken shouts, and +frenzied war-whoops. These were all blended in an inextricable +clamor. With the unrefined eminently, and in a considerable degree +with the most refined, noise is one of the essential elements of +festivity. A thousand men were making all the noise they could in +this midnight revel. Probably never before, since the dawn of +creation, had the banks of the Alabama echoed with such a clamor as +in this great carouse, which had so suddenly burst forth from the +silence of the almost uninhabited wilderness. + +This is the poetry of war. This it is which lures so many from the +tameness of ordinary life to the ranks of the army. In such scenes, +Crockett, bursting with fun, the incarnation of wit and good nature, +was in his element. Here he was chief. All did him homage. His pride +was gratified by his distinction. Life in his lonely hut, with wife +and children, seemed, in comparison, too spiritless to be endured. + +The Alabama here runs nearly west. The army was on the south side of +the river. The next day the Indians asked permission to cross to the +northern bank on an exploring expedition. Consent was given; but +Major Russel decided to go with them, taking a company of sixteen +men, of whom Crockett was one. They crossed the river and encamped +upon the other side, seeing no foe and encountering no alarm. They +soon came to a spot where the winding river, overflowing its banks, +spread over a wide extent of the flat country. It was about a mile +and a half across this inundated meadow. To journey around it would +require a march of many miles. They waded the meadow. The water was +very cold, often up to their armpits, and they stumbled over the +rough ground. This was not the poetry of war. But still there is a +certain degree of civilization in which the monotony of life is +relieved by such adventures. + +When they reached the other side they built large fires, and warmed +and dried themselves. They were in search of a few fugitive Indian +warriors, who, fleeing from Pensacola, had scattered themselves over +a wilderness many hundred square miles in extent. This pursuit of +them, by a thousand soldiers, seems now very foolish. But it is +hardly safe for us, seated by our quiet firesides, and with but a +limited knowledge of the circumstances, to pass judgment upon the +measure. + +The exploring party consisted, as we have mentioned, of nearly two +hundred Indians, and sixteen white men. They advanced very +cautiously. Two scouts were kept some distance in the advance, two +on the side nearest the river, and five on their right. In this way +they had moved along about six miles, when the two spies in front +came rushing breathlessly back, with the tidings that they had +discovered a camp of Creek Indians. They halted for a few moments +while all examined their guns and their priming and prepared for +battle. + +The Indians went through certain religious ceremonies, and getting +out their war-paint, colored their bodies anew. They then came to +Major Russell, and told him that, as he was to lead them in the +battle, he must be painted too. He humored them, and was painted in +the most approved style of an Indian warrior. The plan of battle was +arranged to strike the Indian camp by surprise, when they were +utterly unprepared for any resistance. The white men were cautiously +to proceed in the advance, and pour in a deadly fire to kill as many +as possible. The Indians were then, taking advantage of the panic, +to rush in with tomahawk and scalping-knife, and finish the scene +according to their style of battle, which spared neither women nor +children. It is not pleasant to record such a measure. They crept +along, concealed by the forest, and guided by the sound of pounding, +till they caught sight of the camp. A little to their chagrin they +found that it consisted of two peaceful wigwams, where there was a +man, a woman, and several children. The wigwams were also on an +island of the river, which could not be approached without boats. +There could not be much glory won by an army of two hundred men +routing such a party and destroying their home. There was also +nothing to indicate that these Indians had even any unfriendly +feelings. The man and woman were employed in bruising what was +called brier root, which they had dug from the forest, for food. It +seems that this was the principal subsistence used by the Indians in +that vicinity. + +While the soldiers were deliberating what next to do, they heard a +gun fired in the direction of the scouts, at some distance on the +right, followed by a single shrill war-whoop. This satisfied them +that if the scouts had met with a foe, it was indeed war on a small +scale. There seemed no need for any special caution. They all broke +and ran toward the spot from which the sounds came. They soon met +two of the spies, who told the following not very creditable story, +but one highly characteristic of the times. + +As they were creeping along through the forest, they found two +Indians, who they said were Creeks, out hunting. As they were +approaching each other, it so happened that there was a dense +cluster of bushes between them, so that they were within a few feet +of meeting before either party was discovered. The two spies were +Choctaws. They advanced directly to the Indians, and addressed them +in the most friendly manner; stating that they had belonged to +General Jackson's army, but had escaped, and were on their way home. +They shook hands, kindled a fire, and sat down and smoked in +apparent perfect cordiality. + +One of the Creeks had a gun. The other had only a bow and arrows. +After this friendly interview, they rose and took leave of each +other, each going in opposite directions. As soon as their backs +were turned, and they were but a few feet from each other, one of +the Choctaws turned around and shot the unsuspecting Creek who had +the gun. He fell dead, without a groan. The other Creek attempted to +escape, while the other Choctaw snapped his gun at him repeatedly, +but it missed fire. They then pursued him, overtook him, knocked him +down with the butt of their guns, and battered his head until he +also was motionless in death. One of the Choctaws, in his frenzied +blows, broke the stock of his rifle. They then fired off the gun of +the Creek who was killed, and one of them uttered the war-whoop +which was heard by the rest of the party. + +These two savages drew their scalping-knives and cut off the heads +of both their victims. As the whole body came rushing up, they found +the gory corpses of the slain, with their dissevered heads near by. +Each Indian had a war-club. With these massive weapons each savage, +in his turn, gave the mutilated heads a severe blow. When they had +all performed this barbaric deed, Crockett, whose peculiar type of +good nature led him not only to desire to please the savages, but +also to know what would please them, seized a war-club, and, in his +turn, smote with all his strength the mangled, blood-stained heads. +The Indians were quite delighted. They gathered around him with very +expressive grunts of satisfaction, and patting him upon the back, +exclaimed, "Good warrior! Good warrior!" + +The Indians then scalped the heads, and, leaving the bodies +unburied, the whole party entered a trail which led to the river, +near the point where the two wigwams were standing. As they followed +the narrow path they came upon the vestiges of a cruel and bloody +tragedy. The mouldering corpses of a Spaniard, his wife, and four +children lay scattered around, all scalped. Our hero Crockett, who +had so valiantly smitten the dissevered heads of the two Creeks who +had been so treacherously murdered, confesses that the revolting +spectacle of the whites, scalped and half devoured, caused him to +shudder. He writes: + +"I began to feel mighty ticklish along about this time; for I knowed +if there was no danger then, there had been, and I felt exactly like +there still was." + +The white soldiers, leading the Indians, continued their course +until they reached the river. Following it down, they came opposite +the point where the wigwams stood upon the island. The two Indian +hunters who had been killed had gone out from this peaceful little +encampment. Several Indian children were playing around, and the man +and woman whom they had before seen were still beating their roots. +Another Indian woman was also there seen. These peaceful families +had no conception of the disaster which had befallen their +companions who were hunting in the woods. Even if they had heard the +report of the rifles, they could only have supposed that it was from +the guns of the hunters firing at game. + +The evening twilight was fading away. The whole party was concealed +in a dense canebrake which fringed the stream. Two of the Indians +were sent forward as a decoy--a shameful decoy--to lure into the +hands of two hundred warriors an unarmed man, two women, and eight +or ten children. The Indians picked out some of their best marksmen +and hid them behind trees and logs near the river. They were to +shoot down the Indians whom others should lure to cross the stream. + +The creek which separated the island from the mainland was deep, but +not so wide but that persons without much difficulty could make +themselves heard across it. Two of the Indians went down to the +river-side, and hailed those at the wigwams, asking them to send a +canoe across to take them over. An Indian woman came down to the +bank and informed them that the canoe was on their side, that two +hunters had crossed the creek that morning, and had not yet +returned. These were the two men who had been so inhumanly murdered. +Immediate search was made for the canoe, and it was found a little +above the spot where the men were hiding. It was a very large +buoyant birch canoe, constructed for the transportation of a +numerous household, with all their goods, and such game as they +might take. + +This they loaded with warriors to the water's edge, and they began +vigorously to paddle over to the island. When the one solitary +Indian man there saw this formidable array approaching he fled into +the woods. The warriors landed, and captured the two women and the +little children, ten in number, and conveyed their prisoners, with +the plunder of the wigwams, back across the creek to their own +encampment. This was not a very brilliant achievement to be +accomplished by an army of two hundred warriors aided by a +detachment of sixteen white men under Major Russel. What finally +became of these captives we know not. It is gratifying to be +informed by David Crockett that they did not kill either the squaws +or the pappooses. + +The company then marched through the silent wilderness, a distance +of about thirty miles east, to the Conecuh River. This stream, in +its picturesque windings through a region where even the Indian +seldom roved, flowed into the Scambia, the principal river which +pours its floods, swollen by many tributaries, into Pensacola Bay. +It was several miles above the point where the detachment struck the +river that the Indian encampment, to which the two murdered men had +alluded, was located. But the provisions of the party were +exhausted. There was scarcely any game to be found. Major Russel did +not deem it prudent to march to the attack of the encampment, until +he had obtained a fresh supply of provisions. The main body of the +army, which had remained in Florida, moving slowly about, without +any very definite object, waiting for something to turn up was then +upon the banks of the Scambia. Colonel Blue was in command. + +David Crockett was ordered to take a light birch canoe, and two men, +one a friendly Creek Indian, and paddle down the stream about twenty +miles to the main camp. Here he was to inform Colonel Blue of Major +Russel's intention to ascend the Conecuh to attack the Creeks, and +to request the Colonel immediately to dispatch some boats up the +river with the needful supplies. + +It was a romantic adventure descending in the darkness that wild and +lonely stream, winding through the dense forest of wonderful +exuberance of vegetation. In the early evening he set out. The night +proved very dark. The river, swollen by recent rains, overflowed its +banks and spread far and wide over the low bottoms. The river was +extremely crooked, and it was with great difficulty that they could +keep the channel. But the instinct of the Indian guide led them +safely along, through overhanging boughs and forest glooms, until, a +little before midnight, they reached the camp. There was no time to +be lost. Major Russel was anxious to have the supplies that very +night dispatched to him, lest the Indians should hear of their +danger and should escape. + +But Colonel Blue did not approve of the expedition. There was no +evidence that the Indian encampment consisted of anything more than +half a dozen wigwams, where a few inoffensive savages, with their +wives and children, were eking out a half-starved existence by +hunting, fishing, and digging up roots from the forest. It did not +seem wise to send an army of two hundred and sixteen men to carry +desolation and woe to such humble homes. Crockett was ordered to +return with this message to the Major. Military discipline, then and +there, was not very rigid. He hired another man to carry back the +unwelcome answer in his place. In the light canoe the three men +rapidly ascended the sluggish stream. Just as the sun was rising +over the forest, they reached the camp of Major Russell. The +detachment then immediately commenced its march down the River +Scambia, and joined the main body at a point called Miller's +Landing. Here learning that some fugitive Indians were on the +eastern side of the stream, a mounted party was sent across, +swimming their horses, and several Indians were hunted down and +shot. + +Soon after this, the whole party, numbering nearly twelve hundred in +all, commenced a toilsome march of about two or three hundred miles +across the State to the Chattahoochee River, which constitutes the +boundary-line between Southern Alabama and Georgia. Their route led +through pathless wilds. No provisions, of any importance, could be +found by the way. They therefore took with them rations for +twenty-eight days. But their progress was far more slow and toilsome +than they had anticipated. Dense forests were to be threaded, where +it was necessary for them to cut their way through almost tropical +entanglement of vegetation. Deep and broad marshes were to be waded, +where the horses sank almost to their saddle-girths. There were +rivers to be crossed, which could only be forded by ascending the +banks through weary leagues of wilderness. + +Thus, when twenty-eight days had passed, and their provisions were +nearly expended, though they had for some time been put on short +allowance, they found that they had accomplished but three-quarters +of their journey. Actual starvation threatened them. But twice in +nineteen days did Crockett Taste of any bread. Despondency spread +its gloom over the half-famished army. Still they toiled along, +almost hopeless, with tottering footsteps. War may have its +excitements and its charms. But such a march as this, of woe-begone, +emaciate, skeleton bands, is not to be counted as among war's pomps +and glories. + +One evening, in the deepening twilight, when they had been out +thirty-four days, the Indian scouts, ever sent in advance, came into +camp with the announcement, that at the distance of but a few hours' +march before them, the Chattahoochee River was to be found, with a +large Indian village upon its banks. We know not what reason there +was to suppose that the Indians inhabiting this remote village were +hostile. But as the American officers decided immediately upon +attacking them, we ought to suppose that they, on the ground, had +sufficient reason to justify this course. + +The army was immediately put in motion. The rifles were loaded and +primed, and the flints carefully examined, that they might not fall +into ambush unprepared. The sun was just rising as they cautiously +approached the doomed village. There was a smooth green meadow a few +rods in width on the western bank of the river, skirted by the +boundless forest. The Indian wigwams and lodges, of varied +structure, were clustered together on this treeless, grassy plain, +in much picturesque beauty. The Indians had apparently not been +apprised of the approach of the terrible tempest of war about to +descend upon them. Apparently, at that early hour, they were soundly +asleep. Not a man, woman, or child was to be seen. + +Silently, screened by thick woods, the army formed in line of +battle. The two hundred Indian warriors, rifle in hand and tomahawk +at belt, stealthily took their position. The white men took theirs. +At a given signal, the war-whoop burst from the lips of the savages, +and the wild halloo of the backwoodsmen reverberated through the +forest, as both parties rushed forward in the impetuous charge. "We +were all so furious," writes Crockett, "that even the certainty of a +pretty hard fight could not have restrained us." + +But to the intense mortification of these valiant men, not a single +living being was to be found as food for bullet or tomahawk. The +huts were all deserted, and despoiled of every article of any value. +There was not a skin, or an unpicked bone, or a kernel of corn left +behind. The Indians had watched the march of the foe, and, with +their wives and little ones. had retired to regions where the +famishing army could not follow them. + + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +The Camp and the Cabin. + +Deplorable Condition of the Army.--Its wanderings.--Crockett's +Benevolence.--Cruel Treatment of the Indians.--A Gleam of Good +Luck.--The Joyful Feast.--Crockett's Trade with the Indian.--Visit +to the Old Battlefield.--Bold Adventure of Crockett.--His Arrival +Home.--Death of his Wife.--Second Marriage.--Restlessness.-- +Exploring Tour.--Wild Adventures.--Dangerous Sickness.--Removal +to the West.--His New Home. + + + + + +The army, far away in the wilds of Southern Alabama, on the banks of +the almost unknown Chattahoochee, without provisions, and with +leagues of unexplored wilderness around, found itself in truly a +deplorable condition. The soldiers had hoped to find, in the Indian +village, stores of beans and corn, and quantities of preserved game. +In the impotence of their disappointment they applied the torch, and +laid the little village in ashes. + +A council was held, and it was deemed best to divide their forces. +Major Childs took one-half of the army and retraced their steps +westward, directing their course toward Baton Rouge, where they +hoped to find General Jackson with a portion of the army with which +he was returning from New Orleans. The other division, under Major +Russel, pressed forward, as rapidly as possible, nearly north, +aiming for Fort Decatur, on the Tallapoosa River, where they +expected to find shelter and provisions. Crockett accompanied Major +Russel's party. Indian sagacity was now in great requisition. The +friendly savages led the way through scenes of difficulty and +entanglement where, but for their aid, the troops might all have +perished. So great was the destitution of food that the soldiers +were permitted to stray, almost at pleasure, on either side of the +line of march. Happy was the man who could shoot a raccoon or a +squirrel, or even the smallest bird. Implicit confidence was placed +in the guidance of the friendly Indians, and the army followed in +single file, along the narrow trail which the Indians trod before +them. + +Crockett, in this march, had acquired so much the confidence of the +officers that he seems to have enjoyed quite unlimited license. He +went where he pleased and did what he would. Almost invariably at +night, keeping pace with the army, he would bring in some small +game, a bird or a squirrel, and frequently several of these puny +animals. It was a rule, when night came, for all the hunters to +throw down what they had killed in one pile. This was then divided +among the messes as equitably as possible. + +One night, Crockett returned empty-handed. He had killed nothing, +and he was very hungry. But there was a sick man in his mess, who +was suffering far more than he. Crockett, with his invariable +unselfishness and generosity, forgot his own hunger in his +solicitude for his sick comrade. He went to the fire of Captain +Cowen, who was commandant of the company to which Crockett belonged, +and told him his story. Captain Cowen was broiling, for his supper, +the gizzard of a turkey. He told Crockett that the turkey was all +that had fallen to the share of his company that night, and that the +bird had already been divided, in very small fragments, among the +sick. There was nothing left for Crockett's friend. + +On this march the army was divided into messes of eight or ten men, +who cooked and ate their food together. This led Crockett to decide +that he and his mess would separate themselves from the rest of the +army, and make a small and independent band. The Indian scouts, well +armed and very wary, took the lead. They kept several miles in +advance of the main body of the troops, that they might give timely +warning should they encounter any danger. Crockett and his mess kept +close after them, following their trail, and leaving the army one or +two miles behind. + +One day the scouts came across nine Indians. We are not informed +whether they were friends or enemies, whether they were hunters or +warriors, whether they were men, women, or children, whether they +were in their wigwams or wandering through the forest, whether they +were all together or were found separately: we are simply told that +they were all shot down. The circumstances of the case are such, +that the probabilities are very strong that they were shot as a wolf +or a bear would be shot, at sight, without asking any questions. The +next day the scouts found a frail encampment where there were three +Indians. They shot them all. + +The sufferings of the army, as it toiled along through these vast +realms of unknown rivers and forest glooms, and marshes and +wide-spread, flower-bespangled prairies, became more and more +severe. Game was very scarce. For three days, Crockett's party +killed barely enough to sustain life. He writes: + +"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 knowed +we couldn't go much farther without it." + +While in this condition they came upon one of those wide and +beautiful prairies which frequently embellish the landscape of the +South and the West This plain was about six miles in width, smooth +as a floor, and waving with tall grass and the most brilliaintly +colored flowers. It was bordered with a forest of luxuriant growth, +but not a tree dotted its surface. They came upon a trail leading +through the tall, thick grass. Crockett's practised eye saw at once +that it was not a trail made by human foot-steps, but the narrow +path along which deer strolled and turkeys hobbled in their movement +across the field from forest to forest. + +Following this trail, they soon came to a creek of sluggish water. +The lowlands on each side were waving with a rank growth of wild +rye, presenting a very green and beautiful aspect. The men were all +mounted, as indeed was nearly the whole army. By grazing and +browsing, the horses, as they moved slowly along at a foot-pace, +kept in comfortable flesh. This rye-field presented the most +admirable pasturage for the horses. Crockett and his comrades +dismounted, and turned the animals loose. There was no danger of +their straying far in so fat a field. + +Crockett and another man, Vanzant by name, leaving the horses to +feed, pushed across the plain to the forest, in search of some food +for themselves They wandered for some time, and found nothing. At +length, Crockett espied a squirrel on the limb of a tall tree. He +shot at the animal and wounded it but it succeeded in creeping into +a small hole in the tree, thirty feet from the ground. There was not +a limb for that distance to aid in climbing. Still the wants of the +party were such that Crockett climbed the tree to get the squirrel, +and felt that he had gained quite a treasure. + +"I shouldn't relate such small matters," he writes, "only to show +what lengths a hungry man will go to, to get something to eat." + +Soon after, he killed two more squirrels. Just as he was reloading +his gun, a large flock of fat turkeys rose from the marshy banks of +the creek along which they were wandering, and flying but a short +distance, relighted. Vanzant crept forward, and aiming at a large +gobbler, fired, and brought him down. The flock immediately flew +back to near the spot where Crockett stood. He levelled his rifle, +took deliberate aim, and another fine turkey fell. The flock then +disappeared. + +The two hunters made the forest resound with shouts of triumph. They +had two large, fat turkeys, which would be looked at wistfully upon +any gourmand's table, and for side-dishes they had three squirrels. +Thus they were prepared for truly a thanksgiving feast. Hastily they +returned with their treasure, when they learned that the others of +their party had found a bee-tree, that is, a tree where a swarm of +bees had taken lodgment, and were laying in their winter stores. +They cut down the tree with their hatchets, and obtained an ample +supply of wild honey. They all felt that they had indeed fallen upon +a vein of good luck. + +It was but a short distance from the creek to the gigantic forest, +rising sublimely in its luxuriance, with scarcely an encumbering +shrub of undergrowth. They entered the edge of the forest, built a +hot fire, roasted their game, and, while their horses were enjoying +the richest of pasturage, they, with their keen appetites, enjoyed a +more delicious feast than far-famed Delmonico ever provided for his +epicurean guests. + +The happy party, rejoicing in the present, and taking no thought for +the morrow, spent the night in this camp of feasting. The next +morning they were reluctant to leave such an inviting +hunting-ground. Crockett and Vanzant again took to their rifles, and +strolled into the forest in search of game. Soon they came across a +fine buck, which seemed to have tarried behind to watch the foe, +while the rest of the herd, of which he was protector, had taken to +flight. The beautiful creature, with erect head and spreading +antlers, gallantly stopping to investigate the danger to which his +family was exposed, would have moved the sympathies of any one but a +professed hunter. Crockett's bullet struck him, wounded him +severely, and he limped away. Hotly the two hunters pursued. They +came to a large tree which had been blown down, and was partly +decayed. An immense grizzly bear crept growling from the hollow of +this tree, and plunged into the forest. It was in vain to pursue +him, without dogs to retard his flight. They however soon overtook +the wounded buck, and shot him. With this treasure of venison upon +their shoulders, they had but just returned to their camp when the +main body of the army came up. The game which Crockett had taken, +and upon which they had feasted so abundantly, if divided among +twelve hundred men, would not have afforded a mouthful apiece. + +The army was in the most deplorable condition of weakness and +hunger. Ere long they reached the Coosa, and followed up its eastern +bank. About twenty miles above the spot where they struck the river +there was a small military post, called Fort Decatur. They hoped to +find some food there. And yet, in that remote, almost inaccessible +station, they could hardly expect to meet with anything like a +supply for twelve hundred half-famished men. + +Upon reaching the river, Crockett took a canoe and paddled across. +On the other shore he found an Indian. Instead of shooting him, he +much more sensibly entered into relations of friendly trade with the +savage. The Indian had a little household in his solitary wigwam, +and a small quantity of corn in store. Crockett wore a large hat. +Taking it from his head, he offered the Indian a silver dollar if he +would fill it with corn. But the little bit of silver, with +enigmatical characters stamped upon it, was worth nothing to the +Indian. He declined the offer. Speaking a little broken English, he +inquired, "You got any powder? You got any bullets?" Crockett told +him he had. He promptly replied, "Me will swap my corn for powder +and bullets." + +Eagerly the man gave a hatful of corn for ten bullets and ten +charges of powder. He then offered another hatful at the same price. +Crockett took off his hunting-shirt, tied it up so as to make a sort +of bag, into which he poured his two hatfuls of corn. With this +great treasure he joyfully paddled across the stream to rejoin his +companions. It is pleasant to think that the poor Indian was not +shot, that his wigwam was not burned over his head, and that he was +left with means to provide his wife and children with many luxurious +meals. + +The army reached Fort Decatur. One single meal consumed all the +provisions which the garrison could by any possibility spare. They +had now entered upon a rough, hilly, broken country. The horses +found but little food, and began to give out. About fifty miles +farther up the Coosa River there was another military station, in +the lonely wilds, called Fort William. Still starving, and with +tottering horses, they toiled on. Parched corn, and but a scanty +supply of that, was now almost their only subsistence. + +They reached the fort. One ration of pork and one ration of flour +were mercifully given them. It was all which could be spared. To +remain where they were was certain starvation. Forty miles above +them on the same stream was Fort Strother. Sadly they toiled along. +The skeleton horses dropped beneath their riders, and were left, +saddled and bridled, for the vultures and the wolves. On their route +to Fort Strother they passed directly by the ancient Indian fort of +Talladega. It will be remembered that a terrible battle had been +fought here by General Jackson with the Indians, on the 7th of +December, 1813. In the carnage of that bloody day nearly five +hundred Indians fell. Those who escaped scattered far and wide. A +few of them sought refuge in distant Florida. + +The bodies of the slain were left unburied. Slowly the flesh +disappeared from the bones, either devoured by wild beasts or +decomposed by the action of the atmosphere. The field, as now +visited, presented an appalling aspect. Crockett writes: + +"We went through the old battle-ground, and it looked like a great +gourd-patch. The skulls of the Indians who were killed, still lay +scattered all about. Many of their frames were still perfect, as +their bones had not separated." + +As they were thus despairingly tottering along, they came across a +narrow Indian trail, with fresh footmarks, indicating that +moccasined Indians had recently passed along. It shows how little +they had cause to fear from the Indians, that Crockett, entirely +alone, should have followed that trail, trusting that it would lead +him to some Indian village, where he could hope to buy some more +corn. He was not deceived in his expectation. After threading the +narrow and winding path about five miles, he came to a cluster of +Indian wigwams. Boldly he entered the little village, without +apparently the slightest apprehension that he should meet with any +unfriendly reception. + +He was entirely at the mercy of the savages Even if he were +murdered, it would never be known by whom. And if it were known, the +starving army, miles away, pressing along in its flight, was in no +condition to send a detachment to endeavor to avenge the deed. The +savages received him as though he had been one of their own kith and +kin, and readily exchanged corn with him, for powder and bullets. He +then returned, but did not overtake the rest of the army until late +in the night. + +The next morning they were so fortunate as to encounter a detachment +of United States troops on the march to Mobile. These troops, having +just commenced their journey, were well supplied; and they liberally +distributed their corn and provisions. Here Crockett found his +youngest brother, who had enlisted for the campaign. There were also +in the band many others of his old friends and neighbors. The +succeeding day, the weary troops, much refreshed, reached a point on +the River Coosa opposite Fort Strother, and crossing the stream, +found there shelter and plenty of provisions. + +We know not, and do not care to know, who was responsible for this +military movement, which seems to us now as senseless as it was +cruel and disastrous. But it is thus that poor humanity has ever +gone blundering on, displaying but little wisdom in its affairs. +Here Crockett had permission to visit his home, though he still owed +the country a month of service. In his exceeding rude, unpolished +style which pictures the man, he writes: + +"Once more I was safely landed at home with my wife and children. 