The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-08-31

i
! magazines, and has a collection of scrap
books which are veritable mine of val
liable information about this region, and
| should some day be placed in the de-
partment of archives and history at
| Montgomery. Mr.. Thomas Clinton fire.
| quently contributes historical articles to
| the press and these in themselves are OF
great value.
A few days ago congenial crowd was
| in Mr.. Peter Clinton's store talking with
| him, and something was said which Mr..
Clinton characterized as a being about
as good business proposition as old Doc
Spinney's goat farm and further talk
induced Mr.. Clinton to tell of that farm.
Along about IS years ago there drift
| ed in Tuscaloosa chap who said his
name was DR.. A. B. Spinney He did
not specify whether he was of the Dill
and blue-mass variety tooth carpen-
ter or horse doctor. 1 think he had
some sort of a patent cure-all which
ne was not particular about selling but
would sell on occasion. He hung around
town for a while and said he liked the
place and he had a notion to settle down
and go to raising goats-more money in
goats, said he. than anything else in
the world They'd live on tin cans
sedge grass. sassafras sporuts, black
berry briers. bitter weed and dog fen
mel, and were fine at arithmetic mas
much as they were wonderful mutt.
pliers.
"Old Doc Spinney got to be a regular
crank on the subject of goats and the
money there was in raising the creatures
He went on to show that most Of the
lamb folks bought was goat meat, and
the hides were in good demand for MAX
ing leather for shoes and gloves, but he
was bothered about raising the pebble
goat hides and wondered if they came
off goats which ate pebbles or were
just raised on gravelly land.
AT any rate, he finally allowed that
he would just have to try out the goat
proposition and went out here three and
half miles on the Huntsville road and
bought the Gooch place. He was a
bachelor, he said So he moved his be-
longings out there and fixed up his
fences and bought him a herd of 100
goats.
Many time I have driven out that
way just to see the show I would gen.
orally find old Doc Spinney sitting on the
fence whiting and watching his goats
and laughing fit to kill-because out of
his herd of 100 goats there were SO bill
lies and only four nannies The result
was a continuous fight going on all the
time-and Doc Spinney would watch
those goats and laugh until he was weak.
A goat Is the funniest brute in the world
anyhow, and when a pair of bllies get
started at butting match It is a heap
more entertaining than these movies.
Doc Spinney had long black beard
came down to his waist-and I can see
him right now perched on the fence, his
beard waving in the wind as he whooped
and hollered with delight at the per-
Torrance of those Internal goats. I tell
you it was a show! l tried to tell him
that he had too large a proportion of
gentleman-or ungentlemanly goats-but
he wouldn't take any advice.
No. Mr.. Clinton, you don't under
stand goat nature they will settle all
their differences after WHILE he said,
and then after they have gotten the
fight out of their systems and can get
along amicably / will bring some more
lady goats in but these DULLES are too
rough for any self-respecting nannygoat
to associate with now!-and he'd laugh
fit to kill
Doctor spinney rather cultivated the
idea that he was cratic and took
good deal Of quiet fun out of the way
folks regarded his eccentricity He
did little or no farming out on the
Gooch place, besides having his goat
cry there. Seemed to have enough money
for his needs and took things pretty
easy. 1t was not suspected that he
might have a past; he was pleasant and
agreeable a good talker when SO in
clined and he had keen sense of humor
but he was rather reserved unless he
knew person well. He was very neat
in his appearance, and rather proud of
that long, silky black beard of his.
1T was afterwards learned that Doc
tor Spinney was none other than Jesse
James, the bandit and train robber, for
whom thousands of dollars reward was
offered. dead or alive.
I'VE went down to Selma, where he
had cousin, a man who was mighty
popular down there and who went by
the nickname of 'Woodbutch" and
visited "Woodbutch"--the latter called
that because he was a carpenter and
the boys would joke him on it-and
although / am told that 1t was pretty
well known about Selma that DIR. Spin
ney was none other than Jesse James
''Woodbutch" was so well thought of
and had SO many friends that nobody
thought of telling on his cousin. The
James boys came from pretty good
folks up in Missouri and holding up a
few trains and relieving some express
of money did not seem to
be an offense involving moral turpi-
tude. 1t rather appealed TO the aver
age man as tolerably sporty way Of
making living, and everybody knew
the James boys were 4brave-and
brave man, even IL he is wrong, always
commands certain amount of respect
and admiration.
Jesse James. or DR.. A. b. Spinney.
sold out his place about Tuscaloosa