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Memories of a Long Life                                            5

Mother said she got up to give me some tea as she thought I had the colic. My father had gone after a prisoner; she saw the light, thought it was he coming and the light was his lantern.  He was coming and saw it and gave the alarm, but they saved only what was in the big front room.  There were some men boarders; they, with my oldest brother, hurried down when they heard the alarm, but as they saw it burning so fast some one thought of brother William.  A man got up there, took him in his arms and just did get down as it fell in.  Well, I know all this is not my life’s history, but I thought it would explain why we were living in cabins.  My father had agreed to buy a small farm; only the two cabins were on it.  Now I will leave that and try to go back to my childhood days, and tell a little of my young days and middle age, some bad and some good, some deeds bad and some good.

 

            The spring after I was two years old (note: abt 1843) my father had gotten some lumber and had some workmen framing or putting up some part of the house.  I do not remember all the men’s names, but after the frame was up and the cover on, I can remember so well the work bench of Mr. Simon Webster and his oldest son.  The sleepers had been laid, and one Sunday several neighbor girls were there and were all trying to see who could walk the sleepers and not fall off.  My big brother (I could not say brother Thomas; I’d say bud Tommie) petted me to anything.  He had made me a little mallet, and I was sitting on one of the sleepers hitting the one in front with my mallet.  One of the big girls wanted me to get off so she could walk, but I was both stubborn and selfish, and did ugly.  I hit here as she tried me again; I hit her with my mallet.  Sister Sallie took my mallet, put it in the fork of a little bush in the yard.  My grandfather had his hand on the bush, bending it down, his knife open to cut it down.  Father saw him and asked him not to cut it down; he wanted it to stay and be a big tree for him to sit under the shade.  My grandfather, laughing, said to my father that he would never live to see it make a shade big enough; but he did and sat many hours in its shade.  It was 30 feet around the bottom long before father died, and he has been dead more than 51 years.  Last year I measured it and the one at the lower gate.  They both measured more than 35 feet.  I’ve done many little things that did not make me the good child my mother wanted me to be, but I am so glad that I can say truthfully that I never spoke one word back when she said do or go.  I loved my mother too truly and deeply to disobey.

 

            Mr. Webster and Mr. Thom had their work bench.  They had planes to make the plank smooth to make the floor.  They would put