Arizona weekly enterprise., 1889-05-25
NICE OLD PEOPLE.
SKETCHES OF A FEW CENTENARIANS
 WHO ARE WELL PRESERVED.

Two Veterans of the War of 1S12-15 and
 olutionary Veterans -D Do People Live
 Longer Than Formerly?
 There is quite an epidemic of centena- rians lately-no, we don't mean that ex- actly, but there is an unusual number of newspaper notices of men and women who are celebrating their Tooth or some later birthday. Every one has heard of the Irish philosopher who maintained that people were formerly blessed with greater tenacity of life, flor, to be sure, all the old people ye see were born a long time ago." But, leaving the con- mon notion aside, there is good reason for believing that the average length of life has increased considerably in this century. ~.
 A very noted old woman is "Aunt Kersiah" Randall, of Mattapoisett, Mass, who was born Sept 30, 1793, and is therefore 105 years old. And in the summer time she is very spry old lady. Cold weather appears to produce be- numbing effect on her, as on some ami mals whose life is of the summer only, and each succeeding winter many of her neighbors think Aunt Kersiah will not pull through this season. But when the buds begin to swell she brightens. gets out in her little garden, swings her light hoe with girlish pleasure, and by Inde- pendence day seems twenty years young CT. She was born near where she now lives, and in girlhood, as Kersey Parlow, she was the belle of the region. None of her family, save one sister, lived to great age, and her husband, John Randall, died in 1881. At a late interview with a newspaper man she gave this account of her habits of life:
 "When 1 am not well I use mostly herbs and camphor, sometimes a little balsam and paregoric. 1 make me some root beer every spring, using snapwood, pine buds, boXberry leaves and winter greenland it is very good. 1 tend my garden and raise my own corn and beans. but am getting weak, cause my teeth are gone aud the beef they have now is tough and stringy. It's nothing like the beef we had years ago.
 "When was girl rode pony with a pillow for saddle. Girls were prettier then than they are now, and didn't be- have so bad. They were brought up to work; now they play the piano and get so lazy that they die early. Outdoor work is good for body, and has kept me alive a long time. Of course I'm temperate. 1 never could abide liquor, and tobacco makes lie fainty. l daren't ls-v., I T .4 blow me up. So use the good old fash toned candles. 1 never was any hand to leave my own town: 1 like my own folks best, and 1 never would agree to go to Boston. They say I'd get lost in Boston, but some folks as has seen Boston say it ain't no great pumpkins"
 Very naturally, the world does not look as bright or seem as good to Aunt Kersiah as it did seventy years ago; the girls are not so industrious and the "beef is stringy," but the reasons can be guessed. She prefers to live alone, and so her one son and several grandchildren and later descendants see that she Is well supplied and leave her to her choice She cannot sec 10 read, but delights in knitting And, finally, the neighbors say they can see no change in her for the last ten years, except, perhaps, that she is more torpid each winter. Evidently she is to be one of the very few to die of pure old age. x*x
 Jacob Rogers, of Oakland Mills. Ia, was born near Pittshurg. on New Years day. ITS, and is therefore Ill years old. And except a short residence in New Jersey he has put in good deal of that long life in following the westward