• Contributor
  • Barnes, Bill
  • Packett, Margaret
  • Sutton, Etta
  • Sutton, Jake
  • Sutton, Eugene, 1895 or 1896-
  • Welch, Jake
• Format
  • Transcripts
  • Interviews
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 1939
• Extent
  • Dimension: 11' x 8.5"
  • Pages: 40 pages
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • GSMNP_Cata-Hall_Tape_15_1939

Joseph Hall Tapes TAPE No. 15 CONTENTS BILL BARNES, Hartford, Cocke County, Tennessee, 1939 Panther story cont'd Birth and schooling Bear stories of his father Mrs. MARGARET PACKETT, Big Bend, Haywood County, North Carolina, 1939 Note: A good deal of this is indistinguishable "Jimmy Randy" "The Brown Girl" - portion Story about the Big Bend killing "The Brown Girl" - another portion "Pretty Polly" - portion "Jackie Is a Sailor" "There Was a Merchant Lived in London" - fragment "My Dearest Dear" "Lady Margaret" "The Seven Brothereen" SIDE 2 Mrs. ETTA SUTTON, Mount Sterling, Haywood County, North Carolina - singing "Up at the Big Bend" "Once I Had a Sweetheart" "Pretty Polly" - portion JAKE SUTTON, Cataloochee, Haywood County, North Carolina Account of the dynamite explosion at Bi.g Creek Panther story Bear hunts of his uncle, Tobe Phillips EUGE1~ SUTTON, Cataloochee Creek, Haywood County, North Carolina Page 517 518 519-521 522 523 524-525 526-527 528 529-530 531 532 533 534-535 536-538 539 540 • 541 542 543-544 Story about liquor making and turkey shooting How Turkey George Palmer got his name Story about his grandfather Story about Tyne Woody Story illustrating mountain talk (Pheasanta) 545-546 546 547 548 549 Joseph Hall Tapes TAPE No. 15 - CONTENTS cont'd JAKE WELCH, Ryan Branch, Hazel Creek, Swain County, North Carolina Stories of bear hunts Page SSQ-552 .cJide TAPE No. 15 n:,; SIDE No. 1 BILL BARNES, Hartford, Tennessee, 1939 Panther story - contd Birth and schooling Bear stories of his father Begin 000 Break 031 Begin 039 Break 086 Begin 089 Break ·097 Begin 098 Break 113 Begin 116 Break 129 Begin 130 Break 155 Begin 156 Break 233 MARGARET PACKETT, Big Bend, North Carolina, 1939 "Jinmy Randy" "The Brown Girl" Story about Big Bend killing "The Brown Girl" 11 Ere tty Polly" •Jackie Is a Sailor" "There Was a Merchant Lived in London" "My dearest Dear" "Lady Margaret" "The Seven Brothereen" Tape runs out Begin 234 Break 273 Begin 274 Break 296 Begin 297 Break 318 Begin 320 Break 345 Begin 346 Break 356 Begin 356 Contd 363 Break 375 Begin 375. Break 385 Begin 386 Break 398 Begin 400 Bre!ik 406 Begin 408 Break 422 Begin 423 Break 451 453 L - SIDE No. 2 Mrs. ETTA SUfTON, Sterling, North Carolina - singing "Up at the Big Bend" "Once I Had a Sweetheart" '·'Pretty Polly" JAKE SUTTON, Cataloochee, North Carolina Dynamite explosion on Big Creek Panther st·ory Bear stories of Tobe Phillips EUGENE SUfTON, Cataloochee, North Carolina Liquor story ·How Turkey George Palmer got his name Story of his grandfather · Story of Tyne Woody Mountain talk Begin 000 Pause 054 Pause 070 . Begin 073 Bre.ak 098 Begin 099 Break 109 .Begin 110 ·Break 120 Begin 121 Break 142 · Begin l44 Break 157 Begin 159 Break 191 Begin 192 Break 224 Begin 225 Break 247 Begin 247 Break 270 Begin 2 70 Break 289 Begin 291 - Break 319 Begin 321 Break 340 Begin 341 Break 364 Begin 366 Break 373 Begin 375 ·Break 385 JAKE WELCH, Hazel Creek, North Carolina, 1939 Bear hunts Tape runs out Begin 386 Break 442 454 TAPE No. 15 - SIDE 1 - From Index Counter Number 000 to 008 is blank. Set Index Count~Number at 000 at beginning of recording. BILL BARNES, Hartford, Cocke County, Tennessee, 1939 - contd tO) I run down t' th' house an' got my dogs. An' th' dogs wouldn't run 11) whatever it was. An' th' do- older people told, me that, dog wouldn't run a panther. Later on, I 's a goin' to th' mill, one mornin'. Before day light. Moon w's a shining bright. I seed somethin', squat down in the road. Looked t' be a good sized bulk of some'in'. An' I held most 1cided I'd shoot I had a pistol in my pocket. An' I stood down my hoss, little bit, an' it just lay there squatted in th' road, an' when I started my boss, it sprung right up and, I heered it hit the ground two * or three times 'n' it runout of hearin'. An' if hit wasn't one of them thin~ I don't know what it coulda been. BREAK * - said so fast it sounds like one word ·\.___-; 37) My father, w's born, in Haywood County. On Jonathans Creek or Cove Creek I couldn't (Pause) UNIDEN. I was born, in Haywood County. On what called Cove Creek. (Clearing throat) An' w's raised, on Catalooch, an' Big Creek. North Car'lina. Tell about your schooling. I guess (clearing throat) all th' schoolin' that I ever got, I got it, on a little log, in a little log cabin. Sit on a bench split o~t of th' logs, just th' legs in it for chairs. They set in it. I don't s.uppose, I never had no kind of a book but just one of these Blue Back spell in' books~ I don't guess that I ever went to school more than a month or, not exceedin' two months. In my life. It got up a writin' school, :osl) PAUSE .)) An' I went to a writin' school. About, a couple of days. · I got some copy. An' I kep' foolin' with them copies til I could begin to write. And. I got so I could write a pretty good hand. 0) BREAK · r,~·?t·~;;?