The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1910-09-15

OLD HICKORY As A BOY.
Little did the sandy-haired. freckie- !
faced Carolina boy. Andrew Jack !.
son. seventh President Of the United
State. dream Of the honors that
awaited him when he was ehopping
wood and milking cows In the home
OF his uncle. His father and mother
were poor Irish immigrants. who
came to the new world OF America
and built themselves O cabin on the
border line Of the Carolinas. The
father cleared a few acres OF land
and cultivated corn and tobacco for q
few seasons. but he overworked him.
self and died a few nights before his
afterwards famous son was born. The
little fatherless boy was named An
drew after his father. but he was
speedily nicknamed Andy. A kind
uncle took the child and the mother
to live in his own home, as the rude
log cabin where the father died was
too desolate for the widow to return
20 it. AS soon as he was old enough
little Andy went with his young cous-
ms to school. 1t was what was called
an "old field school," not free as the
schools are at this day, and not grad
ed. All the pupils were In a long
spelling class and the one who missed
the word that came to him was
turned down" by the successful
speller. The schoolmaster believed in
using the switch, stout hickory fer
ule with which he would make the
dust fly from the legs of the boys
homespun trousers. The school house
was long, low cabin, under whose
ridgepole tall man would be oblig-
ed to stoop. it had clay floor, no
that occupied almost an entire end Of
the cabin. About this chimney place
with its glowing log fire the pupils
gathered and studied their lesson
aloud, most of them bawling at the
top of their voices.
Little Andy was afraid of no boy,
no matter how much older than him
self. He was not a pretty Buster
Brown Boy by any means. When
he was eighteen he stood six feet and
one inch in his stocking feet, but his
weight was not great as he was quite
thin. He had strong rugged face.
shock of sandy hair that stood up
aggressively over his head. But he
had the eye Of an eagle, keen, quick
seeing and a clear blue gray in color.
Some Of his hair is among my souve-
Mrs, having been sent me by AN
NICE" who has written SO many
charming little poems for the Golden
Age, Household and the Voices of
Youth.
| I am sure you remember the pub
| lie career of this log cabin schoolboy,
| how he made his power felt in ma
tional councils, how he became a
! Senator from his adopted State, Ten
nessee, then judge of the Supreme
| Court of that State, how he won a
splendid victory in the fight with the
English at New Orleans in 1912, and
| how, later on, he conquered and
crushed the Indians in Georgia, Ala
| bama and Florida. On November
8th occurred the anniversary of his
successful fight with the Indians at
Talladega and on the 10th of No
vember Jackson burned the Indian
town, Autossee. Later the Indians
rallied and received their last blow
at Horseshoe Bend Cor Tohopeka, as
they called it,, when their brave
chief surrendered, making this
speech, SO full of proud, mournful
dignity and heartrending pathos:
; white warriors, am in your
power. Do with me as you please.
II am soldier. I have done the
white people all the harm I could.
[ have fought them, and fought them
bravely. If I had an army, I would
!. yet fight, and contend to the last
but I have no army. My people are
all gone. Once I could animate my
warriors to battle, but I canno,
arouse the dead. The bones of my
!, warriors are at Talladega, Tallusa.
hatchee and Tohopeka. While there
were chances for success I never left
my post nor duplicated for peace
But my warriors are no more, and
now ask peace for my nation and
for myself.