Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-07-12
Mistellaueuns &eading.
CROCKETT,S COON.SKIN,

CROCKETT'S COON.SKIN.
In 1927 Davy Crockett was elected to Con-
gress from Tennessee and during the canvass
played the famous 'coon-skin trick, which
he related as follows:
81 started off to the Cross Roads, dressed
in my hunting shirt, and my rifle on my
shoulder Many of our constituents had as
sembled there to geta taste of the quality OF
the candidates at Grating. Job Smelling, a
gander-shanked Yankee, who had been
caught somewhere about Plymouth Bay,
and had been shipped to the West with a
cargo of Goldfish and rum, erected large
shanty and set up shop for the occasion. a
large posse of the voters had assembled be-
fore had arrived, and my opponent had
already made considerable headway with
his speechifyingan his treating, when they
spied me about rifle shot from the camp,
sauntering along as if / was not a party in
the business. "There comes Crockett" cried
one. "Let us hear the colonel" cried an
other, and so 1 mounted the stump that had
been cut down for the occasion, and began
to bushwhack in the most approved style.
l had not been up long before there was
such an uproar in the crowd that | could not
hear my own voice, and some of my con-
stituents let me know that they could not
listen to me on such dry subject as the well
fare Of the nation, until they had something
to drink, and that l must treat 'em. Ac-
cordingly jumped down from the rostrum
and led the way to the shanty, followed by
my constituents, shouting, "Huzza for
Crockett" and "Crockett forever"
"When we entered the shanty Job was
busy dealing out his rum in a style that
showed that he was making good days
work of it, and I called tor a quart of the
best, but the crooked critur returned no 9TH
er answer than by pointing at Il board over
the bar, on which he had chalked in large
Now that idea brought me all up standing ;
it was a sortof cornering in which there was
no back out, for ready money in the West
in those times was the shyest thing in all
natur', and it was most particularly shy
with me on that occasion. The voters, see
ing my predicament, fell off to the other
side, and was left deserted and alone, as
the Government will be when it no longer
has any offices to bestow. / saw plain as
day that the tide of popular opinion was
against me, and that unless got some rum
speedily, should lose my election as sure as
there are snakes in Virginny-and it must
be done soon, or even burned brandy
wouldn't savem me.
"Well knowing that crisis was at hand,
struck into the woods with my rifle on my
shoulder, my best friend in time ofneed, and
as good fortune would have it, had not been
out more than a quarter Of an hour before
treed fat coon, and in the pulling of a
trigger he lay dead at the root of a tree. |
soon whipped his hairy jacket off his back,
and again bent my way towards the shanty,,
and walked up to the bar, but not alone, for
this time ! had half dozen Of my constit-
uents at my heels. threw down the coon
skin upon the counter and called for quart
of rum, and Job, though busy in dealing
out rum, forgot to point to his challled rules
and regulations, for he knew that a coon
was as legal tender for quart in the West
as New York shilling any day in the year.
NV constituents now t1ocked about me and
cried 'Huzza for Crockett 'Crocket, forever,
and finding the tide had taken turn, |
told them several yarns to get them in a
good humor, and having soon dispatced the
value Of the coon, went out and mounted
the stump without opposition, and clear
majority of the voters followed me to see
what had to offer for the good of the ma
/ ton.
"Before was through one of my constit-
uents moved that they would hear the bal
ance of my speech after they had washed
down their first part with some more OF
Job Snelling's extract Of cornStalk and mo-
lasses, and the question being put up, it was
carried unanimously. 1t wasn't considered
necessary to tell the yeas and nays, so we
adjourned to the shanty, and on the way
began to reckon that the fate of the nation
pretty much depended upon my shooting
another coon. While standing at the bar,
feeling sort of bashful while Jobs rules and
regulations stared me in the face, l cast
down my eyes and discovered one end of the
coon skin sticking between the logs that
supported the bar. Job had slung it there in
the hurry of businesse / gave it a sort OF
quick jerk, and it followed my hand as
if had been the rightful owner. slapped
it on the counter, and Job, little dreaming
that he was barking up, the wrong tree,
showed along another bottle, which my
constituents quickly disposed of with great
good humor, for some of them saw the
trick, and then we withdrew to the rostrum
to discuss the affairs of the nation.
81 don't know how it was, but the voters
soon became dry again, and nothing would
do but we must adjourn to the shanty; and
as luck would have it, the coon skin was
sticking between the logs, us if Job had
flung it there on purpose to tempt me. l
was not slow in raising it to the counter !;
the rum followed, Of course, and wish l
MAY Dc SllOL III ulttu DclOIc tllC utty was
over, get ten quarts for the same Identical
skin, and from a fellow, too, who in those
parts was considered as sharp as steel trap
and as bright as pewter button.
"This joke secured my election, for it soon
circulated like smoke among my constit-
uents, and they allowed with one accord
that the man who could get the whip-hand
of Job Smelling in a fair trade could outwit
Old Nick himself, and was the real grit for
them in Congress. After the election was
over l sent Smelling the price of the rum,
but took care to keep the fact from the
knowledge ofmy constituents. Job refused
the money and sent me word that it did
him good to be taken in occasionally, as it
served to brighten his ideas but I after
ward learned when he found out the trick
that had been played upon him he put all
the rum that had ordered in his billagainst
my opponent, who, being elated with the
speeches he had made on the affairs of the
nation, could not descend to examine in the
particulars of a bill Of the vender Of rum in
small way."-Forest and Stream.
THE DRY TORTUGAS.
w. r.. Prentice, an old New York soldier,
recalls the following interesting reminis-
.onoac of tbn old mi ,ilitory pricOn in q lnttpr