£;:~~tS"f~r::/~';"4~~~~"'~~~~~~-:'~:: :'~j~·-."'~'".\~"::/<:~~; - · ·.·:_.~ ?(''i"·!~ Jose.ph ' Hall Tapes ,. > •, -o, __ ,_ -~~:· , .. ~>. ; ' "'-¥.-.......... ~ ' : ,; .-.•.. tl) we 's out, a layin' out in the mountains, at what's known as th' Bend .. of th' River. An' they 's a cornfield, had corn in it out there, an' bear got t' comin' into that cornfield, eatin' corn. An' my father, set a gun, and killed the bear. He tied a string, around the trigger an' brought it back behind the guard, an' stretched th' string out (clearing throat) way across the path of the bear where he come in the field. An' th 1 bear c·ome • why, he pressed that string, 15) PliUSE OK. Go ahead. 7) He pressed that string and, fired that gun. And killed that bear. I guess th' bear woulda net three hundred pounds anyway. Then he st-, you wanna' know 'bout him shootin' 'nother un? Tell how he killed the bear. (HALL) Huh? Tell how he killed the bear (HALL) Y' have talk pretty loud I think tell about Just te 11 a bout 9) BREAK 1) Kinda stay back now a little bit. Huh. And. He set his gun at another place, where they crossed th' fence, an' caught another one. A-n'. We, I 's with him, an' we tracked that bear 'bout a mile. By th' blood 'n' it 'd lay down once in a while. An'. We tracked it, 'fore we got down, 'bout a quarter t' th' mo- of th' river, we heered a gun fire down at th' river. A-n'. We just tracked on 'n' w'n we got down there why, that bear had swum the river an' they w's a crowd camped over on the other side. An' they shot the bear an' killed it, finished killin' it. An' grabbed it up an' run off with it. Before we got down there. So they told my father later that they got th' bear. 1) BREAK My father,. an' my brother, wa- went t' th' mountains a hunt in 1 1 out in th' Bend of th' River. An-d they killed a little deer, A-n. They camped out there. An-n'. Next mornin' they got up jist a gittin' light, an' started (clearing throat) out in th' woods t' hunt again, an' they looked a goin' down a ridge, an' saw a big large bear. Goin' walkin' down th' top of th' ridge. An' my father, had a large, rifle gun, shot a good sized ball. It 1s a considerable distance for a man t' kill a bear but he fired on that bear. My brother never got t' shoot, th' bear run, jumped w'n his gun fired an' my brother never shot. That bear run down that ridge, about a hundred an' fifty or two hundred yards, an' dropped dead. W'l they run, an' took ater it way it run 'n' just pretty soon they run up on it a layin' there. Battin' its eyes they said. An' my brother, he never got to shoot it wi' th' first shot, he shot the bear in th' forehead, when it w's about dead. An' they sent th' boy, my brother in with th' little deer that they'd killed. I had a man, hand hired t' workin' fer me, 'n 1 he sent after me 'n' him to come help carry that bear in. So. We struck out. There 's a little snow on the ground, very cold weather. An' we got to the old man, just about sundown we got to where he was. 'N' he 's a draggin' up wood to make a fire. An' he never had, been back to th' bear since him an' my Page 521 · bro-, brother left it that mornin'. He'd been out in the woods a huntin' he said. An' we just broke, to it as quick as we could an' all went in to skinnin' that bear, skun it all out took that hide offn it, an' cut it into four quarters. Th' four of us. An'. We ever' one had just about what we could tote, of bear meat you see. We went back to where he w's draggin 1 up th' wood with it, an•, we went t' (clearing throat), slicin' up that bear meat into slices, 'n' stickin' it on forked sticks, set it up before the fire 'n' bakin' it. We laid our bread, down (clearing throat), an' let th' grease run out of that bear, onto our bread, an' it warmed our bread up. An' I eat 'n' eat. I said to my father I says, "Father" I says "I'll have to quit eatin' this meat." P.e says "why was that." I says "I couldn't tote a quarter of this meat out in th' mornin' (clearing throat), if I can't eat no breakfast." (Clearing throat) He says "eat ever' bite you can eat." An' he said "I'll garantee you in th' mornin' you'll (clearing throat) it'll eat just as good as now." . (Clearing throat) God knows I don't know how ,_ much I did eat, 'cause I eat a tremendous lot of that bear. Next mornin' I it tasted jest as good as th' first bite that night. ') BREAK 0) MARGARET PACKETT, Big Bend, Haywood County, North Carolina, 