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 in the backwood country as any people in the whole creation. + +"But I had been home only a few days, when we received orders to +start again, and go on to the Black Warrior and Cahaula rivers, to +see if there were no Indians 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. 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 I am glad, I just mean that I am glad that I am alive, for +there is a confounded heap of things I ain't glad of at all." + +When Crockett wrote the above he was a member of Congress, and a +very earnest politician. He was much opposed to the measure of +President Jackson in removing the deposits from the United States +Bank--a movement which greatly agitated the whole country at that +time. In speaking of things of which he was not glad, he writes: + +"I ain't glad, for example, that the Government moved the deposits; +and if my military glory should take such a turn as to make me +President after the General's time, I will 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." + +The hardships of war had blighted Crockett's enthusiasm for wild +adventures, and had very considerably sobered him. He remained at +home for two years, diligently at work upon his farm. The battle of +New Orleans was fought. The war with England closed, and peace was +made with the poor Indians, who, by British intrigue, had been +goaded to the disastrous fight. Death came to the cabin of Crockett; +and his faithful wife, the tender mother of his children, was taken +from him. We cannot refrain from quoting his own account of this +event as it does much honor to his heart. + +"In this time I met with the hardest trial which ever falls to the +lot of man. Death, that cruel leveller of all distinctions, to whom +the prayers and tears of husbands, and even of helpless infancy, are +addressed in vain, entered my humble cottage, and tore from my +children an affectionate, good mother, and from me a tender 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 upon +it, it seems but as the work of yesterday. + +"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 +even yet is the remembrance of her sufferings, and the loss +sustained by my little children and myself, yet I have no wish 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 married, 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, in 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 that it wouldn't do, but that I must have +another wife." + +One sees strikingly, in the above quotation, the softening effect of +affliction on the human heart There was a widow in the neighborhood, +a very worthy woman, who had lost her husband in the war. She had +two children, a son and a daughter, both quite young. She owned a +snug little farm, and being a very capable woman, was getting along +quite comfortably. Crockett decided that he should make a good +step-father to her children, and she a good step-mother for his. The +courtship was in accordance with the most approved style of country +love-making. It proved to be a congenial marriage. The two families +came very harmoniously together, and in their lowly hut enjoyed +peace and contentment such as frequently is not found in more +ambitious homes. + +But the wandering propensity was inherent in the very nature of +Crockett. He soon tired of the monotony of a farmer's life, and +longed for change. A few months after his marriage he set out, with +three of his neighbors, all well mounted, on an exploring tour into +Central Alabama, hoping to find new homes there. Taking a southerly +course, they crossed the Tennessee River, and striking the upper +waters of the Black Warrior, followed down that stream a distance of +about two hundred miles from their starting-point, till they came +near to the place where Tuscaloosa, the capital of the State, now +stands. + +This region was then almost an unbroken wilderness. But during the +war Crockett had frequently traversed it, and was familiar with its +general character. On the route they came to the hut of a man who +was a comrade of Crockett in the Florida campaign. They spent a day +with the retired soldier, and all went out in the woods together to +hunt. Frazier unfortunately stepped upon a venomous snake, partially +covered with leaves. The reptile struck its deadly fangs into his +leg. The effect was instantaneous and awful. They carried the +wounded man, with his bloated and throbbing limb, back to the hut. +Here such remedies were applied as backwoods medical science +suggested; but it was evident that many weeks would elapse ere the +man could move, even should he eventually recover. Sadly they were +constrained to leave their suffering companion there. What became of +him is not recorded. + +The three others, Crockett, Robinson, and Rich, continued their +journey. Their route led them through a very fertile and beautiful +region, called Jones's Valley. Several emigrants had penetrated and +reared their log huts upon its rich and blooming meadows. + +When they reached the spot where the capital of the State now +stands, with its spacious streets, its public edifices, its halls of +learning, its churches, and its refined and cultivated society, they +found only the silence, solitude, and gloom of the wilderness. With +their hatchets they constructed a rude camp to shelter them from the +night air and the heavy dew. It was open in front. Here they built +their camp-fire, whose cheerful glow illumined the forest far and +wide, and which converted midnight glooms into almost midday +radiance. The horses were hobbled and turned out to graze on a +luxuriant meadow. It was supposed that the animals, weary of the +day's journey, and finding abundant pasturage, would not stray far. +The travellers cooked their supper, and throwing themselves upon +their couch of leaves, enjoyed that sound sleep which fatigue, +health, and comfort give. + +When they awoke in the morning the horses were all gone. By +examining the trail it seemed that they had taken the back-track in +search of their homes. Crockett, who was the most vigorous and +athletic of the three, leaving Robinson and Rich in the camp, set +out in pursuit of the runaways. It was a rough and dreary path he +had to tread. There was no comfortable road to traverse, but a mere +path through forest, bog, and ravine, which, at times, it was +difficult to discern. He had hills to climb, creeks to ford, swamps +to wade through. Hour after hour he pressed on, but the horses could +walk faster than he could. There was nothing in their foot-prints +which indicated that he was approaching any nearer to them. + +At last, when night came, and Crockett judged that he had walked +fifty miles, he gave up the chase as hopeless. Fortunately he +reached the cabin of a settler, where he remained until morning. A +rapid walk, almost a run, of fifty miles in one day, is a very +severe operation even for the most hardy of men. When Crockett +awoke, after his night's sleep, he found himself so lame that he +could scarcely move. He was, however, anxious to get back with his +discouraging report to his companions. He therefore set out, and +hobbled slowly and painfully along, hoping that exercise would +gradually loosen his stiffened joints. + +But, mile after mile, he grew worse rather than better. His head +began to ache very severely. A burning fever spread through his +veins. He tottered in his walk, and his rifle seemed so heavy that +he could scarcely bear its weight. He was toiling through a dark and +gloomy ravine, damp and cold, and thrown into shade by the thick +foliage of the overhanging trees. So far as he knew, no human +habitation was near. Night was approaching. He could go no farther. +He had no food; but he did not need any, for a deathly nausea +oppressed him. Utterly exhausted, he threw himself down upon the +grass and withered leaves, on a small dry mound formed by the roots +of a large tree. + +Crockett had no wish to die. He clung very tenaciously to life, and +yet he was very apprehensive that then and there he was to linger +through a few hours of pain, and then die, leaving his unburied body +to be devoured by wild beasts, and his friends probably forever +ignorant of his fate. Consumed by fever, and agitated by these +painful thoughts, he remained for an hour or two, when he heard the +sound of approaching footsteps and of human voices. His +sensibilities were so stupefied by his sickness that these sounds +excited but little emotion. + +Soon three or four Indians made their appearance walking along the +narrow trail in single file. They saw the prostrate form of the +poor, sick white man, and immediately gathered around him. The rifle +of Crockett, and the powder and bullets which be had, were, to these +Indians, articles of almost inestimable value. One blow of the +tomahawk would send the helpless man to realms where rifles and +ammunition were no longer needed, and his priceless treasures would +fall into their hands. Indeed, it was not necessary even to strike +that blow. They had but to pick up the rifle, and unbuckle the belt +which contained the powder-horn and bullet-pouch, and leave the +dying man to his fate. + +But these savages, who had never read our Saviour's beautiful +parable of the good Samaritan, acted the Samaritan's part to the +white man whom they found in utter helplessness and destitution. +They kneeled around him, trying to minister to his wants. One of +them had a watermelon. He cut from it a slice of the rich and juicy +fruit, and entreated him to eat it. But his stomach rejected even +that delicate food. + +They then, by very expressive signs, told him that if he did not +take some nourishment he would die and be buried there--"a thing," +Crockett writes, "I was confoundedly afraid of, myself." Crockett +inquired how far it was to any house. They signified to him, by +signs, that there was a white man's cabin about a mile and a half +from where they then were, and urged him to let them conduct him to +that house. He rose to make the attempt. But he was so weak that he +could with difficulty stand, and unsupported could not walk a step. + +One of these kind Indians offered to go with him; and relieving +Crockett of the burden of his rifle, and with his strong arm +supporting and half carrying him, at length succeeded in getting him +to the log hut of the pioneer. The shades of night were falling. The +sick man was so far gone that it seemed to him that he could +scarcely move another step. A woman came to the door of the lowly +hut and received them with a woman's sympathy. There was a cheerful +fire blazing in one corner, giving quite a pleasing aspect to the +room. In another corner there was a rude bed, with bed-clothing of +the skins of animals. Crockett's benefactor laid him tenderly upon +the bed, and leaving him in the charge of his countrywoman, bade him +adieu, and hastened away to overtake his companions. + +What a different world would this be from what it has been, did the +spirit of kindness, manifested by this poor Indian, universally +animate human hearts! + +"O brother man! fold to thy heart thy brother: +Where pity dwells the peace of God is there; +To worship rightly is to love each other, +Each smile a hymn, each kindly word a prayer." + +The woman's husband was, at the time, absent. But she carefully +nursed her patient, preparing for him some soothing herb-tea. +Delirium came, and for several hours, Crockett, in a state of +unconsciousness, dwelt in the land of troubled dreams. The next +morning he was a little more comfortable, but still in a high fever, +and often delirious. + +It so happened that two white men, on an exploring tour, as they +passed along the trail, met the Indians, who informed them that one +of their sick countrymen was at a settler's cabin at but a few +miles' distance. With humanity characteristic of a new and sparsely +settled country they turned aside to visit him. They proved to be +old acquaintances of Crockett. He was so very anxious to get back to +the camp where he had left his companions, and who, knowing nothing +of his fate, must think it very strange that he had thus deserted +them, that they, very reluctantly, in view of his dangerous +condition, consented to help him on his way. + +They made as comfortable a seat as they could, of blankets and +skins, which they buckled on the neck of one of the horses just +before the saddle. Upon this Crockett was seated. One of the men +then mounted the saddle behind him, threw both arms around the +patient, and thus they commenced their journey. The sagacious horse +was left to pick out his own way along the narrow trail at a slow +foot-pace. As the horse thus bore a double burden, after journeying +an hour or two, Crockett's seat was changed to the other horse. Thus +alternating, the painful journey of nearly fifty miles was +accomplished in about two days. + +When they reached the camp, Crockett, as was to have been expected, +was in a far worse condition than when they commenced the journey. +It was evident that he was to pass through a long run of fever, and +that his recovery was very doubtful. His companions could not thus +be delayed. They had already left Frazier, one of their company, +perhaps to die of the bite of a venomous snake; and now they were +constrained to leave Crockett, perhaps to die of malarial fever. + +They ascertained that, at the distance of a few miles from them, +there was another log cabin in the wilderness. They succeeded in +purchasing a couple of horses, and in transporting the sick man to +this humble house of refuge. Here Crockett was left to await the +result of his sickness, unaided by any medical skill. Fortunately he +fell into the hands of a family who treated him with the utmost +kindness. For a fortnight he was in delirium, and knew nothing of +what was transpiring around him. + +Crockett was a very amiable man. Even the delirium of disease +developed itself in kindly words and grateful feelings. He always +won the love of those around him. He did not miss delicacies and +luxuries of which he had never known anything. Coarse as he was when +measured by the standard of a higher civilization, he was not coarse +at all in the estimation of the society in the midst of which he +moved. In this humble cabin of Jesse Jones, with all its aspect of +penury, Crockett was nursed with brotherly and sisterly kindness, +and had every alleviation in his sickness which his nature craved. + +The visitor to Versailles is shown the magnificent apartment, and +the regal couch, with its gorgeous hangings, upon which Louis XIV., +the proudest and most pampered man on earth, languished and died. +Crockett, on his pallet in the log cabin, with unglazed window and +earthern floor, was a far less unhappy man, than the dying monarch +surrounded with regal splendors. + +At the end of a fortnight the patient began slowly to mend. His +emaciation was extreme, and his recovery very gradual. After a few +weeks he was able to travel. He was then on a route where wagons +passed over a rough road, teaming the articles needed in a new +country. Crockett hired a wagoner to give him a seat in his wagon +and to convey him to the wagoner's house, which was about twenty +miles distant. Gaining strength by the way, when he arrived there he +hired a horse of the wagoner, and set out for home. + +Great was the astonishment of his family upon his arrival, for they +had given him up as dead. The neighbors who set out on this journey +with him had returned and so reported; for they had been +misinformed. They told Mrs. Crockett that they had seen those who +were with him when he died, and had assisted in burying him. + +Still the love of change had not been dispelled from the bosom of +Crockett. He did not like the place where he resided. After spending +a few months at home, he set out, in the autumn, upon another +exploring tour. Our National Government had recently purchased, of +the Chickasaw Indians, a large extent of territory in Southern +Tennessee. Crockett thought that in those new lands he would find +the earthly paradise of which he was in search. The region was +unsurveyed, a savage wilderness, and there were no recognized laws +and no organized government there. + +Crockett mounted his horse, lashed his rifle to his back, filled his +powder-horn and bullet-pouch, and journeying westward nearly a +hundred miles, through pathless wilds whose solitudes had a peculiar +charm for him, came to a romantic spot, called Shoal Creek, in what +is now Giles County, in the extreme southern part of Tennessee. He +found other adventurers pressing into the new country, where land +was abundant and fertile, and could be had almost for nothing. + +Log cabins were rising in all directions, in what they deemed quite +near neighborhood, for they were not separated more than a mile or +two from each other. Crockett, having selected his location on the +banks of a crystal stream, summoned, as was the custom, some +neighbors to his aid, and speedily constructed the cabin, of one +apartment, to shield his family from the wind and the rain. Moving +with such a family is not a very arduous undertaking. One or two +pack-horses convey all the household utensils. There are no mirrors, +bedsteads, bureaus, or chairs to be transported. With an auger and a +hatchet, these articles are soon constructed in their new home. The +wife, with the youngest child, rides. The husband, with his rifle +upon his shoulder, and followed by the rest of the children, trudges +along on foot. + +Should night or storm overtake them, an hour's work would throw up a +camp, with a cheerful fire in front, affording them about the same +cohorts which they enjoyed in the home they had left. A little meal, +baked in the ashes, supplied them with bread. And during the journey +of the day the rifle of the father would be pretty sure to pick up +some game to add to the evening repast. + +Crockett and his family reached their new home in safety. Here quite +a new sphere of life opened before the adventurer, and he became so +firmly settled that he remained in that location for three years. In +the mean time, pioneers from all parts were rapidly rearing their +cabins upon the fertile territory, which was then called The New +Purchase. + + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +The Justice of Peace and the Legislator. + +Vagabondage.--Measures of Protection.--Measures of +Government.--Crockett's Confession.--A Candidate for Military +Honors.--Curious Display of Moral Courage.--The Squirrel Hunt.--A +Candidate for the Legislature.--Characteristic +Electioneering.--Specimens of his Eloquence.--Great Pecuniary +Calamity.--Expedition to the Far West.--Wild Adventures.--The +Midnight Carouse.--A Cabin Reared. + + + + + +The wealthy and the prosperous are not disposed to leave the +comforts of a high civilization for the hardships of the wilderness. +Most of the pioneers who crowded to the New Purchase were either +energetic young men who had their fortunes to make, or families who +by misfortune had encountered impoverishment. But there was still +another class. There were the vile, the unprincipled, the desperate; +vagabonds seeking whom they might devour; criminals escaping the +penalty of the laws which they had violated. + +These were the men who shot down an Indian at sight, as they would +shoot a wolf; merely for the fun of it; who robbed the Indian of his +gun and game, burned his wigwam, and atrociously insulted his wife +and daughters. These were the men whom no law could restrain; who +brought disgrace upon the name of a white man, and who often +provoked the ignorant savage to the most dreadful and indiscriminate +retaliation. + +So many of these infamous men flocked to this New Purchase that life +there became quite undesirable. There were no legally appointed +officers of justice, no organized laws. Every man did what was +pleasing in his own sight. There was no collecting of debts, no +redress for violence, no punishment for cheating or theft. + +Under these circumstances, there was a general gathering of the +well-disposed inhabitants of the cabins scattered around, to adopt +some measures for their mutual protection. Several men were +appointed justices of peace, with a set of resolute young men, as +constables, to execute their commissions. These justices were +invested with almost dictatorial power. They did not pretend to know +anything about written law or common law. They were merely men of +good sound sense, who could judge as to what was right in all +ordinary intercourse between man and man. + +A complaint would be entered to Crockett that one man owed another +money and refused to pay him. Crockett would send his constables to +arrest the man, and bring him to his cabin. After hearing both +parties, if Crockett judged the debt to be justly due, and that it +could be paid, he would order the man's horse, cow, rifle, or any +other property he owned, to be seized and sold, and the debt to be +paid. If the man made any resistance he would be very sure to have +his cabin burned down over his head; and he would be very lucky if +he escaped a bullet through his own body. + +One of the most common and annoying crimes committed by these +desperadoes was shooting an emigrant's swine. These animals, +regarded as so invaluable in a new country, each had its owner's +mark, and ranged the woods, fattening upon acorns and other nuts. +Nothing was easier than for a lazy man to wander into the woods, +shoot one of these animals, take it to his cabin, devour it there, +and obliterate all possible traces of the deed. Thus a large and +valuable herd would gradually disappear. This crime was consequently +deemed to merit the most severe punishment. It was regarded as so +disgraceful that no respectable man was liable to suspicion. + +The punishment for the crime was very severe, and very summary. If +one of these swine-thieves was brought before Justice Crockett, and +in his judgment the charge was proved against him, the sentence +was-- + +"Take the thief, strip off his shirt, tie him to a tree, and give +him a severe flogging. Then burn down his cabin, and drive him out +of the country." + +There was no appeal from this verdict, and no evading its execution. +Such was the justice which prevailed, in this remote region, until +the Legislature of Alabama annexed the territory to Giles County, +and brought the region under the dominion of organized law. +Crockett, who had performed his functions to the entire satisfaction +of the community, then was legally appointed a justice of peace, and +became fully entitled to the appellation of esquire. He certainly +could not then pretend to any profound legal erudition, for at this +time he could neither read nor write. + +Esquire Crockett, commenting upon this transaction, says, "I was +made a Squire, according to law; though now the honor rested more +heavily upon me than before. For, at first, whenever I told my +constable, says I, 'Catch that fellow, and bring him up for trial,' +away he went, and the fellow must come, dead or alive. For we +considered this a good warrant, though it was only in verbal +writing. + +"But after I was appointed by the Assembly, they told me that my +warrants must be in real writing and signed; and that I must keep a +book and write my proceedings in it. This was a hard business on me, +for I could just barely write my own name. But to do this, and write +the warrants too, was at least a huckleberry over my persimmon. I +had a pretty well informed constable, however, and he aided me very +much in this business. Indeed, I told him, when he should happen to +be out anywhere, and see that a warrant was necessary, and would +have a good effect, he needn't take the trouble to come all the way +to me to get one, but he could just fill out one; and then, on the +trial, I could correct the whole business if he had committed any +error. + +"In this way I got on pretty well, till, by care and attention, I +improved my handwriting in such a manner as to be able to prepare my +warrants and keep my record-books without much difficulty. My +judgments were never appealed from; and if they had been, they would +have stuck like wax, as I gave my decisions on the principles of +common justice and honesty between man and man, and relied on +natural-born sense, and not on law-learning, to guide me; for I had +never read a page in a law-book in all my life." + +Esquire Crockett was now a rising man. He was by no means diffident. +With strong native sense, imperturbable self-confidence, a memory +almost miraculously stored with rude anecdotes, and an astonishing +command of colloquial and slang language, he was never embarrassed, +and never at a loss as to what to say or to do. + +They were about getting up a new regiment of militia there, and a +Captain Mathews, an ambitious, well-to-do settler, with cribs full +of corn, was a candidate for the colonelship. He came to Crockett to +insure his support, and endeavored to animate him to more cordial +cooperation by promising to do what he could to have him elected +major of the regiment. Esquire Crockett at first declined, saying +that he was thoroughly disgusted with all military operations, and +that he had no desire for any such honors. But as Captain Mathews +urged the question, and Crockett reflected that the office would +give him some additional respect and influence with his neighbors, +and that Major Crockett was a very pleasantly sounding title, he +finally consented, and, of course, very soon became deeply +interested