The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-02-25
4 ADD OLD CHARACTER.
LIZ lonNNIE cRABTREE, WHO
w. IVES ON AN ISLAND.
. !. Are Hints Of Romance in Early
n Nv Of His Life--Some of His
Thrilling Experiences.


m Texas, February 23.--In earlier
,nsre were several fishermen who
.tea Red river and its tributaries
II Bonham. They were experts in
"a ,ocatlon, and on numerous occasions
n uere brought to this city measur-
,ron, three to five feet in length. But
=. old.tine anglers are gone now. Only
!, Them yet remains, He is Uncle
.aIe crabtree, and he declares his in
s,au 10 remain there until the last sum
sholl come. He is unique char
and his mode of living Is interest
The river has changed Its course to a
s,.lu extent during the past ten years.
has made what Is known as a cut
z ,ssr Elwood At a bend In the river
..r,ght cut was made, thus leaving a
=, body of water with no outlet. The
IL If land between the old and new
I. II the river is unlnhabitcd save by
". Johnuic. He has lived on this lonely
IN for several years. He plants a small
4. IN II. and in the summer time raises
n, snest watermelons TO be found any
-.sfe. He has a house erected on the
.,nd similar to the one the provcrhial
,Apson Crusoe inhabited and few are
~, who can boast of ever having been
,ahip It's walls. Efforts have been made
|. ,i0erent times TO extrude Uncle Johnnie
stn this island of which he has taken pos.
yapn, but to no avail. No one can pre-
i, A title to the land, and he claims to
In the same right there that anyone else
,sad have. The soil is very rich, and fine
sTs Of corn are raised there, as well. as
Xs,ion. etc. In the swamps OF the island
IN, old fisherman has his traps set, and
mtures large numbers OF hides and furs,
sNth he markets for good price.
M Is said to he the best manager of Il
INA In swift water there is in these parts
Xpi he has been the means OF saving a
amber OF lives along the river i'll time or
hliloW. On one occasion n man and his
hu!y were crossing the river on Il ferry
Hal when the river was high aud the
6irept swift. The cable broke and the
ugon and family were washed overheard
10 the dangerous stream. Uncle Johnnie
Hi down the river some distance, ana
hs the accident He quickly sprung into
large boat AT his camp aud pulled out
mdriver in an effort to rescue the family
{Nnl their perilouS position. 1t Is doubtfui
Il another man could be found anywhere
SA0 would have undertaken the dangerous
sk, fOi there were numerous whirl.
pOls in the stream, and large trees were
aatlng with the current at Il terrible
&|rsed. But this eccentric old man never
a. silated. but pushed his Goat out into
Xae turbulent waters. Uncle Johnnie
cached the middle of the river in time
It throw a rope to the wagon and the boat
|rs drawn to II. The family were then
FACED into the boat and safely conveyed
b the bank leaving the wagon to the
hercies of the waters. This daring feat was
Witnessed by crowd at the ferry landing
hf mile upstream. and the moment the
bat was seen pulling out from the bank on
rs mission of rescle, all at once
|ullzed that 1t was none other than the
srange old man who lived alone on the
ssnd. When this brave deed was made
isown to the public n handsome sum was
hered to Uncle Johnnie in recognition of
n heroism, but the gift was promptly re-
igsed by him.
There are numerous explanations of the
aqss Of his isolated mode of living Some
taln him TO be Russian subject, com
w to the United States to live under a
r@e liberal government of a republic: hut
faimer who once lived near Uncle John
V ssys that the old man took him Into
u confidence one time and told him the
VA thrilling experiences, intcrmingled
ylih pathos. He was once engaged TO n
leEng lady In Canada, but for reasons
NTH ne has never disclosed, the engage
s,nt was broken and Uncle Johnnie came
Nuih, locating near where he is now max
: ng bis abode.
Although citizen, he never votes, al
Cough he has expressed his appreciation
NNnently of the bountiful benefits derived
ssl the protective laws and government
4 me greatest republic in an the world.
'Ee peculiar fenture of this unique chan
1p fuat hat laN 10 n
eafman by occupation and is continuously
lne water, he has never learned the art
swimming. 1t Is an actual fact that he
e been known to fall out of his boat sink
ilr bottom of the river, and crawl Ia
Il hank IN safety He is the finest shot
me whole country surrounding him. and
ysylehtly starts of alone mp into the
Aanltia mountains in the Indian Terri.
ny, aud Is gone sometimes for several
ssess returning with the skins of many
sh animals. He recently sold in this
az che skin of n huge mountain lion which
,niled In the mountains.
His age is not known definitely. He
sys he was In st. Louis on his way to
exas when 1t was far from being the city
DOW Is Electric street ears were mol
aoagnl OF then, and the only electric cars
y ever saw are those In Bonham. We
la'ns to have been in Cana9a at the time
ine coronation of Queen Victoria. he
aaoe the latter remark recently when told
iAe death of Victoria.
me last enemy shall soon claim this
laant old parsonage for n victim. ant
.sen that fine shall have arrived there
nll pass out of this life n strange man
gout whom but little was known; ont
ae was never known to wrong single
.eaan being--withal man who endeav
'ea 70 attend strictly TO his own affairs
.ua giving all others an ample opportunlt}
w IN a like manner. In this he can bC
'aplated with profit by everyone.
Ashley Evans