Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-12-01
--OLD TIMES
he Spins Another KarB-Geiting hHes
sAuId Lang Nync--A Prayer GauEe
in Old Times.

AlN AAaaA ANM AAhAAAa 4 NAAAAR " a.
older than I am, but perhaps he will not
acknowledge that; he is certainly an
older resident. better educated, and had
far better opportunities Of observing the
passing events Of early days on this
bluff than | had; and yet a beggarly
half column four or five times a year Is
all that can be gotten out Of him. Per-
haps he is waiting until / am exhaust
: ed, and then will flood you with matter
rich, rare and peculiar. If so, he may
commence Immediately, for / have
done. The only pity is that / did not
stop some time ago. But, strange 70
saw, he has the assurance 70 ask me TO
tell one of his own stories for him.
. Now. as an evidence that ] did not go
into bad company in my young days, /
can say positively, that l was not pres
ent when the barrel ofapples was pray
ed for, though / believe / did eat some
of the APPLES. and if l I'm not mistaken,
he was the maj that gave them to me
and told me the whole story afterward,
and which / will endeavor to tell you II
as few words as possible.
APRAYER GAUGE IN OLD TIMES.
Parson Smith, as "Lang Syne' calls
him, was what was then known as a
F1at-boat Preacher, one OF a class VINO
had the faculty of leaving their ~
behind whenever they took 70 wa
ter and reassumed it on returning 10
shore. At that time Memphis, and in
fact, all the lower country was IN a
measure dependent on hat-boats for sup
plies. and al some seasons of the year
their visits were rather ~unfrequent,
and suffering was to some extent
the consequence. Such was the case
on one occasion when our people
were delighted to see q fatboat
rowing into our landing, which vas
then where the upper part Of the navy
ward is now, and soon quite a number
were on her deck, among them
Parsons COfley and Smith. The latter
in order to introduce himself to the boat
men as one OF their sort, gave them
some choice specimens of fatbGat Oaths,
whereupOn Cofiey undertook to reprove
him. "Mr. Smith" said he, advancing
to that individual, "yOu profess TO be q
Christian; you are a praying man" he
added, with a stern look. YES" shouted
Smith, land / can beat you praying any
day. 'rTut, tut said Cottey, as though
that were out Of the question. After
some sparring, made up Of oaths and
offers to bet on the part Of Smith, and
indignant SCOTS on the part OF Cofiey,
the citizens present divided and TOOK
sides, some insisting that the rep
utation of our town was at stake,
for they refused to recognize Smith as a
citizen, and that COffey must by all
means stand up to him. The matter
was soon arranged, and a barrel Of apples
staked on the result. smith led of, and,
il was said, made a bully effort in the
ordinary way. eheered on by his side.
When itcame Cohrey's turn, who, to do
him Justice, tried 10 getout of the scrape,
but such men as Gus. Young, Major
Hickman, Green Davis, Todd Collins,
and others that were were there, in
GLIDING our friend, could have made
him put his head into the fire if they
had said 50, finding there was no alter
native, he pitched in and showed more
wit and humOr than he yer before was
deemed capable Of. He devoted the
whole Of his prayer to Smith, whom be
represented as the most unmitigated
scamp, rascal and sinner generally, on
earth, urging at the same time that
he was not au accountable being that
be was so constituted as TO be
wholly incapable Of any moral, honora-
bic or decent department, too contempt
ible to attract the notice OF a human,
much less of 8 Divine being. But 1t ap-
peared that Smith had more spirit than
he was supposed to have, and while all
others were bursting with laughter, he
sprang suddenly forward, struck Cofey
in the breast, and knocked him heels
over stomach into the river, not, how
ever, without being caught by the arm,
jerked along, and 50 the pair went under
together. \ spontaneous yell greeted
this event. which, however, was OF short
duration, as the parties remained under
water longer than human purpose would
seem 10 warrant. They did come to the
when poles were handed them,
after which they adjourned, and laugh
ter was resumed and continued for sew
aral minutes, during which the poor
were shivering with cold,
and begging for relief. Cotley was then
taken out, but Smith was told that In
consequence of his dastardly conduct he
was TO be left where he was. Some OF
the more feeling soon after helped him
along the side Of the boat until he could
touch bottom, when he clambered up
the bank and made of, and o quit
the place. COfley was decided the victor
unanimously. A fine lot of apples and
presents We're given him, and he
went home rejoicing. 1t proved TO be
the most popular thing that Cotfey ever
did. They were mighty fine apples
LANG Svne," the first we had had for a
month. But, old fellow, you must tell
your own tales hereafter, and not De
drawing on me; il amt fair.
As for old Harry Lawrence, L knew
Of course, that he was a grand old rascal,
but as he had been dead thirty years,
not think it necessary to tell H.
HEZEKIAH COBB.
1t may be questionable whether lau
of an individual through the
press on the occasion Of his death avail
ANYTHING to the memory of t~hedeceased.
II is not always the truly good who re
eeive the most laudatOry obituary
Hezekiah Cobb, who died not
very long ago. deserves from the old
of Memphis something more
than a passing notice. / was negervery
intimate with him, but can point out a
Of his peculiarities, and leave your
TO form their own estimates Of
MS worth. No man even did himself
and worked as hard as Hezekiah
Cobb, nor did any man do himself jus
ice and allow others to reap the fruits
his laboTs to the extent that he did.
He acted as if he thought it his
iuty to plant that Others might
cap. His trouble was in col
money, not in earning il,
and when he fell. in with hard cases,
which was very common, he abandoned
he debt rather than be bothered with its
I once heard of an old house
being pulled down for the purpose OF
a new one in its stead, the
same parties having been the original
builders. Calling on Mr.. Cobb for the
lumber lhe owned a saw mill,
be modestly declined furnishing it; and
On being questioned for his reason, re-
)lied that they had never yet paid him
or the lumber in the old building.
Two men went one to purchase q
arge lot Of lumber from him. Having
made the necessary agreement and
eft him to measure the lumber, one
# the partners who did not know Mr..
JODb, suggested to the other that il
night be better to get some n not in
TO measure the lumber, as theold
nan might cheat. YES" said the
,ther, che will be certain to cheat, but
( will be to cheat himself. NOone,n be
continued, chat ever knew Hezekiah
jObb, would suspect him Of cheating
else.'
He was always hard run, in conse-
.uence Of the difficulty Of collecting,
Until he took Cezario Bias i'm partner
hip, when, although he worked no {
and had to divide the proceeds, {
Bias in 8 few years time handed him I
.ver some forty thousand dollars. He !
vas induced TO 20 into a steamboat !
p~eculation, and bought or built the I
Monarch, which by bad man. {
cement never cleared expenses on aBy
she ever made. After sinking all |
had and sinking him deeper in debt, (
he finally sunk herself, which was the I
thing the steamer eve did for the
From that day until his death
Ie knew nothing but hard work and
errible pecunisry difficulties.
HIS GOOD DEEDS. I
Hezekiah Cobb was the first mar that :
rected a steam-engine on this bluff. :
lie built the first saw-mill and sawed :
he first lumber. He had served longer
s Alderman than perhaps any other
nan ever did, and that too when
thanks, pay nor benefits accrued q
rom it, and l will venture to say, no
ne was more attentive or faithful in the +,
discharge Of public duties, and should {
1stice V be done the pioneers and
,~enefactors Of Memphis, the name Of
iezekiah Cobb will certainly occupy a
prominent position. OLD TIMES.
BLACK TRIMMING VELvETs from !
2 is upward, at B. Lowenstein & Bros +