In Texas with Davy Crockett by John T. McIntyre - HTML preview

CHAPTER XV
 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF DAVID CROCKETT

DAVID CROCKETT was born August 17, 1786, at Rogersville, Tennessee. He came of Irish ancestry, his grandparents settling in Pennsylvania. Afterward they traveled southwest and made their home in what was then the wilderness of Tennessee. In one of the almost countless Indian attacks upon the settlers they were both killed.

It is not known if John Crockett, their son, and father of David, was born on the ocean crossing to America, or in Ireland. At any rate, he grew up in America, and fought gallantly in the Revolution.

He married a Mary Hankins who lived in that rich farming region near the town of York, Pa. They had three daughters and six sons; David was the fifth child, and first saw the light of day on the banks of the Nolachuky River, Tennessee.

At the age of eight years David was engaged by a drover to help take care of his cattle. But after two weeks on the road he ran away, joined a wagon train and returned home.

Soon after this young Davy got into a scrape at school. He had a fight with a boy much larger and older than himself and thrashed him; then, fearing what the schoolmaster would say, he played truant. When Davy’s father heard of this he sought out his son. But the boy eluded him. And so we find him in the situation of fearing to go to school and also fearing to go home. So he ran away, engaged with another drover and traveled into Virginia.

The boy drifted about the country for a time, working for drovers and wagoners; once at Baltimore he was upon the point of going to sea, but the teamster with whom he was then engaged refused to allow him to go.

After suffering a great deal of bad usage, he made up his mind to go back home to Tennessee. To escape a whipping at the hands of his father he had endured hardships that were worse than a thousand whippings. He dreaded what they’d say to him and more than once hesitated on the journey home. But he was welcomed with open arms.

Now came the time for Davy to show the stuff he was made of; his father was in debt, and the boy, now large and strong and fifteen years of age, set to work to pay this off. It was accomplished in a year’s time, and by hard, steady toil, such as none of the family had ever dreamed him capable of.

The boy up to this time had little or no education; and so he set about getting one. In six months he had learned to read and write and do sums in arithmetic; this was all the schooling he ever had.

And through all this time the woods offered the young man a fair chance to gratify his love for wandering and hunting. Little by little his skill grew, and before many years he was considered the most deadly marksman in all Tennessee.

While still very young, Crockett married an Irish girl, Polly Finlay; and they began their housekeeping in a log cabin. Attracted by the hunting grounds and an opportunity to better his condition in life, he, his wife, and two boys later crossed the mountains with their household goods into Lincoln County and settled on Elk River.

Here in this paradise of the hunter Crockett’s skill grew and grew. There were many mighty hunters in that day, but not one whose celebrity approached that of Crockett.

But then the second war with England came on; Tecumseh rallied the Indian tribes against the white settlers who had begun to occupy their hunting grounds.

The Creek chief, Weatherford, attacked Fort Mimms with a war party of fifteen hundred braves. The fort was taken by surprise, and out of the garrison of two hundred and seventy-five only seventeen escaped.

This was the beginning of the Creek War. General Andrew Jackson was made commander of the American army sent against the savages. And in this army Crockett served as a volunteer.

During the campaign against the Creeks, Crockett undertook many dangerous scouting trips and took part in the battle of Tallushatchee, and also that of Taladega. His daring brought him prominently before the public eye in all the movements of the army against the Indians. Afterward he reënlisted and joined Russell’s Spies, with whom he performed many difficult feats of enterprise and courage. After the battle of Enotochopko his time again expired, and once more he reënlisted and fought to the end of the Creek War.

Two years after his return home his wife died; and not a great while afterward he married once more. It was about this time that he went upon an exploring expedition into the Creek country, where he was taken dangerously ill.

Later he removed with his family into the section bought by the government from the Chickasaw Nation. He established a home at the head of Shoal Creek, and was shortly after elected justice of the peace, and later still, colonel of a regiment of frontier militia.

As time went on, Crockett grew more and more in the public eye; he was just the sort of picturesque character that would please the rough and ready settlers; his marksmanship, his ready, backwoods eloquence made him the popular choice and he was sent to the Legislature. Afterward he ran for Congress and was defeated.

But it takes more than a single defeat to discourage a man like Crockett; and so the following election he ran again and was elected. He created a sensation in Washington during his stay in the city during his first and second terms as a Congressman. All the big cities of the east were also delighted to greet and entertain him upon one occasion when he visited them. But on his third attempt for the Congressional seat, he was defeated. Then he went to Texas.

There is not a great deal known of Colonel Crockett’s trip across the plains to the town of San Antonio; and even less of his doings after he got there. But that he fought as brave a fight as any of the other heroic defenders of the Alamo, those who knew him best were positive; and his name will live always in the annals of the Great West.

Other Stories in this Series are:

IN KENTUCKY WITH DANIEL BOONE
 IN THE ROCKIES WITH KIT CARSON