The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1868-07-29
David Crockett
BY JAMES PARTON.

BY JAMES PARTON.
Few men have reached congress by
q stranger road than the eccentric in
dividual named at toe head of this ar
ticle. Some meD bave talked, Others
have fought themselves into congress
but David Cricket shot himself thither
1t was his wonderful skill as marks
man, ard his daring as bear hunter
which made him SO popular in his dis
trict, that when he choose to run for
office he distanced all competitors =
] He could shoot a humming bird on
the wing with a..single ball. Seated on
the margin of river, he would aim
at fish, and as soon as the crack of
his rifle was heard, one of the little
inmates of the stream would be seen
struggling on the surface. He used
TO speak of his battered old rifle like
this:
eShe's mighty rough old piece,
but l love her; for she and L have
seen hard times. She mighty seldom
tells me lie. If I hold her right
she always sends ball where L tell
her"
Shooting was not his only qualiica
ton. de had other gifts and graces
calculated to win the favor of frontier
population although it was his match
less skill with the rife that FIRST drew at
tention to him. He was an abundant
relator of ccm;c anecdotes, and an ut
terer of those ccertric remarks which
are passed from mouth to mouth, and
! form a large part of the common stock
! Of wit in country place. Forty or
! filty wears aco aim St every newspaper
! that appeared had story in it, in some
odd corner, in which the name of David
Crockett figured.
He was born in East Tennessee, in
rTS6, the Youngest but one Of the six
sons If J ohm Crockett. who by turns
was farmer miller and tavern keeper
/ This John Crockett was the son Of an
cmigrant from the north of Ireland,
who, after fighting with noted courage
through the Revolutionary war, settled
/ in East Tennessee. There he aud his
wife were murdered by the Greek In
dams one of their sons was wounded
and another was carried into captivity,
and remained a prisoner with the In
dams for seventeen years. John Crock
cit escaped, or W up, and IN due time
become the father of the famous David.
When the boy was seven years old his
/ father met with a misfortune which
reduced him to utter poverty. A
Ffreshet swept away new mill in which
he had Invested the savings Of life
time. It was carried off bodily, leav
| ing not wreck behind The unfort-
unate proprsetor then removed to an
other county and opened small tavern
not far from the present city OF Knox
Vile.
sit happened one evening, when
David was twelve years of age, that an
old Dutchman, a, drover, put up at his
fathers tavern, having with him q
drove of cattle To this Dutchman
John Crockett hired his boy, with the
understanding that he Yves to help
drive the cattle as far as Isichmend,
and then return. Away he went, and
was soon in high favor with the DUTCH
man, from whom he learned those
Dutch anecdotes and the Dutch brogue
4 which he afterwards employed with SO
much effect. He liked his master very
well, but after travelling for some weeks
! with the cattle, he became homesick
ran away, joined WAGNER bound for
East Tennessee, and so reached home
again. -~
The next winter his father sent him
to school for the first time in his life;
but before he had been at school week.
he had fight with one of the scholars,
in which he gained the victory, and
beat his antagonist so severely that he
dared not show himselfin school again
81 he played iruant for several days;
but discovering that lis father had
found him out, he thought it prudent
to beat retreat, and hired himself to
another drover who, was going 70
Virginia. Many were his adventures
! His employer, after i'll treating him in
various ways, turned him adrift hun,
dreds of miles from home with only
four dollars. Then he joined a wagon
er once more, and soon found himself
| at Baltimore, where, for the first time
in his life, he saw ship. ........
AS he stood on the dock, gazing at
the ship with open eyes and mouth, be-
wildered at the sight, one of the sailors
accosted him and asked him if he
would not like to go to Liverpool.
Forgetting his. engagement with the
WAGNER, he joyfuIly consented and
rushed off to. the wagon to get his
clothes, although ten minutes before he
did not know that there was such a
.hing as ship in the wcrld. The
wsgoner positively refused to let him
1so. Watching his chance, however,
The bundled up his clothes, and started
for the wharf; but it SO chanced that
! in turning g the corner of a crowded
street, he came full upon his master,
I who collared him and brought him
back. 7Ti0rC, -s.i '- JEaG. 49, ,4-r
4 Leaving his wagoner soon after, he
started, peuniiess to work his way
home. First he worked a while as a
1aborcr, and with the money thus earn