The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1874-11-14
PERSONAL "REMINISCENCES OF AN
OCTOGENARIAN.
BY DIR. GIDEON LINCECUM.

finished and was clear of debt at the fra
close of my ten years mercantile career
but with nothing left. l went to the prac
tice of medicine, was quite successful, stucl
close to it until 1885, when l was able t.
leave my family in good fix, and thousan,
dollars in my pocket to defray the expense
of an exploring trip to Texas, which wa
then just beginning to be spoken Of
There was a company of six of US, ant
with two good pack horses we set out OF
the 9th of January, 1885. The ground wa
covered with snow. Our first camp wa
twenty-five miles from home, in the will,
woods of the Chickesaw country; and ex
cept about fifty miles below the Choctav
country, and about twenty miles on tn
Bayou Rapids, in Louisiana, we saw n,
more neighborhood in six months.
Our pack horses carried meal, littl
bacon, SIX gallon brass kettle, coffee pot
tin pans, and pint, tin cup apiece. w
up except when it rained. We camped GU
all the time, did our own cooking, ant
slept in the open air, never spreading on
tent, as before stated, except when it rained
On our rifles we depended for our supplies
of animal food, and on the pack horses 70
bread, coffee, sugar and soap. We farce
abundantly better than we could have don,
at the hotels, had there been any in tn,
country through which we .journied. W.
ate but two meals day-breakfast ane
supper Our supper consisted of friet
venison or turkey, corn bread and coffee
Supper over, the six gallon kettle was huns
on, containing proper quantity of til,
grits sifted from our corn meal, which WI
ground on steel mil, salt, little piece
bacon a han or ,,r1ye
and plenty Of red pepper, and as one OF
another of the company would be occasion
ally up during the night the fire would bs
mended and the kettle kept boiling all the
time. Being boiled all to shreds the grits
as tender and much better than rice, witt
the holy glow of the cayenne regularly diff
fused through it, constituted one of the
most digestible and healthy messes thai
could be made. We commenced on it a,
daybreak, and by sun-up breakfast was
over and good dog bait left. We had q
nice camp dog along.
The country through which we Travelled,
with the exception of only two days, was
full of game-deer, turkeys, wild geese
mallard ducks. We very seldom struck
camp without plenty for the company's
consumption. The sixty-two years old
Methodist preacher we had along, though
he carried good rifle and could shoot very
we'll, did not seem to care about leaving
the trace or path, SO he rarely shot anything
that did not come in his path. The foul
young men were poor hunters, very seldom
making a successful shot. The reality OF
procuring meat for supper and breakfast
devolved on me. Mine was a trained hunt
ing horse-his name was Ned. One of the
young men, when l would in the afternoon
deviate from our course and flank along,
would follow at a respectful distance, and
when | would shoot anything, gallop up
and take care of it. If it was deer OF
big turkey, the hunting for that day would
cease. But if the turkey was small, as
they were generally setting very convenient
in the trees around, l would take another.
If it was goose, though in the boiled
mess in the kettle they were very savory,
excellent food-none of us liked them fried
for supper-in that case l would continue
hunting until l would get venison or a
turkey.
After we got into Texas the game was
very abundant, and | found but little diff
ticulty in procuring plenty, more especially,
after getting into the wide spread prairie
Hundreds of deer were to be
seen in all directions, and wild geese every
where-thousands. When | wanted goose
or a deer, | would ride towards them until
they began to be suspicious, then get down
and push old Ned along between me and
the game, as if l was going to ono side of
them, but getting nearer and nearer, until
the game would be in range; then stop the
horse, and dropping on one knee, shoot
under his neck. To kill the geese or the
deer either, on the prairie, was easily effect
ed, and We never failed to have plenty of
nice venison or turkey for supper, and a
kettle full of choice pieces hot for break
fast On all the streams that pass through
and drain the prairies, there are narrow
belts of timber, and here we nearly always
found tlocks of turkeys. Then, west of
there were but few people seen.
Once IN forty miles you would perhaps find
A family with little corn patch and log
hut, with a COW or two. No Mexicans east
IF San Antonio, except at the mouth of
the Brazos and La Blhia. No Indians,
except few struggling hunters west of
the BraZos. There was green Winter grass
Stapa Setigera) in abundance for our horses
west of the Colorado, and, for our own
all manner of good game,
i>h and honey. The range of country
through which we circulated during Febru-
sry and March, lay in latitude 800 and 30'
n. In perfect safety, with abundant sup.
plies of food for ourselves and horses-and
our horses had got to believe that our camp
was their home, and seemed to be afraid to
wander far from it. We slept as soundly
and more sweetly by our camp fires in that
oalmy, dry climate-didn't rain on us in
.wo months-than we would have done
anywhere else in the world.
While in this pleasant, dry region of
country we had some nice little hunting
On a point of timber that
terminated on ridge that lay between two
little creeks, at mile or more distant, we
thought we saw six big old bucks standing
With their heads up in the edge of the
timber. We divided the company. and
Zach party turning slightly back, sank out
If sight INTO the lower grounds of the two
,reeks. The movement was intended to
make the deer think We were going away:
)ut, according to arrangement, as soon as
We were out of sight of the deer each party
urned and made haste down the creek
until we were opposite the game, then
leploying a little, left our horses, and
creeping up the hill, approached them
'tealthily from behind and on both sides
The underbrush was pretty thick and we
Gould not see them until we were quite
near. 1t was quite curious to observe how
much alike the action of the company was
when we discovered that instead of six old
bucks we found that many armed Indians.
We all made ready and held our rifles at
boise until the Indians showed they had no
light at that meeting. They were standing
erect with their heads turned towards the
place where they had seen US last and