The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-03-26
Thrilling Adventure In Hickman
County,

| 70 The Editors oftbc Herdl Id and Mail:
| l have thought for some time of Civ
| ing you an account of big scare of
which your humble correspondent was
| a lively participant, which occurred in
| Hickman county, about the middle Of
| last June. With party Of friends, Sc
lected not only for their superior fishing
| qualities, but for their Jovial spirits and
their love of scientific pursuits, we arr
rived on the banks of that beautiful
stream known by the name OF Lick
Creek. This stream is not only celebra-
ted for it's fine fishing facilities, but for
a number of things which. if ARE
gifted sufficiently, - would he too tedi
Gus to mention in this communication.
This was not my first visit to this lovely
spot. Some tour or I'VE years ago, |,
with few friends, met H. p. FoWlkes.
Esq, of Franklin, here. He was net
only in pursuit OF the finny tribe. bat
having natural turn of mind to delve
deep into the mysteries of past ages, we
found him engaged in investigating the
ruins of an Indian empire, more extend
ed than any Of the old world that we
have any knowledge OF. Though they
were the children OF the forest,
and left no memorials of paintings or
sculpture, yet great they mnst lave
De"'' -. surrOwful is the story Of the
wrongs done their pOsterity. The bones
that Henry Fowlkes had exhumed from
an area three feet square did not show
many signs of decay, though in all
probability a thousand years may have
passed since a broken-hearted mother.
weeping sister, or desOlated wife
wiped the last damp of death from
brow that might have worn crown in
his day. This place that l speak OF
is abont one mile above where this love-
y,-f--
along these shores the council fires once
blazed, here the war-whOop echoed
among their native hills; here in this
clear and sparkling stream the mighty
warrior has bathed his manly limbs,
and on its banks the dard, dusky Indian
boy OF eighteen or twenty Yeas - -,
pered his tale of love int ,no oa,. "n ~
b 10 L. .-.on, who no doubt was
autiful and lovely to behold. Centu-
| ries may have passed since those long
| rows of graves were dug, and numerous
mounds built clear across what is now
| known as Hog Tarkenton's farm. Col.
| Tarkenton got the prefix of Hog attach
| ed to his name from the fact that he was
| the most successful hog raiser that Ten
neSSee ever produced It must have
been long before that Pilgrim barque,
| deep treighted from the east came dark
ening the shore where old Beast Butler.
with his pocket full of spoons, now rules
| supreme. What bosom but beats with
| sympathy over the mournfut story of
| the many wrongs of this once happy
| people? The white man that drove
| them from their hunting grounds and
| the graves of their fathers, never
unrolled to them Gods book of reYela-
| ton; they never heard the sad but pleas
| ing story of a crucified Red Ter, or if
| they did, how could they help regarding
| it as fable, coming as it did from an
| iuveterate foe? After hard days fish
| ing, / spread my blanket on one ofthose
| Indian graves for the purpose OF enjoy
| ing nights rest, and as soon as every
| thing was quiet. l got to thinking OF the
| skeleton that FOwlkes had dug up. and
| thousand other things. My mind
| went back to my schoC boy days; l
| thought of what / had read in old school
| books, of the wrongs that had been done
| to the red man; and / soon found that
| there was no sleep for me. So l called
| to Col. P. who had spread his blanket
near mine, and asked him what he was
| thinking about. He said he was think
| ing about what Hog Tarkenton had told
! him that day bout those Indian graves
! The very subject | was so deeply inter-
| ested in! "What information did you
| gather from Col. Tarkenton?" / asked.
| Nothing satisfactory; Col. Tarkenton's
| opinion is that these Indians have been
| buried over ten thousand years, from
! the fact he has read the history OF the
world covering period of six thou sand
| years, and has never heard of any other
nation that buries its dead sitting up.
! The Colonel and myself conversed a
| LONG time in low tones, for fear OF dis
| turbing those sleeping near US. Colonel
P.'s eloquence in portraying the deep