1939- singing II JIMMY . RANDY" Except for one st~nza, this is mostly unintelligble to me. She's th' queen of this country An' the darling of my life I know it is intended Fer to make her my wife. BREAK "THE BROWN GIRL" 1) The, or bring you the brown girl home. The brown girl she has house and land Fair Ellender she has none Before you shall wear the bresh we single You'll bring me the brown girl home. He dressed hisself in solemn black His weddin' dress in brown And every station he rode through They taken him to be some king. He rode til he came to fair Ellener's gate He dingled the ring so loud But none was as ready fair Ellen herself Fer to rise and let him come in. What news what news Lord Thomas she said What news are you bringun to me I have just come to ask you to my weddin' 'Tis sorryful news to me. ) BREAK MARGARET PACKETT - contd 9) Th' trouble. They comes back 'n', Scott said was a comin' overt' her house, w'n Lester come back. An' Lester didn't come back an' he stayed all night but Scott said next mornin' when he come t' me he said he heered somebody talkin' in th' night 'n'. Next mornin' he went on up to where they 's a talkin' an' w's, Lester 'n' Robert Hicks an' his wife w's a layin' in Lester's arms. An' his wife got up 'n' run around th' hill an' he tried t' git 'er t' come back an' talk to 'im, 'n' she wouldn't. An' he come on over to my house then an' told me, that he didn't care fer Lester a talkin' to his wife, but he'd kill carl Miller if he ever ketched 'im with 'im that's when he said poor boy hew's a gonna see trouble. I reckon that's about all I know. (UNIDEN} Why I did. (UNIDEN) What w's it like? Oh yes. Got two inches left now ain't it? Well Scott come back to my house next mornin' he come out up hyar 'n' sittin' right 1-----1 an' come on back 'n', went t', layin' his hands on his shoes is gone. An' he went on up on the mountain 'n', met up with, Lester Brown 'n' ~1ey Hicks 'n', Floyd Brown. Well Floyd stood there 'n' 3) talked with 'im he says Floyd he says Floyd says Boys says I have t' go. Says wasn't fer that I'd be hyar with ye all day. Now that' all I told 'im. BREAK LIBRARY GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATiONAL PARK I} MARGARET PACKETT - cont'd - singing I can't sing "THE BROON GIRL" Ferbid it ferbid it Lord Thomas she said Ferbid it now I pray Fer I 's expectin1 fer to be your bride Ferbid it Lord Thomas she said. Come read me a riddle my own mother And read it all as one Whether I shall rna- go to Lord Thomases weddin' Er tarry this day at home. I'll read you ·a riddle dear daughter she said I'll read it all as one If you'll be advised by your dear mother You'll tarry this day at home. To Lord Thomases weddin' I'll go today It 1 s to where I have ten thou T' where I have ten thousand foes To where I have one friend. 8) Tapes To Lord Thomases weddin' I'll go today If my coffin stand there at my door. She dressed herself in solid white Her maidens all in green An' every station he she rode through They took her to be some queen. BREAK MARGARET PACKETT - cont 'd - singing "PRETTY POLLY 9) Oh Polly oh Polly pretty Polly he said Oh dear how can stand there and be married to me. I yam too young I yam not fit I yam too young fer to marry just yit. Oh he took her by her hand and he rode her his steed OVer hills an' lofty mountains to valley so deep That's enough of that un I guess. 7) BREAK ~·· 18) ~) MARGARET PACKETT - cont-d - singing What? "JACKIE IS A SAILOR" Jackie is a sailor His trouble's on his mind To leave his native country His darling girl behind And sing oh and sing oh fare you well my darlin' Oh captain won't you let me go Jackie is a sailor His trouble's on his mind To leave his native country His darling girl behind And sing oh and sing oh fare ye well my darlin'. She stepped up to the captain Oh won't you let me go Your waist is little and slender Your fingers little and small And sing oh and sing oh, fare ye. well my dar lin'. Joseph Hall. Tapes ._ - f~;,(' t.·'?: I know my waist is little an' slender '\ .. · My fingers little an' small But, she, never made me tremble To face the cannon ball And sing oh and sing oh, fare ye well my darlin' BREAK Tapes MARGARETT PACKETT - cont-d - singing "THERE WAS A MERCHANt LIVED IN LONDON" There was a merchant lived in London He had two sons and a daughter fair The prettiest boys that lived about them Was my daughter dearest dear One mornin' they w's in the room courtin' Her oldest brother chanced to hear He went out an' told his younger brother We will break up her awful love BREAK MARGARET PACKETT - cont-d - singing "MY DEAREST DEAR" ) My dearest dear /-----/ 1-----1 when you and I must part There is no one knows that in us Reek of my poor achin' heart. She was a /----/ fer your sake But you're the one I love I wish that you could go