in the enterprise. + +Captain Mathews, as an electioneering measure, invited all his +neighbors, far and near, to a very magnificent corn-husking frolic. +There was to be a great treat on the occasion, and "all the world," +as the French say, were eager to be there. Crockett and his family +were of course among the invited guests. When Crockett got there he +found an immense gathering, all in high glee, and was informed, much +to his surprise and chagrin, that Captain Mathews's son had offered +himself for the office of major, in opposition to Crockett. + +The once had, in reality, but few charms for Crockett, and he did +not care much for it. But this unworthy treatment roused his +indignation. He was by nature one of the most frank and open-hearted +of men, and never attempted to do anything by guile. Immediately he +called Captain Mathews aside, and inquired what this all meant. The +Captain was much embarrassed, and made many lame excuses, saying +that he would rather his son would run against any man in the county +than against Squire Crockett. + +"You need give yourself no uneasiness about that," Crockett replied. +"I care nothing for the office of major; I shall not allow my name +to be used against your son for that office. But I shall do +everything in my power to prevent his father from being colonel." + +In accordance with the custom of the region and the times, after the +feasting and the frolicking, Captain Mathews mounted a stump, and +addressed the assembly in what was appropriately called a stump +speech, advocating his election. + +The moment he closed, Squire Crockett mounted the stump, and on the +Captain's own grounds, addressing the Captain's guests, and himself +one of those guests, totally unabashed, made his first stump speech. +He was at no loss for words or ideas. He was full to the brim of +fun. He could, without any effort, keep the whole assembly in roars +of laughter. And there, in the presence of Captain Mathews and his +family, he argued his total unfitness to be the commander of a +regiment. + +It is to be regretted that there was no reporter present to transmit +to us that speech. It must have been a peculiar performance. It +certainly added much to Crockett's reputation as an able man and an +orator. When the election came, both father and son were badly +beaten. Soon after, a committee waited upon Crockett, soliciting him +to stand as candidate for the State Legislature, to represent the +two counties of Lawrence and Hickman. + +Crockett was beginning to be ambitious. He consented. But he had +already engaged to take a drove of horses from Central Tennessee to +the lower part of North Carolina. This was a long journey, and going +and coming would take three months. He set out early in March, 1821. +Upon his return in June, he commenced with all zeal his +electioneering campaign. Characteristically he says: + +"It was a bran-fire new business to me. It now became necessary that +I should tell the people something about the Government, and an +eternal sight of other things that I know'd nothing more about than +I did about Latin, and law, and such things as that. I have said +before, that in those days none of us called General Jackson the +Government. But I know'd so little about it that if any one had told +me that he was the Government, I should have believed it; for I had +never read even a newspaper in my life, or anything else on the +subject." + +Lawrence County bounded Giles County on the west. Just north of +Lawrence came Hickman County. Crockett first directed his steps to +Hickman County, to engage in his "bran-fire" new work of +electioneering for himself as a candidate for the Legislature. What +ensued cannot be more graphically told than in Crockett's own +language: + +"Here they told me that they wanted to move their town nearer to the +centre of the county, and I must come out in favor of it. There's no +devil if I know'd what this meant, or how the town was to be moved. +And so I kept dark, going on the identical same plan that I now find +is called non-committal. + +"About this time there was a great squirrel-hunt, on Duck River, +which was among my people. They were to hunt two days; then to meet +and count the scalps, and have a big barbecue, and what might be +called a tip-top country frolic. The dinners and a general treat was +all to be paid for by the party having taken the fewest scalps. I +joined one side, and got a gun ready for the hunt. I killed a great +many squirrels, and when we counted scalps my party was victorious. + +"The company had everything to eat and drink that could be furnished +in a new country; and much fun and good humor prevailed. But before +the regular frolic commenced, I was called on to make a speech as a +candidate, which was a business I was as ignorant of as an +outlandish negro. + +"A public document I had never seen. How to begin I couldn't tell. I +made many apologies, and tried to get off, for I know'd I had a man +to run against who could speak prime. And I know'd, too that I +wasn't able to cut and thrust with him. He was there, and knowing my +ignorance as well as I did myself, he urged me to make a speech. The +truth is, he thought my being a candidate was a mere matter of +sport, and didn't think for a moment that he was in any danger from +an ignorant back woods bear-hunter. + +"But I found I couldn't get off. So I determined to go ahead, and +leave it to chance what I should say. I got up and told the people I +reckoned they know'd what I had come for; but if not, I could tell +them. I had come for their votes, and if they didn't watch mighty +close I'd get them too. But the worst of all was, that I could not +tell them anything about Government. I tried to speak about +something, and I cared very little what, until I choked up as bad as +if my mouth had been jamm'd and cramm'd chock-full of dry mush. +There the people stood, listening all the while, with their eyes, +mouths, and ears all open to catch every word I could speak. + +"At last I told them I was like a fellow I had heard of not long +before. He was beating on the head of an empty barrel on the +roadside, when a traveller, who was passing along, asked him what he +was doing that for? The fellow replied that there was some cider in +that barrel a few days before, and he was trying to see if there was +any then; but if there was, he couldn't get at it. I told them that +there had been a little bit of a speech in me a while ago, but I +believed I couldn't get it out. + +"They all roared out in a mighty laugh, and I told some other +anecdotes, equally amusing to them, and believing I had them in a +first-rate way, I quit and got down, thanking the people for their +attention. But I took care to remark that I was as dry as a +powder-horn, and that I thought that it was time for us all to wet +our whistles a little. And so I put off to a liquor-stand, and was +followed by the greater part of the crowd. + +"I felt certain this was necessary, for I know'd my competitor could +talk Government matters to them as easy as he pleased. He had, +however, mighty few left to hear him, as I continued with the crowd, +now and then taking a horn, and telling good-humored stories till he +was done speaking. I found I was good for the votes at the hunt; and +when we broke up I went on to the town of Vernon, which was the same +they wanted me to move. Here they pressed me again on the subject. I +found I could get either party by agreeing with them. But I told +them I didn't know whether it would be right or not, and so couldn't +promise either way." + +This famous barbecue was on Saturday. The next Monday the county +court held its session at Vernon. There was a great gathering of the +pioneers from all parts of the county. The candidates for the +Governor of the State, for a representative in Congress, and for the +State Legislature, were all present. Some of these men were of +considerable ability, and certainly of very fluent speech. The +backwoodsmen, from their huts, where there were no books, no +newspapers, no intelligent companionship, found this a rich +intellectual treat. Their minds were greatly excited as they +listened to the impassioned and glowing utterances of speaker after +speaker; for many of these stump orators had command of a rude but +very effective eloquence. + +Crockett listened also, with increasing anxiety. He knew that his +turn was to come; that he must mount the stump and address the +listening throng. He perceived that he could not speak as these men +were speaking; and perhaps for the first time in his life began to +experience some sense of inferiority. He writes: + +"The thought of having to make a speech made my knees feel mighty +weak, and set my heart to fluttering almost as bad as my first +love-scrape with the Quaker's niece. But as good luck would have it, +these big candidates spoke nearly all day, and when they quit the +people were worn out with fatigue, which afforded me a good apology +for not discussing the Government. But I listened mighty close to +them, and was learning pretty fast about political matters. When +they were all done, I got up and told some laughable story, and +quit. I found I was safe in those parts; and so I went home, and did +not go back again till after the election was over. But to cut this +matter short, I was elected, doubling my competitor, and nine votes +over. + +"A short time after this, I was at Pulaski, where I met with Colonel +Polk, now a member of Congress from Tennessee. He was at that time a +member elected to the Legislature, as well as myself. In a large +company he said to me, 'Well, Colonel, I suppose we shall have a +radical change of the judiciary at the next session of the +Legislature.' 'Very likely, sir,' says I. And I put out quicker, for +I was afraid some one would ask me what the judiciary was; and if I +know'd I wish I may be shot. I don't indeed believe I had ever +before heard that there was any such thing in all nature. But still +I was not willing that the people there should know how ignorant I +was about it." + +At length the day arrived for the meeting of the Legislature. +Crockett repaired to the seat of government. With all his +self-complacency he began to appreciate that he had much to learn. +The two first items of intelligence which he deemed it important +that he, as a member of the Legislature, should acquire, were the +meaning of the words government and judiciary. By adroit questioning +and fixed thought, he ere long stored up those intellectual +treasures. Though with but little capacity to obtain knowledge from +books, he became an earnest student of the ideas of his +fellow-legislators as elicited in conversation or debate. Quite a +heavy disaster, just at this time, came upon Crockett. We must again +quote his own words, for it is our wish, in this volume, to give the +reader a correct idea of the man. Whatever Crockett says, ever comes +fresh from his heart. He writes: + +"About this time I met with a very severe misfortune, which I may be +pardoned for naming, as it made a great change in my circumstances, +and kept me back very much in the world. I had built an extensive +grist-mill and powder-mill, all connected together, and also a large +distillery. They had cost me upward of three thousand dollars; more +than I was worth in the world. The first news that I heard, after I +got to the Legislature, was that my mills were all swept to smash by +a large freshet that came soon after I left home. + +"I had, of course, to stop my distillery, as my grinding was broken +up. And indeed I may say that the misfortune just made a complete +mash of me. I had some likely negroes, and a good stock of almost +everything about me, and, best of all, I had an honest wife. She +didn't advise me, as is too fashionable, to smuggle up this, and +that, and t'other, to go on at home. But she told me, says she, +'Just pay up as long as you have a bit's worth in the world; and +then everybody will be satisfied, and we will scuffle for more.' + +"This was just such talk as I wanted to hear, for a man's wife can +hold him devilish uneasy if she begins to scold and fret, and +perplex him, at a time when he has a full load for a railroad car on +his mind already. And so, you see, I determined not to break +full-handed, but thought it better to keep a good conscience with an +empty purse, than to get a bad opinion of myself with a full one. I +therefore gave up all I had, and took a bran-fire new start." + +Crockett's legislative career was by no means brilliant, but +characteristic. He was the fun-maker of the house, and, like +Falstaff, could boast that he was not only witty himself, but the +cause of wit in others. His stories were irresistibly comic; but +they almost always contained expressions of profanity or coarseness +which renders it impossible for us to transmit them to these pages. +He was an inimitable mimic, and had perfect command of a Dutchman's +brogue. One of the least objectionable of his humorous stories we +will venture to record. + +There were, he said, in Virginia, two Dutchmen, brothers, George and +Jake Fulwiler. They were both well to do in the world, and each +owned a grist mill. There was another Dutchman near by, by the name +of Henry Snyder. He was a mono-maniac, but a harmless man, +occasionally thinking himself to be God. He built a throne, and +would often sit upon it, pronouncing judgment upon others, and also +upon himself. He would send the culprits to heaven or to hell, as +his humor prompted. + +One day he had a little difficulty with the two Fulwilers. He took +his seat upon his throne, and in imagination summoning the culprits +before him, thus addressed them: + +"Shorge Fulwiler, stand up. What hash you been dain in dis lower +world?" + +"Ah! Lort, ich does not know." + +"Well, Shorge Fulwiler, hasn't you got a mill?" + +"Yes, Lort, ich hash." + +"Well, Shorge Fulwiler, didn't you never take too much toll?" + +"Yes, Lort, ich hash; when der water wash low, and mein stones wash +dull, ich take leetle too much toll." + +"Well, den, Shorge Fulwiler, you must go to der left mid der goats." + +"Well, Shake Fulwiler, now you stand up. What hash you been doin in +dis lower world?" + +"Ah! Lort, ich does not know." + +"Well, Shake Fulwiler, hasn't you got a mill?" + +"Yes, Lort, ich hash." + +"Well, Shake Fulwiler hasn't you never taken too much toll?" + +"Yes Lort, ich hash; when der water wash low, and mein stones wash +dull, ich take leetle too much toll." + +"Well, den, Shake Fuhviler, you must go to der left mid der goats." + +"Now ich try menself. Henry Snyder, Henry Snyder, stand up. What +hash you bin dain in die lower world?" + +"Ah, Lort, ich does not know." + +"Well, Henry Snyder, hasn't you got a mill?" + +"Yes, Lort, ich hash." + +"Well, Henry Snyder, didn't you never take too much toll?" + +"Yes, Lort, ich hash; when der water wash low, and mein stones wash +dull, ich hash taken leetle too much toll." + +"But, Henry Snyder, vat did you do mid der toll?" + +"Ah, Lort, ich gives it to der poor." + +The judge paused for a moment, and then said, "Well, Henry Snyder, +you must go to der right mid der sheep. But it is a tight squeeze." + +Another specimen of his more sober forensic eloquence is to be found +in the following speech. There was a bill before the house for the +creation of a new county, and there was a dispute about the +boundary-line. The author of the bill wished to run the line in a +direction which would manifestly promote his own interest. Crockett +arose and said: + +"Mr. Speaker: Do you know what that man's bill reminds me of? Well, +I s'pose you don't, so I'll tell you. Well, Mr. Speaker, when I +first came to this country a blacksmith was a rare thing. But there +happened to be one in my neighborhood. He had no striker; and +whenever one of the neighbors wanted any work done, he had to go +over and strike until his work was finished. These were hard times, +Mr. Speaker, but we had to do the best we could, + +"It happened that one of my neighbors wanted an axe. So he took +along with him a piece of iron, and went over to the blacksmith's to +strike till his axe was done. The iron was heated, and my neighbor +fell to work, and was striking there nearly all day; when the +blacksmith concluded that the iron wouldn't make an axe, but 'twould +make a fine mattock. + +"So my neighbor, wanting a mattock, concluded that he would go over +and strike till the mattock was done. Accordingly he went over the +next day, and worked faithfully. But toward night the blacksmith +concluded his iron wouldn't make a mattock but 'twould make a fine +ploughshare. + +"So my neighbor, wanting a ploughshare, agreed that he would go over +the next day and strike till that was done. Accordingly he went +over, and fell hard at work. But toward night the blacksmith +concluded his iron wouldn't make a ploughshare, but 'twould make a +fine skow. So my neighbor, tired of working, cried, 'A skow let it +be;' and the blacksmith, taking up the red-hot iron, threw it into a +trough of hot water near him, and as it fell in, it sung out skow. +And this, Mr. Speaker, will be the way of that man's bill for a +county. He'll keep you all here, doing nothing, and finally his bill +will turn up a skow; now mind if it don't." + +At this time, Crockett, by way of courtesy, was usually called +colonel, as with us almost every respectable man takes the title of +esquire. One of the members offended Colonel Crockett by speaking +disrespectfully of him as from the back woods, or, as he expressed +it, the gentleman from the cane. Crockett made a very bungling +answer, which did not satisfy himself. After the house adjourned, he +very pleasantly invited the gentleman to take a walk with him. They +chatted very sociably by the way, till, at the distance of about a +mile, they reached a very secluded spot, when the Colonel, turning +to his opponent, said: + +"Do you know what I brought you here for?" + +"No," was the reply. + +"Well," added the Colonel, "I brought you here for the express +purpose of whipping you; and now I mean to do it." + +"But," says the Colonel, in recording the event, "the fellow said he +didn't mean anything, and kept 'pologizing till I got into good +humor." + +They walked back as good friends as ever, and no one but themselves +knew of the affair. + +After the adjournment of the Legislature, Crockett returned to his +impoverished home. The pecuniary losses he had encountered, induced +him to make another move, and one for which it is difficult to +conceive of any adequate motive. He took his eldest son, a boy about +eight years of age, and a young man by the name of Abram Henry, and +with one pack-horse to carry their blankets and provisions, plunged +into the vast wilderness west of them, on an exploring tour, in +search of a new home. + +Crockett and the young man shouldered their rifles. Day after day +the three trudged along, fording streams, clambering hills, wading +morasses, and threading ravines, each night constructing a frail +shelter, and cooking by their camp-fire such game as they had taken +by the way. + +After traversing these almost pathless wilds a hundred and fifty +miles, and having advanced nearly fifty miles beyond any white +settlement, they reached the banks of a lonely stream, called Obion +River, on the extreme western frontier of Tennessee. This river +emptied into the Mississippi but a few miles from the spot where +Crockett decided to rear his cabin. His nearest neighbor was seven +miles distant, his next fifteen, his next twenty. + +About ten years before, that whole region had been convulsed by one +of the most terrible earthquakes recorded in history. One or two +awful hurricanes had followed the earthquake, prostrating the +gigantic forest, and scattering the trees in all directions. +Appalling indications remained of the power expended by these +tremendous forces of nature. The largest forest-trees were found +split from their roots to their tops, and lying half on each side of +a deep fissure. The opening abysses, the entanglement of the +prostrate forest, and the dense underbrush which had sprung up, +rendered the whole region almost impenetrable. The country was +almost entirely uninhabited. It had, however, become quite +celebrated as being the best hunting-ground in the West. The fear of +earthquakes and the general desolation had prevented even the +Indians from rearing their wigwams there. Consequently wild animals +had greatly increased. The country was filled with bears, wolves, +panthers, deer, elks, and other smaller game. + +The Indians had recently made this discovery, and were, in +ever-increasing numbers, exploring the regions in hunting-bands. +Crockett does not seem to have had much appreciation of the +beautiful. In selecting a spot for his hut, he wished to be near +some crystal stream where he could get water, and to build his hut +upon land sufficiently high to be above the reach of freshets. It +was also desirable to find a small plain or meadow free from trees, +where he could plant his corn; and to be in the edge of the forest, +which would supply him with abundance of fuel. Crockett found such a +place, exactly to his mind. Being very fond of hunting, he was the +happiest of men. A few hours' labor threw up a rude hut which was +all the home he desired. His rifle furnished him with food, and with +the skins of animals for bed and bedding. Every frontiersman knew +how to dress the skin of deer for moccasins and other garments. With +a sharpened stick he punched holes through the rank sod, and planted +corn, in soil so rich that it would return him several hundred-fold. + +Thus his tastes, such as they were, were gratified, and he enjoyed +what to him were life's luxuries. He probably would not have been +willing to exchange places with the resident in the most costly +mansion in our great cities. In a few days he got everything +comfortable around him. Crockett's cabin, or rather camp, was on the +eastern side of the Obion River. Seven miles farther up the stream, +on the western bank, a Mr. Owen had reared his log house. One +morning, Crockett, taking the young man Henry and his son with him, +set out to visit Mr. Owen, his nearest neighbor. He hobbled his +horse, leaving him to graze until he got back. + +They followed along the banks of the river, through the forest, +until they reached a point nearly opposite Owen's cabin. By crossing +the stream there, and following up the western bank they would be +sure to find his hut. There was no boat, and the stream must be swum +or forded. Recent rains had caused it to overflow its banks and +spread widely over the marshy bottoms and low country near by. The +water was icy cold. And yet they took to it, says Crockett, "like so +many beavers." + +The expanse to be crossed was very wide, and they knew not how deep +they should find the channel. For some distance the water continued +quite shoal. Gradually it deepened. Crockett led the way, with a +pole in his hand. Cautiously he sounded the depth before him, lest +they should fall into any slough. A dense growth of young trees +covered the inundated bottom over which they were wading. +Occasionally they came to a deep but narrow gully. Crockett, with +his hatchet, would cut down a small tree, and by its aid would +cross. + +At length the water became so deep that Crockett's little boy had to +swim, though they evidently had not yet reached the channel of the +stream. Having waded nearly half a mile, they came to the channel. +The stream, within its natural banks, was but about forty feet wide. +Large forest-trees fringed the shores. One immense tree, blown down +by the wind, reached about halfway across. Crockett, with very +arduous labor with his hatchet, cut down another, so that it fell +with the branches of the two intertwining. + +Thus aided they reached the opposite side. But still the lowlands +beyond were overflowed as far as the eye could see through the dense +forest. On they waded, for nearly a mile, when, to their great joy, +they came in sight of dry land. Their garments were dripping and +they were severely chilled as they reached the shore. But turning +their steps up the stream, they soon came in sight of the cabin, +which looked to them like a paradise of rest. It was one of the +rudest of huts. The fenceless grounds around were rough and +ungainly. The dismal forest, which chanced there to have escaped +both earthquake and hurricane, spread apparently without limits in +all directions. + +Most men, most women, gazing upon a scene so wild, lonely, +cheerless, would have said, "Let me sink into the grave rather than +be doomed to such a home as that." But to Crockett and his +companions it presented all the attractions their hearts could +desire. Mr. Owen and several other men were just starting away from +the cabin, when, to their surprise, they saw the party of strangers +approaching. They waited until Crockett came up and introduced +himself. The men with Mr. Owen were boatmen, who had entered the +Obion River from the Mississippi with a boat-load of articles for +trade. They were just leaving to continue their voyage. + +Such men are seldom in a hurry. Time is to them of but very little +value. Hospitality was a virtue which cost nothing. Any stranger, +with his rifle, could easily pay his way in the procurement of food. +They all turned back and entered the cabin together. Mrs. Owen was +an excellent, motherly woman, about fifty years of age. Her +sympathies were immediately excited for the poor little boy, whose +garments were drenched, and who was shivering as if in an ague-fit. +She replenished the fire, dried his clothes, and gave him some warm +and nourishing food. The grateful father writes: + +"Her kindness to my little boy did me ten times as much good as +anything she could have done for me, if she had tried her best." + +These were not the days of temperance. The whiskey-bottle was +considered one of the indispensables of every log cabin which made +any pretences to gentility. The boat, moored near the shore, was +loaded with whiskey, flour, sugar, hardware, and other articles, +valuable in the Indian trade in the purchase of furs, and in great +demand in the huts of pioneers. There was a small trading-post at +what was called McLemone's Bluff; about thirty miles farther up the +river by land, and nearly one hundred in following the windings of +the stream. This point the boatmen were endeavoring to reach. + +For landing their cargo at this point the boatmen were to receive +five hundred dollars, besides the profits of any articles they could +sell in the scattered hamlets they might encounter by the way. The +whiskey-bottle was of course brought out. Crockett drank deeply; he +says, at least half a pint. His tongue was unloosed, and he became +one of the most voluble and entertaining of men. His clothes having +been dried by the fire, and all having with boisterous merriment +partaken of a hearty supper, as night came on the little boy was +left to the tender care of Mrs. Owen, while the rest of the party +repaired to the cabin of the boat, to make a night of it in drinking +and carousal. + +They had indeed a wild time. There was whiskey in abundance. +Crockett was in his element, and kept the whole company in a +constant roar. Their shouts and bacchanal songs resounded through +the solitudes, with clamor and profaneness which must have fallen +painfully upon angels' ears, if any of heaven's pure and gentle +spirits were within hearing distance. + +"We had," writes Crockett, "a high night of it, as I took steam +enough to drive out all the cold that was in me, and about three +times as much more." + +These boon companions became warm friends, according to the most +approved style of backwoods friendship. Mr. Owen told the boatmen +that a few miles farther up the river a hurricane had entirely +prostrated the forest, and that the gigantic trees so encumbered the +stream that he was doubtful whether the boat could pass, unless the +water should rise higher. Consequently he, with Crockett and Henry, +accompanied the boatmen up to that point to help them through, +should it be possible to effect a passage. But it was found +impossible, and the boat dropped down again to its moorings opposite +Mr. Owen's cabin. + +As it was now necessary to wait till the river should rise, the +boatmen and Mr. Owen all consented to accompany Crockett to the +place where he was to settle, and build his house for him. It seems +very strange that, in that dismal wilderness, Crockett should not +have preferred to build his cabin near so kind a neighbor. But so it +was. He chose his lot at a distance of seven miles from any +companionship. + +"And so I got the boatmen," he writes, "all to go out with me to +where I was going to settle, and we slipped up a cabin in little or +no time. I got from the boat four barrels of meal, one of salt, and +about ten gallons of whiskey." + +For these he paid in labor, agreeing to accompany the boatmen up the +river as far as their landing-place at McLemone's Bluff. + + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +Life on the Obion. + +Hunting Adventures.--The Voyage up the River.--Scenes in the +Cabin.--Return Home.--Removal of the Family.--Crockett's Riches.--A +Perilous Enterprise.--Reasons for his Celebrity.--Crockett's +Narrative.--A Bear-Hunt.--Visit to Jackson.