Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1880-01-03
HIS FIRST DRUNK.
An influence that tho Governors of
North aud South Carolina Had.
lifflo Roolx u IL. \ ...aAAa

An influence that tho Governors o
North n south Carolfna Had.
Little Rock (Ark@ Gazette.
II am sixty years old, and never 20
drunk till day before yesterday" remarke,
old Uncle Jesse White, as he sat on a sal
barrel in 'front.' of . grocery store. II hav
lived in Arkansas for forty years-cum her
from East Tennessy-and the though
that l got drunk in the evening of my life
when l can just see my gray hairs shining
in the twilight, is enough to make m,
throw myself into the river"
Tell US how it occurred, Uncle JESSE
asked q bystander.
swell, some time G up in my neigh.
borhood," and he stopped talking and drew
his pipe vigorously to see if the fire was out,
s. Good Templars lodge wa organized,
All the young people in the community
jlned, and pretty soon they came arter me
nv con Ike was the leading man, and he
says to me, Pap, 1 van you to .jine this
thing Ike, says l, II don't know the
taste of liquor, and l don't see the use Of
%jinen." Pap says he, we want your in
~luence. We are gwine to vote on the
local option law pretty soon, and we want
you publicly identified with the work
Then my daughter came around and urged
me to iine. tSusan,' says /, YOU never
seed your old father take q drink No.
pap says she, but We want you to belp US
frOwn down the curse of intemperapce.'
Next our parson como around and sot nv
wife on me, and when they all got to drum.
min l had to jlne. LINED on q FRIDAY
night. and on the following Saturday / got
OF the boat to come down here. somethip'
allied me. Somethin' kept sayin,, Jessie
White. you amt free man. It bothered
and when l saw one of the deck hands
turn up jug, l wondered if he had ever
taken the pledge. and when he set the lug
down I walked around and looked at it.
took hold of the corn cob stopper, walked
swav and smelt my fngers. I went up on
deck and sat down in front. Pretty soon
two men came out and sat down. After q
while one of them said: The governor of
North Carolina said to the governor Of
South Carolina and without finishing the
sentence. both men laughed and drank out
of . big black bottle. Thar vas somethin'
Ii that governor business that took me. I
bad heard my father talk about it and laugh.
I had often heard It. but no one had ever
been positive what 1t was that the governor
said, only that the time between drinks had
been rather long. Pretty soon one of
the men reached down, took IN
the bottle, took out the cork.
and said: the governor of North
Carolina said to the - Then both men
and drank. Inever felt 90 curious
10 my life, l looked around at the trees on
the bank and women who waved their hand.
kerchiefs at US O. We passed. Those gov.
had . ring about them that tipRled
through my old bloov. Just then one If
men turned, held the bottle toward me,
and ssid: THE governor of North -"
Before l knew it l had hold of the bottle.
l turned it up and drank. All I thought
about was the governors, and when the
shadows OF Ike, Susan, the parson and my
wife fitted through my brain, the two gov.
srnors tall and grand: stalked right up and
over them. "The governor Of North