Original Print-Good Way Print, College Mound, Missouri
I have run several narrow risks of being killed in my time. I was throwed
from a horse when I was 106 years old. I had been at Smith Gipson’s
one of my sons, on a visit and had started home, and had a little creek to
cross; but there was no water where I had crossed. There was a bending tree
standing on the bank of the creek, and I was riding in a trot and my head
struck the tree and threw me off backwards and knocked me lifeless for a
good while. I was found and taken back to the house more dead than alive.
I lay in bed almost six weeks, and was fed all I ate during that time with
a spoon; nearly all who saw me thought I would die. It did not kill me, but
it broke me of horseback riding, and I have not done much riding by myself
since. I believe had it not been for that fall I would have been spryer now
than I am; though I have no room to complain, for I suspect I get around
as well as any man in the United States, who is one hundred and eighteen
years old.
After I was one hundred and three, I was thrown from a wagon and three of
ribs broken. Although I had so many narrow risks I never had any bones broken,
till then. In that respect I was very lucky. From my boyhood up till the
present time I never was any hand to keep trouble, but when it came to me
I always threw it off as quickly as possible. The most trouble I ever had
was my first wife’s death: she has been dead about forty-five years;
and I can say I don’t believe there is a more loving, faithful and devoted
woman living than she was. It was hard for me to give her up, but I now see
she has a home in heaven to which I am hastening, and that I shall see her
again, and know her; for the Bible says “ye shall knew as ye are
known.” She died a Christian woman without an enemy on earth. “Blessed
are the dead that die in the Lord, for henceforth there is laid up for them
a crown of righteousness.” I often think of the happy times we had here
on earth; many words she spoke are still fresh in my memory. I often remember
her telling me one day to buy some apple trees and put out an orchard. This
was over fifty years ago. I told her that I was getting too old, that I would
not live to eat the fruit. Sje said as for her part she was in no hurry about
dying; yet, poor woman, she would not have lived to have eaten the fruit,
but I could have put out several orchards and eaten of their fruit by this
time.
I was about seventy yearas old when my first wife died, and it was but a
short time before one of our children died, a girl sixteen years old, and
while she lay sick our youngest child, H.C. Gipson fell into the fire and
burned himself very badly so as to make a cripple out of him self for life.
For over six weeks we had to work with him day and night to save his life.
All those misfortunes happening so close together, made it the unhappy part
of my life. This left me a little girl to keep house; one little crippled
boy and three other boys all small: this looked like I was left in a very
bad fix, but I went ahead and did the best I could, which was poor enough,
I can assure you. My little girl soon grew uo until she kept every thing
done up well. About the time I began to think I was fixed to keep house once
again, my girl married and again I was left in a bad fix. Four boys and no
girl! I soon got tired of keeping house and farming too, so i concluded to
go out and hunt me up another house-keeper. The first I married was for love,
the second time was for convenience and a housekeeper, I went to see some
old maids; some were used up, some I wanted but could not get, and others
I could get but did not want. At last, I went to see a widow with four children.
I had four, and I began to think I had found the right one. I suppose she
did too, we soon made a match. I established her in my house, and everything
seemed to go on all right for awhile, but it did not last long. The children
began to fuss; I did all I could to prevent it, still they did not get on
well at all. This bothered my wife and her eldest son left home; two others
died leaving her but one little boy. One day she surprised me by telling
me that if I had just as soon, she would go and live with her children.
“Why Mother,” I said, “What is the matter? Have I not always
treated you well?” She replied “Yes Daddy, you have always treated
me well, but if you would just as soon, I will go and stay with my
children.” I told her I did not wish her to go, but I also did not wish
her to stay against her will. “Well, she said she had rather go. “All
right,” I said, “One day next week I’ll take you where you
want to go.” That was on Saturday, and on the next Thursday, I yoked
up the oxen and loaded her things on the wagon, and the boys and myself took
her stock and drove her back to one of her children. They were surprised
when they saw us coming, but we soon made them understand what was up.
We went in and staid all night, and the next morning I asked her if she had
any objection to my getting a divorce. She said she had not. I had always
treated her well and never given her a sharp word, so I shook hands with
her and we parted good friends. I saw her afterwards many times, and was
always glad to see her.
