The Lexington progress. (Lexington, Tenn.) 1884-current, 1921-04-01
REMINISCENT.


brought TO my mind a story l am dis
posed to take chances on relating to
Progress readers, so here goes:
The first time | ever saw Newt
Watkins, travelling man for the Hur-
ricane Wooden Mills, of Humphreys
county, Tennessee, was in the home of
my father, DR.. Daniel Barry, at Flat
woods, Wayne county, between the
years 1874 and 1878. | was in my
18th year when my father moved from
Purdy, McNairy county, to Flatwoods
at about August LIST, 1874 and my
meeting with Newt Watkins occurr-
ed perhaps two years later. At the
time | mention Newt being in our
home, he, my father and two others
of our family were sitting around a
table playing Euchre and | was in the
room turning the leaves of the book
of "Sut Lovingood's Yarns" which |
had already read. Coming to the
picture of SUITS separation from that
new fangeled shirt, the recipe for
starching which the woman of the
house had procured from a passing
lawyer, | butted in and showed the
picture of SUITS almost nude body sus-
pended between the joints of the barn
loft and the dirt floor beneath, Sut
having tackled the tails of his shirt to
the floor of the loft and made the ia
tai plunge to get out of the garment,
which had glued itself to his body,
when he was asleep in the loft after
building an ash hopper for the wo-
man who had Numbered the new fan
gled shirt. When | showed that pic
ture to Watkins he went into convul-
sions of laughter, which broke up the
card game-and of course Newt had
to carry the book off with him.
But all this is just leading up to
more about Newt Watkins, who was
the son of widow, high class lady,
but very poor, her husband having
been killed by bushwhackers, during
the civil war, and she left with little
children to support. Newt seems to
have been the elder of the children
and while yet in his teens was given
employment by Col. Goodrich, one of
the proprietors of the Wooden Mills,
and finally he was sent out on the
annual or more frequent extended
round with the wool Wagon" buy
ing wool or exchanging for that COM
modify, the product of the mill-fine
blankets, coverlets, linseys, ETC.,
When Newt made his first trip he
was dressed in rundown, low-quar-
tered shoes, almost footless white
sox land Newt said that combination
Of footwear always appealed to him
as being specially captivating) low
hanging hip breeches, calico shirt and
ancient, cheap, black overcoat, the
kind which never ceases to let loose
its alleged dye from either rain or
perspiration. Well, in this garb, Newt
had to visit the home of cousin,
Mrs. Gordon, who lived in mansion
on fine farm in Williamson county,
which place he reached early in the
day and in addition to his extensive
trading of his mill products in ex-
change for wool, he did about $275.00
Of business with two Misses Zollicof-
fer who negotiated the exchange Of
wool for mill products through Mrs.
Gordon, never once speaking direct to
Watkins. / heard Watkins tell all
this and with seriousness, he added,
II might have interested these young
ladies, for | saw their father, Gener-
al Zollicoffer, killed on the battlefield.
| understood that the Zollicoffer
plantation Joined that of Mrs. Cor
don.
The trading all over, Mrs. Gordon,
with money in hand, said to Watkins,
~ don't like to trade with a gentle
man to the extent that l have dealt
with you without knowing his name.
What is your name? Newt, seeing
the trap he was trying to dodge and
being fully aware of his relationship
to the splendid woman to whom he
was talking, looked as silly as posi-
BILE and answered, watkins" A
CLEAN came into the eyes of Mrs.
Gordon and she pursued the inves-
tigation with the question Where
were you born?" and Newt answer
ed Georgia" Then Mrs. Gordon
asked Where did your father come
from when he moved to Georgia ?"
and Newt responded "Firginia."
Knowing that she was on the right
track, Mrs. Gordon asked where
was your father born" and Newt,
looking still sillier than he had before,
during the process of being catechis-
ed, replied Asia" Mrs. Gordon said
perhaps it was Wales" and Newt
admitted it was somewhat over
thar" Mrs. Gordon having located
Newt as kinsman, said "You nasty
rascal; we are own cousins" and
Newt without enthusiasm said "Air
WEI" Mrs. Gordon added "You will
take dinner and spend the night with
me; we want to talk, and put away
the money" | Judge that dinner was
the midday meal, for from that time
on until he succeeded, Watkins eff
forts were all directed toward get
ting away from an environment that
was not suited to his personal appear
ance.
The next act on the program was
dinner and Newt told how the negro
servant loaded his plate from time
to time, and he never eating bite,
how he scalded his mouth with hot
coffee, how he thought solid rice
pudding was cake Of corn bread,
tried to break it and sank his fingers
to the second joints in the pudding
which is one that refuses to cool for
hours even at far northern points.
When Newt had finished singing the
red hot pudding from his fingers,
making non Sunday-S School eiacula-