Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1873-04-23

es, and to this day he cannot recall,
without laughing. the funny appear
ance of-that fish, with his tail stieking
out Of the bug. Think Of man re-
calling such trifiing details OF his life
after lapse Of eighty years
CURIOUS CALCULATION.
Two such lives as LIE Baire's added
together would unite the landing of
the Mayflower Pilgrims with the es-
tabiishment of the Credit MOhilier
and the effiOresence of Hoax Ames.
Three such would take US back within
a generation of the discovery OF
America by Columbus; five would
link us with the Norman Conquest OF
England, and seventeen would ante
date the birth of Christ and the sub.
jugation of the Gauls by Julius
Cesar.
APPEARANCE OF THE CEETURIAN.
Sitting in the chair, this very old
tussler of Time appeared no more
than four feet high, though measur-
ing full six feet in his prime. He
was bent almost double. His blue
eyes, though not without lHsteF, had
q weak and watery expression. His
teeth were long since gone, and fiaky
silver hair remained only at the back
of his head. There is color in his
cheeks, but his neck had much of the
dried, yellow and sbrivelled appear
anee of q mummy. His legs looked
little larger than the legs OF the chair
on. which he sat, yet three years ago,
in his 18TH year, be managed to make
them carry him distance Of eight
miles. Two years ago he might have
been seen working in the woods cut
ting railroad ties aud about the same
time back he made 8 journey to
Stroudsburg to witness the execution
of the murderer Of Mr.. Brodhead, an
uncle of my companion. The people
at hejail refused to gratify the old
mans curiosity. "But don't you
think they might?' his daughter in
nocently asked me, "seeing he was so
old. Indeed" she continued, "they
might at least have let her father see
it, and think it was real unkind af-
ter he had went 50 far, and st his
age!"
HIS DESTRUCTIVE HABITS.
He could not recall the time when
he began to smoke and chew tobacco.
but 1t was certainly over q hundred
years ago. He has continued the
I habit ever since. 81 am afraid he
smokes too much, !" remarked hisfiiial
offspring, land am trying to break
him Of It," He has also taKeu stimu-
lents regularly, in the shape Of plain
native whisky; but he failed to re-
member that he over got drunk but
twice, the first occasion being the day
he went to Easton to see General
George Washington, and the second
when he left his old homestead at
Mount Bethel, six miles from here,
and started West with his father
eighty-five years ago.
To show the extraordinary stamina
of his family, she father, having lost
his hrst wife, took asecond when one
hundred years old, and lived 10 the
age Of one hundred and five.
GEORGES aRANDFATHER,
who died at an almost equally ad-
vanced age, came to this eonntry from
France about the year 1880. He was
Huguenot and man of great physi-
cal strengt, and proEess. George
says he remembers his grandfather
telling Of how he saw Louis XIV at
! Sevres, passing In bis guided coach
from Paris to Versailles.
TAKES A DRINK.
After we had been talking in sn in
different kind of way for some little
time the old man took driI from
the contents of the ginger beer bottle,
and remarked, with q smack Of his
lips, Is he put away the empty glass,
IL like that. Yes, yes" In ccnsid
Grafton Of his expressed preference for
the beverage, we made over TO him
the entire OF what remained, without
the smallest scruple OF conscience
that we were Fastening his existence
to h premature end.
"And you shook hands with Gen
eral Washington.?" / asked the old
man after his disposition to become
communicative evineed itself.
RECoLLEcTIoNs OF WASHINGTON.
"Yes, yes, he answered, and his
eyes Frightened with the recollection.
[" General Washington fought them
fthe British) at Trenton. He fought
them three days and made Ave hun
dred Hessians prisoners. Yes. yes"
Here he paused to refresh his memo
~. 7" A good many Hessians were
brought to Eas.on, and when they
were liberated they settled north OF
the mountains. Some Of them their
children, he meantl Is here still.n
+" Was it about that time you saw
Washington
Yes, yes
TTo,I-'' ia ,,,.-o ,,o,, fban9u
was young man. suppose
about nineteen or twenty. L went
down from Mount Bethel with Sam
Vancampen and George Shoemaker.
We Stopped at the Oakes Tavern
There was only about ten or q dozen
houses in Easton at the time. Gen
eral Washington came up to the tav-
ern and shook hands with all the
boys. He shook hands with me hrst,
because was the first to 20 up and
tell him I'd hold his horse but he
told me never mind, that niger
servant on a black horse as black as
himself would do thct. And while
he was q holdinr on 10 the Generals
horse the boys got abont him. and
made fun of him. General Wash
inRton went into the Oakes and had
somethin' to eat and drink. he wore
a Waller breeches and long boots and
only one spur. o! he was q fine man.
He took of his coat, and Vancampen
took it into the kitchen to dry. His
boots was wet from the snOv, and his
pistols was wet too"
F" How Is il that you did not join
the American army
q Nv father was Tory, and they
called me Tory, and one fellow In
Easton drew q pistol to shoot me, and
| got mad and l swOre / would not
fight with 'em-but 1 never fought
agin 'em."
HE SKIES LAFAYETTE.
Did you ever meet General Lafay-
ette?n
3" Yes; oh, yes. He was . great
man. He brought over FreDehmen.
He fout well y
Where did you meet him?n
1.-Two or three years after saw
General Washington. he was pointed
out to me at Dillis Ferry, below the
Water Gap. He had a grand sword,
and everybody was looking at him.
He got his horse shod sharp. There
was ice on the ground, and be walked
lame as IL he got a fsll. BE spoke
French and English, and you could
not tell which from the other. o. be
was = fine man, yes. / remember
we'll General Sullivan's march from
Easton to Wilkes-Barre. He stock his
army across the Blue Ridge, through
Wind Gap, and near the Susquehan-
ma he had a battle with the Iniuns.-
got horse pistol from one Of his