There was no sport as favorite as shooting. There was scarcely a week passed,
in pretty weather but what there were one and sometimes two shooting matches
in the neighborhood. They first shot for a beef, and when the prize was won,
then the shooting appeared to have just commenced. They had pony purses as
they called them; every one who wanted to shoot would put in ten cents, and
the best marksman carried off the pile. There was a man around there by the
name of Smith who was given up to be the best shot in the county. He would
bet one dollar and a half that he could hit a spot as big as a ten cent piece,
ten steps off, shooting off hand. One day he got so drunk, along in the evening
that he could hardly walk. He staggered around and finally made a spot and
made the usual bet. It was instantly taken up he being so drunk, and he got
up with his gun: he could scarcely stand, but he tried to get sight awhile,
and could not. At last he asked for some one to steady him, so some old man
did and he blazed away and knocked the centre out. After that he wabbled
around and made another spot, but he could not get a bet. Some said he was
so drunk that he would knock the centre out every shot. Once there were two
brothers at one of these shooting matches and one of them got his gun choked.
They went to a blacksmith shop near by and took the stock off the gun. One
of them put the barrel in the furnace and told the other to blow the bellows;
he looked in the gun barrel to see if the lead was melting and the gun went
off and blew the whole top of his head off.. The other one came running back
and said that he wanted some body to come down to the shop quick that the
gun had gone off and killed his brother, Some of them went down and sure
enough, there he lay, dead. They took him home, but that did not break up
the match. They shot on all day and at night they shot to see who should
have the lead. All hands shot thirty yards and the closest shot took all
the lead which had been shot in the target all day; this was after night;
by a pine torch light. I could tell of many accidents and narrow escapes
at these matches but they would not be interesting.
When I remember the many narrow escapes from being killed I do, myself, wonder
that I am still alive at this writing, and able to walk around in my son's
yard where I am now living: and can get up and down the door steps. Still
I am alive and of course I have had a strong constitution, but I believe
the way I have taken care of myself and my manner of living has had a great
deal to do with my living so long. I found out one hundred years ago, when
I was a boy, when I happened to miss a meal, and then over-loaded my stomach,
that I felt very dull and stupid for some time afterward; and if it was supper
I would not rest well during the night. I saw that it was hurting me and
I stopped it, and no difference how hungry I got, I found out the quantity
of food I felt better over and I ate that and no more. I often got up from
the table before I was satisfied, and I did very well till the next meal.
I never was a very hearty eater, and breakfast was my heartiest meal. I have
always eaten three meals a day when I could get them. Going so long without
meals and getting so hungry and then cramming a lot if ill-chewed food into
the stomach, will, I think do very well for one day, but it will soon get
a man's stomach out of fix and he will die if he keeps it up long. All the
supper I have eaten for years has been a biscuit and a cup of milk; or some
cornbread with my milk. One glass of milk is all I have ever allowed myself
to be in a hurry in eating, but taken my time, and a man ought to. I would
advise all, young and old to eat slowly, chew your food well, and never,
under any circumstance, ober-load your stomach with more food then it can
easily digest; you will feel better and enjoy life more, and i believe, add
many days tp your lives. "Be temperate in all things,: is the word of our
all-wise creator, and this is a command given to man, that if he violates
he will suffer to a greater or less extent; nor is this all: every command
of God that man does violate he suffers for. If we keep his commandments
we dwell in him and he dwells in us, and if he is in us he is there to comfort
and protect us, and he is able to make us to rejoice in infirmities just
as he did old Paul. Being one hundred and eighteen years old, I can see but
very little, and am infirm in many other ways, but yet all is well with me
for god is with me, and is helping me here on earth; I am just waiting his
own good time when he will take me to heaven. o blessed thought! for me to
think I am fast hastening to that blessed place; although I do not crave
death, but want to live as long as the Lord want me to. I want ever the Lord's
will to be mine.
I have always been as particular as possible to keep my feet dry. This, too,
I learned by experience. In my younger days I have often went for a half
a day at a time with my feet wet or damp, and it always made me feel drowsy
and dull. As soon as I found this out I just put a stop to having them wet.