--Again a Candidate for +the Legislature.--Electioneering and Election. + + + + + +The next day after building the cabin, to which Crockett intended to +move his family, it began to rain, as he says, "rip-roariously." The +river rapidly rose, and the boatmen were ready to resume their +voyage. Crockett stepped out into the forest and shot a deer, which +he left as food for Abram Henry and his little boy, who were to +remain in the cabin until his return. He expected to be absent six +or seven days. The stream was very sluggish. By poling, as it was +called, that is, by pushing the boat with long poles, they reached +the encumbrance caused by the hurricane, where they stopped for the +night. + +In the morning, as soon as the day dawned, Crockett, thinking it +impossible for them to get through the fallen timber that day, took +his rifle and went into the forest in search of game. He had gone +but a short distance when he came across a fine buck. The animal +fell before his unerring aim, and, taking the prize upon his +shoulders, he commenced a return to the boat. + +He had not proceeded far before he came upon the fresh tracks of a +herd of elks. The temptation to follow their trail was to a veteran +hunter irresistible. He threw down his buck, and had not gone far +before he came upon two more bucks, very large and splendid animals. +The beautiful creatures, though manifesting some timidity, did not +seem disposed to run, but, with their soft, womanly eyes, gazed with +wonder upon the approaching stranger. The bullet from Crockett's +rifle struck between the eyes of one, and he fell dead. The other, +his companion, exhibited almost human sympathy. Instead of taking to +flight, he clung to his lifeless associate, looking down upon him as +if some incomprehensible calamity had occurred. Crockett rapidly +reloaded his rifle, and the other buck fell dead. + +He hung them both upon the limb of a tree, so that they should not +be devoured by the wolves, and followed on in the trail of the elks. +He did not overtake them until nearly noon. They were then beyond +rifle-shot, and kept so, luring him on quite a distance. At length +he saw two other fine bucks, both of which he shot. The intellectual +culture of the man may be inferred from the following characteristic +description which he gives of these events: + +"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 +stopped, and stood there until I loaded again and fired at him. I +knocked his trotters from under him, and then I hung them both up. I +pushed on again, and about sunset I saw three other bucks. I down'd +with one of them, and the other two ran off. I hung this one up +also, having killed six that day. + +"I then pushed on till I got to the hurricane, and at the lower edge +of it, about where I expected the boat was. Here I hollered as hard +as I could roar, but could get no answer. I fired off my gun, and +the men on the boat fired one too. But, quite contrary to my +expectations, they had got through the timber, 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 couldn't much more +than get along. I got through at last, and went on to near where I +had killed my last deer, and once more fired off my gun, which was +again answered from the boat, which was 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 without further difficulty. But the +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 scarcely work my +jaws to eat." + +The next morning, Crockett took a young man with him and went out +into the woods to bring in the game he had shot. They brought in two +of the bucks, which afforded them all the supply of venison they +needed, and left the others hanging upon the trees. The boatmen then +pushed their way up the river. The progress was slow, and eleven +toilsome days passed before they reached their destination. Crockett +had now discharged his debt, and prepared to return to his cabin. +There was a light skiff attached to the large flat-bottomed boat in +which they had ascended the river. This skiff Crockett took, and, +accompanied by a young man by the name of Flavius Harris, who had +decided to go back with him, speedily paddled their way down the +stream to his cabin. + +There were now four occupants of this lonely, dreary hut, which was +surrounded by forests and fallen trees and briers and brambles. They +all went to work vigorously in clearing some land for a corn field, +that they might lay in a store for the coming winter. The spring was +far advanced, and the season for planting nearly gone. They had +brought some seed with them on their pack-horse, and they soon had +the pleasure of seeing the tender sprouts pushing up vigorously +through the luxuriant virgin soil. It was not necessary to fence +their field. Crockett writes: + +"There was no stock nor anything else to disturb our corn except the +wild varmints; and the old serpent himself, with a fence to help +him, couldn't keep them out." + +Here Crockett and his three companions remained through the summer +and into the autumn, until they could gather in their harvest of +corn. During that time they lived, as they deemed, sumptuously, upon +game. To kill a grizzly bear was ever considered an achievement of +which any hunter might boast. During the summer, Crockett killed ten +of these ferocious monsters. Their flesh was regarded as a great +delicacy. And their shaggy skins were invaluable in the cabin for +beds and bedding. He also shot deer in great abundance. The smaller +game he took, of fat turkeys, partridges, pigeons, etc., he did not +deem worth enumerating. + +It was a very lazy, lounging, indolent life. Crockett could any +morning go into the woods and shoot a deer. He would bring all the +desirable parts of it home upon his shoulders, or he would take his +pack-horse out with him for that purpose. At their glowing fire, +outside of the cabin if the weather were pleasant, inside if it +rained, they would cook the tender steaks. They had meal for corn +bread; and it will also be remembered that they had sugar, and ten +gallons of whiskey. + +The deerskins were easily tanned into soft and pliant leather. They +all knew how to cut these skins, and with tough sinews to sew them +into hunting-shirts, moccasins, and other needed garments. Sitting +Indian-fashion on mattresses or cushions of bearskin, with just +enough to do gently to interest the mind, with no anxiety or thought +even about the future, they would loiter listlessly through the long +hours of the summer days. + +Occasionally two or three Indians, on a hunting excursion, would +visit the cabin. These Indians were invariably friendly. Crockett +had no more apprehension that they would trouble him than he had +that the elk or the deer would make a midnight attack upon his +cabin. Not unfrequently they would have a visit from Mr. Owen's +household; or they would all go up to his hut for a carouse. Two or +three times, during the summer, small parties exploring the country +came along, and would rest a day or two under Crockett's hospitable +roof. Thus with these men, with their peculiar habits and tastes, +the summer probably passed away as pleasantly as with most people in +this world of care and trouble. + +Early in the autumn, Crockett returned to Central Tennessee to fetch +his family to the new home. Upon reaching his cabin in Giles County, +he was met by a summons to attend a special session of the +Legislature. He attended, and served out his time, though he took +but little interest in legislative affairs. His thoughts were +elsewhere, and he was impatient for removal, before cold weather +should set in, to his far-distant home. + +Late in October he set out with his little family on foot, for their +long journey of one hundred and fifty miles through almost a +pathless forest. His poverty was extreme. But the peculiar character +of the man was such that he did net seem to regard that at all. Two +pack-horses conveyed all their household goods. Crockett led the +party, with a child on one arm and his rifle on the other. He walked +gayly along, singing as merrily as the birds. Half a dozen dogs +followed him. Then came the horses in single file. His wife and +older children, following one after the other in single file along +the narrow trail, closed up the rear. It was a very singular +procession, thus winding its way, through forest and moor, over +hills and prairies, to the silent shores of the Mississippi. The +eventful journey was safely accomplished, and he found all things as +he had left them. A rich harvest of golden ears was waving in his +corn-field; and his comfortable cabin, in all respects as +comfortable as the one he had left, was ready to receive its +inmates. + +He soon gathered in his harvest, and was thus amply supplied with +bread for the winter. Fuel, directly at his hand, was abundant, and +thus, as we may say, his coal-bin was full. Game of every kind, +excepting buffaloes, was ranging the woods, which required no +shelter or food at his expense, and from which he could, at +pleasure, select any variety of the most delicious animal food he +might desire. Thus his larder was full to repletion. The skins of +animals furnished them with warm and comfortable clothing, easily +decorated with fringes and some bright coloring, whose beauty was +tasteful to every eye. Thus the family wardrobe was amply stored. +Many might have deemed Crockett a poor man. He regarded himself as +one of the lords of creation. + +Christmas was drawing nigh. It may be doubted whether Crockett had +the slightest appreciation of the sacred character of that day which +commemorates the advent of the Son of God to suffer and die for the +sins of the world. With Crockett it had ever been a day of +jollification. He fired salutes with his rifle. He sung his merriest +songs. He told his funniest stories. He indulged himself in the +highest exhilaration which whiskey could induce. + +As this holiday approached, Crockett was much troubled in finding +that his powder was nearly expended, and that he had none "to fire +Christmas guns." This seemed really to annoy him more than that he +had none to hunt with. + +In the mean time, a brother-in-law had moved to that region, and had +reared his cabin at a distance of six miles from the hut of David +Crockett, on the western bank of Rutherford's Fork, one of the +tributaries of Obion River. He had brought with him a keg of powder +for Crockett, which had not yet been delivered. + +The region all around was low and swampy. The fall rains had so +swollen the streams that vast extents of territory were inundated. +All the river-bottoms were covered with water. The meadows which +lined the Obion, where Crockett would have to pass, were so flooded +that it was all of a mile from shore to shore. + +The energy which Crockett displayed on the difficult and perilous +journey, illustrates those remarkable traits of character which have +given him such wide renown. There must be something very +extraordinary about a man which can make his name known throughout a +continent. And of the forty millions of people in the United States, +there is scarcely one, of mature years, who has not heard the name +of David Crockett. + +When Crockett told his wife that he had decided to go to his +brother's for the powder, she earnestly remonstrated, saying that it +was at the imminent hazard of his life. The ground was covered with +snow. He would have to walk at least a mile through icy water, up to +his waist, and would probably have to swim the channel. He then, +with dripping clothes, and through the cold wintry blast, would have +to walk several miles before he could reach his brother's home. +Crockett persisted in his determination, saying, "I have no powder +for Christmas, and we are out of meat." + +He put on some woollen wrappers and a pair of deerskin moccasins. He +then tied up a small bundle; of clothes, with shoes and stockings, +which he might exchange for his dripping garments when he should +reach his brother's cabin. I quote from his own account of the +adventure. + +"I didn't before know how much a person could suffer and not die. +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 came 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 +often crossed it on a log; but behold, when I got there no log was +to be seen. + +"I know'd 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 +know'd further, that the water was about eight or ten feet deep +under the log, and I judged it to be 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 this I succeeded very well. I then cut me a +pole, and then crawled along on my sapling till I got to the one it +was lodged against, which was about six feet above the water. + +"I then felt about with the 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 to the place of lodgment, and then +climbed down the other sapling so as to get on the log. I 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 when I came to another slough, over +which there was a log, but it was floating on the water. I thought I +could walk it, so I mounted on it. But when I had got about 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 stopped to pull of +my wet clothes, and put on the others which I held up with my gun +above water when I fell in." + +This exchanging of his dripping garments for dry clothes, standing +in the snow four inches deep, and exposed to the wintry blast, must +have been a pretty severe operation. Hardy as Crockett was, he was +so chilled and numbed by the excessive cold that his flesh had +scarcely any feeling. He tied his wet clothes together and hung them +up on the limb of a tree, to drip and dry He thought he would then +set out on the full run, and endeavor thus to warm himself by +promoting the more rapid circulation of his blood. But to his +surprise he could scarcely move. With his utmost exertions he could +not take a step more than six inches in length. He had still five +miles to walk, through a rough, pathless forest, encumbered with +snow. + +By great and painful effort he gradually recovered the use of his +limbs, and toiling along for two or three hours, late in the evening +was cheered by seeing the light of a bright fire shining through the +chinks between the logs of his brother's lonely cabin. He was +received with the utmost cordiality. Even his hardy pioneer brother +listened with astonishment to the narrative of the perils he had +surmounted and the sufferings he had endured. After the refreshment +of a warm supper, Crockett wrapped himself in a bearskin, and lying +down upon the floor, with his feet to the fire, slept the sweet, +untroubled sleep of a babe. In the morning he awoke as well as ever, +feeling no bad consequences from the hardships of the preceding day. + +The next morning a freezing gale from the north wailed through the +snow-whitened forest, and the cold was almost unendurable. The +earnest persuasions of his brother and his wife induced him to +remain with them for the day. But, with his accustomed energy, +instead of enjoying the cosey comfort of the Fireside, he took his +rifle, and went out into the woods, wading the snow and breasting +the gale. After the absence of an hour or two, he returned tottering +beneath the load of two deer, which he had shot, and which he +brought to the cabin on his shoulders. Thus he made a very liberal +contribution to the food of the family, so that his visit was a +source of profit to them, not of loss. + +All the day, and during the long wintry night, the freezing blasts +blew fiercely, and the weather grew more severely cold. The next +morning his friends urged him to remain another day. They all knew +that the water would be frozen over, but not sufficiently hard to +bear his weight, and this would add greatly to the difficulty and +the danger of his return. It seemed impossible that any man could +endure, on such a day, fording a swollen stream, a mile in breadth, +the water most of the way up to his waist, in some places above his +head, and breaking the ice at every step. The prospect appalled even +Crockett himself. He therefore decided to remain till the next +morning, though he knew that his family would be left in a state of +great anxiety. He hoped that an additional day and night might so +add to the thickness of the ice that it would bear his weight. + +He therefore shouldered his musket and again went into the woods on +a hunt. Though he saw an immense bear, and followed him for some +distance, he was unable to shoot him. After several hours' absence, +he returned empty-handed. + +Another morning dawned, lurid and chill, over the gloomy forest. +Again his friends entreated him not to run the risk of an attempt to +return in such fearful weather. "It was bitter cold," he writes, "but +I know'd my family was without meat, and I determined to get home to +them, or die a-trying." + +We will let Crockett tell his own story of his adventures in going +back: + +"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 difficulty, +and worked along till I came 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 struggling +about in the water. I therefore fresh-primed my gun, and, cold as I +was, I was determined to make war on him if we met. But I followed +the trail till it led me home. Then I found that it had been 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." + +The night after Crockett's return a heavy rain fell, which, toward +morning, turned to sleet. But there was no meat in the cabin. There +were at that time three men who were inmates of that lowly +hut--Crockett, a young man, Flavius Harris, who had taken up his +abode with the pioneer, and a brother in-law, who had recently +emigrated to that wild country, and had reared his cabin not far +distant from Crockett's. They all turned out hunting. Crockett, +hoping to get a bear, went up the river into the dense and almost +impenetrable thickets, where the gigantic forest had been swept low +by the hurricane. The other two followed down the stream in search +of turkeys, grouse, and such small game. + +Crockett took with him three dogs, one of which was an old hound, +faithful, sagacious, but whose most vigorous days were gone. The +dogs were essential in hunting bears. By their keen scent they would +find the animal, which fact they would announce to the hunter by +their loud barking. Immediately a fierce running fight would ensue. +By this attack the bear would be greatly retarded in his flight, so +that the hunter could overtake him, and he would often be driven +into a tree, where the unerring rifle-bullet would soon bring him +down. + +The storm of sleet still raged, and nothing could be more gloomy +than the aspect of dreariness and desolation which the wrecked +forest presented with its dense growth of briers and thorns. +Crockett toiled through the storm and the brush about six miles up +the river, and saw nothing. He then crossed over, about four miles, +to another stream. Still no game appeared. The storm was growing +more violent, the sleet growing worse and worse. Even the bears +sought shelter from the pitiless wintry gale. The bushes were all +bent down with the ice which clung to their branches, and were so +bound together that it was almost impossible for any one to force +his way through them. + +The ice upon the stream would bear Crockett's weight. He followed it +down a mile or two, when his dogs started up a large flock of +turkeys. He shot two of them. They were immensely large, fat, and +heavy. Tying their legs together, he slung them over his shoulder, +and with this additional burden pressed on his toilsome way. Ere +long he became so fatigued that he was compelled to sit down upon a +log to rest. + +Just then his dogs began to bark furiously. He was quite sure that +they had found a bear. Eagerly he followed the direction they +indicated, as fast as he could force his way along. To his surprise +he found that the three dogs had stopped near a large tree, and were +barking furiously at nothing. But as soon as they saw him +approaching they started off again, making the woods resound with +their baying. Having run about a quarter of a mile, he could +perceive that again they had stopped. When Crockett reached them +there was no game in sight. The dogs, barking furiously again, as +soon as they saw him approaching plunged into the thicket. + +For a third time, and a fourth time, this was repeated. Crockett +could not understand what it meant. Crockett became angry at being +thus deceived, and resolved that he would shoot the old hound, whom +he considered the ringleader in the mischief, as soon as he got near +enough to do so. + +"With this intention," he says, "I pushed on the harder, till I came +to the edge of an open prairie; and looking on before my dogs, I saw +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 stopped so +often that I might overtake them." + +This is certainly a remarkable instance of animal sagacity. The +three dogs, by some inexplicable conference among themselves, +decided that the enemy was too formidable for them to attack alone. +They therefore summoned their master to their aid. As soon as they +saw that he was near enough to lend his cooperation, then they +fearlessly assailed the monster. + +The sight inspired Crockett with new life. Through thickets, briers, +and brambles they all rushed--bear, dogs, and hunter. At length, the +shaggy monster, so fiercely assailed, climbed for refuge a large +black-oak tree, and sitting among the branches, looked composedly +down upon the dogs barking fiercely at its foot. Crockett crept up +within about eighty yards, and taking deliberate aim at his breast, +fired. The bullet struck and pierced the monster directly upon the +spot at which it was aimed. The bear uttered a sharp cry, made a +convulsive movement with one paw, and remained as before. + +Speedily Crockett reloaded his rifle, and sent another bullet to +follow the first. The shaggy brute shuddered in every limb, and then +tumbled head-long to the icy ground. Still he was not killed. The +dogs plunged upon him, and there was a tremendous fight. The howling +of the bear, and the frenzied barking of the dogs, with their sharp +cries of pain as the claws of the monster tore their flesh, and the +deathly struggle witnessed as they rolled over and over each other +in the fierce fight, presented a terrific spectacle. + +Crockett hastened to the aid of his dogs. As soon as the bear saw +him approach, he forsook the inferior, and turned with all fury upon +the superior foe. Crockett was hurrying forward with his tomahawk in +one hand and his big butcher-knife in the other, when the bear, with +eyes flashing fire, rushed upon him. Crockett ran back, seized his +rifle, and with a third bullet penetrated the monster's brain and he +fell dead. The dogs and their master seemed to rejoice alike in +their great achievement. + +By the route which Crockett had pursued, he was about twelve miles +from home. Leaving the huge carcass where the animal had fallen, he +endeavored to make a straight line through the forest to his cabin. +That he might find his way back again, he would, at every little +distance, blaze, as it was called, a sapling, that is, chip off some +of the bark with his hatchet. When he got within a mile of home this +was no longer necessary. + +The other two men had already returned to the cabin. As the wolves +might devour the valuable meat before morning, they all three set +out immediately, notwithstanding their fatigue and the still raging +storm, and taking with them four pack-horses, hastened back to bring +in their treasure. Crockett writes: + +"We got there just before dark, and struck a fire, and commenced +butchering my bear. It was some time in the night 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 back after my powder; and well satisfied that a dog might +sometimes be doing a good business, even when he seemed to be +barking up the wrong tree. + +"We got our meat home, and I had the pleasure to know that we now +had a 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." + +In the early spring, Crockett found that he had a large number of +valuable skins on hand, which he had taken during the winter. About +forty miles southeast from Crockett's cabin, in the heart of Madison +County, was the thriving little settlement of Jackson. Crockett +packed his skins on a horse, shouldered his rifle, and taking his +hardy little son for a companion, set off there to barter his +peltries for such articles of household use as he could convey back +upon his horse. The journey was accomplished with no more than the +ordinary difficulties. A successful trade was effected, and with a +rich store of coffee, sugar, powder, lead, and salt, the father and +son prepared for their return. + +Crockett found there some of his old fellow-soldiers of the Creek +War. When all things were ready for a start, he went to bid adieu to +his friends and to take a parting dram with them. There were three +men present who were candidates for the State Legislature. While +they were having a very merry time, one, as though uttering a +thought which had that moment occurred to him, exclaimed, "Why, +Crockett, you ought to offer yourself for the Legislature for your +district." Crockett replied, "I live at least forty miles from any +white settlement." Here the matter dropped. + +About ten days after Crockett's return home, a stranger, passing +along, stopped at Crockett's cabin and told him that he was a +candidate for Legislature, and took from his pocket a paper, and +read to him the announcement of the fact. There was something in the +style of the article which satisfied Crockett that there was a +little disposition to make fun of him; and that his nomination was +intended as a burlesque. This roused him, and he resolved to put in +his claim with all his zeal. He consequently hired a man to work +upon his farm, and set out on an electioneering tour. + +Though very few people had seen Crockett, he had obtained very +considerable renown in that community of backwoodsmen as a great +bear-hunter. Dr. Butler, a man of considerable pretensions, and, by +marriage, a nephew of General Jackson, was the rival candidate, and +a formidable one. Indeed, he and his friends quite amused themselves +with the idea that "the gentleman from the cane," as they +contemptuously designated Crockett, could be so infatuated as to +think that there was the least chance for him. The population of +that wilderness region was so scarce that the district for which a +representative was to be chosen consisted of eleven counties. + +A great political gathering was called, which was to be held in +Madison County, which was the strongest of them all. Here speeches +were to be made by the rival candidates and their friends, and +electioneering was to be practised by all the arts customary in that +rude community. The narrative of the events which ensued introduces +us to a very singular state of society. At the day appointed there +was a large assembly, in every variety of backwoods costume, among +the stumps and the lowly cabins of Jackson. Crockett mingled with +the crowd, watching events, listening to everything which was said, +and keeping himself as far as possible unknown. + +Dr. Butler, seeing a group of men, entered among them, and called +for whiskey to treat them all. The Doctor had once met Crockett when +a few weeks before he had been in Jackson selling his furs. He +however did not recognize his rival among the crowd. As the whiskey +was passing freely around, Crockett thought it a favorable moment to +make himself known, and to try his skill at an electioneering +speech. He was a good-looking man, with a face beaming with fun and +smiles, and a clear, ringing voice. He jumped upon a stump and +shouted out, in tones which sounded far and wide, and which speedily +gathered all around him. + +"Hallo! Doctor Butler; you don't know me do you? But I'll make you +know me mighty well before August. I see they have weighed you out +against me. But I'll beat you mighty badly." + +Butler pleasantly replied, "Ah, Colonel Crockett, is that you? Where +did you come from?" + +Crockett rejoined, "Oh, I have just crept out from the cane, to see +what discoveries I could make among the white folks. You think you +have greatly the advantage of me, Butler. 