with me an' I could stay here My dear old father's heart To lay my /-----/ on my mind But for your sake I'll go, at BREAK 1-----1 When you an' I must part There's no one knows that in us Reeks of my poor achin' heart And then th' wind blows around her Bearin' carryin' what I say To one that I love best Until my dyin' day BREAK ) MARGARET PACKETT - contd - singing "LADY MARGARET" Lovirr William rose one mornin' in May Put on his new suit of clothes Said I know nothin' of Lady Margaret lady Margaret knows nothin' of me All in that morni.n' at eight or nine My bride Lady Margaret shall see. All in that mornin' at eight or nine My bride Lady Margaret shall see. o'clock 6'clock lady Margaret sittin' in her high chimareen Combin' back her yellow hair But who should she see but Sweet William an' his bride Come saiiin' home from church. She laid up her ivory comb She backed the yellow hair She tumbled down from her high chimareen Fer t' never live no more. ) MARGARET PACKETT- cont'd - singing "THE SEVEN BROIHEREEN'' Oh rise you up you seven brothereen And bring me down your sister For it never shall be said that a steward's son Can take her out of the town Oh rise you up fair Ellender says And go along with me For it never shall be said that a steward's son Can take you out of this town.' He mounted on a milk white steed And her on a dapple gray And he swung his bugle horns all around about his neck And he went windin' away He hadn't been gone but a very short time Til he look-ed back again And he saw her own dear father an' seven brothereen Come tippling over the plain Then light you down fair Ellender he says And hold my steed by th' rein Til I play while on yander plain With your father an' seven brothereen. Fair Ellender did she stop there And never spoke a word . • Til she saw her own dear father an' seven brothereen A wallerin' in th' blood. Fair Ellender did she stop there And never spoke a word Til she saw her own dear father's head and seven brothereen Come tumbling down by her foot. Just hold your hand sweet William she says Your hands look woundful sore Oh are you mad fair Ellender he says For what I've done fer you Tis love that runs through every vein And fathers I have none I wish you was in your mother's tambereen An' I was in some fern If I was in my mother's tambereen You you'd be welcome there too END of SIDE 1 Tape runs out at 386 ) TAPE No. 15 - SIDE 2 - From Index Counter Number 000 to 007 is blank. Set Index Counter Number at 000 at beginning of recording. Mrs. ETTA SUTTON, Mount Sterling, Haywood County, North Carolina - singing "UP AT THE BIG BEND" Down at Big Pigeon all at th' Big Bend I 1spose you all heard of th' rough bunch of men Their latest conduct it was a sight For takin' Mims White's an' Scott Brown's life. I've oftimes wondered how women love men And oftimes wondered how men they could sin 'Twas loving being wimmen which has brought Their troubles an' caused their downfall. Up on the mountain not far away Oney an' Buster went t' pass time away 'Twas there at the rest log just sitting around Up stepped Mims White Oney's husband Scott Brown. Oney ran around the hill Where Frank an' Varn worked at their still She ran to them in an awful fright Says "I'm 'fraid Scott an' Mims might take Lester's life." They just worked on til they got that run out Says "we will go up see what the trouble's about." They run up the hill an' nearly around Armed to teeth with big pistols an' gun. PAUSE Says "we have come up to hear th' news" Then Scott an' Mims both asked for th' sole them shoes And there at the rest log where the trouble begin They beat them an' shot them with a large rifle gun. They carrie them off quickly with little to say And then without sorrow they were soon laid away PAUSE They gave to 1-----1 their shoes an' their socks Varn said to Frank "we might go to jail But I've often heered it said dead men tells no tales" But little did they think in the finalling end It might be death or life in th' pen. After they were buried an' long forgotten Frank McGaha in Waynesville jail Told Detective J. O'Malley that awful tale. Back to th' Bend O'Malley will go To work in th' rain an' toil in' th' snow Said he would find th' bodies of some more lost men If they were in th' Bend how diff'rent they 'd be Their drinking wild BREAK Back to th' Bend O'Malley will go To work in th' rain an' toil in th' snow Said he would find th' bodies of some more lost ·men. If they were in th' Bend how diff'rent th~ 'd be Their drinking wild hogging would soon come to an end Prehaps they'd make better wimmen than men. That's all of that one. BREAK Back to th' Bend O'Malley will go To work in th' rain an' toil in th' snow Said he would find th' bodies of some more lost men. If they were in the Bend how diff'rent they'd l;>e Their drinking wild