Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-11-11
NEARLY iii YEARS OLD.
Daniel Burke, of Altadavan. Born
With the Republic.
From Tire Chicdgo Tri6uas.

With the Republic.
From Tire Chicdgo T9'i5uns.
A reporter went out yesterday to the
Old Peoples Home Little Sisters of the
Poor), at the corner of Fullerton and
Sheffield avenues, for the purpose of
meeting San old negro woman who is
said to be Ito years old" BY one of those
strange freaks which nature now and then
cuts up, the aged negress turned out to
be an lrishman who was born IN Altada-
van, County Limerick, March l, l1l6.
After one has eXperime nted with the
electric gong on the door of the home for
ten or fifteen minutes, a trim little Sister
peers out at one through the grating for
| bit, and finally, under evident apprehen-
sion, opens the door. She is bright-eyed
little French woman, and wears her black
stole with coquettish grace.
re niggress? Pardon, zee ees man
i show 'lm-come ices way" she sad,
| and led the way to n pleasant room in the
| lower part Of the house, Eight or ten ord
| gray boards were seated in conclaVe read
| ing the papers, chatting, or grooming to
| themselves. One of them, a giant with
! an Abraham beard and Chesterfield man.
news, stood up and SAID: II welcome you"
and then sat down and looked at the cell
| ing. In the furtbest corner sat II little old
man with dead gray eyes, Il face wrinkled
| like last years apple, yellow-whlte
hair ana trembling hands. He looked as
| though he might have been on intimate
terms with Pharaoh |. In fact. he was
SO old that one almost feared his old age
might he catching. 1t is never very easy
to understand man who speaks the
| juicy speech of Altad8VaD, and the loss
OF teeth robs it OF all sem blance OF Eng
| lish. The old man, however, managed
| to make clear that his name was Daniel
Burke.
81; live till March I'll be Ill years
Old" he said; at least that is what he
sali when translated. = My father was
the town Waterman; he didn't live very
long. He died in 1875. and that year
came TO this country with q cousin. My
wife, my four children, my three brothers,
nv friends are all dead. 1t seems" he
added, with unconscious pathOs, g as
though every one was dead, my grand
father, Shamus Burke, lived TO be 125
years old. He was great man-he had
five wives"
In 1885, if the old mans memory is to
be believed, he landed in New ork after
a stormy voyage of nearly three months.
| He was then youDgster OF aud the
happenings of the time made little i'm.
preston on him. With his cousin, also a
county Limerick Burke, be went to Bel.
mont and worked on the farms in the
neighborboOd. Here he grew TO man.
hood, was married and followed the good
old plan of rearing tamlly--three stout
boys and a girl.
IL was always a wild young fellow
said the old man, chuckling, "but never
lied, never lied; GOULD see that it paid
l drank my toddy, l smoked my pipe, and
perhaps did other things, but never lied
no, sir'
Without questioning his trutbfulness
one can assume that be was wild young
fellow. He tells of surreptitiOus trips to
New York, to Philadelphia and Allen.
town in the old days OF coaches, periwigs
slaves and other delightful things of the
old civilization. When he was % years OF
age, still sturdy young fellow, bearded
and straight, his wife was dead, his chill.
dren We're married, and be telt himself
somewhat alone. After short deliberatlon
he packed up what goods the gods had
provided and took coach to Buffalo, and
thence followed the old water route tc
Chicago. Chicago was then a rugged vii
LACE, running chiefly to barracks, a
church and taverns. The old man, from
the depths of his sleeping memory, fishes
out now and again the "reminiscences OIL
one of the first nights he spentin Chicago,
when Mark Beaubien scraped the fiddle
and he sang TO the tumutuOus admira-
ton OF halt Chicago. Doubtless, in recog-
milton of this feat, he was appointed
Waterman, the first Of the genius Chicago
had. He tramped about the lake shore
crossed the river, frightened the
budding generation and was happy.
AfterWard he was made one of The
pier watcnmen, and for some years has
done nothing at all. Four years ago his
little savings ran out, and he was re-
ceiyed into the home. Although there
seems to be no reason to expect that BIZ
will not equal his grandtather's record
he has lost much of his former vigor IL
the last few years. His memory, as has
been said, is broken, and the facts given
above were only elected after tedious
questioning. His mind anuers at every
moment. and like the lat knight, "a
babbles o. green fields"
About three years ago DIR. Hamilton. o
Quebec, VINO has made study Of lOngeYi
", visited the old man. At that time his
memory was strong and fresh, and The
doctor was satisfied from the story he told
the names and dates he gave, that he h8(
not in the least exaggerated his age. A
present any investigation, as far as be il
concerned, is impossible. His mind IL
filled with chaos of disconnected events
out of which it is hard 10 evolve thu
truth.
The sweet little French sister broke of
the interview.
care many of the women very oldY
she was asked.
''Yes, zey ees all ofe zeexty. fife tt
ninety years"
MAY | see them 20
"Mon Dieu!" she exclaimed, ga youns
man In zee woman depaT
nevairv'
5strDiral.