Huntsville gazette., 1886-09-11
A HEALTHY GROWTH.
Jim McBryar's Numerous Versions OF HIS
Experience With High Waters.

Jim McBryar'S Numerous versions OF hiS
Experience With High Waters.
A number Of years ago Jim McBryar.
who now lives near Estelline, resided
in Northern Missouri. One day he
crossed Coon creek at an old ford and
when he arrived at town told the story
as follows:
II give ther new bridge ther shake
ter-day and come in by Lon Chapman's
old ford" -U
"Was the water very deep?"
at was only bout a couple o. foot"
A year later he was talking with a
group of friends when some one re-
ferred to the creek, and McBryar said:
Eyes, | calc'late ther water was
pertty mid lin high in Coon creek last
spring Forgot ther time / wus in a
hurry and cut acrost at the old ford?''
1.-The water was pretty high, wasn't
itp'
"You bet it were! 1t come right up
ter ther wagon box and my off hoss had
ter swim a little, but | made it all
right" Ne
Some five years after he was one day
sitting in front of grocery store and
told the story like this: ntt3t
..You know that spring of '6S, wher
ther water were so blame high over in
Coon creekp" .aaYv .
"Yes."
''It just billed, YOU remember. Well,
sir, the day ther bridge went out come
to town and crossed where ther want
no ford neither"
SsWarn't ~ don Dt'
''Well, should just reckon it wus!
don't know how deep the water might
O been but there want no bottom. The
hundred yards. | stood right up in,
ther wagon and then | got pertty wet.
| tell you | don't want any more such
'speriences.
Some years after old Jim moved to
Dakota. He had been here but a short
time when one day he got a crowd
around him on the street corner in Es-
telline and said: ~l~. 4..
''Gen lemen, thought one q yer
spoke of high water in ther BIZ ,iouX?
Yes, lowed L heered il well, now
I'll tell yer yer don't know nothing
bout high water up'n this country, Il
had a little 'sperience with water down
in Missouri that wuz just bout all
wanted"
''How was it?''
''W'y it wus the spring of '62. after
the hard winter and l crossed the
Grand river after er doctor. The
bridge wus all gone and houses wu2
floating down like steamboats,. | had
fine team O hosses and had ter get
acrost so just drove right in and made
'em swim. 1t were nigh on half mile
and it were rainin' and the waves were
a-rollin' but Just stood right up II the
wagon and swung the whip and got
acrost at last"
One day this week Jim came into the
Bell office and said:
''Young man, | reckon you never
had no 'sperience with high water?''
''Not very much. ="
II lowed YOU hadn't. Well, | have
| swum a four-hoss team and a stage
full of pas'ngers 'crost the Missouri
river once"
SIS that fact?"
'.You bet it are. You see / was
drivn' a stage the spring of 1887, after
the deep snow, and there come MP a
big storm and / didn't git to the river
till dark, but / wus bound to. cross.
The river were foaming and lcapin'
and the waves was runnin' high and it
were full of logs and ice and the houses
and men and cattle that it'd washed
away, but just says to my pas myers:
Ladies and gentlemen, we crosses
herr and | drove III. 1t were two
mile to the other shore and dark as
the inside Of a COW and the rain and
hail were pouring down and the light
min strikin' all erround us, but ! stood
up and whooped couple of times and
in we went. tell you it were pow
erful bad place ter be and the pas ngers
were mighty skeered, but | just KEEP
whoopin' and goin' through. Hadn'
gone fur when one hoss was struck by
sightnin' and floatin' trees and build
ms and cakes o. ice and cattle and
men were rushin' erround us and
maxim the cussedest noise you ever
heered. | KEEP whoopin' and larupin'
the hosses but every little while one of
'em would get struck by lightnin'. The
current took us down bout four mile
but the hosses kept her swimmin' and
keper whooping and at last we got
over. 1t were tough now | tell you,
young man, and since then it just
makes me sick to hear some of these
fallers that never see nothin' bigger'n
trout stream talk bout high water"
.-Estelli1le I'D. z. Bell. t-hg