Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-12-01
MY FAVORITE STORIES
By Irwin. S. Cobb

l have always been interested in the char
acter of Daniel Boone 1t seemed to me that
of all our native Indian fighters and explor-
ers he, perhaps, was the most gallant and
the most admirable, and certainly the most
typical.
A few months ago collector of early
Kentucky lore told me story Of the great
pathfinder. l leaped upon it with cries of
JOY. said to myself that if it were not
true, it nevertheless deserved to be true. So
far as my informant knew, it had never been
printed but instead he thought had been
handed down by word of mouth from one
generation to another. So I was making
new contribution to pioneer America when
| sustained a severe shock
This shock was the discovery that the
same anecdote, in substantially the same
form in which 1 heard it told by my Ken
lucky friend, already had appeared in print.
Indeed it was published tri1ing matter of
lO2 years ago. Tven so, 1 offer it here
again for the reason that believe it has
touch OF unconscious humor emitting it to
revival and perpetuation.
1T appears that in 1919 Chester Harding
an artist, being prompted by a patriotic i'm
pulse, made the long journey from his home
on the eastern seaboard to Missouri which
then was the far west, for the purpose of
portrait. At the time of Harding's arrival
Boone had left his home and gone on one of
his periodical outings into the Wilderness
The visitor followed along an obscure trail
until he came to tumble-doWn log shanty.
10 quote Hardings words, II found him
engaged in cooking his dinner He was w.
ing in his bunk, near the fire, and had a
long strip OF venison wound around his ram
rod, and was busy turning it before a brisk
blaze, and using pepper and salt to season
his meat
Il at once told him the object of my visit
l found that he hardly knew what l meant
| explained the matter to him. and he agreed
to sit. He was (nearly) ninety years old
and rather infrm; his memory of passing
events was much impaired, yet he would
amuse me every day by his anecdotes of
his earlier life. I asked him one day. Just
after his description of one of his long
hunts, If he never got lost, having no COM
pass. NO said he, L can't say as ever was
lost, but l was bewildered once for three
days."
The person on trial was coored He pro-
tested his innocence of the offense charged
But the jury, after listening to His Honors
instructions found him guilty and the Judge
evidently convinced that there had been no
miscarriage of justice, sentenced the con-
Vlcted man to long term of Imprisonment
at hard labor in states prison.
The deputy sheriffs had manacled the
ANA~ASAoCIOI
His Honor, face a1ame with sudden indigna-
ton, halted the procession
"Here!" he ordered. Bring that man
back here!" The officers returned the hand
cutfed offender to the bar.
What do you mean" demanded the irate
judge, "by using profane language in con-
nection with this court? How dare you
curse me? L am strongly tempted to add
i've years more OF your SENTENCED"
"Jedge," pleaded the offender, at didn't
say nuthin' ag'in you
"Have you the audacity to stand there
and tell me that minute ago, as you were
being led from this room, you did not NUT
ter under your breath profance utterances
aimed at the dignity of this court?"
NAV, suh!' stated the negro "Jedge
please sub, femme TIL you jest how twas
[ jest got to thinkin' dat even if can't git
jestice in dis world I'll be shoreIy able to ex-
plain when L gifts to heaven how come
got snarled up in dis we're mess So [ be-
gins talkln' to myeslf. l jest says: God am
de Jedge! God am de jedge! God am de
Jedge!'-jest lax dat"
Copyright, 1929