AS HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY KNEW HIM 139 



on, until we knew them by heart, and, with a clamor of 

 tongues, would set him right if he omitted any incident 

 or related it in the wrong order. And we knew exactly 

 when to laugh and applaud, and enjoyed it all the more 

 because it was so familiar. 



"Often he would take the whole tribe out for long 

 walks, or to gather fruit or nuts, or bright-colored leaves; 

 and to reach the high ones he would make what he called 

 a 'Tennessee arm', which was a long pole with a crutch 

 at the end, with which he could twist them off, directing 

 us where to stand and hold up our little pinafores to 

 catch the coveted prize; and then what laughter and 

 hurrahs and congratulations would be bestowed upon 

 the fortunate catcher 1 He had pet names for all except 

 the eldest; he said she grew up too fast for him to fit a 

 name to her. There were 'Nannie Curly', 'Goggen', 

 'Davy Jones', 'Totts', 'Glum', 'Brave', and 'Sat Sing'. 

 By these names he always called us, and we knew we 

 had displeased him, and hung our heads with shame, if 

 he gave us our baptismal ones. 



"I don't think I ever went to school more than three 

 months altogether. He was my loving and tender 

 teacher always ; and when Betty and I grew to be fifteen 

 or thereabouts, we had to take care of one or two of the 

 younger ones and teach them to read, write, and cipher, 

 yet without allowing this duty to interfere with our own 

 lessons or our regular tasks of sewing. He taught us 

 our lessons at the breakfast table, and for an hour or so 

 afterwards, his plan being to bid us — my sister Betty 

 and myself — 'one at a time, tell him about the lesson'. 

 He seldom asked us questions on it, unless we found a 

 difficulty in expressing ourselves, and he never asked 

 those put down in the book. After both had had our 



