Loving Davy Crockett

ON AUGUST 17, 1786 David Crockett was born in a log cabin in a river bottom, not a mountaintop, in Eastern Tennessee, near Nashville. His autobiography "A narrative of the Life of David Crockett of the state of Tennessee' is a wonderful read, has been in print ever since its original publication in 1835, and was not ghost written, contrary to accusations. he spoke the book, and his friend, a fellow congressperson, transcribed it. he hated being called "Davy", considered it childish, and always signed his name "David". he was able to read and write on an eighth grade level, because he taught the skill to himself, which is difficult to imagine. His Hero was Daniel Boone, who was fifty years older than Crockett, and a legend during Crockett's lifetime. The two men were remarkably similar. both were prodigious hunters, and killed bear mainly because if they hadn't, human settlement would have been impossible where they lived. Bot loved Indians, and were always careful to keep moving west, to where Indians lived, who they preferred to whites. They both had large families, nine children for Crocket, seven for Boone. each has many descendants today, who congregate for family reunions. Boone claimed he never killed anybody, which is hard to believe, considering the bloody battle of Boonesboro, in which several hundred Indians and British regulars laid siege to the stockade community during the American revolution. On at least two occasions Crockett was saved by Indians. he had malaria, and while on his back, in the wilderness, a passing Indian told him that if he didn't get up and walk, he would die. they got him to a frontier home, where for two weeks David lay semi-conscious, while the lady of the cabin plied him with the infamous "Batesman's Drops". In congress, where he served three terms, he opposed Andrew Jackson's "Indian Removal" bill, the only western representative to do so. He reasoned that since the government he promised the Indians they could stay in Georgia forever, the government "arter keep its promises." Andrew Jackson and Davy Crockett despised each other, though they both came from Tennessee, and Crockett began his career as a supporter of Jackson. they split over the Indian issue, among others. Crockett taught himself to play the fiddle, which he used to entertain the teenagers who followed him all over Washington City. he could imitate the sound of any bird. he began to wear a coonskin cap only because people expected the famous frontiersman to; the idea came from a popular Broadway play "the Lion of the West", based on Crockett's life. The show came to Washington for a performance to raise money for charity, and Crockett was in attendance. Before the play began, the lone actor in the one man show introduced himself, then bowed to Crockett, who bowed right back. The crowd went ballistic. When David was defeated for a fourth term in congress, he told his constituents: "you all can go straight to hell. I'm going to Texas." At the Alamo, where Americans had gathered to form a new government in the revolt against Mexico, Crockett was trapped by his own fame, and could not leave, though he could have. as the Mexican army gathered strength for the final, inevitable assault, Crockett kept up spirits with his fiddle and tall tales. he stood a the top of the stockade and railed at the enemy. he was capture at the end, and executed on the orders of the petty Mexican general, president, and tyrant in command. After his death, Crockett became even more famous, a national hero, far more popular than president Jackson, who must have been displeased. David Crockett was one of the few American heroes to truly deserve his status. happy birthday, beloved. Your delightful, loving funny personality lives on, as does your spirit.