Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-04-15
Davy Crockett.

spondence with Col. r. N. Crockett. OF
Texas, grandson of the famous Davy,
and whom he had previously visited.
As the result of his visit and CORE
spondence he communicates the follow
ing:
There, on a small stream in Gibson
county, flowing into the Obion river,
stands the first log cabin built sixty
years since, by David Crockett, in West
Tennessee. Built of wildwood and
poplar logs, sixteen or eighteen inches
in diameter, and which are apparently
as sound as ever, it was q very stylish
house in its day. Here, too, cut in the
bark OF a beech tree, is the name Of
david Crockett" the knife-ma
spread by the growth Of the tree into
block letters an inch wide. Sixty
yards away the figure OF large deer is
engraved by his own hand in the bark
of another tree. In this neighbor-
hood live several grandchildren of
the mighty hunter, together with
Mrs. Matilda Fields, his only living
daughter, about sixty years OF age, still
good looking and in my opinion, one
of the best women in the world. She
was sixteen years OF age when she saw
her father for the last time mount his
horse and ride away to help the people
of Texas win their independence. Mrs.
Gibson, one of the grandchildren, is
the daughter of Margaret Crockett and
Wiley Flowers, to whom, on his asking
the hand of his daughter Margaret,
David Crockett wrote the following
brief but conclusive answer:
"Yours received. Go aheadH
Flowers took this advice, and had, in
conseq uence, u family of thirteen chill
dren. Mrs. Gibson has in her posses
sion the last letter received from
Crockett in Texas. which is Of excellent
penmanship, spelling and compost
ton.
In this neighborhood the men who
had hunted and shot with Col. Crockett
are pretty numerous. One of them
claims that in trial of skill with the
renowned hunter he won three-q quarters
Crockett only one-quarter of the ami
NAL, but, all things considered-the
length OF time that has elapsed, and the
fact that the marksman, when making q
like request to that of Flowers. got a
very different answer-perhaps it is
best to divide the game equally between
him and Crockett.
Not far from this spot is David
CIockett's last log cabin, in which he
lived when he started upon his mission
of giving " helping band to the Tex
ans on the high road to freedom" 1t
has been moved short distance from
it's original site, and is still occupied.
Near by ate of the apples from some
thrifty trees which Crockett is said to
have planted with his own hands, and
saw the red earthenware on which his
bear and venison steaks were served
over fifty years ago..
At Crockett's Bluff, Ark, where /
spent four weeks. lives Dol. r. H.. I'M
doubtedly the best living reprensenta-
tive of his famous grandfather, having
inherited many of his characteristics.
including his fondness for hunting, his
fuency OF speech. his great powers OF
mimicry and his gift Of storytelling.
He is, withal, a gentleman OF educa-
ton and lawyer by profession. !
hope the voters in his district may send
him to Congress, as they did his father,
John w. Crockett, for two terms after
the death of David Crockett in 1886.
Col. Crockett has half-length, life.
size portrait of his grandfather. painted
by Peale, copy Of which hangs in the
Historical Society rooms at Nashville;
and the State of Texas recently paid
IS 600 for full length portrait painted
about 1884, by Chapman, the artist who
painted "The Baptism Of Pocahontas'
in the yotunda of the Capitol at Wash.
ington, and which adorns the backs OF
SHINE one dollar national bank notes.
In this picture, now hanging in the
State House at Austin, Crockett is
dressed in his hunting costume. sur
rounded by his dogs, and resting in the
hollow Of his arm, the celebrated rifle
presented to him in 1884 by 800 young
men of Philadelphia. This was made
expressly for him and cost $3.50. 1t il
mounted and trimmed in gold and sill
yer, embellished with etchings of ALI
gators, deer, coon and other animals
and bears upon the barrel; in gilt letter.
ing, near the front sight which is OF
gold, resting on golden arrow, the
following inscriptions:
"Presented by the young men Of
Philadelphia to tho Hon. David Crook
cit, of Tennessee. Go aheadr'
I had the pleasure of killing q tine
deer with this gun and have as . me.
mento chip" frona the barrel about
two inches long.
Lieut.. B. p. Crockett, his son, still
lives, at the age of 81, at Granbury,
Tex, on land purchased by his fathers
struggle.
There is no distinctive monument e
the memory OF David Crockett. His
name, with others, is found upon thai
erected at Austin, "To the Memory Oh
Texas Heroes" His biographies up te
the time Of his departure from Texas
are substantially correct; but after thai
they are fabulous and ENTHUSIASTICALLY
Among other things he ia represented
as leaving bis Tennessee home on foo
and sailing down the Mississippi and uI
the Arkansas, armed with his famous
Philadelphia rifle. But his son says h'
rode all the way on horseback to Sal
Antonio, the horse being sent bach
after his death to his family in Tennes
see; and his part in the Texan war wal
waged with his old hint-lock, Betsy
which was lost at the battle OF the Ala
mo. His reported surrender and mas
sacre in GOLD blood at this battle ar
also denied. Mrs. Dickinson, an eye