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In the fall of 1822 I found bear very plentiful, and, indeed, all sorts of game except buffalo. I supplied my family very well with wild meat till Christmas, at which time my powder gave out; and I had none either to fire Christmas guns or to hunt with. I had a brother-in-law who had now moved out and settled about six miles west of me, on the opposite side of the Obion River. He had brought me a keg of powder, but I bad never taken it home.
There had just been a big freshet, and the low grounds were flooded. I knew the stream which I would have to cross was at least a mile wide, as the water was from hill to hill, and yet I determined to go on over in some way or other so as to get my powder. I told this to my wife, but she opposed it with all her might. I still insisted,telling her we had no powder for Christmas, and worse than all, we were out of meat.
So I took my woolen wrappers and a pair of moccasins, and put them on, and tied up some dry clothes and a pair of shoes and stockings, and started. But I did not know, before, how much anybody could suffer and yet not die.
The snow was about four inches deep when I started, and when I got to the water, which was only about a quarter of a mile off, it looked like an ocean. I waded till I came to the channel, which I crossed on a high log. I then took to the water again, having my gun and all my hunting tools along, and waded till I came to a deep slough that was wider than the river itself. I had crossed it often on a log; but to my surprise, when I got there, no log was to be seen.
The log was now under about three feet of water, and the water under it I judged to be about eight or ten feet deep. After studying a little what I should do, I put down my gun and cut a strong pole. I felt about with my pole till I found the log, which was just about as deep under the water as 1 had thought. So I picked up my gun and with my strong pole in one hand, I started across the log. I felt my way along with my feet, in water about waist deep. By the time I reached the other side I had very little feeling in my feet and legs, as I had been all the time in the water except the time I was Grossing the high log over the river.
I went but a short distance before I came to another slough, over which there was a log, but it was floating on the water. I thought I could walk it, and so I mounted on it; but when I got to the middle of the deep water, somehow it turned over, and I went up to my head.I waded out of this deep water and went ahead till I came to high ground, where I stopped to pull oS my wet clothes and put on the others; these I had held up with my gun above the water, when I fell in.
At last I got them on, but my flesh had no feeling in it, I was so cold. I now thought I would run, so as to warm myself a little, but I couldn’t step more than half the length of my foot for some time.After a while I got better, and went on five miles to the house of my brother-in-law, having not even smelled fire from the time I started.I got there late in the evening, and he was much surprised at seeing me at such a time. I stayed all night; and as the next morning was most piercing cold, they persuaded me not to go home that day.
I agreed to that, and then went out and killed two deer; but the weather got worse instead of better. I stayed that night, and in the morning they still insisted I couldn’t get home. I knew the water would be frozen over, but not hard enough to bear me, and so I agreed to stay that day. I went out hunting again, and pursued a big bear all day, but didn’t kill him.
The next morning was bitter cold, but I knew my family was without meat, and I determined to get home to them.
I took my keg of powder and all my hunting tools, and started out.When I got to the water, it was a sheet of ice as far as I could see. I started to cross it, but hadn’t gone far before it broke through with me;and so I took out my tomahawk, and broke my way along before me.
At last I got to where the ice would bear me for a short distance, and I mounted on it, and went ahead; but it soon broke in again, and I had to wade on till I came to my floating log. I found it so tight this time that it couldn’t give me another fall, as it was frozen in with the ice.
I crossed over this log without much difficulty, and worked along till I got to my log under the water. The swiftness of the current had prevented the water from freezing over it, and so I had to wade, just as I did when I crossed it before. When I finally got home, I was nearly dead, but I had my powder, and that was what I had gone for.
One morning I left my son at the camp, and a friend and I started out for a hunt. When we had gone about a mile, we started a very large bear, which ran into a thicket.
When we came to the thicket we had to leave our horses. We went ahead on foot for some little time, when we met a bear coming straight toward us, and I started my tired dogs after him.
I followed on to about the middle of the thicket, when my dogs pursued him so hard that they made him climb an old stump about twenty feet high. I got in shooting distance of him and fired, but I was so tired out from running that I couldn’t hold my gun steady;but I broke his shoulder, and he fell.
I loaded my gun as soon as possible, and shot him again and killed him. Just then my friend came up. We skinned the bear,packed the meat on our horses, and then started back to camp.
We had gone only a little way when I heard my dogs barking again. I jumped down from my horse and gave him up to my friend,and told him I would follow the dogs. He went on to the camp, and I went ahead after my dogs with all my might, till at last night came on, and I lost my way in the darkness.
I suffered terribly that night with cold, as my leather breeches,and everything else I had on, were wet and frozen. My fire was very bad, and I couldn’t find anything that would burn well to make it any better; and so I knew I should freeze if I didn’t warm myself in some way by exercise.
So I would jump up and down with all my might, and throw myself into all sorts of motions. But all this would not do, for my blood was now getting cold. I was so tired, too, that I could hardly walk; but I thought I would do the very best I could to save my life,and then, if I died, nobody would be to blame.
So I went up to a tree about two feet through, with not a limb on it for thirty feet, and I would climb up to the limbs and then lock my arms together around it and slide down to the bottom. This exercise would make the inside of my legs and arms feel warm and good.
I continued this till day light in the morning, and how often I climbed up my tree and slid down I don’t know, but I think at least a hundred times.
In the morning I set out to hunt for my camp. I found it after a while, and my son and my friend were very glad to see me get back,for they were about to give me up for lost.
( David Crockett )
moccasins : a kind of footwear worn mostly by North American native peoples
persuaded : talked me into doing (or not doing) something
bitter : extremely cold
wade : to walk in water
prevented : stopped from doing something
A) Answer the following questions.
1)Why did Crockett go on a dangerous trip to his brother-in-laws?
2) How do we know that Crockett did not fear danger and pain?
3) How was Crockett able to keep himself from freezing?
4) Was Crockett more like Lincoln or Roosevelt? Why?
5) What great things did Crockett do which helped future generations?
B) Missing information—Fill in the missing information by reading the story closely.
1) Crockett hunted this animal -b _ _ _
2) Crockett didn’t find many of this animal -b _ _ _ _ _
3) Crockett hunted with these animals -d _ _ _
4) Crockett climbed this -t _ _ _
5) Crockett’s clothing was made from this material -l _ _ _ _ _ _
C) Summary—Write a short summary of this story.