'Tis true I live forty +miles from any settlement. I am poor, and you are rich. You see it +takes two coonskins here to buy a quart. But I've good dogs, and my +little boys at home will go to their death to support my election. +They are mighty industrious. They hunt every night till twelve +o'clock. It keeps the little fellows mighty busy to keep me in +whiskey. When they gets tired, I takes my rifle and goes out and +kills a wolf, for which the State pays me three dollars. So one way +or other I keeps knocking along." + +Crockett perhaps judged correctly that the candidate who could +furnish the most whiskey would get the most votes. He thus adroitly +informed these thirsty men of his readiness and his ability to +furnish them with all the liquor they might need. Strange as his +speech seems to us, it was adapted to the occasion, and was received +with roars of laughter and obstreperous applause. + +"Well, Colonel," said Dr. Butler, endeavoring to clothe his own +countenance with smiles, "I see you can beat me electioneering." + +"My dear fellow," shouted out Crockett, "you don't call this +electioneering, do you? When you see me electioneering, I goes fixed +for the purpose. I've got a suit of deer-leather clothes, with two +big pockets. So I puts a bottle of whiskey in one, and a twist of +tobacco in t'other, and starts out. Then, if I meets a friend, why, +I pulls out my bottle and gives him a drink. He'll be mighty apt, +before he drinks, to throw away his tobacco. So when he's done, I +pulls my twist out of t'other pocket and gives him a chaw. I never +likes to leave a man worse off than when I found him. If I had given +him a drink and he had lost his tobacco, he would not have made +much. But give him tobacco, and a drink too, and you are mighty apt +to get his vote." + +With such speeches as these, interlarded with fun and anecdote, and +a liberal supply of whiskey, Crockett soon made himself known +through all the grounds, and he became immensely popular. The +backwoodsmen regarded him as their man, belonging to their class and +representing their interests. + +Dr. Butler was a man of some culture, and a little proud and +overbearing in his manners. He had acquired what those poor men +deemed considerable property. He lived in a framed house, and in his +best room he had a rug or carpet spread over the middle of the +floor. This carpet was a luxury which many of the pioneers had never +seen or conceived of. The Doctor, standing one day at his window, +saw several persons, whose votes he desired, passing along, and he +called them in to take a drink. + +There was a table in the centre of the room, with choice liquors +upon it. The carpet beneath the table covered only a small portion +of the floor, leaving on each side a vacant space around the room. +The men cautiously walked around this space, without daring to put +their feet upon the carpet. After many solicitations from Dr. +Butler, and seeing him upon the carpet, they ventured up to the +table and drank. They, however, were under great restraint, and soon +left, manifestly not pleased with their reception. + +Calling in at the next log house to which they came, they found +there one of Crockett's warm friends. They inquired of him what kind +of a man the great bear-hunter was, and received in reply that he +was a first-rate man, one of the best hunters in the world; that he +was not a bit proud; that he lived in a log cabin, without any glass +for his windows, and with the earth alone for his floor. + +"Ah!" they exclaimed with one voice, "he's the fellow for us. We'll +never give our votes for such a proud man as Butler. He called us +into his house to take a drink, and spread down one of his best +bed-quilts for us to walk on. It was nothing but a piece of pride." + +The day of election came, and Crockett was victorious by a majority +of two hundred and forty-seven votes. Thus he found himself a second +time a member of the Legislature of the State of Tennessee, and with +a celebrity which caused all eyes to be turned toward "the gentleman +from the cane." + + + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +Adventures in the Forest, on the River, and in the City + +The Bear Hunter's Story.--Service in the Legislature.--Candidate for +Congress.--Electioneering.--The New Speculation.--Disastrous +Voyage.--Narrow Escape.--New Electioneering Exploits.--Odd +Speeches.--The Visit to Crockett's Cabin.--His Political Views.--His +Honesty.--Opposition to Jackson.--Scene at Raleigh.--Dines with the +President.--Gross Caricature.--His Annoyance. + + + + + +Crockett was very fond of hunting-adventures, and told stories of +these enterprises in a racy way, peculiarly characteristic of the +man. The following narrative from his own lips, the reader will +certainly peruse with much interest. + +"I was sitting by a good fire in my little cabin, on a cool November +evening, roasting potatoes I believe, and playing with my children, +when some one halloed at the fence. I went out, and there were three +strangers, who said they come to take an elk-hunt. I was glad to see +'em, invited 'em in, and after supper we cleaned our guns. I took +down old Betsey, rubbed her up, greased her, and laid her away to +rest. She is a mighty rough old piece. but I love her, for she and I +have seen hard times. She mighty seldom tells me a lie. If I hold +her right, she always sends the ball where I tell her, After we were +all fixed, I told 'em hunting-stories till bedtime. + +"Next morning was clear and cold, and by times I sounded my horn, +and my dogs came howling 'bout me, ready for a, chase. Old Rattler +was a little lame--a bear bit him in the shoulder; but Soundwell, +Tiger, and the rest of 'em were all mighty anxious. We got a bite, +and saddled our horses. I went by to git a neighbor to drive for us, +and off we started for the Harricane. My dogs looked mighty wolfish; +they kept jumping on one another and growling. I knew they were run +mad for a fight, for they hadn't had one for two or three days. We +were in fine spirits, and going 'long through very open woods, when +one of the strangers said, 'I would give my horse now to see a +bear.' + +"Said I, 'Well, give me your horse,' and I pointed to an old bear, +about three or four hundred yards ahead of us, feeding on acorns. + +"I had been looking at him some time, but he was so far off; I +wasn't certain what it was. However, I hardly spoke before we all +strained off; and the woods fairly echoed as we harked the dogs on. +The old bear didn't want to run, and he never broke till we got most +upon him; but then he buckled for it, I tell you. When they +overhauled him he just rared up on his hind legs, and he boxed the +dogs 'bout at a mighty rate. He hugged old Tiger and another, till +he dropped 'em nearly lifeless; but the others worried him, and +after a while they all come to, and they give him trouble. They are +mighty apt, I tell you, to give a bear trouble before they leave +him. + +"'Twas a mighty pretty fight--'twould have done any one's soul good +to see it, just to see how they all rolled about. It was as much as +I could do to keep the strangers from shooting him; but I wouldn't +let 'em, for fear they would kill some of my dogs. After we got +tired seeing 'em fight, I went in among 'em, and the first time they +got him down I socked my knife in the old bear. We then hung him up, +and went on to take our elk-hunt. You never seed fellows so +delighted as them strangers was. Blow me, if they didn't cut more +capers, jumping about, than the old bear. 'Twas a mighty pretty +fight, but I believe I seed more fun looking at them than at the +bear. + +"By the time we got to the Harricane, we were all rested, and ripe +for a drive. My dogs were in a better humor, for the fight had just +taken off the wiry edge. So I placed the strangers at the stands +through which I thought the elk would pass, sent the driver way up +ahead, and I went down below. + +"Everything was quiet, and I leaned old Betsey 'gin a tree, and laid +down. I s'pose I had been lying there nearly an hour, when I heard +old Tiger open. He opened once or twice, and old Rattler gave a long +howl; the balance joined in, and I knew the elk were up. I jumped up +and seized my rifle. I could hear nothing but one continued roar of +all my dogs, coming right towards me. Though I was an old hunter, +the music made my hair stand on end. Soon after they first started, +I heard one gun go off, and my dogs stopped, but not long, for they +took a little tack towards where I had placed the strangers. One of +them fired, and they dashed back, and circled round way to my left. +I run down 'bout a quarter of a mile, and I heard my dogs make a +bend like they were coming to me. While I was listening, I heard the +bushes breaking still lower down, and started to run there. + +"As I was going 'long, I seed two elks burst out of the Harricane +'bout one hundred and thirty or forty yards below me. There was an +old buck and a doe. I stopped, waited till they got into a clear +place, and as the old fellow made a leap, I raised old Bet, pulled +trigger, and she spoke out. The smoke blinded me so, that I couldn't +see what I did; but as it cleared away, I caught a glimpse of only +one of them going through the bushes; so I thought I had the other. +I went up, and there lay the old buck kicking. I cut his throat, and +by that time, Tiger and two of my dogs came up. I thought it +singular that all my dogs wasn't there, and I began to think they +had killed another. After the dogs had bit him, and found out he was +dead, old Tiger began to growl, and curled himself up between his +legs. Everything had to stand off then, for he wouldn't let the +devil himself touch him. + +"I started off to look for the strangers. My two dogs followed me. +After gitting away a piece, I looked back, and once in a while I +could see old Tiger git up and shake the elk, to see if he was +really dead, and then curl up between his legs agin. I found the +strangers round a doe elk the driver had killed; and one of 'em said +he was sure he had killed one lower down. I asked him if he had +horns. He said he didn't see any. I put the dogs on where he said he +had shot, and they didn't go fur before they came to a halt. I went +up, and there lay a fine buck elk; and though his horns were four or +five feet long, the fellow who shot him was so scared that he never +saw them. We had three elk, and a bear; and we managed to git it +home, then butchered our game, talked over our hunt, and had a +glorious frolic." + +Crockett served in the Legislature for two years, during which time +nothing occurred of special interest. These were the years of 1823 +and 1824. Colonel Alexander was then the representative, in the +National Legislature, of the district in which Crockett lived. He +had offended his constituents by voting for the Tariff. It was +proposed to run Crockett for Congress in opposition to him. Crockett +says: + +"I told the people that I could not stand that. It was a step above +my knowledge; and I know'd nothing about Congress matters." + +They persisted; but he lost the election; for cotton was very high, +and Alexander urged that it was in consequence of the Tariff. Two +years passed away, which Crockett spent in the wildest adventures of +hunting. He was a true man of the woods with no ambition for any +better home than the log cabin he occupied. There was no excitement +so dear to him as the pursuit and capture of a grizzly bear. There +is nothing on record, in the way of hunting, which surpasses the +exploits of this renowned bear-hunter. But there is a certain degree +of sameness in these narratives of skill and endurance which would +weary the reader. + +In the fall of 1825, Crockett built two large flat-boats, to load +with staves for the making of casks, which he intended to take down +the river to market. He employed a number of hands in building the +boat and splitting out the staves, and engaged himself in these +labors "till the bears got fat." He then plunged into the woods, and +in two weeks killed fifteen. The whole winter was spent in hunting +with his son and his dogs. His workmen continued busy getting the +staves, and when the rivers rose with the spring floods, he had +thirty thousand ready for the market. + +With this load he embarked for New Orleans. His boats without +difficulty floated down the Obion into the majestic Mississippi. It +was the first time he had seen the rush of these mighty waters. +There was before him a boat voyage of nearly fifteen hundred miles, +through regions to him entirely unknown. In his own account of this +adventure he writes: + +"When I got into the Mississippi I found all my hands were bad +scared. In fact, I believe I was scared a little the worst of any; +for I had never been down the river, and I soon discovered that my +pilot was as ignorant 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 any 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 deal rather not. But we couldn't do any other way. In a short +distance we got into what is called the Devil's 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 was ever engaged in +in my life, to keep out of danger. And even then we were 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 instruct us how to +get to shore; but all in vain. Our boats were so heavy that we could +not 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 any 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 hobble 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 hatch-way of 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 were 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 against the head of an island, where 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 +was turning under sure enough. But when I got to it, the water was +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 found 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 them, +and began to pull. I told them I was sinking, 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 tom off, and I was literally skinn'd like a +rabbit. I was, however, 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 entirely +under, and I have never seen it any more to this day. We all escaped +on to the raft, where we were compelled 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 sitting there, in the night, floating about on the drift, I felt +happier and better off than I ever had in my life before, for I had +just made such a marvellous escape, that I had forgot almost +everything 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 boats, and of my boating; for 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." + +Cotton was down very low. Crockett could now say to the people: "You +see the effects of the Tariff." There were two rival candidates for +the office, Colonel Alexander and General Arnold. Money was needed +to carry the election, and Crockett had no money. He resolved, +however, to try his chances. A friend loaned him a little money to +start with; which sum Crockett, of course, expended in whiskey, as +the most potent influence, then and there, to secure an election. + +"So I was able," writes Crockett, "to buy a little of the +'creature,' to put my friends in a good humor, 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 to make +themselves and their friends feel their keeping a little." + +The contest was, as usual, made up of drinking, feasting, and +speeches. Colonel Alexander was an intelligent and worthy man, who +had been public surveyor. General Arnold was a lawyer of very +respectable attainments. Neither of these men considered Crockett a +candidate in the slightest degree to be feared. They only feared +each other, and tried to circumvent each other. + +On one occasion there was a large gathering, where all three of the +candidates were present, and each one was expected to make a speech. +It came Crockett's lot to speak first. He knew nothing of +Congressional affairs, and had sense enough to be aware that it was +not best for him to attempt to speak upon subjects of which he was +entirely ignorant. He made one of his funny speeches, very short and +entirely non-committal. Colonel Alexander followed, endeavoring to +grapple with the great questions of tariffs, finance, and internal +improvements, which were then agitating the nation. + +General Arnold then, in his turn, took the stump, opposing the +measures which Colonel Alexander had left. He seemed entirely to +ignore the fact that Crockett was a candidate. Not the slightest +allusion was made to him in his speech. The nervous temperament +predominated in the man, and he was easily annoyed. While speaking, +a large flock of guinea-hens came along, whose peculiar and noisy +cry all will remember who have ever heard it. Arnold was greatly +disturbed, and at last requested some one to drive the fowls away. +As soon as he had finished his speech, Crockett again mounted the +stump, and ostensibly addressing Arnold, but really addressing the +crowd, said, in a loud voice, but very jocosely: + +"Well, General, you are the first man I ever saw that understood the +language of fowls. You had i not the politeness even to allude to me +in your speech. But when my little friends the guinea-hens came up, +and began to holler 'Crockett, Crockett, Crockett,' you were +ungenerous enough to drive them all away." + +This raised such a universal laugh that even Crockett's opponents +feared that he was getting the best of them in winning the favor of +the people. When the day of election came, the popular bear-hunter +beat both of his competitors by twenty-seven hundred and forty-seven +votes. Thus David Crockett, unable to read and barely able to sign +his name, became a member of Congress, to assist in framing laws for +the grandest republic earth has ever known. He represented a +constituency of about one hundred thousand souls. + +An intelligent gentleman, travelling in West Tennessee, finding +himself within eight miles of Colonel Crockett's cabin, decided to +call upon the man whose name had now become quite renowned. This was +just after Crockett's election to Congress, but before he had set +out for Washington. There was no road leading to the lonely hut. He +followed a rough and obstructed path or trail, which was indicated +only by blazed trees, and which bore no marks of being often +travelled. + +At length he came to a small opening in the forest, very rude and +uninviting in its appearance. It embraced eight or ten acres. One of +the humblest and least tasteful of log huts stood in the centre. It +was truly a cabin, a mere shelter from the weather. There was no +yard; there were no fences. Not the slightest effort had been made +toward ornamentation. It would be difficult to imagine a more lonely +and cheerless abode. + +Two men were seated on stools at the door, both in their +shirt-sleeves, engaged in cleaning their rifles. As the stranger +rode up, one of the men rose and came forward to meet him. He was +dressed in very plain homespun attire, with a black fur cap upon his +head. He was a finely proportioned man, about six feet high, +apparently forty-five years of age, and of very frank, pleasing, +open countenance. He held his rifle in his hand, and from his right +shoulder hung a bag made of raccoon skin, to which there was a +sheath attached containing a large butcher-knife. + +"This is Colonel Crockett's residence, I presume," said the +stranger. + +"Yes," was the reply, with a smile as of welcome. + +"Have I the pleasure of seeing that gentleman before me?" the +stranger added. + +"If it be a pleasure," was the courtly reply, "you have, sir." + +"Well, Colonel," responded the stranger, "I have ridden much out of +my way to spend a day or two with you, and take a hunt." + +"Get down, sir," said the Colonel, cordially. "I am delighted to see +you. I like to see strangers. And the only care I have is that I +cannot accommodate them as well as I could wish. I have no corn, but +my little boy will take your horse over to my son-in-law's. He is a +good fellow, and will take care of him." + +Leading the stranger into his cabin, Crockett very courteously +introduced him to his brother, his wife, and his daughters. He then +added: + +"You see we are mighty rough here. I am afraid you will think it +hard times. But we have to do the best we can. I started mighty +poor, and have been rooting 'long ever since. But I hate apologies. +What I live upon always, I think a friend can for a day or two. I +have but little, but that little is as free as the water that runs. +So make yourself at home." + +Mrs. Crockett was an intelligent and capable woman for one in her +station in life. The cabin was clean and orderly, and presented a +general aspect of comfort. Many trophies of the chase were in the +house, and spread around the yard. Several dogs, looking like +war-worn veterans, were sunning themselves in various parts of the +premises. + +All the family were neatly dressed in home-made garments. Mrs. +Crockett was a grave, dignified woman, very courteous to her guests. +The daughters were remarkably pretty, but very diffident. Though +entirely uneducated, they could converse very easily, seeming to +inherit their father's fluency of utterance. They were active and +efficient in aiding their mother in her household work. Colonel +Crockett, with much apparent pleasure, conducted his guest over the +small patch of ground he had grubbed and was cultivating. He +exhibited his growing peas and pumpkins, and his little field of +corn, with as much apparent pleasure as an Illinois farmer would now +point out his hundreds of acres of waving grain. The hunter seemed +surprisingly well informed. As we have mentioned, nature had endowed +him with unusual strength of mind, and with a memory which was +almost miraculous. He never forgot anything he had heard. His +electioneering tours had been to him very valuable schools of +education. Carefully he listened to all the speeches and the +conversation of the intelligent men he met with. + +John Quincy Adams was then in the Presidential chair. It was the +year 1827. Nearly all Crockett's constituents were strong +Jackson-men. Crockett, who afterward opposed Jackson, subsequently +said, speaking of his views at that time: + +"I can say on my conscience, that I was, without disguise, the +friend and supporter of General Jackson upon his principles, as he +had laid them down, and as I understood them, before his election as +President." + +Alluding to Crockett's political views at that time, his guest +writes, "I held in high estimation the present Administration of our +country. To this he was opposed. His views, however, delighted me. +And were they more generally adopted we should be none the loser. He +was opposed to the Administration, and yet conceded that many of its +acts were wise and efficient, and would have received his cordial +support. He admired Mr. Clay, but had objections to him. He was +opposed to the Tariff, yet, I think, a supporter of the United +States Bank. He seemed to have the most horrible objection to +binding himself to any man or set of men. He said, 'I would as lieve +be an old coon-dog as obliged to do what any man or set of men would +tell me to do. I will support the present Administration as far as I +would any other; that is, as far as I believe its views to be right. +I will pledge myself to support no Administration. I had rather be +politically damned than hypocritically immortalized.'" + +In the winter of 1827, Crockett emerged from his cabin in the +wilderness for a seat in Congress. He was so poor that he had not +money enough to pay his expenses to Washington. His election had +cost him one hundred and fifty dollars, which a friend had loaned +him. The same friend advanced one hundred dollars more to help him +on his journey. + +"When I left home," he says, "I was happy, devilish, and full of +fun. I bade adieu to my friends, dogs, and rifle, and took the +stage, where I met with much variety of character, and amused myself +when my humor prompted. Being fresh from the backwoods, my stories +amused my companions, and I passed my time pleasantly. + +"When I arrived at Raleigh the weather was cold and rainy, and we +were all dull and tired. Upon going into the tavern, where I was an +entire stranger, the room was crowded, and the crowd did not give +way that I might come to the fire. I was rooting my way to the fire, +not in a good humor, when some fellow staggered up towards me, and +cried out, 'Hurrah for Adams.' + +"Said I, 'Stranger, you had better hurrah for hell, and praise your +own country.' + +"'And who are you? said he. I replied: + +"'I am that same David Crockett, fresh from the backwoods, half +horse, half alligator, a little touched with the snapping-turtle. I +can wade the Mississippi, leap the Ohio, ride upon a streak of +lightning, and slip without a scratch down a honey-locust. I can +whip my weight in wildcats, and, if any gentleman pleases, for a +ten-dollar bill he can throw in a panther. I can hug a bear too +close for comfort, and eat any man opposed to General Jackson.'" + +All eyes were immediately turned toward this strange man, for all +had heard of him. A place was promptly made for him at the fire. He +was afterward asked if this wondrous outburst of slang was entirely +unpremeditated. He said that it was; that it had all popped into his +head at once; and that he should never have thought of it again, had +not the story gone the round of the newspapers. + +"I came on to Washington," he says, "and drawed two hundred and +fifty dollars, and purchased with it a check on the bank in +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." + +Soon after his arrival at Washington he was invited to dine with +President Adams, a man of the highest culture, whose manners had +been formed in the courts of Europe. Crockett, totally unacquainted +with the usages of society, did not know what the note of invitation +meant, and inquired of a friend, the Hon. Mr. Verplanck. He says: + +"I was wild from the backwoods, and didn't know nothing about eating +dinner with the big folks of our country. And how should I, having +been a hunter all my life? I had eat most of my dinners on a log in +the woods, and sometimes no dinner at all. I knew, whether I ate +dinner with the President or not was a matter of no importance, for +my constituents were not to be benefited by it. I did not go to +court the President, for I was opposed to him in principle, and had +no favors to ask at his hands. I was afraid, however, I should be +awkward, as I was so entirely a stranger to fashion; and in going +along, I resolved to observe the conduct of my friend Mr. Verplanck, +and to do as he did. And I know that I did behave myself right +well." + +Some cruel wag wrote the following ludicrous account of this +dinner-party, which went the round of all the papers as veritable +history. The writer pretended to quote Crockett's own account of the +dinner. + +"The first thing I did," said Davy, "after I got to Washington, was +to go to the President's. I stepped into the President's house. +Thinks I, who's afeard. If I didn't, I wish I may be shot. Says I, +'Mr. Adams, I am Mr. Crockett, from Tennessee.' So, says he, 'How +d'ye do, Mr. Crockett?' And he shook me by the hand, although he +know'd I went the whole hog for Jackson. If he didn't, I wish I may +be shot. + +"Not only that, but he sent me a printed ticket to dine with him. +I've got it in my pocket yet. I went to dinner, and I walked all +around the long table, looking for something that I liked. At last I +took my seat beside a fat goose, and I helped myself to as much of +it as I wanted. But I hadn't took three bites, when I looked away up +the table at a man they called Tash (attache'). He was talking +French to a woman on t'other side of the table. He dodged his head +and she dodged hers, and then they got to drinking wine across the +table. + +"But when I looked back again my plate was gone, goose and all. So I +jist cast my eyes down to t'other end of the table, and sure enough +I seed a white man walking off with my plate. I says, 'Hello, +mister, bring back my plate.' He fetched it back in a hurry, as you +may think. And when he set it down before me, how do you think it +was? Licked as clean as my hand. If it wasn't, I wish I may be shot! + +"Says he, 'What will you have, sir?' And says I, 'You may well say +that, after stealing my goose.' And he began to laugh. Then says I, +'Mister, laugh if you please; but I don't half-like sich tricks upon +travellers.' I then filled my plate with bacon and greens. And +whenever I looked up or down the table, I held on to my plate with +my left hand. + +"When we were all done eating, they cleared everything off the +table, and took away the table-cloth. And what do you think? There +was another cloth under it. If there wasn't, I wish I may be shot! +Then I saw a man coming along carrying a great glass thing, with a +glass handle below, something like a candlestick. It was stuck full +of little glass cups, with something in them that looked good to +eat. Says I, 'Mister, bring that thing here.' Thinks I, let's taste +them first. They were mighty sweet and good, so I took six of them. +If I didn't, I wish I may be shot!" + +This humorous fabrication was copied into almost every paper in the +Union. The more respectable portion of Crockett's constituents were +so annoyed that their representative should be thus held up to the +contempt of the nation, that Crockett felt constrained to present a +reliable refutation of the story. He therefore obtained and +published certificates from three gentlemen, testifying to his good +behavior at the table. Hon. Mr. Verplanck, of New York, testified as +follows: + +"I dined at the President's, at the time alluded to, in company with +you, and I had, I recollect, a good deal of conversation with you. +Your behavior there was, I thought, perfectly becoming and proper. +And I do not recollect, or believe, that you said or did anything +resembling the newspaper-account." + +Two other members of Congress were equally explicit in their +testimony. + +During Crockett's first two sessions in Congress he got along very +smoothly, cooperating generally with what was called the Jackson +party. In 1829 he was again reelected by an overwhelming majority. +On the 4th of March of this year, Andrew Jackson was inaugurated +President of the United States. It may be doubted whether there ever +was a more honest, conscientious man in Congress than David +Crockett. His celebrated motto, "Be sure that you are right, and +then go ahead," seemed ever to animate him. He could neither be +menaced or bribed to support any measure which he thought to be +wrong. Ere long he found it necessary to oppose some of Jackson's +measures. We will let him tell the story in his own truthful words: + +"Soon after the commencement of this second 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 +turnings, even at the expense of my conscience and judgment. Such a +thing was new to me, and a total stranger to my principles. I know'd +well enough, though, that if I didn't 'hurrah' 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 infamous Indian +bill was brought forward, and I opposed it from the purest motives +in the world. Several of my colleagues got around me, and told me +how well they 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. + +"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 Jackson or any one +else; at any rate, I was of age, and determined to trust them. I +voted against this Indian bill, and my conscience yet tells me that +I gave a good, honest 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 district, that I had turned against Jackson. +This was considered the unpardonable sin. I was hunted down like a +wild varment, and in this hunt every little newspaper in the +district, and every little pinhook lawyer was engaged. Indeed, they +were ready to print anything and everything that the ingenuity of +man could invent against me." + +In consequence of this opposition, Crockett lost his next election, +and yet by a majority of but seventy votes. For two years he +remained at home hunting bears. But having once tasted the pleasures +of political life, and the excitements of Washington, his silent +rambles in the woods had lost much of their ancient charms. He was +again a candidate at the ensuing election, and, after a very warm +contest gained the day by a majority of two hundred and two votes. + + + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +Crockett's Tour to the North and the East. + +His Reelection to Congress.