Daily Yellowstone journal., 1886-05-04
JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS CAREER.
How and Where I-e Found the Quaint ola
Character, "UncIe Reinus."

Twas born in the village Of Eatonton,
Putnam county, Ga, Dec. ., ISIS, in the
humblest sort of circumstances My lie
sire to write-to give expression to my
thoughts-grew out of hearing my mother
read The Vicar of Wakefield was too
young TO appreciate the story, but there
was something in the style or something
in the humor of that remarkable little
book that struck my fancy, and ! straight
way fell to composing little tales In which
the principal Observation-Disclosures hero or
heroine-astonished and silenced the other
characters by crying Fudge! al every pos
sibe opportunity. None of these little
tales have been preserved, hut | am con-
WINGED that, since their keynote was
Fudge. they must have been very close to
human nature.
In 1852 | saw an advertisement in a
little weekly paper, The Countryman,
calling for an apprentice 10 learn the
printing business. This advertisement
responded TO, and it was not many days
before was installed in the office of the
only genuine country newspaper ever
printed in this country. The Countryman
was edited by Joseph A. Turner, and was
published on his plantation, nine or ten
miles from any postofiice. In truth, The
Countryman was published in the coun-
try. A partridge built her nest within
five PAGES Of the window where learned
to set type, and hatched her brood undis-
turbed. The cat squirrels frolicked on the
roof, and gray fox, whose range was In
the neighborhood, used to fit across the
orchard path in full view. The Country
man was published on a plantation, and
il was on this and neighboring plantations
that became familiar with the curious
myths and animal stories that form the
basis of the volumes credited TO Uncle
Remus. ! absorbed the stories, songs,
and myths that / heard, but had no idea
of their literary value until, some time in
the seventies, Lippincott's Magazine
printed an article ON the subject of negro
folklore, containing rough outlines OF
some Of the stories. This article gave me
my cue, and the legends told by Uncle
Remus are the result.
While setting type for The Countryman
contributed surreptitiously TO the col
umns of that paper, setting my articles
from the "case" instead of committing
them to paper, and thus leaving no evil
dence of authorship. supposed that this
was huge joke but, as Mr.. Turner read
the proof of every line that went into his
paper, it is probable that he understood
the situation and abetted it. At any rate, he
began to lend me books from his library,
which comprised collection of literature
both large and choice. The books forming
this library have since been dispersed, but
there were at least 800 volumes in the col
lection that modern book-lovers would pay
high prices for
This was the accidental beginning Of a
career that has been accidental through
out. II was an accident that l went to
The Countryman, an accident that wrote
Uncle Remus," and an accident that the
stories put forth under that name struck
the popular fancy. In some respects these
accidents are pleasing, but in Others they
are embarrassing For instance, people
persist in considering me literary man,
when l am journalist and nothing else.
| have no literary training and know
nothing at all of what is termed literary
art. have no opportunity to nourish any
serious literary ambition, and the proba-
bility is that II such an opportunity had
presented itself would have refused to
take advantage of it.-Joel Chandler Har-
ris in Lippincott's Magazine.