Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-09-13
THE OLD l.
Annual Grand Barbecue and
FestivaI-A Very Large and
Pleasant Gathering.
All the Old Resident Families
Represented-The Ladies
Present In Large
Numbers.
Speeches Of President Mclean,
Mr.. w. b. WaIdran and Colonel
Robert f. LOOney.
An Old Fashioned Time-Dance
in the HalI-AltOgether q
Very Enjoyable Affair.

Very Enjoyable Affair.
The annual barbecue OF the "Old Folks,
which came of yesterday at the FAR Grouhos
was one OF the grandest events OF the season
The members OF the society were out IN ful
force with their venerable and hlghly, re
spected President, Charles d. Mclean, AT incl
head. since the last annual festival seNefa
old citizens, who were prominent IN me OF
/ ganization, have passed away never mort y
return; but still the number OF male, nearly
] vet gray-headed sires. was quite large, al'
they friSKed about like youths OF twenty, CIV
ing one and all of their guests a cordial recep
ton and a glorious welcome. "Ihe chlcken
pie " band, as usual, furnished stirring music
and as the day was cool, pleasant and dellght
ful, the young folks" and some OF the Oh
ones, enjoyed themselves danclng me en'At'
day, until the shades OF evening. began y
gather around, and the special train on Tn
Memphis and Charleston gave the sigma
whistle for +" homeward bound"
PRESIDENT MLEAN'S SPEECH.
Colonel Mclean. President Of the Old Folk
Association, called the assemblage 10 ordel
and addressed them as follows:
Ladies and gentlemen and members OF tbs
Did Folks Association: ,
Once more we are permitted by the good
ness OF the Almighty to assemble under GU
own vine and FIG tree; and although GU
country has been scourged by an unusua
I uI0uEuNa " AIE ~ AE1a A111k& WLAAA . 11-
shower, not only Of rain but upon this Occa
sion with the attendance of the usual assem-
blage Of fair cogntrywomen, whose very
presence even tnvigorates the "Old Folks,
This year our annualf festival occurs on the
anniversary Of the battle OF North and the
seige Of Fort McHenry, near BaItimore, Dy
which our then enemy, the British army
were driven from our soil, and upon Whlch
occasion the ''Star Spangled Banner" was
composed by the late Franels ;. key, whlel
We claim as a national air, and which We nov
propose to reproduce through the Kindness OF
some of our fair ladies', not revised, but I'M,
proved by vocal inspiration. The ladies' VII
now honor US with their presence, when the
orator Of the day will be introduced
MR. WALDRAN'S SPEECH.
Mr.. w. B. waldran, the historical orator OF
| the day, was then introduced in a very telic-
itous speech by Colonel W. t. Avery. he
LADTFs AND GENrLEMEN-We lave cause
to be thankful that 50 many Of us are per
mittad TO come up to-day in health, TO attend
the annual festival OF the Old Folks.
occupy this stand contrary 10 my wishes,
but as excuses and apologies do not satisfy an
audience, 1 shall make none. l presume that
most Of YOU understand the object and aim OF
the chartered organization of Old FOLKS; that
it is the promotion OF union ana brotherhood,
the Advancement of the welfare of It's men,
bers, mutual relief, and the collection OF his
uOrical facts and Incidents.
In our meetings, no subject Is ever intro
duced or discussed OF a religious or political
character. No man isentitled to membership
who is not of good moral character, and for
twenty years a resident OF SneiDy county ;
while this limit gives US some young mem
bers. most OF US are wen stricken in years.
I do not proDOse to detain you with any long
set speech, but as this is an Old FOLK meet
ing, I shall give you a short, old-fashloned
talk, with the privilege of changing the sub
ject at will. II there are those here VINO ex-
pect me to give a connected history OF tle
/ early settlement of this country, they VIII be
disappointed.
In B25, forty-seven years ago, my father set
tied in this county, about ten miles northeast
of the village Of Memphis, upon government
land that had not been sectionized. After we
crossed the Tennessee river we saw but little
sign of civilization-very few settlers. The
whole country was heavily timbered. There
were no hostile Indians, but every other OBJ
stacle that the settlers Of a new country ever
had to contend with, was met with in the West
ern District OF Tennessee.
In 1857 the tide of immigration increased,
but a very large portion Of the new corners
treated, but were not able, and IL became with
most Of them a question Of lie and death
while they were unable to move away. They
had to subdue the forest and bring 1t into cul-
tivatiOn before they had the promise OF bread,
and you who think the cutting down of the
trees is bringing the land into cultivation
should follow a shovel-plOw, with a jumping
coulter through q roOty, new piece of ground
70 know what a virtue patience is. The kill
ing Of bear, deer and turkies saved many a
family from suffering; for all other supplies
they had TO draw on the Chickasaw Bluffs,
and to reach Memphis, only ten miles distant,
was no small job. Think for a moment. sur
rounded by an unbroken forest, no roads, no
bridges, no mills, no schoolhouses, no church.
There was but one wagon-road to Memphis,
and thai a poor one, though II was called the
| Great Alabama or state Line road.
