Mexico weekly ledger., 1915-02-04
UNCLE JOHNNY GOODNIGHT
FAMOUS THE STATE OVER
An Audrain County Farmer Who In
The Early Days Was the
State Munchausen.
Had A Farm Near Long BlnEeh
Where He Lived and Told His
Stories to Friends.

Where He Lived and Told His
Stories to Friends.
Mitchell:-
| expect Colonel Bob remembers
some Of the tales Of Uncle Johnny
Goodnight. II seems to me with all
your improvements. agricultural
q~uizzes and simple life yarns, that
run in your modern newspaper, you
have forgotten one of Audrain's his
torians and story-tellers. Uncle
Johnny has entertained hundreds and
thousands with his stories Of forgot
ten times and simple folklore. Our
Oldest citizens remember many Of his
quaint stories built and elaborated
around North Fork, Middle Fork
South Fork, and Salt River. He was
the originator of Muck For that
one word he should be given a place in
the halls Of Audrain's Great. His
ready smile and keen wit helped
thousands. No eornshucking, log roll
Ting, or hog killing was complete
without him. He spun yarns by the
hundreds and his imagination will be
his monument as long as the minds
Of his hearers live.
Twice he almost died. This parti-
cular time his friends stood around
his bedside, waiting for the last. The
doctor (who, by the way, still livesl
had given him up, but with the deter
mination, which characterizes this
great old country gentleman, worked
against hope and watched every
feeble move for some sign of recov-
cry. Around the bed his friends gath
cred, waiting for the last words,
talking in subdued whispers of the
rain, the wet fodder, and the late
spring, and things that bear down on
the minds Of simple folks. There
was a sudden lull, Uncle Johnny turn
ed over; then with a dry smile and a
squint in his good eye to match the
one that was always squinty, with a
derisive look toward the high hill
where the grave stones clustered,
cleared his throat, took a little nip of
the wet ingredients to match the
weather outside and with a weak
voice yet growing stronger, launched
forth with the following story.
"a little muddy perhaps but not
smutty." Muck till then had been
clear, ON Irishman's version for dirt
with too much water. 1t was now in
the hands of Uncle Johnny to be
kneaded and modelled into a story for
his eager hearers. With a long sigh
and a shake Of his gnarled hand, he
started.
"This here little sixteen inch rain Is
Jest a dust settler comared with the
rain and thaw NV sixty-one. Laudy
how II rained, thirty-fye inches in
one week with spring thaw and three
months snow. declare you all would
have called the roads dusty compared
to that. Chickens, hogs and sheep,
jest lost; sucked in jest like quick
sand, you all don't know what mud
is cumpared to this here little drip.
Why-to-goodness old man Williams
down on Middle Fork, that ploughs
his land SO deep, ploughed up fourteen
shoats that he thot the wolves had
got, to say nothin' of the balls Of
feather that they had no time to
count. Work wuz rushin', crops late
but that was after this here tale.
As | sed, it had rained nigh on a
week and still a rainin', no flour, no
sugar, less than twenty miles; some
one had to go. Havin' the best OK
team for miles around, in fact the
best l ver seen, spotted Durhams
they wuz, eighteen hans high, weigh
ed twenty-five hundred apiece. Old
Spot and Ready, they wuz ready all
the time. Pull! goodness me, jest
grunt and stretch and something give
ever time. Why folks ] pulled logs
that after cut in twenty foot lengths
four times it nd take fourteen men to
turn for a foundation NV a barn. 1t
wuz up to me to git that -four and
sugar, so early one mornin' ] yolked
up Old Spot and Ready to the Inch
pinned wagon, that had stood the
trip ov ~forty-nine, and wuz still good,
jest seasoned, in her prime; and
started.
"The hill around North Fork wuz
easy goin', jest rock. But when | hit
the prairie, sakes but it was muddy,
an still a thawin'. | got to town
bout four that afternoon, only Wis
itor that town had had in tin days SO
folks turned out to see them oxen,
covered with mud yet full Of life.
Bout tin Of the most e~nterprisin' cit
liens helped me clean them up and
bed them down for the night. Bets
wuz high that evenin', in the tavern,
as high as a dollar to thirty cints that
| would never make it back. Cidar
was flown inside and rain pourin'
outside. Bout nine we turned in so
| could it an early start, two min set
up washing an greasin' my wagon
so mud wouldn't stick an loadin bar
rels of -four an sugar; sixty-two hun
dred they put on that wagon. At
four l wuz down feedin' that yolk,
rubin tallow and lard in their hides.
Slick, they wuz slick as moles. Lard
and tallow beats your new tangled
parain all hollow. Well at fv-thirty
we started. Bets by that time wuz a
dollar to twinty cints, an still rainin'.
| made it all right till | got to second
bottom this side the little stretch of
prairie tween Salt and North Fork,
then | hit a bad spot. ] could jest
see half the barrels stickin' out the
mud, an me hollerin an coaxin thin
two bodies, legs wuz unthot Nv bein
out uf sight out NV mind. Bout then
! hit a stretch Of woods where the
shade had kept the frost in the
ground. We got along fine for bout