The Durham recorder. [volume] (Durham, N.C.) 1879-19??, 1889-10-16
OLD SHORT.

away Dack III the uecaue WHlcH
preceded the war there lived, down
among the pine hills of. Southern
Mississippi, near little town called
Union Springs, in Jefferson county,
a character known far aud wide as
"0ld Short" Precisely how he re-
ceived his sobriquet is not known
and is not expla.nable on any known
principle. 1t was not on account of
his age, since he had been known as
Old Short ever since anybody could
remember; aud it could have had no
possible reference to his stature ex-
cept upon the rule of contraries, as
ne stood 6 feet 4 in hls stocking feet
and was "built in proportion" Pro-
vincial sarcasm may have given him
the designation, or Short may have
been his family name. Certain it is
he was never called anything else,
and so intimately did the name be-
come associated with his personality,
and so widely and we'll did his char
acteristics become known, that to
simply mention Old Short IN anr
crowd within radius offour or five
counties was provocation of hilarity,
and always reminded everybody pre-
sent of an anecdote or two illustra-
tive Of the gentIemen's pecularities.
Old Short was a practical joker, re-
lates the ''St. Louis Globe-Democrat,
and it was his success and pertIna-
city in this direction which made
him famous wherever he was kown.
lie was none of your monotonous,
every day practical iokers. He nev-
er loaded a cigar in his life to see it
blow some fellows eye out of his
head, and il he had been thrown in
company Of the President he would
never have slapped him on the back,
called him 'old fel'' and asked him
how it was at Washington. Old
Short was gentleman in his way,
was wealthy, as wealth went where
he lived, kept open house, where
everybody was welcome, paid a debt
and never whipped his slaves, of
whom he had a goodly number He
was always putting up jobs on peo-
pie, as 1t would be described iu these
days, but they were never chestnuts.
lie would go any length and spend
any amount Of money to work
trick, hut il was always something
new: the more dangerous the better
he liked 1t, and it was generally
marked by originality. 1t was this
quality that made him, in a certain
sense. feared. One never knew ex-
actly what was going to happen
when Old Short was around. The
neighbors never rested quite easily
in their beds, and were, as rule,
tolerably we'll satisfied il week
passed without something unusual
Detailing them. II a mans well
rope was reduced 10 a meie strand,
so that some morning when he let
his bucket down in the we'll il stayed
there, he knew Old Short had passed
during the night--and he knew
equally well that a new rope would
be mysteriously on hand in a day or
two, as il was a recognized principle
with the joker that hisprauksshould
not cost his victims anything per-
manentlY.
A few incidents selected out Of a
great number remembered by the
writer will illustrate how Old Short
made fun for himself by putting his
fri nds to inconvenience. Riding
home one cold winter night at a
very late hour, he had to pass the
house Of Uncle Johnny McLane, the
the venerable blacksmith Of the
neighborhood. Stoppingat the gate
he hailed and was answered by the
blacksmith, who appeared on the
porch IN extremely abbreviated gar.
ments, thinking, perhaps, that some
body was dead or very i'll.
"dod night, Uncle Johnny" sait
Old Short, in his most cordial tones
swell, what do you want?" shiv
. II i'll Ill ,,,ar