hogging would soon come to an end Prehaps they'll make better wimrnen than men. BREAK ) Mrs. ETTA SUTTON- cont'd - singing "ONCE I HAD A SWEETHEART" Once had a sweet- Once had a sweetheart, a S\oleetheart brave an' true His hair was black an' curly, his loving eyes were blue. Of course he 's like all other boys, he had a girl in /-----/. Said th' fleet has him away one day I never knew what for Said th' fleet has him away one day to the Spanish American war. Oh when he come to say goodbye my heart did overflow Goodbye my dearest darlin' t' New Orlean I am bound. He placed a ring on my finger, a gold diamond thing Remember me dear darlin' when I'm in th' far off land. BREAK He promised me he'd write to me his promises he kept true The very last lines I got from him was "soon be at home with you." I read th' letter with a bowed down head and with a careful heart In about two hours I got a message that my darling boy was dead. I'll always keep his little ring and all of his letters too I'll live an' die a single girl for th' boy that was so true. That 1 s about it. BREAK "PRETTY POLLY" Oh down in London city fair lady she di d dwell And the truth of her beauty no tune can tell And the truth of her beauty no tune can tell. Pretty Polly pretty Polly oh yander she stands With gold rings an' bright diamous all on her right hand With gold rings an' bright diamonds all on her right hand. Pretty Polly pretty Polly will you be too unkind To seat yourself by th' side of me I'll tell you my mind To seat yourself by th' side of me I'll tell you my mind. Go put up your horses an' feed them some hay And seat yourself by the side of me so long while ·you stay. Pretty Polly pretty Polly come go along with me Before we get married some pleasure we see Before we get married some pleasure we see. He tuk her by her hand and he led her away Over hill through rough hollers to valleys so deep That'll be all right Nuh uh I can' t. BREAK Joseph JAKE SUTTON, Cataloochee, Haywood County, North Carolina, originally of Mount Sterling, North Carolina 3) My name's Jake Sutton. I's born an' raised at Mount Sterlin' North Carliner. I've been with the Great Smoky Mountain National Park for seven years. Back in nineteen hundred an' six, I w's on th' waters of Big Creek, an' I heered an awful explosion of dynymite. An' on the next followin' mornin' I learned that they w's six men killed. Ham Sullivan w's th' foreman of the job. Buildin' railroad. An' they w'-s, men loadin' a hole. An' th' hole got choked, an' Mr. Sullivan picked up a piece of, steel, an' stove down in on the dynymite, an' caused the explosion. An' blowin' the men to pieces. Some of them w's, blown away til they never fo und anything but, a small part of their body, as much as their little finger. Others, w's, blown up til they w's, parts of their body, separate. An' it blowed Mr. Sullivan fer, some 1 in' like a hundred yards I suppose. Slapped him up agin the face of another cliff, heels over head, an' his body was picked up an' put in a tub. And the other men w's fastened, some of them, between rocks that, hydraulic jacks screw jacks nor no kind of jacks that they could be available, w's able to press the rock off of the body. So/had to shoot the rock with dynymite to get it off their bodies. An' they w-s, pieces of the human bein's, in large trees, fer, I'd say hundred an' fifty yards, away from where the explosion made. So that's about th' story I expect of th' dynymite that, blown up at that time. BREAK 71E~1i~~~~·,~~~~![~~: . ,, .. ~··.~·,~!13?~, Hall 'Tapes ._. ) I'll continue a story about a panther a runnin' a feller. His name w's Bill Campbell. An' his brother-in-law 1-----1 lived in what we know as the Hickory Butt next to Pigeon River. This feller Campbell w's fishin' on what, we call Mount Sterlin' Creek. Near the mouth, of Pigeon River. An' he heered something make a noise. An' he looked around an' he saw a large panther layin' on a log fixin' to jump on 'im. An' he had a few fish, something like eight or ten. An' he jumped an' broke to run, an' the panther took after 'im. An' he still had his fish pole in his hand. An' he had a very steep mountain to run up something like a mile. An' this panther followed 1 im. An' he looked every minute fer 1 im fer it to catch 'im. So. Th' noise of his fish pole, kept the panther, backward, An' it never jumped on 'im. An' directly he throwed his fish. An' the panther stopped to eat his fish, an' when it eat the fish, it continued on after 1 im. An' he still helt to his pole, w's the only protection that he thought, caused th' panther to not ketch 'im. So he run up an' within a hundred yards of the house an' jumped the fence, an' screamed,· an' the panther, just run to th' fence and stopped. So he's known as Panter Bill Campbell, now lives on the waters of Cosby Cr~ek at Tennessee. So that's the story of Panter Bill. 19) BREAK 19) I want t' tell yea little story about one of my uncles. About bear huntin'. Back about forty years ago hew's on th', head of what they call Mouse Creek. He found a bear trail. And he cut him out a littl-e, road in the laurel, put him a turn-a-pull on the end of his rifle gun, til he could see the darkness of the bear. 