The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1907-07-12
The Passing of the Old
Fulton Ferry.
BY COL. w. l.. CLAYTON.

How long back do l remember
it? AS far back as 1855, and
that was the year, if my men,
ory serves me right, when the
present court house at Fulton
was built. But many, many
years before that the old ferry
boat was plying its trips from
shore to shore with it's precious
human freight. About 1867
there arose a question as to the
authority of the county to charge
for putting people over the ferry
and levy. 1t never came to tri-
al. and but few knew of it, and
they were staunch friends of the
county. | am not certain that
any but Eli Phillips and | knew
of it. The party who made the
question knew nothing of any
deficiency in the order to estab-
lish the ferry and build the levy
and charge for it, but was one
of those strong headed fellows
who said, nolens volens, the
county has no right to charge for
putting people over the Big Wa
ter. We let him pass by, and
when we had fully examined the
records there was nothing to be
found showing the authority for
establishing the ferry and levy.
After we made the examination,
we never again talked to each
other about it, and this is the
first mention | have ever made
Of it, and now the old ferry is a
thing of the past and a free
bridge has taken its place.
A long, long while ago, and
before 1859, just how many years
i do not remember, Uncle Billy
Landrum went to keep the old
Fulton ferry. He lived in an old
house, which then and for many
years before and after that time,
stood about seventy-five yards
west of the ferry and near the
south side of the public road.
Uncle Billy Landrum was a little
old dried up man, low of stature,
like Zachaeus, having a small
head, pinched nose and dark bull
let eyes. He was a man of few
words, devoid of education and
not possessing very heavy fund
of Intelligence. But amid the
rain, and the sleet, and the snow,
the cold weather and the hot,
summer and winter, year in and
year out, for long years, the old
man was faithful at his post.
You never knew and he never
knew when some wayfarer might
wish to pass, and therefore want
his services. 80 there he re
mained always at the same place.
You know we sometimes speak
of how confining a certain bust
ness is; but here was confinement
which was confinement indeed.
The only chance Uncle Billy ev-
er had to get over to town would
be sometimes when the water
was very high and the bridges
all washed away, when he would
occasionally carry over some peo-
pie from the west all the way
across the bottom, and 60 up to
town with them, and remain till
he carried them back again. This
might not occur once in FIVE
years, but it happened then much
oftener than it does now since
the government has made appro-
priations to clean out the River.
You know we speak of the pa
tience of Job; but as | have
thought of Uncle Billy Landrum,
standing always to his post for
so many years, never complain
ing, always accommodating, |
have said another Job come to
judgment. Uncle Billy was like
many other men in those days,
thinking it no sin to take a drink
when offered. In fact. it was
against his principles to refuse a
drink. Knowing this, some of
the boys coming home one night
after dark, and a dark night at
that, and he had no light, con-
cluded they would play a trick on
him; and while he would have
known them we'll had it been
daylight, he had no idea who the
gentlemen were, and they had
agreed before reaching the fer
ry to play mum. So about the
time they got half way across
the river, one of the boys drew a
great big black bottle of liquor
from his pocket and presented it
to the old man, grabbing him at
the same time by the shoulder
with the grip of a Samson, said:
Your money, or Your lifep'
They came very near Overdo-
ing the thing, as Uncle Billy was
almost thrown into spasms. With
all the old mans weakness for