The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1879-08-22
For the Hickman Courier
Another OBd One.

few years my senior, and, no doubt,
has better recollection of former
times than l have, yet L recolect a
great many events that transpired when
| was quite small. The family record
says l was born in Obion county, Ten
nessee, in the year of our Lord 1928;
lived there three months and emigrat
ed to Kentucky, where l have lived
ever since. As to being born naked !,
| am like the Irishman, | don't recol.
lect the day | was born, but I presume
| was born naked, for naked ye come
into the world and naked ye must go
out, is the order of nature, and | dou't
think any person has ever counter
mandcd that order, at least, if they
have, | never heard OF Il. As IL. h,,ih..
'oo'n "itHouA
willing to acknowledge the corn. I've
got 20 cents, and it will be presumable
that l was born without any, as have
no recollection of ever having any, As
for serving as a juror, | have been on
petit jurieo often, but never on the
grand jury, but l never lolled around
the court house, nor never broke the
sheriff's ribs to get on jury.
Ny first recollection Of the town Of
Hickman, or Mills Point as it was
then called. is that there was but one
dry goods and one grocery store, kept
by John Hanna There was q large
cypress pond between the town aud the
steamboat landing, which was about q
half mile distant from the foot of the
bluff, and the big slough below town
was said to be a part of Bayou du
Chem, the caving in of the river bank
cut it off There were plenty Of wild
amin ais in this country IL those days,
such as bear, deer, wolves and wild
cats, besides snakes Of every descrip
| tion.
know very little about the laws in
that day and time, for | never had any
| business in the courts until [ was
grown, and but very little then.
have been voting twenty nine years
and | have invariably voted the Dem
ocratic ticket in every instance from a
legislator up to President, in some
/ few cases, in voting for county officers
| have waived partyism and voted fol
the men l thought best qualified to fill
the office. My father was a democrat
before me, and l am very certain that
he never cast any other than Demo.
cratic votes, for he is the one thai
taught me to be Democratic
l have resided in Fulton county a
little over fifty years, during which
time, or the most of the time, | have
farmed for a livelihood. 1 have work
: cd a gvOd deal as tue carpoBter trade
| have lived to see father, mother
sisters, brothers and relatives sink be
reath the sod. l have lived to SCI
whole families, and large ones too
sink, one after another, in quick sue
cession, to the silent tomb. have
also lived TO see cruel wars and man,
rumors of wars. At my first recollec
ton this country was one almost un
broken wilderness where wild BEAST
roamed at large. There was but TIVE
small patches of cleared land between
Mud creek aud Mills Point, on thu
State road-the one was Thos. X gle
and the other below the Dodds farm
known then as the Black field, whert
it was said man was killed and thrown
in the we'll. The place was settled b,
man named Black 1 have WORKED
the State road thirtyfour years f.ou
Mud creek down to the foot of the hill
at Hickman. Jeptba Leet was the frs
overscer [ worked under. | cast IN,
first vote in the town of Hickman
twenty niue years ago. l do not rocol
loct who | gave my first vote, but
believe it was for President. Their
are but very few Of my cid playmate
now living, they have nearly all gon
to their long homes. Some few hav
gone to other countries, but the mos
Of them are dead-soon they will al
be gone and | with them, aud othe
generations must soon take our places
[ do not recolleet very much about th
elections until l was very nearly grown
| used to go to town on election da.
with my father, when was very small
and they would fight, aud cut au,
shoot each other. l recolleot the tw
candidates, Lewis and McFall, yer
well, but | do not recollect whotho
they kissed the dirty faced young one
or not, or whether their mothers pour
ed buttermilk on their faces to get tn
hounds pups to lick the dirt of or not
| l have seen some young ones will
their faces SO dirty that L don't thin
hound pup could lick and save hi
last meal. | have seen hound pup
: lick the pots, skiIlets and dishes, bu
whether the women practiced this as
method for cleaning their vessels O
not is a point that | shall not take up
on myself to determine. However, th
candidates spoken of lived in and abou
Moscow, which place was then sma
village, and it has held it's own eS
g tremely we'll, for it is a small one ye
[ recolect when the musquitos wei
r so thick IN this country that be
could be heard but a short distance
The people had to make smoke a
: around their houses-there was no re-
; day or night for the little pests, bV
+. for the last few years there has bee
but very few owing, | presume, to Il
, opening out of the country. The'
pests were not all, for the frogs kel
UP such a noise that persons had
speak pretty loud to be heard l thin
there was at least FIVE bushels to tt
: acre, and snakes enough to fence the
n of all sorts and sizes from the venom
q Gus rattlesnake down to the little stri
ed garter, aud from one to seven fe
. in length, but they like the mosquit
J. are fast dwindling away, for there
: scarcely one now for every fifty the
, was In those times.
So no more about snakes and 9th
things for l am out of my line of bu: