Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-14
ORIGIN OF A PHRASE
SOME "REMINISCENCES OF BRIG.
GEN. BURT.
Old Jack Robinson Out Near Fort
Bridger First Declared CAN
Whisky is Good"

brig. ten. Andrew 5. Burt, U. 5. "A, re-
Gently retired, and now visiting his daugh-
ter at Fort Myer. has fund of delightful
"reminiscences of the olden days on the
plains when the soldiers OF Uncle Sam We're
winning the west" and visit to his hos
pitable quarters is a rare treat. Such was
the fortune of reporter for The Evening
Star recently, and fresh winds from the
divide seemed to sigh through the room as
the old soldier talked Of the stirring days
of the COS.
II suppose you have heard" he said to
his guest that time-worn saying, all
whisky is good only some is better than
other but I'll give you box of the best
Manila cheroots If you can tell me where
it originated
The saying, that has been repeated from
one end of the United States to the other
during the past thirty years, was familiar
to the reporter, but he confessed that he
could not name it's originator
4 thought So" continued the general,
and have many times made bigger offers
than that without having to pay the forfeit
1t was started 1 am sure by old Jack
Robinson at Fort Bridger in 1868. Old
Jack. or, as he was Familiarity known,
s.Uncle Jack was character out there in
the days when Jim Bridger was the big
man of the plains, and he located at the
point near where Fort Bridger was later
established. His ranch was the meeting
place for all the scouts and trappers who
came anywhere near it, and he was hos
pitality personified. There aren't any of
his kind left. He came from somewher
in New England, exactly where nobody
knew, and nobody cared. A mans pedi-
gree was not inquired into in the days of
which I am speaking. If he was a man,
that's all any one wanted to know, and the
idea of a man was one who would share his
last piece of bacon and bareback with an
other less fortunate. Uncle Jack was that
sort OF clear through and n show
that he had no Ill feelings against the In
dams he married three Shoshone squaws
and brought them to his shack
The officers stationed at Fort Bridger
used to ride over to chat with the old man
occasionally, for life at small frontier
post Is not SO filled with variation that
ne1ghbors can be casually overlooked, and
1t was on one of these occasions that Jack
made use of the expression that has be-
come famous throughout the land. With
several officers l had been out into the
foothills of the Uintah mountains for
crack at blacktail and on our return we
stopped at Uncle Jacks for luncheon. the
fort being some miles further on. We were
a pretty tired lot, and one of the officers an
nounced his regret in loud tones that he had
run out of whisky. There are people who
may decry the use Of that stimulant at all
times, but 1 have heard 1t said that when
a man is fatigued it is one of the finest
things known to brace him up, and from
the observations Of many years 1 cannot
say that I am prepared to dispute the as
sertion
Just at the moment the officer made his
cutlery against fate Uncle Jack came
around the corner of the shack and heard
him.
What's that. captain?' he said. a twin
kle in the corners of his gray eyes.
II was just saying that l would give
dollar for a drink of good whisky
swered the officer; ours all gave out this
morning and we are pretty tired lot
Well, If that's all it'll take to make you
happy replied Jack, you needn't be missa-
bull long and he entered the house, return
ing in a moment with a demijohn in his
hand.
There was a spring at the foot of little
hill about fifty yards away. and We all re-
paired there for-water. The officer whose
yearning palate had been responsible for
the wet goods poured himself out a stir
drink into the tin cup that Jack handed
him, and with the preliminary How! of the
army, swallowed the dose. His face turned
scarlet, the veins swelled In his forehead
and he began to choke and sputter as If he
had swallowed pack Of firecrackers, with
middle of the back until he got his breath.
and the first words he uttered were: Good
heavens, Jack, what was that stuff
Whisky was the laconic reply Of the
old man.
Well, do you call that good whisky.
Jack?' he asked him.
% I sartin do, replied Jack.
It's the very worst whisky ever put
into my mouth! replied the officer.
you're wrong, capn,' said Jack, all
whisky's good some's better'n other. that's
all the difference. A friend o mine made
that whisky, an he knows his business
Maybe faint old enough fer you. reckon
it amt been outen the still more'n week.
but it's good whisky all the same
1.-The officers laughed at the quaintness of
the old trapper and when we got to Bridger
it became a standing joke about some OF
the liquor Judge Carter, the post trader,
sold, that 1t was good because all whisky
was good, but some was better And SO
that's the way one of the time honored say
ings that has become part of the folk lore
of the American people originated-'way
back on the plains at Bridger in 6S."