--The Northern Tour.--First Sight of a +Railroad.--Reception in Philadelphia.--His First Speech.--Arrival in +New York.--The Ovation there.--Visit to Boston.--Cambridge and +Lowell.--Specimens of his Speeches.--Expansion of his Ideas.--Rapid +Improvement. + + + + + +Colonel Crockett, having been reelected again repaired to +Washington. During the session, to complete his education, and the +better to prepare himself as a legislator for the whole nation, he +decided to take a short trip to the North and the East. His health +had also begun to fail, and his physicians advised him to go. He was +thoroughly acquainted with the Great West. With his rifle upon his +shoulder, in the Creek War, he had made wide explorations through +the South. But the North and the East were regions as yet unknown to +him. + +On the 25th of April, 1834, he left Washington for this Northern +tour. He reached Baltimore that evening, where he was invited to a +supper by some of the leading gentlemen. He writes: + +"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 coonskin. + +"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 off we walked in prime style. + +"Our passage down Chesapeake Bay was very pleasant. In a very short +run we came to a place where we were to get on board the rail-cars. +This was a clean new sight to me. About a dozen big stages hung on +to one machine. After a good deal of fuss we all got seated and +moved slowly off; the engine wheezing as though she had the tizzic. +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. It was +run in fifty-five minutes. + +"At Delaware City, I again embarked on board of a splendid +steamboat. When dinner was ready, I set down with the rest of the +passengers. Among them was Rev. O. B. Brown, of the Post-Office +Department, who sat near me. During dinner he ordered a bottle of +wine, and called upon 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 like a blizzard. So our glasses being filled, the word went +round, 'A toast from Colonel Crockett.' I give it as follows: +'Here's wishing 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 stumpt. 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 standing 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 we moved off. The streets were +crowded to a great distance, and the windows full of people, looking +out, I suppose, to see the wild man. I thought I had rather be in +the wilderness with my gun and dogs, than to be attracting 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 Chesnut Street." + +' The crowd had followed me filling up the street, and pressing into +the house to shake hands. I was conducted 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 OF PHILADELPHIA: + +"'My visit to your city is rather accidental. I had no expectation +of attracting any uncommon attention. I am travelling 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 Philadelphia. However, I am almost induced to believe it +flattery--perhaps a burlesque. This is new to me, yet I 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 people. However, gentlemen, if this is a curiosity +to you, if you will meet me to-morrow, at one o'clock, I will +endeavor to address you, in my plain manner.' + +"So I made my obeisance to them, and retired into the house." + +It is true that there was much of mere curiosity in the desire to +see Colonel Crockett. He was a strange and an incomprehensible man. +His manly, honest course in Congress had secured much respect. But +such developments of character as were shown in his rude and vulgar +toast, before a party of gentlemen and ladies, excited astonishment. +His notoriety preceded him, wherever he went; and all were alike +curious to see so strange a specimen of a man. + +The next morning, several gentlemen called upon him, and took him in +a carriage to see the various objects of interest in the city. The +gentlemen made him a present of a rich seal, representing two horses +at full speed, with the words, "Go Ahead." The young men also made +him a present of a truly magnificent rifle. From Philadelphia he +went to New York. The shipping astonished him. "They beat me all +hollow," he says, "and looked for all the world like a big clearing +in the West, with the dead trees all standing." + +There was a great crowd upon the wharf to greet him. And when the +captain of the boat led him conspicuously forward, and pointed him +out to the multitude, the cheering was tremendous. A committee +conducted him to the American Hotel, and treated him with the +greatest distinction. Again he was feted, and loaded with the +greatest attentions. He was invited to a very splendid supper, got +up in his honor, at which there were a hundred guests. The Hon. +Judge Clayton, of Georgia, was present, and make a speech which, as +Crockett says, fairly made the tumblers hop. + +Crockett was then called up, as the "undeviating supporter of the +Constitution and the laws." In response to this toast, he says, + +"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 wouldn'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 always kept moving.'" + +His trip to New York was concluded by his visiting Jersey City to +witness a shooting-match with rifles. He was invited to try his +hand. Standing, at the distance of one hundred and twenty feet, he +fired twice, striking very near the centre of the mark. Some one +then put up a quarter of a dollar in the midst of a black spot, and +requested him to shoot at it. The bullet struck the coin, and as +Crockett says made slight-of-hand work with it. + +From New York he went to Boston. There, an the opponent of some of +President Jackson's measures which were most offensive to the New +England people, he was feted with extraordinary enthusiasm. He dined +and supped, made speeches, which generally consisted of but one +short anecdote, and visited nearly all the public institutions. + +Just before this, Andrew Jackson had received from Harvard +University the honorary title of LL.D. Jackson was no longer a +favorite of Crockett. The new distinguished guest, the renowned +bear-hunter, was in his turn invited to visit Harvard. He writes: + +"There were some gentlemen that invited 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 told them that I did not go to this branding school; I did not +want to be tarred with the same stick; one dignitary was enough from +Tennessee; that as far as my learning went, I would stand over it, +and spell a strive or two with any of them, from a-b-ab to crucifix, +which was where I left off at school." + +A gentleman, at a dinner-party, very earnestly invited Crockett to +visit him. He returned the compliment by saying: + +"If you ever come to my part of the country, I hope you will call +and see me." + +"And how shall I find where you live?" the gentleman inquired. + +"Why, sir," Crockett answered, "run down the Mississippi till you +come to the Oberon River. Run a small streak up that; jump ashore +anywhere, and inquire for me." + +From Boston, he went to Lowell. The hospitality he had enjoyed in +Boston won his warmest commendation. At Lowell, he was quite charmed +by the aspect of wealth, industry, and comfort which met his eye. +Upon his return to Boston, he spent the evening, with several +gentlemen and ladies at the pleasant residence of +Lieutenant-Governor Armstrong. In reference to this visit, he +writes: + +"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 everybody 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 +generally 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 industry, they will see how comfortable everybody can be that +turns his hands to some employment." + +Crockett was not a mere joker. He was an honest man, and an earnest +man; and under the tuition of Congress had formed some very decided +political principles, which he vigorously enforced with his rude +eloquence. + +When he first went to Congress he was merely a big boy, of very +strong mind, but totally uninformed, and uncultivated. He very +rapidly improved under the tuition of Congress; and in some degree +awoke to the consciousness of his great intellectual imperfections. +Still he was never diffident. He closed one of his off-hand +after-dinner speeches in Boston, by saying: + +"Gentlemen of Boston, I come here as a private citizen, to see you, +and not to show myself. I had no idea of attracting attention. But I +feel it my duty to thank you, with my gratitude to you, and with a +gratitude to all who have given a plain man, like me, so kind a +reception. I come from a great way off. But I shall never repent of +having been persuaded to come here, and get a knowledge of your +ways, which I can carry home with me. We only want to do away +prejudice and give the people information. + +"I hope, gentlemen, you will excuse my plain, unvarnished ways, +which may seem strange to you here. I never had but six months' +schooling in all my life. And I confess, I consider myself a poor +tyke to be here addressing the most intelligent people in the world. +But I think it the duty of every representative of the people, when +he is called upon, to give his opinions. And I have tried to give +you a little touch of mine." + +Every reader will be interested in the perusal of the following +serious speech, which he made in Boston. It is a fair specimen of +his best efforts, and will give one a very correct idea of his +trains of thought, and modes of expression. It also clearly shows +the great questions which agitated the country at that time. It can +easily be perceived that, as a stump orator in the far West, +Crockett might have exercised very considerable power. This phase of +his peculiar character is as worthy of consideration as any other. + +"GENTLEMEN: + +"By the entire friendship of the citizens of Boston, as well as the +particular friendship with which you have received me this evening, +I have been brought to reflect on times that have gone by, and +review a prejudice that has grown up with me, as well as thousands +of my Western and Southern friends. We have always been taught to +look upon the people of New England as a selfish, cunning set of +fellows, that was fed on fox-ears and thistle-tops; that cut their +wisdom-teeth as soon as they were born; that made money by their +wits, and held on to it by nature; that called cheatery mother-wit; +that hung on to political power because they had numbers; that +raised up manufactures to keep down the South and West; and, in +fact, had so much of the devil in all their machinery, that they +would neither lead nor drive, unless the load was going into their +own cribs. But I assure you, gentlemen, I begin to think different +of you, and I think I see a good many good reasons for so doing. + +"I don't mean that because I eat your bread and drink your liquor, +that I feel so. No; that don't make me see clearer than I did. It is +your habits, and manners, and customs; your industry; your proud, +independent spirits; your hanging on to the eternal principles of +right and wrong; your liberality in prosperity, and your patience +when you are ground down by legislation, which, instead of crushing +you, whets your invention to strike a path without a blaze on a tree +to guide you; and above all, your never-dying, deathless grip to our +glorious Constitution. These are the things that make me think that +you are a mighty good people." + +Here the speaker was interrupted by great applause. + +"Gentlemen, I believe I have spoke the truth, and not flattery; I +ain't used to oily words; I am used to speak what I think, of men, +and to men. I am, perhaps, more of a come-by-chance than any of you +ever saw; I have made my way to the place I now fill, without +wealth, and against education; I was raised from obscurity, and +placed in the high councils of the nation, by the kindness and +liberality of the good people of my district--a people whom I will +never be unfaithful to, here or elsewhere; I love them, and they +have honored me; and according as God has given me judgment, I'll +use it for them, come of me what may. + +"These people once passed sentence upon me of a two years' +stay-at-home, for exercising that which I contend belongs to every +freeman in this nation: that was, for differing in opinion with the +chief magistrate of this nation. I was well acquainted with him. He +was but a man; and, if I was not before, my constituents had made a +man of me. I had marched and counter-marched with him: I had stood +by him in the wars, and fought under his flag at the polls: I helped +to heap the measure of glory that has crushed and smashed everything +that has come in contact with it: I helped to give him the name of +'Hero,' which, like the lightning from heaven, has scorched and +blasted everything that stood in its way--a name which, like the +prairie fire, you have to burn against, or you are gone--a name +which ought to be the first in war, and the last in peace--a name +which, like 'Jack-o'-the lantern, blinds your eyes while you follow +it through mud and mire. + +"Gentlemen, I never opposed Andrew Jackson for the sake of +popularity. I knew it was a hard row to hoe; but I stood up to the +rack, considering it a duty I owed to the country that governed me. +I had reviewed the course of other Presidents, and came to the +conclusion that he did not of right possess any more power than +those that had gone before him. When he transcended that power, I +put down my foot. I knew his popularity; that he had come into place +with the largest majority of any one that had gone before him, who +had opposition: but still, I did not consider this as giving him the +right to do as he pleased, and construe our Constitution to meet his +own views. + +"We had lived the happiest people under the sun for fifty years, +governed by the Constitution and laws, on well-established +constructions: and when I saw the Government administered on new +principles, I objected, and was politically sacrificed: I persisted +in my sins, having a clear conscience, that before God and my +country, I had done my duty. + +"My constituents began to look at both sides; and finally, at the +end of two years, approving of my course, they sent me back to +Congress--a circumstance which was truly gratifying to me. + +"Gentlemen, I opposed Andrew Jackson in his famous Indian bill, +where five hundred thousand dollars were voted for expenses, no part +of which has yet been accounted for, as I have seen. I thought it +extravagant as well as impolitic. I thought the rights reserved to +the Indians were about to be frittered away; and events prove that I +thought correct. + +"I had considered a treaty as the sovereign law of the land; but now +saw it considered as a matter of expedience, or not, as it pleased +the powers that be. Georgia bid defiance to the treaty-making power, +and set at nought the Intercourse Act of 1802; she trampled it under +foot; she nullified it: and for this, she received the smiles and +approbation of Andrew Jackson. And this induced South Carolina to +nullify the Tariff. She had a right to expect that the President was +favorable to the principle: but he took up the rod of correction, +and shook it over South Carolina, and said at the same time to +Georgia, 'You may nullify, but South Carolina shall not.' + +"This was like his consistency in many other matters. When he was a +Senator in Congress, he was a friend to internal improvements, and +voted for them. Everything then that could cement the States +together, by giving them access the one to the other, was right. +When he got into power, some of his friends had hard work to dodge, +and follow, and shout. I called off my dogs, and quit the hunt. Yes, +gentlemen, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and Tennessee, and other States, +voted for him, as a supporter of internal improvements. + +"Was he not a Tariff man? Who dare deny it! When did we first hear +of his opposition? Certainly not in his expression that he was in +favor of a judicious tariff. That was supposed to be a clincher, +even in New England, until after power lifted him above the +opposition of the supporters of a tariff. + +"He was for putting down the monster 'party,' and being the +President of the people. Well, in one sense, this he tried to do: he +put down every one he could who was opposed to him, either by reward +or punishment; and could all have come into his notions, and bowed +the knee to his image, I suppose it might have done very well, so +far as he was concerned. Whether it would have been a fair reading +of his famous letter to Mr. Monroe, is rather questionable. "He was +to reform the Government. Now, if reformation consists in turning +out and putting in, he did it with a vengeance. + +"He was, last of all, to retrench the expenditures. Well, in time, I +have no doubt, this must be done; but it will not consist in the +abolishing useless expenditures of former Administrations. No, +gentlemen; the spoils belonged to the victor; and it would never do +to lessen the teats when the litter was doubled. The treasury trough +had to be extended, and the pap thickened; kin were to be provided +for; and if all things keep on as they are, his own extravagances +will have to be retrenched, or you will get your tariff up again as +high as you please. + +"I recollect a boy once, who was told to turn the pigs out of the +corn-field. Well, he made a great noise, hallooing and calling the +dogs--and came back. By-and-by his master said, 'Jim, you rascal! +you didn't turn out the pigs.' 'Sir,' said he, 'I called the dogs, +and set them a-barking.' + +"So it was with that big Retrenchment Report, in 1828. Major +Hamilton got Chilton's place as chairman--and called the dogs. +Ingham worked honestly, like a beaver; Wickliff was as keen as a +cutworm: all of them worked hard; and they did really, I suppose, +convince themselves that they had found out a great deal of +iniquity; or, what was more desirable, convinced the people that +Andrew Jackson and his boys were the only fellows to mend shoes for +nothing, and find their own candles. Everett and Sargeant, who made +the minority report, were scouted at. What has come of all this? +Nothing--worse than nothing. Jackson used these very men like dogs: +they knew too much, and must be got rid off, or they would stop his +profligacy too. They were greased and swallowed: and he gave them up +to the torments of an anti-Jackson conscience. + +"Yes, gentlemen, as long as you think with him, very well; but if +not--clear out; make way for some fellow who has saved his wind; and +because he has just begun to huzza, has more wind to spare. General +Jackson has turned out more men for opinion's sake, than all other +Presidents put together, five times over: and the broom sweeps so +low that it reaches the humblest officer who happens to have a mean +neighbor to retail any little story which he may pick up. + +"I voted for Andrew Jackson because I believed he possessed certain +principles, and not because his name was Andrew Jackson, or the +Hero, or Old Hickory. And when he left those principles which +induced me to support him, I considered myself justified in opposing +him. This thing of man-worship I am a stranger to; I don't like it; +it taints every action of life; it is like a skunk getting into a +house--long after he has cleared out, you smell him in every room +and closet, from the cellar to the garret. + +"I know nothing, by experience, of party discipline. I would rather +be a raccoon-dog, and belong to a negro in the forest, than to +belong to any party, further than to do justice to all, and to +promote the interests of my country. The time will and must come, +when honesty will receive its reward, and when the people of this +nation will be brought to a sense of their duty, and will pause and +reflect how much it cost us to redeem ourselves from the government +of one man. It cost the lives and fortunes of thousands of the best +patriots that ever lived. Yes, gentlemen, hundreds of them fell in +sight of your own city. + +"I this day walked over the great battle-ground of Bunker's Hill, +and thought whether it was possible that it was moistened with the +sacred blood of our heroes in vain, and that we should forget what +they fought for. + +"I hope to see our once happy country restored to its former peace +and happiness, and once more redeemed from tyranny and despotism, +which, I fear, we are on the very brink of. We see the whole country +in commotion: and for what? Because, gentlemen, the true friends of +liberty see the laws and Constitution blotted out from the heads and +hearts of the people's leaders: and their requests for relief are +treated with scorn and contempt. They meet the same fate that they +did before King George and his parliament. It has been decided by a +majority of Congress, that Andrew Jackson shall be the Government, +and that his will shall be the law of the land. He takes the +responsibility, and vetoes any bill that does not meet his +approbation. He takes the responsibility, and seizes the treasury, +and removes it from where the laws had placed it; and now, holding +purse and sword, has bid defiance to Congress and to the nation. 1 + +"Gentlemen, if it is for opposing those high-handed measures that +you compliment me, I say I have done so, and will do so, now and +forever. I will be no man's man, and no party's man, other than to +be the people's faithful representative: and I am delighted to see +the noble spirit of liberty retained so boldly here, where the first +spark was kindled; and I hope to see it shine and spread over our +whole country. + +"Gentlemen, I have detained you much longer than I intended: allow +me to conclude by thanking you for your attention and kindness to +the stranger from the far West." + +The following extract also shows the candor of his mind, his anxiety +to learn, and the progress his mind was making in the science of +political economy: + +"I come to your country to get a knowledge of things, which I could +get in no other way but by seeing with my own eyes, and hearing with +my awful ears--information I can't get, and nobody else, from book +knowledge. I come, fellow-citizens, to get a knowledge of the +manufacturing interest of New England. I was over-persuaded to come +by a gentleman who had been to Lowell and seen the manufactories of +your State--by General Thomas, of Louisiana. He persuaded me to come +and see. + +"When I was first chose to Congress, I was opposed to the protecting +system. They told me it would help the rich, and hurt the poor; and +that we in the West was to be taxed by it for the benefit of New +England. I supposed it was so; but when I come to hear it argued in +the Congress of the nation, I begun to have a different opinion of +it. I saw I was opposing the best interest of the country: +especially for the industrious poor man. I told my people who sent +me to Congress, that I should oppose it no longer: that without it, +we should be obliged to pay a tax to the British Government, and +support them, instead of our own labor. And I am satisfied of it the +more since I have visited New England. Only let the Southern +gentlemen come here and examine the manufactories, and see how it +is, and it would make more peace than all the legislation in +Congress can do. It would give different ideas to them who have been +deluded, and spoke in strong terms of dissolving the Union." + +Crockett returned to Washington just in time to be present at the +closing scenes, and then set out for home. So much had been said of +him in the public journals, of his speeches and his peculiarities, +that his renown now filled the land. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +The Disappointed Politician.--Off for Texas. + +Triumphal Return.--Home Charms Vanish.--Loses His Election.--Bitter +Disappointment.--Crockett's Poetry.--Sets out for Texas.--Incidents +of the Journey.--Reception at Little Rock.--The Shooting +Match.--Meeting a Clergyman.--The Juggler.--Crockett a +Reformer.--The Bee Hunter.--The Rough Strangers.--Scene on the +Prairie. + + + + + +Crockett's return to his home was a signal triumph all the way. At +Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, crowds +gathered to greet him. He was feasted, received presents, was +complimented, and was incessantly called upon for a speech. He was +an earnest student as he journeyed along. A new world of wonders +were opening before him. Thoughts which he never before had dreamed +of were rushing into his mind. His eyes were ever watchful to see +all that was worthy of note. His ear was ever listening for every +new idea. He scarcely ever looked at the printed page, but perused +with the utmost diligence the book of nature. His comments upon what +he saw indicate much sagacity. + +At Cincinnatti and Louisville, immense crowds assembled to hear him. +In both places he spoke quite at length. And all who heard him were +surprised at the power he displayed. Though his speech was rude and +unpolished, the clearness of his views, and the intelligence he +manifested, caused the journals generally to speak of him in quite a +different strain from that which they had been accustomed to use. +Probably never did a man make so much intellectual progress, in the +course of a few months, as David Crockett had made in that time. His +wonderful memory of names, dates, facts, all the intricacies of +statistics, was such, that almost any statesman might be instructed +by his addresses, and not many men could safely encounter him in +argument. The views he presented upon the subject of the +Constitution, finance, internal improvements, etc., were very +surprising, when one considers the limited education he had enjoyed. +At the close of these agitating scenes he touchingly writes: + +"In a short time I set out for my own home; yes, my own home, my own +soil, my humble dwelling, my own family, my own hearts, my ocean of +love and affection, which neither circumstances nor time can dry up. +Here, like the wearied bird, let me settle down for a while, and +shut out the world." + +But hunting bears had lost its charms for Crockett. He had been so +flattered that it is probable that he fully expected to be chosen +President of the United States. There were two great parties then +dividing the country, the Democrats and the Whigs. The great object +of each was to find an available candidate, no matter how unfit for +the office. The leaders wished to elect a President who would be, +like the Queen of England, merely the ornamental figure-head of the +ship of state, while their energies should propel and guide the +majestic fabric. For a time some few thought it possible that in the +popularity of the great bear-hunter such a candidate might be found. + +Crockett, upon his return home, resumed his deerskin leggins, his +fringed hunting-shirt, his fox-skin cap, and shouldering his rifle, +plunged, as he thought, with his original zest, into the cheerless, +tangled, marshy forest which surrounded him. But the excitements of +Washington, the splendid entertainments of Philadelphia, New York, +and Boston, the flattery, the speech-making, which to him, with his +marvellous memory and his wonderful fluency of speech, was as easy +as breathing, the applause showered upon him, and the gorgeous +vision of the Presidency looming up before him, engrossed his mind. +He sauntered listlessly through the forest, his bear-hunting +energies all paralyzed. He soon grew very weary of home and of all +its employments, and was eager to return to the infinitely higher +excitements of political life. + +General Jackson was then almost idolized by his party. All through +the South and West his name was a tower of strength. Crockett had +originally been elected as a Jackson-man. He had abandoned the +Administration, and was now one of the most inveterate opponents of +Jackson. The majority in Crockett's district were in favor of +Jackson. The time came for a new election of a representative. +Crockett made every effort, in his old style, to secure the vote. He +appeared at the gatherings in his garb as a bear-hunter, with his +rifle on his shoulder. He brought 'coonskins to buy whiskey to treat +his friends. A 'coonskin in the currency of that country was +considered the equivalent for twenty-five cents. He made funny +speeches. But it was all in vain. + +Greatly to his surprise, and still more to his chagrin, he lost his +election. He was beaten by two hundred and thirty votes. The whole +powerful influence of the Government was exerted against Crockett +and in favor of his competitor. It is said that large bribes were +paid for votes. Crockett wrote, in a strain which reveals the +bitterness of his disappointment: + +"I am gratified that I have spoken the truth to the people of my +district, regardless of the 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 +shall be rewarded for letting my tongue speak what my heart thinks. +I have suffered myself to be politically sacrificed to save my +country from ruin and disgrace; and if I am never again elected, I +will have the gratification to know that I have done my duty. I may +add, in the words of the man in the play, 'Crockett's occupation's +gone.'" + +Two weeks after this he writes, "I confess the thorn still rankles, +not so much on my own account as the nation's. 