'Long abou-t one o'clock in the night, th' bear come along. An' Uncle Tobe he shot th' bear. He heered it fall, an' it 's so dark that he couldn't see. He didn't have anything like a match. They had old, uh, flint rock to strike fire out of when they lay out. An' he didn't have any fire, didn't have any lights of any kind. An' he followed the noise of the bear down a ways, as far down as he heered it. An' hit 's so dark he couldn't see any further, an' he got to feelin' with his gun to see if he could feel the bulk of the bear. And he couldn't feel anything. So later, he crawled back up to where he first, w's sitting, stayed there until Jaylight. An' when daylight came, he went down to where be thought he heered the bear last, an' he looked off an' it had fell off over a clift he said was something like a hundred feet high. An' was mashed it up considerably. So he killed the bear, an' stayed all night there and didn't have any light, or any way of making any fire, and he come on out then an' left his bear and got help and carried the bear in. So that's about the story, of Uncle Tobe's bear hunt at that time. BREAK ~ "' .... ,---~.-~ .. - ~· - .~""'"" 39) I'll continue the story of Uncle Tobe. Back along about the same time of -·-:- ' [~' ;;'::··· ~·~"'.... . th' , ''/s'tJry i Just now told ye, he tuk one of his boys, he w's like somethin' like, fifteen or sixteen years old, went back into the Balsam Mountains. Near the lookout station in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park on Mount Sterlin' Mountain. He told the little boy, to set down there an' he'd go 'round the hill a little further, an' if anything come along, to shoot. And to hold direct on it, an' that he would not be gone long. So Uncle Tobe went off an' left the little boy, an' he said about 11:00 o'clock in the night, that he heered his gun fire. But still he never went back to him until daylight. He was near a mile away from the little boy at this time. An' he went back around at daylight next mornin' an' asked the boy, what he'd shot at an' he told 1 im he didn't know. That he shot at something an' heered it fall. So Uncle Tobe went down to where he, said that he heered the noise, and the boy had killed a large bear. Th' first one he'd ever been out to hunt for. An' the little boy stayed there all night by hisself, an' he w's about fifteen or sixteen years old. An' Uncle Tobe said it was a powerful bear, an' he had went farther, than he told the little boy he 'sa gain', he went somethin' near a mile back on into the spruce mountains and stayed by hisself a 11 night but he unluckily never got any bear. So that's about the story, of Uncle Tobe's next hunt. ) BREAK ':1:'- :'i' .' -;;::!~·:..:""t:r-. t ·i .0'f')·•.'f ;r-~- Josep,h Ha 11 Ta.pes·' . :t~f .. i'· -~- ~'<''-~;x; EUGENE SUTTON, Cataloochee Creek, Haywood County, North Carolina 55) Name, Eugene Sutton. Age forty-three. Born an' raised in Cataloochee in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. About thirty years ago, uh at that time we made a lot of likker in this country. Very near everybody made it. An uncle of mine an' a cousin, makin' likker in above my home, an' I was about thirteen fourteen years old thirteen I guess. An' got word that the revenuers comin'. An' so this uncle he 's scared, but decided to run the likker anyway. An' they, gave me a rifle, told me to go up on the mountain an' watch for the officers. If the officers come I w's to fire three shots an' they could run off. I made 'em give me a quart of likker, naturally we all drank then you know ever'body drink, big little young an' old. An' I had the quart of likker an' drank too much. Got t' fee lin' good. 'N' bunch of pheasants came up the ridge to me. 'Long in the evening. I killed three. Fired three shots, which w's th' signal, fer 'em t' fan out the still an' leave. An' my uncle an' cousin came very near burning themselves up, to get this still out. Gef it away. An', then I wanted to show my pheasants that I had killed so I had to go down to the still. An' w's out of likker too I had drank th' quart, 'n' spilled a part of it. An' had to go down get me some more likker. I went down 'n' 1-----1 wanted to know what w's wrong said "which way are they comin'" I said "who?" "Why the revenue officers." I said "why no revenue officers cornin', that I know anything about." "But you fired three shots." "Oh" I said "I 's killin' pheasants. I ' say three shots." I says "look a here what a big bunch of birds I '"'~r .. .:; ,f ~ ... "'>.