Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-10-12
THE OLDEST Man IN MISSOURI.
RecoIiections of 3 Man Who Was Born
Before the Declaration of IndepeDd-
eace Was Signed.

RecoIfections of 3 Man Who Was Born
Before the Declaration of,IndepeDd-
ence Was Signed.
! At a point two miles north of indie
pendencs, on the Wayne City road, says
the Kansas City Times, stands one-story
weather-beaten frame house formerly
owned by Col. Gilpen, the man who is
credited with first prophesying the great
! ness of Kansas City. From here an IN
| INSTRUCTED view is obtained of Independ-
/ ence CT the south, Kansas City and
4 Wyandotte en- the west, and Liberty on
/ the north. Here resides Christopher
| Mann, who is undoubtedly the oldest per-
son in Missouri, and one of the oldest in
| the United States. A reporter visited the
| aged patriarch recently, the occasion
! being the celebration of his 10th birth
| day. ''Uncle Chris" as he is tamiliarly
called by his neighbors and sequaint-
ances, has a mind well filled With the
happenings Of "Gther days long gcne,"
and nothing gives him more pleasure than
the presence of a good listener. Having
been born at time when the American
colonies were struggling for freedom from
a tyrannical power, his early training In
stilled into his mind deep love OF indie
pendence and a strOn= sense of right. I'm
like many men who frat saw light in
"declarstion days." he claims no personal
dCQtldlnIIUtt " f. Il LIE 1dLuGI Vi Ills COlu-
try, although born within a few miles OF
the Washington homestead.
While yet a boy he removed with his
father to Kentucky, and never tires re-
lating anecdotes of Daniel Boone, the
great hunter and trapper. He describes
Boone as being Of medium height, muscu-
lar build, keen gray eyes, small nose and
thin lips. He was man who dealt only
with the realities of lite, and when he
l.
up with very singular and striking eX-
preston. Boone held very little inter-
course with the few white people of that
section, preferring the solitude Of the for
est or society of his wife to that of the
outside world.
Mr.. Mann claims with pride that he
never was whipped in a personal enc0un-
ter, and cites an incident in his life in
Kentucky, when he had q severe fight
with a noted ''bully" named Lyons. This
man Lyons had on one occasion chaztised
Mr.. Mann's father in manner which
fired the blood of the young man, and he
determined to whip Lyons on eight. One
day Lyons approached the house through
the orchard and young Mann met him half
way and told him Of his purpose. Both
men stripped to the waist and proceeded
to spar in manner that showed they were
well matched. Finally Mann struck
Lyons powerful blow in the face, which
disloeated his thumb, and he was imme-
diately clinched by Lyons. The bully,
expecting an encounter with the young
giant, had previously had his hair cut
very short, and had creased his head with
bears oil, making it so slick that Mann
could not gain any advantage in that di-
rectiOn but, getting bold on his throat,
he soon checked the breathing of his OPP
ponent to such an extent that he readily
consented to say enough. During the
scuf1e Mann received a powerful blow in
the side, whiea sWelled to such size that
his father produced lance and performed
a surgical operation on his son which
caused him to lose considerable blood but
afforded no relief
Later on in life Mr.. Mann passed through
Indiana on his way to a home in the far
West and stopped one night at tavern
kept by Gen. William Henry Harrison,
atterWsrd President of the United States.
Mr.. Mann says the house was crowded
and he was compelled to sleep on the floor,
for which accommodation the landlord
charged him full rate. 'Never since then"
observed Mr.. Mann, shave l liked 'BilP
Harrison" He remembers distinctly
when a single log but stood on the bank
of the White river, where nov is built The |
prosperous city of Indianapolis. "Harri- |
son was good fighter, though" remarked |
Mr.. Mann, as his mind reverted to his IA |
vorite topic, ''and he did Whip old Tecum- |
sch powerful bad at the battle of Tippe- |
canoe" He distinctly remembers "Dick' |
johnson, Stonewall Jackson, Gen. Orr, |
Thomas Benton and other men of note. |
Having removed to this county in 1910, |
his recOllections OF early times in it's |
settlement form an interesting chapter. |
He is now hale and hearty and bids fair
to live ten years longer.