The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1869-06-25
BIOGRAPHICAL.
Life and Times of VIM. Il. Stokes
From the Louisville Courler.Journal.

/
cedar knobs OF DeKalb county, Ten
nosJee, possessed certain local fame
very much out of proportion to its geo
graphical situation. Bailie Pcyton used
to send some bloodcd horses to Liberty,
and there were every now and then n
| fight and ioot-racc, which made lcal
of noise aud sport and not unrrequentlv
decided the fate OF closely contested
elections. The rude, copperas-b -brceches
Democracy of Cannon, Warren, and
| Coffee counties repaired to Liberty to
meet the Cld.lin9 Wings of Smith and
1 wilson. and thcy seldom parted com
! pGny without an Interchange Of sub
! Stantial tokens of mutual recognition.
There was an old tavern and a grocery,
and hard by mill and distillery,
which. added to the obscurity OF the
place and the ruggedness of the conn-
| try, gained not only for Liberty race
course but for Liberty camp ground as
| well, great honor and favor in sporting
and religious circles. In short, like the
well in the ballad, it was
a jolly place in days Of old;"
and what with quarter races and boz
ing-matches in the spring, preluditory
to the spring fights. and log-rolings
and corn-shuckings in the summer, and
camp-mectings and rcvivcls in the fall.
it kept brisk and lively al! the year
round, and had been any time since
Old Hickory plucked Dickinson and
John Bell beat Felix Grundy for Con-
gress. This latter event may be taken as
the elimination of its glory; bnt it was
a sort ofbordcr line and rendezvous be-
tween the lowands and highlands of
Middle Tennessee for many years.
or these things however, barring the
light they may throw upon the locality
which gave start in life to the subject
of this biography, it is not the purpose
Of the present writing to speak in de-
tail. They belong to history, and are
to be found in Ramsey and in Parton.
That which is intended to be recorded
here is traditional, but may be faithful
ly trusted as part of the hitherto un-
written story of the Southwest. The
early days OF Liberty we pass by. The
day of days TO our chronicle was q day
of the spring Of 1885.
There was a quarter race at Liberty
Two or three neighborhood horses were
entered. a crowd of people was as
sembled. Whisky flowed freely and
betting became animated. Presently
just before the entries were closcd--a
man and q horse are seen approaching
the spot down the Alexandria road
y man and horse is Il loose express
sion, designed to indicate that the new
comrrs were not any worse though
they might have been something better !:
for both were sight to see. The man
wore a coon-skin cap, check shirt and
pair Of jeans breeches stuffed into
blue lcgginS. His head was bandngcd
with yellow bandanna. His hair was
unkcmpt. But the horse? The horse
was stalwart enough and not lily made,
but, like the ride, uncurried and un-
kcmpt, muddy, awkward and partly
lame. Thus the two, amid shouts OF
wonder and derision, entered the ring,
demanding a fair show a quarrel
and very nearly fight cnsucd, the
knight of the coOn-skin cap, like the
knight in the legend, claiming the
privileges of the course. The claim
was first ridiculed and then refused ::
but our hero was moi to be put down.
Soon the company broke into parties
pro and con, and thus half the day was
spent in wrangling. The matter was
finally settled by allowing the entry :;
and so the race began. Betting ran
high, and strange to say the country
horse had number of hackers. To
make long story short, the whole
thing was trick. The strange horse
was purposely disfigured he had been
taught to "walk lame" "A dozen or
more of those present We're in the Sc
cret. The result of the running was
startling to outsiders, OF course
but a large amount of money changed
hands, the mysterious knight of the
coon-skin cap pocketing his share and
observing as he rode away over the
bridge that that was pretty good haul
and would enable him to study diyini-
ty, to which he had previously eXpc-
rienced Il call he was too poor 10 graft
fy, in peace and comfort.
Tho man was Stokes; and this was
the first of series of public appear
ances which have been equally uneX-
pccted and groteSque.
I'd do him justice, he did not lack n
certain energy and ambition, as the
foregoing proves him possessed of Il
certain cunning and assurance. He
was never admitted into the ministry !;
but he ''wagged his pow in a pulpit
He preached for nearly year, and was
n distinguished ack-jack revivalist,
having. like Bottom the Weaver, "a
great voice." Ii was he who, in the
midst of a thrilling exhortation at Billy
kcelc's meeting-house, paused and
cried out, "sOmc o you idle, triiling,
no-account, vagabond boys, fetch in
some more straw and then raising his
voice to its highest and most thrilling
pitch added, "Straw! Straw. For the
sake O. the Lord, straw! Thore'll be
souls lost this night for the want of
straw" He meant that the mourners
were suffering, and that unless they
were made comfortable the work of
grace could not 90 on. lie was success
iul as ali cXhortcr; and being a hog
drovcr and mule-driver as well. he eX-
tended the sphere of his fame and in
flucnce to Alabama, where he Journey
ed once year. He grew rich amain
But after all he wearied Of the monoto-
ny of religion. He pincd for politics.
1t must be good thing he thought
certainly better than driving hogs and
trading mules and revivals-and so he
set up for o statesman at Alexandria,
near the scene of his exploit as a Jockey.