Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1884-10-09
"Hhat sort Of man are you p

"Vhat sort Of a man are you Z"
'I don't know what you mean"
"Weli, are you one of these internal
Methodists or Sons of Temperance ?"
"I am BOTH"
take foot and gop' yelled Uncle JOSH
1--WE don't want no stragglers round
herer' chimed Nanny Laws.
And Professor Foote continued his
lonely journey across the mountain
defles. ruminating on the mysterious
freaks of human nature.
1t was always "Haii Columb bia" day |
when we town boys espied Uncle Josh |
coming into Wilkesboro on his apple
wagon. We would collect in dense
crowd all around him, and colloquy5 |
somewhat after this fashion would
transpire:
"Uncle Josh, they say you know
the Bible all by heart; but here's
fellow that says he don't believe it.
Wouldn't you kindly repeat few
chapters for him p
"The whole thing, from river to
river, if he wants it! | could say it
all before 1 was fifteen years old!
And here he would begin repeating
| chapter after chapter and book after
| book in a perfect and unbroken lingu-
al stream-with such amazing accura-
cy and electrical rapidity that he re-
minded you more of an automatic
race-horse or telegraphic instrument
than a man his keen mountain tones
sounding like sharp echoes among
rocky cliffs and caves, and his tongue
| leaning through seas of words like a
steamer under full headway. Perhaps
about the time he had finished Gene
sis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and
Deuteronomy, and had got along into
the middle of Joshua, somebody would
stop him to buy bushel of apples.
Then another fellow would shout:
"Uncle Josh, you haven't got
through yet" and, if he was not i'll
terrupted,s he would 60 on again, tire
lessly, dauntlessly, interminably. At
ter time we would have to leave him
and go to dinner or supper, as the
case might be-his mill, like John
Browns soul, "still marching on"
There are plenty of people now living
who know he could repeat any and
all portions of the Bible ON call-any
| DOCK, CndDCcT VI NSISC 1CdOSSISo AAOAAA
Genesis to Revelations.
Returning from five years sojourn
in the far West, during which inter
val Uncle Josh's folks and everybody
else in Wilkes had about forgotten
me, l walked up to his cabin door to-
ward the "tide of the evening" of a
; bleak day in February, 1858. Old
Nanny Laws stood on the log plat
form in front, brushing it off with her
straw broom. She will not recognize
me, thought; and I'll see if there's
any fun in it.
"Good evening, madam I began
"How far is it to Taylorsville p
She gave me a severe and searching
look, and deigned no reply at all.
> "Ahem! It's getting late-could
/ stay all night here?'
"No! we don't keep no stragglers
o here! You'd better clear out, young
man, or I'll set the dogs on you"
"You seem rather particular-1 d.
q think, if Uncle Josh was here, he'd
/, keep me-"
clinched her broom threateningly by
: the little end.
: To save my life could not restrain
is a smile, which betrayed my identity
n in moment. Dropping her broen
: and seizing my hand, she fairly drag
q ged me into the house and set m
" down in chair, crying:
1t "Lord bless my soul! IF it ain
d Payson! Excuse my old eyes, honey
le but I didn't know you at first! Th
t. old man'll be here directly-he'll b
so glad-he's gone to mill Say, Co
ct fee, come here" she shouted, addres
ID ing her youngest son out in the appl
in orchard; "here's one of the lost shee
s. of Israel thought he was dea'
d, but he's come homer
u, General Coffee (namesake of him
d, Indian war fame) shook hands wit
r. me heartily, and by and by in can
er the old man, who shook me most q
ed to pieces and talked to me most a
al night.
es' As was taking my leave of hi
IT, the next morning, he told me con
II dentially that he knew more about tt
q nature of the apple tree than an
ia man living-that through successiv
nd experiments in grating he had prove
at its origin by "revoluting" it back,Oar
us to the old crab stock. He made 4
x promise / would return some day al
IRE write out for him, in proper boo
II shape, his Natural History of the A
ey pie, from his oral dictation but St
CT, to relate, this was the last time [ hs
ea the privilege of conversing with tn
rd- eccentric genius-the Patriarch
nng Apple-Raisers and Prince of Bible
IKE Polemics.
II EDWARD PAYsoN HALL.