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 +nothing more than right good sport to surmount them. But now I start +upon my own hook, and God only grant that it may be strong enough to +support the weight that may be hung upon it. I have a new row to +hoe, a long and rough one; but come what will, I will go ahead." + +Just before leaving for Texas, he attended a political meeting of +his constituents. The following extract from his autobiography will +give the reader a very vivid idea of his feelings at the time, and +of the very peculiar character which circumstances had developed in +him: + +"A few days ago I went to a meeting of my constituents. My 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, 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 consider +it a fair fight anyhow they could fix it. I put the ingredients in +the cup pretty strong I tell you, and I concluded 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 sorrow, it is said, will make +even an oyster feel poetical. I never tried my hand at that sort of +writing but on this particular occasion such was my state of +feeling, that I 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 +of 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 feelings 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 beautiful 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 worshipped his plan. + +"The home I forsake where my offspring 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. + +"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." + +A party of American adventurers, then called filibusters, had gone +into Texas, in the endeavor to wrest that immense and beautiful +territory, larger than the whole Empire of France, from feeble, +distracted, miserable Mexico, to which it belonged. These +filibusters were generally the most worthless and desperate +vagabonds to be found in all the Southern States. Many Southern +gentlemen of wealth and ability, but strong advocates of slavery, +were in cordial sympathy with this movement, and aided it with their +purses, and in many other ways. It was thought that if Texas could +be wrested from Mexico and annexed to the United States, it might be +divided into several slaveholding States, and thus check the rapidly +increasing preponderance of the free States of the North. + +To join in this enterprise, Crockett now left his home, his wife, +his children. There could be no doubt of the eventual success of the +undertaking. And in that success Crockett saw visions of political +glory opening before him. I determined, he said, "to 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 would be brought +about, I promised to give the Texans a helping hand on the high road +to freedom." + +He dressed himself in a new deerskin hunting-shirt, put on a foxskin +cap with the tail hanging behind, shouldered his famous rifle, and +cruelly leaving in the dreary cabin his wife and children whom he +cherished with an "ocean of love and affection," set out on foot +upon his perilous adventure. A days' journey through the forest +brought him to the Mississippi River. Here he took a steamer down +that majestic stream to the mouth of the Arkansas River, which rolls +its vast flood from regions then quite unexplored in the far West. +The stream was navigable fourteen hundred miles from its mouth. + +Arkansas was then but a Territory, two hundred and forty miles long +and two hundred and twenty-eight broad. The sparsely scattered +population of the Territory amounted to but about thirty thousand. +Following up the windings of the river three hundred miles, one came +to a cluster of a few straggling huts, called Little Rock, which +constitutes now the capital of the State. + +Crockett ascended the river in the steamer, and, unencumbered with +baggage, save his rifle, hastened to a tavern which he saw at a +little distance from the shore, around which there was assembled +quite a crowd of men. He had been so accustomed to public triumphs +that he supposed that they had assembled in honor of his arrival. +"Strange as it may seem," he says, "they took no more notice of me +than if I had been Dick Johnson, the wool-grower. This took me +somewhat aback;" and he inquired what was the meaning of the +gathering. + +He found that the people had been called together to witness the +feats of a celebrated juggler and gambler. The name of Colonel +Crockett had gone through the nation; and gradually it became noised +abroad that Colonel Crockett was in the crowd. "I wish I may be +shot," Crockett says, "if I wasn't looked upon as almost as great a +sight as Punch and Judy." + +He was invited to a public dinner that very day. As it took some +time to cook the dinner, the whole company went to a little distance +to shoot at a mark. All had heard of Crockett's skill. After several +of the best sharpshooters had fired, with remarkable accuracy, it +came to Crockett's turn. Assuming an air of great carelessness, he +raised his beautiful rifle, which he called Betsey, to his shoulder, +fired, and it so happened that the bullet struck exactly in the +centre of the bull's-eye. All were astonished, and so was Crockett +himself. But with an air of much indifference he turned upon his +heel, saying, "There's no mistake in Betsey." + +One of the best marksmen in those parts, chagrined at being so +beaten, said, "Colonel, that must have been a chance shot." + +"I can do it," Crockett replied, "five times out of six, any day in +the week." + +"I knew," he adds, in his autobiography, "it was not altogether as +correct as it might be; but when a man sets about going the big +figure, halfway measures won't answer no how." + +It was now proposed that there should be a second trial. Crockett +was very reluctant to consent to this, for he had nothing to gain, +and everything to lose. But they insisted so vehemently that he had +to yield. As what ensued does not redound much to his credit, we +will let him tell the story in his own language. + +"So to it again 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 showing 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 examined +the bull's-eye pretty particular, and at length cried out, 'Here it +is; there is no snakes if it ha'n't followed 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 when speaking of me as a marksman: and they all said they +had enough of shooting for that day, and they moved that we adjourn +to the tavern and liquor." + +The dinner consisted of bear's meat, venison, and wild turkey. They +had an "uproarious" time over their whiskey. Crockett made a coarse +and vulgar speech, which was neither creditable to his head nor his +heart. But it was received with great applause. + +The next morning Crockett decided to set out to cross the country in +a southwest direction, to Fulton, on the upper waters of the Red +River. The gentlemen furnished Crockett with a fine horse, and five +of them decided to accompany him, as a mark of respect, to the River +Washita, fifty miles from Little Rock. Crockett endeavored to raise +some recruits for Texas, but was unsuccessful. When they reached the +Washita, they found a clergyman, one of those bold, hardy pioneers +of the wilderness, who through the wildest adventures were +distributing tracts and preaching the gospel in the remotest +hamlets. + +He was in a condition of great peril. He had attempted to ford the +river in the wrong place, and had reached a spot where he could not +advance any farther, and yet could not turn his horse round. With +much difficulty they succeeded in extricating him, and in bringing +him safe to the shore. Having bid adieu to his kind friends, who had +escorted him thus far, Crockett crossed the river, and in company +with the clergyman continued his journey, about twenty miles farther +west toward a little settlement called Greenville. He found his new +friend to be a very charming companion. In describing the ride, +Crockett writes: + +"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, travelling 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 listened 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 sterile rocks seemed to be endued +with some mysterious influence. We were alone in the wilderness, but +all things told me that God was there. The thought renewed my +strength and courage. I had left my country, felt somewhat like an +outcast, 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, 'Now 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 +membership, or obtained a dispensation. Having liquored, we +proceeded on our journey, keeping a sharp lookout 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 Western States. + +"He was very cheerful and happy, though to all appearances very +poor. I thought that he would make a first-rate agent for taking up +lands, and mentioned it to him. He smiled, and pointing above, said, +'My wealth lies not in this world.'" + +From Greenville, Crockett pressed on about fifty or sixty miles +through a country interspersed withe forests and treeless prairies, +until he reached Fulton. He had a letter of introduction to one of +the prominent gentlemen here, and was received with marked +distinction. After a short visit he disposed of his horse; he took a +steamer to descend the river several hundred miles to Natchitoches, +pronounced Nakitosh, a small straggling village of eight hundred +inhabitants, on the right bank of the Red River, about two hundred +miles from its entrance into the Mississippi. + +In descending the river there was a juggler on board, who performed +many skilful juggling tricks. and by various feats of gambling won +much money from his dupes. Crockett was opposed to gambling in all +its forms. Becoming acquainted with the juggler and, finding him at +heart a well-meaning, good-natured fellow, he endeavored to +remonstrate with him upon his evil practices. + +"I told him," says Crockett, "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 +subsistence to such a 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 impossible 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 element, +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?' + +"'Die like a brave one. And I know not whether, in the eyes of the +world, a brilliant death is not preferred to an obscure life of +rectitude. Most men are remembered as they died, and not as they +lived. We gaze with admiration upon the glories of the setting sun, +yet scarcely bestow 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 degrading habits and +associates here, and, in fighting for the freedom of the Texans, +regain your own.' + +"The man seemed much moved. He caught up his gambling instruments, +thrust them into his pocket, with hasty strides traversed the floor +two or three times, and then exclaimed: + +"'By heaven, I will try to be a man again. I will live honestly, or +die bravely. I will go with you to Texas.'" + +To confirm him in his good resolution, Crockett "asked him to +liquor." At Natchitoches, Crockett encountered another very singular +character. He was a remarkably handsome young man, of poetic +imagination, a sweet singer, and with innumerable scraps of poetry +and of song ever at his tongue's end. Honey-trees, as they were +called, were very abundant in Texas The prairies were almost +boundless parterres of the richest flowers, from which the bees made +large quantities of the most delicious honey. This they deposited in +the hollows of trees. Not only was the honey valuable, but the wax +constituted a very important article of commerce in Mexico, and +brought a high price, being used for the immense candles which they +burned in their churches. The bee-hunter, by practice, acquired much +skill in coursing the bees to their hives. + +This man decided to join Crockett and the juggler in their journey +over the vast prairies of Texas. Small, but very strong and tough +Mexican ponies, called mustangs, were very cheap. They were found +wild, in droves of thousands, grazing on the prairies. The three +adventurers mounted their ponies, and set out on their journey due +west, a distance of one hundred and twenty miles, to Nacogdoches. +Their route was along a mere trail, which was called the old Spanish +road. It led over vast prairies, where there was no path, and where +the bee-hunter was their guide, and through forests where their +course was marked only by blazed trees. + +The bee-hunter, speaking of the state of society in Texas, said that +at San Felipe he had sat down with a small party at the +breakfast-table, where eleven of the company had fled from the +States charged with the crime of murder. So accustomed were the +inhabitants to the appearance of fugitives from justice, that +whenever a stranger came among them, they took it for granted that +he had committed some crime which rendered it necessary for him to +take refuge beyond the grasp of his country's laws. + +They reached Nacogdoches without any special adventure. It was a +flourishing little Mexican town of about one thousand inhabitants, +situated in a romantic dell, about sixty miles west of the River +Sabine. The Mexicans and the Indians were very nearly on an +intellectual and social equality. Groups of Indians, harmless and +friendly, were ever sauntering through the streets of the little +town. + +Colonel Crockett's horse had become lame on the journey. He obtained +another, and, with his feet nearly touching the ground as he +bestrode the little animal, the party resumed its long and weary +journey, directing their course two or three hundred miles farther +southwest through the very heart of Texas to San Antonio. They +frequently encountered vast expanses of canebrakes; such canes as +Northern boys use for fishing-poles. There is one on the banks of +Caney Creek, seventy miles in length, with scarcely a tree to be +seen for the whole distance. There was generally a trail cut through +these, barely wide enough for a single mustang to pass. The reeds +were twenty or thirty feet high, and so slender that, having no +support over the path, they drooped a little inward and intermingled +their tops. Thus a very singular and beautiful canopy was formed, +beneath which the travellers moved along sheltered from the rays of +a Texan sun. + +As they were emerging from one of these arched avenues, they saw +three black wolves jogging along very leisurely in front of them, +but at too great a distance to be reached by a rifle-bullet. Wild +turkeys were very abundant, and vast droves of wild horses were +cropping the herbage of the most beautiful and richest pastures to +be found on earth. Immense herds of buffaloes were also seen. + +"These sights," says Crockett, "awakened the ruling passion strong +within me, and I longed to have a hunt on a large scale. For though +I had killed many bears and deer in my time, I had never brought +down a buffalo, and so I told my friends. But they tried to dissuade +me from it, telling me that I would certainly lose my way, and +perhaps perish; for though it appeared a garden to the eye, it was +still a wilderness. I said little more upon the subject until we +crossed the Trinidad River. But every mile we travelled, I found the +temptation grew stronger and stronger." + +The night after crossing the Trinidad River they were so fortunate +as to come across the hut of a poor woman, where they took shelter +until the next morning. They were here joined by two other chance +travellers, who must indeed have been rough specimens of humanity. +Crockett says that though he had often seen men who had not advanced +far over the line of civilization, these were the coarsest samples +he had ever met. + +One proved to be an old pirate, about fifty years of age. He was +tall, bony, and in aspect seemed scarcely human. The shaggy hair of +his whiskers and beard covered nearly his whole face. He had on a +sailor's round jacket and tarpaulin hat. The deep scar, apparently +of a sword cut, deformed his forehead, and another similar scar was +on the back of one of his hands. His companion was a young Indian, +wild as the wolves, bareheaded, and with scanty deerskin dress. + +Early the next morning they all resumed their journey, the two +strangers following on foot. Their path led over the smooth and +treeless prairie, as beautiful in its verdure and its flowers as the +most cultivated park could possibly be. About noon they stopped to +refresh their horses and dine beneath a cluster of trees in the open +prairie. They had built their fire, were cooking their game, and +were all seated upon the grass, chatting very sociably, when the +bee-hunter saw a bee, which indicated that a hive of honey might be +found not far distant. He leaped upon his mustang, and without +saying a word, "started off like mad," and scoured along the +prairie. "We watched him," says Crockett, "until he seemed no larger +than a rat, and finally disappeared in the distance." + + + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +Adventures on the Prairie. + +Disappearance of the Bee Hunter.--The Herd of Buffalo Crockett +lost.--The Fight with the Cougar.--Approach of Savages.--Their +Friendliness.--Picnic on the Prairie.--Picturesque Scene.--The Lost +Mustang recovered.--Unexpected Reunion.--Departure of the +Savages.--Skirmish with the Mexicans.--Arrival at the Alamo. + + + + + +Soon after the bee-hunter had disappeared, all were startled by a +strange sound, as of distant thunder. It was one of the most +beautiful of summer days. There was not a cloud to be seen. The +undulating prairie, waving with flowers, lay spread out before them, +more beautiful under nature's bountiful adornings than the most +artistic parterre, park or lawn which the hand of man ever reared. A +gentle, cool breeze swept through the grove, fragrant and refreshing +as if from Araby the blest. It was just one of those scenes and one +of those hours in which all vestiges of the Fall seemed to have been +obliterated, and Eden itself again appeared blooming in its pristine +beauty. + +Still those sounds, growing more and more distinct, were not sounds +of peace, were not eolian warblings; they were mutterings as of a +rising tempest, and inspired awe and a sense of peril. Straining +their eyes toward the far-distant west, whence the sounds came, they +soon saw an immense black cloud just emerging from the horizon and +apparently very low down, sweeping the very surface of the prairie. +This strange, menacing cloud was approaching with manifestly great +rapidity. It was coming directly toward the grove where the +travellers were sheltered. A cloud of dust accompanied the +phenomenon, ever growing thicker and rising higher in the air. + +"What can that all mean?" exclaimed Crockett, in evident alarm. + +The juggler sprang to his feet, saying, "Burn my old shoes if I +know." + +Even the mustangs, which were grazing near by, were frightened They +stopped eating, pricked up their ears, and gazed in terror upon the +approaching danger. It was then supposed that the black cloud, with +its muttered thunderings, must be one of those terrible tornadoes +which occasionally swept the region, bearing down everything before +it. The men all rushed for the protection of the mustangs. In the +greatest haste they struck off their hobbles and led them into the +grove for shelter. + +The noise grew louder and louder, and they had scarcely brought the +horses beneath the protection of the trees, when they perceived that +it was an immense herd of buffaloes, of countless hundreds, dishing +along with the speed of the wind, and bellowing and roaring in tones +as appalling as if a band of demons were flying and shrieking in +terror before some avenging arm. + +The herd seemed to fill the horizon. Their numbers could not be +counted. They were all driven by some common impulse of terror. In +their head-long plunge, those in front pressed on by the innumerable +throng behind, it was manifest that no ordinary obstacle would in +the slightest degree retard their rush. The spectacle was sublime +and terrible. Had the travellers been upon the open plain, it seemed +inevitable that they must have been trampled down and crushed out of +every semblance of humanity by these thousands of hard hoofs. + +But it so chanced that they were upon what is called a rolling +prairie, with its graceful undulations and gentle eminences. It was +one of these beautiful swells which the grove crowned with its +luxuriance. + +As the enormous herd came along with its rush and roar, like the +bursting forth of a pent-up flood, the terrified mustangs were too +much frightened to attempt to escape. They shivered in every nerve +as if stricken by an ague. + +An immense black bull led the band. He was a few feet in advance of +all the rest. He came roaring along, his tail erect in the air as a +javelin, his head near the ground, and his stout, bony horns +projected as if he were just ready to plunge upon his foe. Crockett +writes: + +"I never felt such a desire to have a crack at anything in all my +life. He drew nigh the place where I was standing. I raised my +beautiful Betsey to my shoulder and blazed away. He roared, and +suddenly stopped. Those that were near him did so likewise. The +commotion occasioned by the impetus of those in the rear was such +that it was a miracle that some of them did not break their heads 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 followed, +sweeping by like a tornado. And I do say I never witnessed a sight +more beautiful to the eye of a hunter in all my life." + +The temptation to pursue them was too strong for Crockett to resist. +For a moment he was himself bewildered, and stood gazing with +astonishment upon the wondrous spectacle. Speedily he reloaded his +rifle, sprung upon his horse, and set out in pursuit over the green +and boundless prairie. There was something now quite ludicrous in +the scene. There was spread out an ocean expanse of verdure. A herd +of countless hundreds of majestic buffaloes, every animal very +ferocious in aspect, was clattering along, and a few rods behind +them in eager pursuit was one man, mounted on a little, +insignificant Mexican pony, not much larger than a donkey. It would +seem that but a score of this innumerable army need but turn round +and face their foe, and they could toss horse and rider into the +air, and then contemptuously trample them into the dust. + +Crockett was almost beside himself with excitement. Looking neither +to the right nor the left, unconscious in what direction he was +going, he urged forward, with whip and spur, the little mustang, to +the utmost speed of the animal, and yet scarcely in the least +diminished the distance between him and the swift-footed buffaloes. +Ere long, it was evident that he was losing in the chase. But the +hunter, thinking that the buffaloes could not long continue their +flight at such a speed, and that they would soon, in weariness, +loiter and stop to graze, vigorously pressed on, though his jaded +beast was rapidly being distance by the herd. + +At length the enormous moving mass appeared but as a cloud in the +distant horizon. Still, Crockett, his mind entirely absorbed in the +excitement of the chase, urged his weary steed on, until the +buffalos entirely disappeared from view in the distance. Crrickett +writes: + +"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 always 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 was completely +bewildered. I looked around, and there was, as far as the eye could +reach, spread before me a country apparently 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 compass to guide +me, and there was no other path than that which my mustang made. +Indeed, if I had found a beaten tract, 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 travelled 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." + +For several hours Crockett rode through these vast and lonely +solitudes, the Eden of nature, without meeting with the slightest +trace of a human being. Evening was approaching, still, calm, and +bright. The most singular and even oppressive silence prevailed, for +neither voice of bird nor insect was to be heard. Crockett began to +feel very uneasy. The fact that he was lost himself did not trouble +him much, but he felt anxious for his simple-minded, good-natured +friend, the juggler, who was left entirely alone and quite unable to +take care of himself under such circumstances. + +As he rode along, much disturbed by these unpleasant reflections, +another novelty, characteristic of the Great West, arrested his +attention and elicited his admiration. He was just emerging from a +very lovely grove, carpeted with grass, which grew thick and green +beneath the leafy canopy which overarched it. There was not a +particle of underbrush to obstruct one's movement through this +natural park. Just beyond the grove there was another expanse of +treeless prairie, so rich, so beautiful, so brilliant with flowers, +that even Colonel Crockett, all unaccustomed as he was to the +devotional mood, reined in his horse, and gazing entranced upon the +landscape, exclaimed: + +"O God, what a world of beauty hast thou made for man! And yet how +poorly does he requite thee for it! He does not even repay thee with +gratitude." + +The attractiveness of the scene was enhanced by a drove of more than +a hundred wild horses, really beautiful animals, quietly pasturing. +It seemed impossible but that the hand of man must have been +employed in embellishing this fair creation. It was all God's work. +"When I looked around and fully realized it all," writes Crockett, +"I thought of the clergyman who had preached to me in the wilds of +Arkansas." + +Colonel Crockett rode out upon the prairie. The horses no sooner +espied him than, excited, but not alarmed, the whole drove, with +neighings, aud tails uplifted like banners, commenced coursing +around him in an extended circle, which gradually became smaller and +smaller, until they came in close contact; and the Colonel, not a +little alarmed, found himself completely surrounded, and apparently +the prisoner of these powerful steeds. + +The little mustang upon which the Colonel was mounted seemed very +happy in its new companionship. It turned its head to one side, and +then to the other, and pranced and neighed, playfully biting at the +mane of one horse, rubbing his nose against that of another, and in +joyous gambols kicking up its heels. The Colonel was anxious to get +out of the mess. But his little mustang was not at all disposed to +move in that direction; neither did the other horses seem disposed +to acquiesce in such a plan. + +Crockett's heels were armed with very formidable Spanish spurs, with +prongs sharp and long. The hunter writes: + +"To escape from the annoyance, I beat the devil's 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 mane streaming. My little critter, who was both blood and +bottom, seemed delighted at being at the head of the heap; and +having once fairly got 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, clatter, 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 some time, 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 in the 