Democratic Sentinel, Volume 3, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 July 1879 — “OLD HICKORY.” [ARTICLE]

“OLD HICKORY.”

The Americans are familiar with this sobriquet of General Andrew Jackson: yet very few know how it was earned by the old hero. The following explanation may be regarded as authentic, as it was derived originally from General Jackson himself, by one of his messmates during the Creek war. During the campaign which included the battle of Emuekfau Creek the army was moviug rapidly to surprise the Indians, and there were no tents. In the month of March a cold equinoctial rain began to fall, mingled with sleet, which lasted several days. The General was exposed to the weather, and was suffering severely with a bad cold and sore tnrout. At night he and his staff bivouacked in a mud dy bottom, while the rain poured down and froze as it fell. Some of his escort, finding that he was very unwell, became uneasy about him, although he did not complain, and laid down upon his blanket by the camp-fire with his soldiers. Seeing him wet to the skin, stretched in the mud and water in his suffering condition, they determined to try and make him more comfortable. They cut down a stout hickory tree, in which the sap was rising, and peel ed the bark from it in large flakes: cut two forks and a pole, hod down a floor of bark and dead leaves, and roofed it, and closed one side, or rather one end, of the structure against the wind with bark, and left the other end. open. They then dried their blankets. and made him a paller in the tent they had constructed. They woke up the old General, and with some difficulty per suaded him to crawl in. With ftissuddle for a pillow, wrapped up in thedry blankets, and his feet to the fire, he slept snugly and soundly all nighlj well cased in hickory bark.

The next morning an old man from the neighborhood came into camp with a jug of whisky, with which, after imbibing quite freely himself, he gave the military party “a treat” as far as the liquor would go. He seemed to be a kind-hearted, jovial and patriotic old fellow—a sort of “privileged character” in his county. While staggering about among the campfires, full of fun and whisky, he blundered upon the little hickory-bark tent, which immediately arrested his att£niiou. After eyeing it a moment he exclaimed, “What sort of an outlandish Indian fixiu’ls this?”and gave it a kick which tumbled down the queer-looking structure, and completely buried the old hero in the bark. As he struggled out of the ruins, and looked fiercely around for the author of the mischief, the old toper recognized him and exclaimed: “Hello! Old Hickory! come out of your bark and join us in a drink.” There was something so ludicrous in the whole scene that respect for his presence and rank could not restrain the merriment of the spectators. He very good-humoredly joined in laughing at the mishaps. As he rose up and shook the bark from him, he looked so tough and stern that tluyall gave him a hearty “Hurrah for Old Hickory!” This was the first time he ever heard these words, which were afterwards shouted by the millions of his countrymen whenever he appeared among them.