Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1893-02-16
MORE OLD TIME TALES
Told bya Former Resident of Wash
ington County.
Personal "reminiscences OF Interest to
Present Readers.
DENVER. Col. Ian. 81. !

o"yi do VIC ooys say mere Wnen tney are
well pleased with anything, ut is a
bird, or lit is out of sight" Your
paper is bird, il is full of interesting
reading; perhaps more SO to me as l
was born in your county, within four
miles of your town, on the old Steve
Brown place, in the year 1918, but af-
ter some years moved to the Tyler
farm, on Chucky; lived there twelve or
thirteen years, and from there moved
to the old Jimmy Cloyde farm.
What you say of Henry Click, the
OK and flax brake and old Sammy Doak
is true.
There was another man when I was
boy second to none when it came to
fun, mischief and drinking; he was a
joyial, clever man when sober, and he
was old Billy Bricker He had small
farm on chestnut ridge near the old
Casper Lot place and near the old Nc
Ghee farm had q small field cleared
on a steep hill side, which look as
though it was hung up by the corners
to dry. At one time when a boy
went home with one of his boys. and
that morning they had killed a hog,
the only one they had, and the old wo-
man, Barbary, had the feet cooked for
dinner. While eating, old Billy came
home about half full and said, Bar
barry, haven't you little drop of whis
ky hid away in a teacup?" mo" she
says, mot drop on this place." He
said, ''You are liar!' and snatched
up one of the pigs feet and let drive at
the old woman, hit her in the forehead
and cut cash over her eye, then ran
out and got the axe and took after the
boy, and there were two boys running
this boy for home and his boy to keep
out of the way of the axe. l did not
see old Billy for long time after this.
The next time l remember seeing him
was at old Henry Sliger's, above the
Jim Cloyd place. Henry kept peach
brandy, whisky and cider. My mother
sent me up there to buy some butter,
and while was there old Billy Bricker
came to the door and Mrs. Sliger met
him and asked him what he wanted.
Billy said, "Mrs. Shge1, l came to see
if l could get little drop of good
whisky, | got a pint over at Dick Green
ways but yours is so much BETTER
Old Mrs. Sliger said, go home, you
nasty old Pill, to your wife and child
ren; you peter pay for the little drop
you cot here pefore." Old Billy was
feeling in his pockets, and she said /:
'Pill, what you feel youf booklets for,
you know you got no moneys"
"Well," he says, Mrs. Sllger, here, 1
found ninepence. The old woman
says, "Well, Pill, I don't think nine
pence wort would hurt you,' took his
bottle and drew him the whisky, and
old Billy left. Then the old lady turn
ed to me and said John, does you
know how to set a geese ?" "Yes, l
have set geese "Well," she says,
Isaac can't make my geese set he
put the eggs in and the geese won't set
down then he build little pen round
the nest, put her in, then the devilish
,, old geese would set standin then he
put big fiat rock on her back, squeeze
her down all dat mite, and next morn
ing the old geese was deaf" Isaac
was negro boy they had. left with
my butter.
must say that your paper is the
finest Jonesboro paper since Bill Brown
lows Jonesboro Whig and Landon C.
Haynes Tennessee Sentinel. I believe
Brownlow used to call him Landon
Corn Haynes. The boys asked Brown
low why he called him that, and he
said "Old man Haynes has some old
red hills over in North Carolina, and
calls them farms, and sends Landon
over there to collectrel is and he cheats
( the poor tenants out of all their corn
and gives it to the yellow wenches. y
AT one time Alex Brownlow, pretty
jolly fellow, fell out with some of w.
G's printers and knocked one of them
down with his little shot gun, and had
to leave town or go to Jail. He left,
and one Dick Smith with him. They
called Dick Straitback, for there was
others of the same name there. Twas
at Adam Broyles store, and in came
Dick and Alex. They had pint of
whisky and insisted that l buy them
some butter and potatoes. They put
the potatoes in the ashes to roast them.
Alex. told me what he had done and
said, DO you see this shotgun
yes" "Well, it is half full of shot
and powder, and if old Dan Barkley
comes after me will put this whole
load through him. said, "What if
Wash Willett comes ?" "Oh," he said,
81 will persuade him to go back, he is
a good man." They got the potatoes
out and sat down on the floor to eat,
the bottle standing between them.
Alex. kept watching Dick, and finally
said: II have seen people butter their
taters, but you tater your butter; e'gad,
the butter is the biggest every time"
This is the first day of February, the
first cold day and the first snow since
Christmas. The snow is about three
inches deep, and at O'Clock this even.
ing the mercury is one degree above