(~ An' "thenthis unc'!e' of mine w's about to kill me. He got up a ;; . big brush, whipped me all the way down the holler in home • . . --: . BREAK Uncle George Palmer better known as Turkey George in this country, way back when he was a boy, did a lot of hunting. An' I think his record showed that he had killed a hundred an' one bear, all in the Great Smoky Mountain Par- National Park, prior to his death, a few years ago. 'N' he also hunted for other game. Turkey, bear, squirrel, coon, ·possum an' what have you. An' the way he got his name as I understand it, an' this Turkey George, that he couldn't kill th' turkey, with his gun. He 'd missed so many that he decided to build a pen. An' baited this pen with corn. He went up one morning, an' ha-d oh I don't know how many but as the story goes there must have been half a dozen turkeys ir, the pen, an' Uncle George undertuk ketchin' 'em an' bringin' 'em home. When he got a hold of the birds, two or three of the~ at once caught on to them, caught onto their legs, 'n' they just about whipped him to death that he had to come in an' get help he dropped th' pen back down on the turkeys, he still kept a part of them in the pen an' come home and got help, to go back an' carry in the turkeys. An' I SU?pose this is true because very near everybody in the whole country has told the same story. An' Uncle George never did deny it. 95) BREAK \:. 97) My grandfather, came to th' Cataloochee when he was a young man. Married an' settled here. An' raised a family of fourteen children. At his death he was ninety-four years two months an' seven days old. Fourt~en children, seventy-six grandchildren, a hundred and eighty-six great grandchildren, fourteen great great grandchildren, nnd two great great great grandchildren. An' only one of his grandsons made a preacher. The Rev. B. B. Caldwell. At th' present time of Greeneville South Carolina. Naturally grandfather was kinda proud of him, as he made the preacher. So he was holding a meeting a revival, in a small church on th' over on the mountain. Grand-father was standing up in th' pulpit with 'im. Couldn't hear very well he was about ninety years old then. An' Cousin Brown preaching away grand-father talkin' to the congregation back in the house. Brown would preach Grandpa \>1ould say "now pay attention to 'im thar. Notice 'im. You'd better lissen at 'im he's a tellin' ye the truth every word of it." Cousin Brown says "My good people I'm a gonna te 11 you if you don't quit this way of living, quit living in sin all th' days of your life ridin' in these old automobiles drinkin' likker playin' cards, goin' to dances an' things like that, every one of you is going to he 11. 11 Grandfather spoke up and said ''Yes. An' from thar to the penitentiary. 11 Said "they sent four or five of 'em the other day up thar." Said "I 's thar an' heered 'em sencl 'em. 11 And that's a 11. 15) BREAK 16) Another great uncle of mine Uncle Tyne Woody. Raised on Cataloochee in the ,,._ ' :;- ... - ~· Great Smoky Mountain National Park, was quite a charAKter. He, - seldom ever left, stayed here very near all th' time. When he w's seventy-five years old, got t 1 fee lin 1 pretty good that day an' told some of the boys "yes. Yes. Yes. I'm seventy-five years old but I don't think I'll ever make seventy-five more." We all had quite a laugh about that Uncle Tyne makin' seventy-five more. Although he did make seven more but not seventy-five. 23) BREAK 24) gentlemen raised in this ' country here.', T' give you a little ··~-- ' idea ot'ho~1' they t alk. Down to th' barn--one morning, t' catch a mule. Mule w's kinda hard to catch. One wanted the other ·one to go in the barn > \_t·~o:r·· ' . ~. ~.'-; ~~ : and the other one wanted him to go in to get the mule. Mule w'd shake her head. One spoke to th' other unsaid "Go in that Dave 'n' ketch 'er." "Saul 1-----1 go in thar." Said "You watch 'er shake 'er head" Said "Shake 'er head nawthin. Knock a stall down thar got two of 'em 1-----1 they both shake their heads." "Stop/ I'm goin' in thar." Said "You watch 1-JW---1 her they'll keek me." /"Mule or not a keekin /-----/" Said "Uncle Saul 1-----1 at their heads." An' that's just about all of that. 2) BREAK 33) JAKE WELCH, Ryan Branch, Hazel Creek, Swain County, North carolina, 1939 You might tell who you are first and what date. (HALL) Yeah. Y' give your name and where you live Yeah. W'l I, I can tell you about 'bout me 'n' George Wilson ketchin' that. Right on th' mountains Where 1-----1 We went over there, a chestnut huntin'. An'. Tuk our wimmen with us leave he 'em there at one one fall 'n' Will/! 