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 long. The wild steed of the prairie soon +outstripped the heavily burdened mustang, and shooting ahead, kicked +up his heels as in derision. The rest of the herd followed, in the +same disrespectful manner. Crockett jogged quietly on in the rear, +glad to be rid of such troublesome and dangerous companions. The +horses soon reached a stream, which Crockett afterward learned was +called the Navasola River. The whole herd, following an adventurous +leader, rushed pell-mell into the stream and swam to the other side. +It was a beautiful sight to behold these splendid animals, in such a +dense throng, crossing the stream, and then, refreshed by their +bath, sweeping like a whirlwind over the plain beyond. + +Crockett's exhausted pony could go no further. He fairly threw +himself upon the ground as if in despair. Crockett took from the +exhausted animal the saddle, and left the poor creature to roll upon +the grass and graze at pleasure. He thought it not possible that the +mustang could wander to any considerable distance. Indeed, he fully +expected to find the utterly exhausted beast, who could no longer +stand upon his legs, dead before morning. + +Night was fast closing around him. He began to look around for +shelter. There was a large tree blown down by the side of the +stream, its top branching out very thick and bushy. Crockett thought +that with his knife, in the midst of that dense foliage with its +interlacing branches, he could make himself a snug arbor, where, +wrapped in his blanket, he could enjoy refreshing sleep. He +approached the tree, and began to work among the almost impervious +branches, when he heard a low growl, which he says he interpreted to +mean, "Stranger, these apartments are already taken." + +Looking about to see what kind of an animal he had disturbed, and +whose displeasure he had manifestly encountered, he saw the +brilliant eyes glaring through the leaves of a large Mexican cougar, +sometimes called the panther or American lion. This animal, endowed +with marvellous agility and strength, will pounce from his lair on a +deer, and even a buffalo, and easily with tooth and claw tear him to +pieces. + +"He was not more than five or six paces from me," writes Crockett, +"and was eying me as an epicure surveys the table before he selects +his dish, I have no doubt the cougar looked upon me as the subject +of a future supper. Rays 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." + +The conflict which ensued cannot be more graphically described than +in Crocket's own words: + +"One glance satisfied me that there was no time to be lost. There +was no retreat either for me or the cougar. So I levelled my Betsey +and blazed away. The report was followed by a furious growl, and the +next moment, when I expected to find the tarnal critter struggling +with death, I beheld him shaking his head, as if nothing 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 tearing 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 retreated three steps before he sprang at me +like a steamboat; 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 to close quarters before the fight would be over. This +time he succeeded in fastening on my left arm, and was just +beginning to amuse himself by tearing the flesh off with 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 become 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 towards my face; I grasped his tail with my +left hand, and tickled his ribs with my haunting-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 presented a fair mark for my hunting-knife. +Without 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." + +Crockett, breathless and bleeding, but signally a victor, took quiet +possession of the treetop, the conquest of which he had so valiantly +achieved. He parted some of the branches, cut away others, and +intertwining the softer twigs, something like a bird's nest, made +for himself a very comfortable bed. There was an abundance of moss, +dry, pliant, and crispy, hanging in festoons from the trees. This, +spread in thick folds over his litter, made as luxuriant a mattress +as one could desire. His horse-blanket being laid down upon this, +the weary traveller, with serene skies above him and a gentle breeze +breathing through his bower, had no cause to envy the occupant of +the most luxurious chamber wealth can furnish. + +He speedily prepared for himself a frugal supper, carried his saddle +into the treetop, and, though oppressed with anxiety in view of the +prospect before him, fell asleep, and in blissful unconsciousness +the hours passed away until the sun was rising in the morning. Upon +awaking, he felt very stiff and sore from the wounds he had received +in his conflict with the cougar. Looking over the bank, he saw the +dead body of the cougar lying there, and felt that he had much cause +of gratitude that he had escaped so great a danger. + +He then began to look around for his horse. But the animal was +nowhere to be seen. He ascended one of the gentle swells of land, +whence he could look far and wide over the unobstructed prairie. To +his surprise, and not a little to his costernation, the animal had +disappeared, "without leaving trace of hair or hide." At first he +thought the mustang must have been devoured by wolves or some other +beasts of prey. But then it was manifest they could not have eaten +his bones, and something would have remained to indicate the fate of +the poor creature. While thus perplexed, Crockett reflected sadly +that he was lost, alone and on foot, on the boundless prairie. He +was, however, too much accustomed to scenes of the wildest adventure +to allow himself to be much cast down. His appetite was not +disturbed, and he began to feel the cravings of hunger. + +He took his rifle and stepped out in search of his breakfast. He had +gone but a short distance ere he saw a large flock of wild geese, on +the bank of the river. Selecting a large fat gander, he shot him, +soon stripped him of his feathers, built a fire, ran a stick through +the goose for a spit, and then, supporting it on two sticks with +prongs, roasted his savory viand in the most approved style. He had +a little tin cup with him, and a paper of ground coffee, with which +he made a cup of that most refreshing beverage. Thus he breakfasted +sumptuously. + +He was just preparing to depart, with his saddle upon his shoulder, +much perplexed as to the course he should pursue, when he was again +alarmed by one of those wild scenes ever occurring in the West. +First faintly, then louder and louder came the sound as of the +trampling of many horses on the full gallop. His first thought was +that another enormous herd of buffaloes was sweeping down upon him. +But soon he saw, in the distance, a band of about fifty Comanche +Indians, well mounted, painted, plumed, and bannered, the horse and +rider apparently one animal, coming down upon him, their horses +being urged to the utmost speed. It was a sublime and yet an +appalling spectacle, as this band of half-naked savages, their +spears glittering in the morning sun, and their long hair streaming +behind, came rushing on. + +Crockett was standing in full view upon the banks of the stream. The +column swept on, and, with military precision, as it approached, +divided into two semicircles, and in an instant the two ends of the +circle reached the river, and Crockett was surrounded. Three of the +savages performed the part of trumpeters, and with wonderful +resemblance, from their lips, emitted the pealing notes of the +bugle. Almost by instinct he grasped his rifle, but a flash of +thought taught him that, under the circumstances, any attempt at +resistance would be worse than unavailing. + +The chief sprang from his horse, and advancing with proud strides +toward Crockett, was struck with admiration at sight of his +magnificent rifle. Such a weapon, with such rich ornamentation, had +never before been seen on the prairies. The eagerness with which the +savage regarded the gun led Crockett to apprehend that he intended +to appropriate it to himself. + +The Comanches, though a very warlike tribe, had held much +intercourse with the Americans, and friendly relations then existed +between them and our Government. Crockett, addressing the chief, +said: + +"Is your nation at war with the Americans?" + +"No," was the reply; "they are our friends." + +"And where," Crockett added, "do your get your spear-heads, your +rifles, your blankets, and your knives?" + +"We get them from our friends the Americans," the chief replied. + +"Well," said Crockett, "do you think that if you were passing +through their country, as I am passing through yours, they would +attempt to rob you of your property?" + +"No," answered the savage; "they would feed me and protect me. And +the Comanche will do the same by his white brother." + +Crockett then inquired of the chief what had guided him and his +party to the spot where they had found him? The chief said that they +were at a great distance, but had seen the smoke from his fire, and +had come to ascertain the cause of it. + +"He inquired," writes Crockett, "what had brought me there alone. I +told him 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 this the chief gave a low chuckling laugh, and +said that 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." + +The savages speedily discovered the dead body of the cougar, and +commenced skinning him. They were greatly surprised on seeing the +number of the stabs, and inquired into the cause. When Crockett +explained to them the conflict, the proof of which was manifest in +his own lacerated skin, and in the wounds inflicted upon the cougar, +they were greatly impressed with the valor he had displayed. The +chief exclaimed several times. in tones of commingled admiration and +astonishment, "Brave hunter! brave man!" He also expressed the +earnest wish that Crockett would consent to be adopted as a son of +the tribe. But this offer was respectfully declined. + +This friendly chief kindly consented to escort Crockett as far as +the Colorado River. Crockett put his saddle on a fresh horse, and +having mounted, the chief, with Crockett at his side, took the lead, +and off the whole band went, scouring over the pathless prairie at a +rapid speed. Several of the band were squaws. They were the +trumpeters. They made the prairie echo with their bugle-blasts, or, +as Crockett irreverently, but perhaps more correctly says, "The old +squaws, at the head of the troop, were braying like young jackasses +the whole way." + +After thus riding over the green and treeless expanse for about +three hours, they came upon a drove of wild horses, quietly +pasturing on the rich herbage. One of the Indians immediately +prepared his lasso, and darted out toward the herd to make a +capture. The horses did not seem to be alarmed by his approach, but +when he got pretty nigh them they began to circle around him, +keeping at a cautious distance, with their heads elevated and with +loud neighings. They then, following the leadership of a splendid +stallion, set off on a brisk canter, and soon disappeared beyond the +undulations of the prairie. + +One of the mustangs remained quietly grazing. The Indian rode to +within a few yards of him, and very skilfully threw his lasso. The +mustang seemed to be upon the watch, for he adroitly dodged his head +between his forefeet and thus escaped the fatal noose. The Indian +rode up to him, and the horse patiently submitted to be bridled and +thus secured. + +"When I approached," writes Crockett," 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 sheepish, 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 any effort to escape. He +told me that they were generally hurled to the ground with such +violence, when first taken with the lasso, that they remembered it +ever after; and that the sight of the lasso will subdue them to +submission, though they may have run wild for years." + +All the day long, Crockett, with his convoy of friendly savages, +travelled over the beautiful prairie. Toward evening they came +across a drove of fat buffaloes grazing in the richest of earthly +pastures. It was a beautiful sight to witness the skill with which +the Indians pursued and hunted down the noble game. Crockett was +quite charmed with the spectacle. It is said that the Comanche +Indians are the finest horsemen in the world. Always wandering about +over the boundless prairies, where wild horses are found in +countless numbers, they are ever on horseback, men, women, and +children. Even infants, almost in their earliest years, are taught +to cling to the mane of the horse. Thus the Comanche obtains the +absolute control of the animal; and when scouring over the plain, +bareheaded and with scanty dress, the horse and rider seem veritably +like one person. + +The Comanches were armed only with bows and arrows. The herd early +took fright, and fled with such speed that the somewhat exhausted +horses of the Comanches could not get within arrow-shot of them. +Crockett, however, being well mounted and unsurpassed by any Indian +in the arts of hunting, selected a fat young heifer, which he knew +would furnish tender steaks, and with his deadly bullet struck it +down. This was the only beef that was killed. All the rest of the +herd escaped. + +The Indians gathered around the slain animal for their feast. With +their sharp knives the heifer was soon skinned and cut up into +savory steaks and roasting-pieces. Two or three fires were built. +The horses were hobbled and turned loose to graze. Every one of the +Indians selected his own portion, and all were soon merrily and even +affectionately engaged in this picnic feast, beneath skies which +Italy never rivalled, and surrounded with the loveliness of a park +surpassing the highest creations of art in London, Paris, or New +York. + +The Indians were quite delighted with their guest. He told them +stories of his wild hunting excursions, and of his encounters with +panthers and bears. They were charmed by his narratives, and they +sat eager listeners until late into the night, beneath the stars and +around the glowing camp-fires. Then, wrapped in their blankets, they +threw themselves down on the thick green grass and slept. Such are +the joys of peace and friendship. + +They resumed their journey in the morning, and pressed along, with +nothing of special interest occurring until they reached the +Colorado River. As they were following down this stream, to strike +the road which leads to Bexar, they saw in the distance a single +column of smoke ascending the clear sky. Hastening toward it, they +found that it rose from the centre of a small grove near the river. +When within a few hundred yards the warriors extended their line, so +as nearly to encircle the grove, while the chief and Crockett +advanced cautiously to reconnoitre. To their surprise they saw a +solitary man seated upon the ground near the fire, so entirely +absorbed in some occupation that he did not observe their approach. + +In a moment, Crockett, much to his joy, perceived that it was his +lost friend the juggler. He was all engaged in practising his game +of thimbles on the crown of his hat. Crockett was now restored to +his companion, and was near the plain road to Bexar. In describing +this scene and the departure of his kind Indian friends, the hunter +writes: + +"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 greater degree what may be called true +spontaneous politeness than this Comanche 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, that I mightn't be ashamed to +fill as much as I wanted. That was what I call doing the fair +thing." + +The poor juggler was quite overjoyed in meeting his friend again, +whom he evidently regarded with much reverence. He said that he was +very much alarmed when he found himself alone on the pathless +prairie. After waiting two hours in much anxiety, he mounted his +mustang, and was slowly retracing his steps, when he spied the +bee-hunter returning. He was laden with honey. They had then +journeyed on together to the present spot. The hunter had just gone +out in search of game. He soon returned with a plump turkey upon his +shoulders. They built their fire, and were joyously cooking their +supper, when the neighing of a horse near by startled them. Looking +up, they saw two men approaching on horseback. They proved to be the +old pirate and the young Indian with whom they had lodged a few +nights before. Upon being hailed they alighted, and politely +requested permission to join their party. This was gladly assented +to, as they were now entering a region desolated by the war between +the Texans and the Mexicans, and where many small bands of robbers +were wandering, ready to plunder any weaker party they might +encounter. + +The next morning they crossed the river and pushed on for the +fortress of Alamo. When within about twenty miles of San Antonio, +they beheld about fifteen mounted men, well armed, approaching them +at full speed. Crockett's party numbered five. They immediately +dismounted, made a rampart of their horses, and with the muzzles of +their rifles pointed toward the approaching foe, were prepared for +battle. + +It was a party of Mexicans. When within a few hundred yards they +reined in their horses, and the leader, advancing a little, called +out to them in Spanish to surrender. + +"We must have a brush with those blackguards," said the pirate. "Let +each one single out his man for the first fire. They are greater +fools than I take them for if they give us a chance for a second +shot. Colonel, just settle the business with 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. +The pirate replied, with a piratic oath, "Fire away." + +"And sure enough," writes Crockett, "they took his advice, for the +next minute we were saluted with a discharge of musketry, the report +of which was 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. We 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 approached. We hastily +mounted and commenced pursuit, 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 XIII. + +Conclusion. + +The Fortress of Alamo.--Colonel Bowie.--Bombardment of the +Fort.--Crockett's Journal.--Sharpshooting.--Fight outside of the +Fort.--Death of the Bee Hunter.--Kate of Nacogdoches.--Assault on +the Citadel.--Crockett a Prisoner.--His Death. + + + + + +The fortress of Alamo is just outside of the town of Bexar, on the +San Antonio River. The town is about one hundred and forty miles +from the coast, and contained, at that time, about twelve hundred +inhabitants. Nearly all were Mexicans, though there were a few +American families. In the year 1718, the Spanish Government had +established a military outpost here; and in the year 1721, a few +emigrants from Spain commenced a flourishing settlement at this +spot. Its site is beautiful, the air salubrious, the soil highly +fertile, and the water of crystal purity. + +The town of Bexar subsequently received the name of San Antonio. On +the tenth of December, 1835, the Texans captured the town and +citadel from the Mexicans. These Texan Rangers were rude men, who +had but little regard for the refinements or humanities of +civilization. When Crockett with his companions arrived, Colonel +Bowie, of Louisiana, one of the most desperate of Western +adventurers, was in the fortress. The celebrated bowie-knife was +named after this man. There was but a feeble garrison, and it was +threatened with an attack by an overwhelming force of Mexicans under +Santa Anna. Colonel Travis was in command. He was very glad to +receive even so small a reinforcement. The fame of Colonel Crockett, +as one of the bravest of men, had already reached his ears. + +"While we were conversing," writes Crockett, "Colonel Bowie had +occasion to draw his famous knife, 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 colic. He saw I was admiring it, and said he, 'Colonel, you +might tickle a fellow's ribs a long time with this little instrument +before you'd make make him laugh.'" + +According to Crockett's account, many shameful orgies took place in +the little garrison. They were evidently in considerable +trepidation, for a large force was gathering against them, and they +could not look for any considerable reinforcements from any quarter. +Rumors were continually reaching them of the formidable preparations +Santa Anna was making to attack the place. Scouts ere long brought +in the tidings that Santa Anna, President of the Mexican Republic, +at the head of sixteen hundred soldiers, and accompanied by several +of his ablest generals, was within six miles of Bexar. It was said +that he was doing everything in his power to enlist the warlike +Comanches in his favor, but that they remained faithful in their +friendship to the United States. + +Early in the month of February, 1836, the army of Santa Anna +appeared before the town, with infantry, artillery, and cavalry. +With military precision they approached, their banners waving, and +their bugle-notes bearing defiance to the feeble little garrison. +The Texan invaders, seeing that they would soon be surrounded, +abandoned the town to the enemy, and fled to the protection of the +citadel. They were but one hundred and fifty in number. Almost +without exception they were hardy adventurers, and the most fearless +and desperate of men. They had previously stored away in the +fortress all the provisions, arms, and ammunition, of which they +could avail themselves. Over the battlements they unfurled an +immense flag of thirteen stripes, and with a large white star of +five points, surrounded by the letters "Texas." As they raised their +flag, they gave three cheers, while with drums and trumpets they +hurled back their challenge to the foe. + +The Mexicans raised over the town a blood-red banner. It was their +significant intimation to the garrison that no quarter was be +expected. Santa Anna, having advantageously posted his troops, in +the afternoon sent a summons to Colonel Travis, demanding an +unconditional surrender, threatening, in case of refusal, to put +every man to the sword. The only reply Colonel Travis made was to +throw a cannon-shot into the town. The Mexicans then opened fire +from their batteries, but without doing much harm. + +In the night, Colonel Travis sent the old pirate on an express to +Colonel Fanning, who, with a small military force, was at Goliad, to +entreat him to come to his aid. Goliad was about four days' march +from Bexar. The next morning the Mexicans renewed their fire from a +battery about three hundred and fifty yards from the fort. A +three-ounce ball struck the juggler on the breast, inflicting a +painful but not a dangerous wound. + +Day after day this storm of war continued. The walls of the citadel +were strong, and the bombardment inflicted but little injury. The +sharpshooters within the fortress struck down many of the assailants +at great distances. + +"The bee-hunter," writes Crockett, "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 that it would be a waste of ammunition to attempt +it." Provisions were beginning to become scarce, and the citadel was +so surrounded that it was impossible for the garrison to cut its way +through the lines and escape. + +Under date of February 28th, Crockett writes in his Journal: + +"Last night our hunters brought in some corn, and had a brush with a +scout from the enemy beyond gunshot 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 invader, who is literally +engaged in a war of extermination 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 blooming paradise +into a howling wilderness. For just one fair crack at that rascal, +even at a hundred yards' distance, 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 remainder of +my life. + +"The scouts report that a settler by the name of Johnson, flying +with his wife and three little children, when they reached the +Colorado, left his family on the shore, and waded into the river to +see whether it would be safe to ford with his wagon. When about the +middle of the river he was seized by an alligator, and after a +struggle was dragged under the water, and perished. The helpless +woman and her babes were discovered, gazing in agony on the spot, by +other fugitives, 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 intervals throughout the +day, and all hands were kept up to their work." + +The next day he writes: "I had a little sport this morning before +breakfast. The enemy had planted a piece of ordnance within gunshot +of the fort during the night, and the first thing in the morning +they commenced a brisk cannonade, 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 the juggler, 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. My companion +handed me another gun, and I fixed him off in like manner. A fourth, +then a fifth seized the match, who both met with the same fate. Then +the whole party gave it up as a bad job, and hurried off to the +camp, leaving the cannon ready charged where they had planted it. I +came down, took my bitters, and went to breakfast." + +In the course of a week the Mexicans lost three hundred men. But +still reinforcements were continually arriving, so that their +numbers were on the rapid increase. The garrison no longer cherished +any hope of receiving aid from abroad. + +Under date of March 4th and 5th, 1836, we have the last lines which +Crockett ever penned. + +"March 4th. 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 +pirate, 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. Before we reached the spot the +Mexicans were close on the heels 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 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 continued about five minutes, a +detachment was seen issuing from the fort to our relief, and the +Mexicans scampered of, 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 without 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 anything. 'Nothing,' he replied, 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 came the steed, but hame never came he.' + +He spoke no more, and a few minutes after died. Poor Kate, who will +tell this to thee? + +The romantic bee-hunter had a sweetheart by the name of Kate in +Nacogdoches. She seems to have been a very affectionate and +religious girl. In parting, she had presented her lover with a +Bible, and in anguish of spirit had expressed her fears that he +would never return from his perilous enterprise. + +The next day, Crockett simply writes, "March 5th. Pop, pop, pop! +Bom, bom, bom! throughout the day. No time for memorandums now. Go +ahead! Liberty and Independence forever." + +Before daybreak on the 6th of March, the citadel of the Alamo was +assaulted by the whole Mexican army, then numbering about three +thousand men. Santa Anna in person commanded. The assailants swarmed +over the works and into the fortress. The battle was fought with the +utmost desperation until daylight. Six only of the Garrison then +remained alive. They were surrounded, and they surrendered. Colonel +Crockett was one. He at the time stood alone in an angle of the +fort, like a lion at bay. His eyes flashed fire, his shattered rifle +in his right hand, and in his left a gleaming bowie-knife streaming +with blood. His face was covered with blood flowing from a deep gash +across his forehead. About twenty Mexicans, dead and dying, were +lying at his feet. The juggler was also there dead. With one hand he +was clenching the hair of a dead Mexican, while with the other he +had driven his knife to the haft in the bosom of his foe. + +The Mexican General Castrillon, to whom the prisoners had +surrendered, wished to spare their lives. He led them to that part +of the fort where Santa Anna stood surrounded by his staff. As +Castrillon marched his prisoners into the presence of the President, +he said: + +"Sir, here are six prisoners I have taken alive. How shall I dispose +of them?" + +Santa Anna seemed much annoyed, and said, "Have I not told you +before how to dispose of them? Why do you bring them to me?" + +Immediately several Mexicans commenced plunging their swords into +the bosoms of the captives. Crockett, entirely unarmed, sprang, like +a tiger, at the throat of Santa Anna. But before he could reach him, +a dozen swords were sheathed in his heart, and he fell without a +word or a groan. But there still remained upon his brow the frown of +indignation, and his lip was curled with a smile of defiance and +scorn. + +And thus was terminated the earthly life of this extraordinary man. +In this narrative it has been the object of the writer faithfully to +record the influences under which Colonel Crockett was reared, and +the incidents of his wild and wondrous life, leaving it with the +reader to form his own estimate of the character which these +exploits indicate. David Crockett has gone to the tribunal of his +God, there to be judged for all the deeds done in the body. +Beautifully and consolingly the Psalmist has written: + +"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them +that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are +dust." + +THE END + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of David Crockett: His Life and Adventures +by John S. C. 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