If my shoes leaked I went and had them mended. If a man will find out what
makes him feel bad and stop it, there is no need of him going around with
a cane in each hand at the age of eighty, but instead of that he should be
able to do good work at that age, I could hardly tell I was failing at that
age. I never got so busy in work as to work in the rain, but always tried
to leave the field in time to get under shelter before the rain began to
fall. People often laughd at me for unhitching my team and going in the house
and sitting there an hou or so until it cleared up. But that was simply my
mistake, and I had rather have been mistaken once than to have got soaking
wet once, for I found getting wet made me feel bad and I never liked to do
anything that made me feel bad when I could help it. I never would work out
in snow storms, but I have always found more comfort in sitting in the house
and looking out at it snow than to be out in it. I never was in a hurry to
get out of the house to work of a cold frosty morning nor in heavy dews,
and when I got cold and could possibly get to a fire, and if it was very
cold I did not leave it soon. I took good care of myself in cold bad times
and in warm dry days I could work and it did not hurt me, for I was well
and not moping around with rheumatism, headache, and sore throat and so hoarse
I could not answer my wife when she called me to dinner. In the spring when
I commenced plowing, I got up about daylight, fed and curried my horses and
come back to the house and at half past eleven I turned out for dinner. This
gave me time to rest. At two o'clock I started back to work and worked until
time to turn out, feed, water and eat supper about one and a half hours before
sundown. I worked in this way as regular as I eat my meals, but when I got
tired I set down and rested, no odds how busy I was as it hurt me to work
when I am tired. Many a man has lost his health by over work, when one half
hour's rest would have put him, all right; just the same as a horse under
such circumstances. You may work a horse until he is very tired, and then
rush him on and he is often killed, or his constitution broke and hi is never
good for anything afterwards. This is noticed in horses more than men. A
man can soon tell when he has got the best of his horse, but we will overwork,
expose and kill himself by inches and never appear to find it out until he
can not do even one hour's work, and then he will begin to say that old age
is telling on him, when perhaps he is not over 45 or 50 years old. He is
mistaken.. It is not old age, but a broken down and abused constitution,
when the ought to be in the prime of life.
Be temperate in all things. The age alloted to man is 110 years, and if he
would not violate the Word of God and be temperate in all things and take
care of himself, there is no reason I can see why he shoud not live out his
days. I never had but one spell of fever, and that was when I was 43 or 44
years old and I went into the barrcks to see the soldiers that were quartered
there, and took the fever. I lay five weeks with it, and finally wore it
out. I never took a dose of medicine either. I believe that there are more
people die from the effects of strong medicine than there are cured by it.
I have taken but very little medicine, and have lived a long time.
I have used coffee ever since it has been in general use in the United states.
Until I was 25 years old there was scarcely any coffee used. There were plenty
of men and women who never saw any, and would have been like one of our neighbors
after ti began to get scattered over the country: there were several of us
talking about coffee being used, and he said he did not think it was much
account. He had never bought but one pound of coffee and then his wife did
not know how to cook it. She had boiled it a whole halfday and then could
not get it tender. I have used it regular since I was 35 or 40 years old.
One cup a day is about the way I have used it. I learned to drink it but
never learned to like it. I preferred milk, and always used it in preference.
I have used tobacco ever since I was sixty-five or seventy years old, and
never had taken but one chew before in my life until that time, and it made
me so sick that I did not think that I ever would try it again, but did.
I had a habit of chewing sticks, and when I was riding around , chew my riding
switch. Ond day a preacher and I by the name of Wright were going to a class
meeting, and he said, "Brother Gipson if you would go to using tobacco you
would stop chewing up you riding switch and sticks. It is a wonder you don't
get splinters in your throat." I told I had taken a chew when I was a boy
and it like to have killed me. He said I did not commence right. He took
his tobacco out and told me to take a small piece in my mouth for a short
time, and after while put some more in and let it stay a little longer, and
it would not make me sick. I did so and it was but a short time till I had
such n appetite for it that I could not do without it, and have used it ever
since. I never smoked.
I have tried several times to quit it, but have not succeeded. It is a nasty,
filthy habit, and I have never heard a man say yet who has an appetite for
it, but what he regretted he ever commenced the use of it. It is likely that
if I had used it from my boyhood I would not now be living. Boys and girls,
take an old man's advice, who is 118 years old, and perhaps the oldest in
the world and you will never regret it.
It will do you no good and perhaps a great deal of harm. Some perhaps will
say does the old man love his dram? He does. In my bringing up distilleries
were as thick and plentiful as mills are now, and there was scarcely any
one but what kept whiskey in the house and used it all the time, both men
and women used it. It was very cheap and all could get it. To take a sack
of corn to the distillery and get some whiskey, was just as common as it
was to take a sack of corn to mill and get meal for bread. Whiskey was pure
in those days, and it did not injure one as it does now, and you hardly ever
saw a man drunk. Whiskey was taken to the field the same as water. It was
worth fiteen and twenty cents a gallon, and we drank it whenever we felt
like it. When the distilleries were stopped by being a per cent put on every
gallon, and men had to pay a license for handling it, this stopped all the
small distilleries, and whiskey went up to seventy five cents and dollar
per gallon. This and the poison that was put in it stopped its use to a great
extent. I kept it by the barrel and sold it, and the profit I made on it
kept me in whiskey. I soon found that it was not pure and quit keeping it
in the house, but still used it occasionally, but I did not use it steady.
I still take a dram occasionally. If I used it steady the poison in it would
soon kill me. If you want to live out the days allotted to you, do not drink
too much whiskey.
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