's married one fall an' him th' next. We went over there an' that old dog. Treed. An I • An I • We started back home wimnen said "hain't y' goin' t I that old dog." An'. An'. We told he 1 em ,thad a groundhog treed. IN'. Had th' axe with us. Went on down there. An'. An'. Hi-t an' an 1 had a had a cub bear treed. An'. He wanted me to come back horne an' git my gun 'n' kill it 'n' I wouldn't do it. I told 1 im. I says "George just cut down 'n' ketch it." ''Why" he says "he chew up fool." ·I says "no it won't, no it won't." He cut that tree down, down. It was up a big chestnut oak. 'N'. When th' tree fell hit broke 'n' run right back, right back back to me, an' I run it a little piece .'n' ketch it. I wantcha know, when he got there hit hit had all my clothes scratched off of me. Then he 's a fightin' I said me a hold of it. (Laughing) Well we had one more time with that devilish infernal thing an' I pulled my shoestrings out an' tied it. An'. We we brought it home an' kept it. Til hit 's it got got two year old. It got so mean had t' kill it. Tuk ten dollars fer it right up there. Tell us about when 1-----1 (HALL) (Laughing) ,. He 11 if I 1 d a knowed you fe llers 'd a been a com in' , t U I coulda been a studyin' about it, why one one time 'nother hit 'd been another thing. But then. I I hain' t fer hain' t fer got y' know I I told you fellers. But then me 'n' me 'n' Al Walker went to head of Hazel Creek one time, just by ourselves. I I hain't fergot that 'nuther. An' th 1 dogs treed two in the ground. An'. We just didn't have nuthin' but some old hog rifles. I killed one of 'em hit come out an' hisn fai-hisn failed t' shoot. An! that old she come out, 'n' I want you to know Mr. Man we we left there. I stuck out my gun but left it. (Laughing) Now we killed some deer 'n' turkeys, coons 'n' ever'thing else me 'n' old Al Walker did. That 's up here on head of Hazel Creek. What about a hunt wit-h with Little John Cable. Or Doc Jones. Did you ever go out with him? Yes lots 'n' lots of times. Tell us about a huntin' 1----•1 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. An'. We went right up here on on Walker Creek. One time me 'n' Little John 'n', Doc. Cray Forks. We go up th' Walker Creek laurel, sent them on above. We turned th' dogs loose there little John did we both come back 'n' went on to th' mouth 1-----1 Before we got to 'em we heered 'em shootin'. Went on up there. Little John's pretty bad t' cuss. "By God" he says "we got 'im." (Laughing) I says "have ye John11he says "yeah." He says "By God" he says "we've got 'im." We went on up there to 'im. He 's a big un an' an' he 's fat. Me 'n' John 'n' Dan. I I got best tickled ever w's in life, we all went back up there. An' dogs run off 'n' went t' back of Smoky Mountains. So Next day come in. Me an' Dan an' a whoie wanted t' come in • . • ·. ~ r < " An'. Little John he wouldn't come him 'n' .~ Doc, wouldn't (Clearing Throat) .· ,, · 'be says an', an' when Little John spoke, say "I'm gonna get me a bear hide/before before I go home" that's Dan, he w's his his brother, he says "John that whiskey 1-----1 you go home~ (Laughing) /----- laughing too hard to be distinguishable---/ God we had one more time with this fool bear (Laughing) drive 'n' ever'thing. 78) END Tape runs out at 386

This 431-page manuscript is titled “Joe Hall tapes” and covers a series of interviews made by Joseph Sargent Hall (1906-1992) from 1939 to 1941. The history was collected as part of the Cataloochee History Project that collected photographs, stories, and oral histories about families who lived in the Cataloochee Valley. Today’s Cataloochee Valley is within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While, in general, the Great Smoky Mountains region was sparsely populated, the Cataloochee Valley remained an exception. By 1900, the population of Cataloochee had grown to 1,000 residents living in hundreds of log and frame homes.

• Creator
  • Hall, Joseph S. (Joseph Sargent), 1906-1992
• Contributor
  • Clark, Medfor
  • Cathey, Mark, 1871-1944
  • Case, Frank
  • Carver, Aden
  • Caldwell, Mack
  • Bumgarner, Willis
  • Bumgarner, Dexter
  • Brown, Bill, Mrs.
  • Boulder, William
  • Bell, Ray
  • Bell, Gleason
  • Barnes, Bill
  • Anderson, Ted
  • Anderson, Ken
  • Allen, Melvin
  • Allen, Emery
• Format
  • Transcripts
  • Interviews
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 1939; 1940; 1941
  • Date digitized: 2015-09-22
• Extent
  • Dimension: 11' x 8.5"
  • Pages: 431 pages
• Subject - Topic
  • Appalachian Region, Southern -- Social life and customs
  • Appalachians (People)
  • Cataloochee (N.C.)
  • Families
  • Mountain life
  • Musicians
  • Storytelling
• Location
  • Haywood County (N.C.)
  • Great Smoky Mountains (N.C. and Tenn.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • Cataloochee History Project
• Identifier
  • GSMNP_Cata-Hall_1939
• Repository
  • Great Smoky Mountains National Park