Memphis was a small town in 1877, the year
the hTst newspaper was started mere what
town there was lay we'll up toward the mouth
OF Wolf river. The eleventh number OF the
first volume Of the Memphis AdUOcdte ana
1 Western DisfT1ct bteiitgenceT, was published
states: "a town has been laid OF by the own
ers OF the lands; they propose % sell the lots
on accommodating credits TO improvers. VIII
liam Lawrence and NJ. b. Winchester, are the
agents" 1t contains Congressional news OF
the Nineteenth Congress, and liberal extracts
Of foreign news from Liverpool and London,
which has Just been received by the steam
boat General Carroll, up to the seventeenth Of
January, only seventy days. The notes OF
Woods & Co., were par; United states bank
notes one per cent. premium, Among the ad-
vertisements we hnd the familiar names OF
| RO. Lawrence, Little henderson, Anderson IS.
Carr, Isaac Rawlings, NJ. B. Winchester, W.
d. Ferguson and +. A. & 7. Young.
The New Orleans Price Current, Of the seven
tenth OF March, 1877, shows cotton, Louisiana
and Mississippi, choiGe, l3alic; prime, lie;
second, &c inferior, Sc. Tennessee and North
Carolina, choice, &c; prime, We second, Sc;
The town OF Raleigh was laid out In 1877, and
the road TO SOmerville through Raleigh was
cut out; soon after which James Brown y Co.
started a line OF f~Our-hoTss pOst-c0aches. This
was "A greater epoch in our history than the
opening Of the Memphis and Charleston rail
road was.
In addition 70 the privations I have enu-
merated that the early settlers had TO contend
with, there were many Others. Almost every
one had the chills and fever; the whole cOun-
try was infested with mosquitoes, buffalo
gnats, and all manner Of flies and snakes, all
Of which have well-nigh passed away, some
umes near people conPl.iln u lns 4SN mos
quItoes we now have in the spring OF the year,
and / assure you they are a small and very
poor sample OF what the early settlers had to
contend with and that without mOsquito-bars
NpuT 1anfeg and Uentlpmpn- from my gOlUh-
GHI appearance you must know, that fOrty-
seven years ago l was but an unlettered boy
and not competent to keep a record, even if l
had had facilities. II did not occur to us that
we were " making history" or that anything
we did was worth recording. Our common
suffering made US WOndrOus Kind IL is re-
freshing to think Of the universal hospitality
OF those days Every mans house was a free
hotel TO the full extent OF his ability. They
q" we're careful 10 entertain strangers" \ man
would take his horse from the pillow, and ride
around to help a new conner select q home
They would walk miles 10 assist each other
raise a house or roll logs they were for years
"a lawiunto themselves" they were moral, so
Der. and Industrious there was no nghting or
stealing.
Ladies, l would not have you think that ali
the privations and hardships fell upon the
men, not So-the women OF that day bore their
full share, and the men were IS much in
debted TO the women for success as they were /
10 their own eEertions; and there was less 1
repining among the women than among the 1
men; and this we,always find the case; women
~ ACAG ~ /
and harder with difficulties than men
will; they never abandon a man or q cause,
because success Is doubtful. Mark with what
tenacity she clinGs 10 q prOfigate son or hus-
band; no odds how abandoned he may be, she
hopes on and works with him while there is
breath in his body. THIS Is q virtue man does
10 give you a faint idea Of the trials en-
dured by the women in the early history Of
this country, / Will state / have often seen
them walk miles to church and carry their
shoes and stockings in their hands,, and sit
down on a log just before reaching church
and put them on, and in ike manner, after
they started home, they would take of and
carry their shoes and stockings. This Is but
one item of the rigid economy II was neoes-
sary to practice in thai day..
These things may appear to some Of you ex-
traVagant. refer you 70 Brother Tom DAVID
son, who rode our circuit IN lozo-r and
preached In our economical chureAt Whlch
OF bush arbors." His circuit was
about thirty miles long, along q orlole-pathi
and often no pain, DuJ IhIonsn inc MOOas'
stu [ never heard Of him complaining OF
or getting 10 a house Or a camp but
what he was welcome, ~ wouIa ln,e ea yoa
day, and later, when the Jerks We're
very common at religious meetings. They
were connned 70 20 ssa " taarSs5 @ifbont nass
tice-it usually ran into dEnDiDg,. ! ave seen
q dozen Jerking or dancing at a time al q re-
ligious meeting: aoa m 1ssha aud i1 wagiS GstR
and throw themselves so Il would be necessary
Ia hold and guard them; they would jerk for
ward and backward until sometimes their
haIr would pop Z o caFriage-wh1p, ana
when they began 10 dance they closed their
ayes and uttered not o word,
After Raleigh was laid out and made tina
county site, the building OF II up and opening
the courts was termed and thought 10 be
progress in civilization. But with the sheriff, !
.aEveFs and courts came court cases, drink
lng-salooHs, drunken men, fighting, and all
manner Of evil ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; but, not
Wffhstanding this, Raleigh 1ouEished until the
4rasping propensity Of Memphis seized Gpa
All the courts; then Raleigh would
nave gone under, but for the timely discovery
Sd fhs health-giving property OF It's mineral
springs, Wbiab have now acquired such a rep
es TO promise soon 70 make 1t a Won
iegfui resort, 70 accommodate which a mar
-oW-Rauge railroad Is now being bnilts to con
meet Raleigh with Memphis.
I will not detain You by relating these tri-