The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1871-08-26
THE OLDEST INHABITANT.
"reminiscences of a Man One Hun
dred and Thirty-FOur Years Old.
From the Kansas City Journal. ]

From the Kansas City Journal
On Saturday evening last the old
est man in the State, if not the old
est man anywhere, died in Kansas
City. His name was Jacob Journals,
but known to everybody who knew
him at all as "Old Peno" (or Pinau).
Nobody knew his exact age, not
even himself, but he was known as
an old man when men now fourscore
we're children. He was a Canadian
Frenchman by birth, but for more
than half century was a hunter
and trapper in the employ of the fur
company, one of the French voya-
geurs, as they were called-most OF
that time with Major Andrew Dripps,
the father of Mr.. Charles A. Dripps,
and father-in-law of Mr.. William
Mulkey, at whose house he died,
and where he has been kindly and
afectionately cared for during the
last thirty years. He was never sick,
and only a few minutes before he
died was walking about the room.
He said to the family in the morn
ing that lie would "never see the
sun go down again. and just before
sunset the machine stopped, and the
old man was dead. He was buried
Yesterday in the Catholic burying
ground the funeral services beingcon
Quoted by the venerable clergyman
Father Donnelly, who had known
him for more than quarter century.
His age was entered on the census
roll last year as one hundred and
thirty-four years, which is as near,
from the best evidence, as itcould be
fixed. Sixteen years ago, when the
writer of this first knew him, his
health was vigorous and his faculties
strong and unilnpaired, and we took
great interest in talking with him,
and in various conversations, run
ming through many years, we were
satisfied as to the fact of his age
heino over one hundred and thirty
wears. His own memory is borne
ant by the testimony Of others. His
recollection Of important events was
yery good, and, as he was an litter
ate man, his memory held to isolated
occurrences, not of history as OBJ
famed from reading books.
This, while it made the infsrn1a-
tion fragmentary and unsatisfactory
as to the history of that early period
of his life, yet afforded the best
evidence as to his great age. He
said he was working in the woods On
niece Of land he had bought for
himself near Quebec, when Wolfe
was killed in the heights of Abra7
ham. This was September IA, 1859,
and from what he told OF his life
previous to that, must then have
been over twenty one years OF age:
Thinking he might have confounded
Wolfe with Montgomery-ll1o-We
questioned him fully, but his recol-
lection of names and incidents was
too distinct to leave any doubt, and
the same account had been given to
others long before we saw him: An.
other event which he remembered
well, and which he seemed always to
look upon as good joke, was that
during the occupation of New Or
leans by General Jackson--1S14-15--
he had been refused enlistment be-
cause he was too Old" The old man
often told this with great glee. He lie
must then have been about eighty
years old.
Thus taking everything into con
sideration, and we have been careful
ever since we knew him to get all the
facts about him we c0u1d-fronl
Major Drspps, the Chouteau family,
jim Bridger, Tim Goodale, Bent,
Jim Beckworth, and other old mount
aineers-we put his age at one hun
dred and thirty four years. He went
| from Canada to where Pittsbnrg now
| is, thence down the Ohio in keel
boats, and was in New Orleans, it
seems, in 1914. Before this, however,
| he accompanied the expedition OF
Lewis and Clark in their explora-
tiong of the Missouri, and the dis
covery of Columbia river, in l004-7.
His experience during that trip max
| ING him a valuable man to the fur
company, he was afterward EN-
ployed, as we. have stated, until
thirty years ago. Being chen worn
out. and too old for active service,
he came here to spend the evening
Of his life with the family of the man
he had SO faithfully served for 50
MANY years-a long evening it prov
ed to be. For the past seven or eight
wears the old mans recollection OF
faces was often at fault, but his
| memory of events and incidents
seems as strong as ever--like pictures
in his mind-and this retention OF
| occurrences was the great help in
determining his age. The last thirty
wears of his life were passed in quiet
/ and comfort. He preferred living by
himself, and always had his own
house, where he kept his pipe and
tobacco pouch, and such things as
were articles of comfort to him.
| mostly such as he had from his resi-
dence with the Indians mot forget
l.ting his rosary and a few religious
pictures which hung above his
.lbed. He was very neat in his person
clothes and housek9 9eping, and up e
Tthe dav Of his death attended il
| summer to his tobacco plants ane
Icabbages. One of his great desires