The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1903-09-15
113 YEARS OLD.
An Old Negro, Healthy and Happy, Who
Came To Town Yesterday to Secure
Fishing Line.

from Tom Neel's place between Saluds
and Little rivers, in the upper part OF
the county, an old negro who gave his
age as one hundred and thirteen years.
He looked every week Of it. He is
about four end one-half feet high but
he is remarkably erect for one who has
lived even the allotted three score and
ten. He is slightly deaf and his hair is
white like the SHOWS Of winter, but his
eye-sight is keen and his memory is
remarkably good. He came to town
to buy fishing line. He had little or
no money and Mr.. J. w. White took
him in charge and gave him hooks and
lines. He rode to town on wagon
his first trip to town in five years,
though he lives but twelve miles up the
country. He says he has not worked
in two years, but that he can pick a
hundred pounds Of cotton any day.
The old negro's name is Glasgow
Harris. He has been married five times
and his various unions have been blessed
with thirty-seven children, but one of
whom he now knows anything about
Others, he says, may be living. He
didn't know and didn't seem to care.
The old negro said his first master
was Robert Ray, Of whom he seemed
to have an indistinct recollection.
Harris says he recollccts coming to
Newberry long years ago, when there
was nothing here but a court house,
and when people came here only on
legal business. He told of an old pond
which he said was behind where the
court house now stands, and where
duck-shooting was the order of the day
He said that in those days there were
few stores, and those they had sold only
hardware and cloth and whiskeys-no
one ever thought of buying corn or any
thing else which could be raised or made
at home. He said he was seven years
old when George Washington was pres
ident and he had an indistinct recollcc-
tion of that period.
A reporter for The Herald and News
asked him what kind of habits he had
that he should live SO much longer than
other men. He said his habits were all
good-that he chewed habitualy when
he could get anything to chew, that he
smoked all the time when he could get
anything to smoke, and that he drank
all the time when he could get anything
to drink. With tears in his eyes he
said he hadn't had drink in something
over two years, but if he just had a
drink now hc would feel like a three
year-ol He didn't seem to have much
faith in the theory that liquor and to-
bacco shorten life. He told Of the whis-
key that used to be made in the "good
old days" 1t was good and mellow, and
people drank it and were happy and
never got drunk. He said, too, that in
those days cotton was $1.00 a pound,
and that maybe that was the reason.
He said he joined the Baptist church
some five or six years ago, when he was
about 107 and thought that he was pre-
pared to die when his time comes, though
he said he didn't see any reason why it
should come at all soon.
One could not but be impressed by
the old negro's age. 1t could almost be
felt as one looked at him. But he is
contented and happy. About the only
thing he does now is fishing, and he
says he catches fish which weigh as
much as twelve or fifteen pounds.
A large crowd collected around him
in Mr. j. w. Whites store yesterday
as he told the story Of his long life.