4. Upon what did Hope’s eyes smile mildly down? What was blessed with so deep a love? What clasped the neck of Hope? What was it that fell asleep? What was the lost child?
David Crockett in the Creek War
(Volume VIII, Page 37)
Almost any child who is able to read for himself will know as soon as he has read a few sentences from David Crockett’s Autobiography that the man was uneducated, and wrote in what could not be called “good English.” However, when the reader has gone a little farther he will realize that Crockett shows his own character in his writings, and that his language is picturesque and entertaining. Moreover, it is language that was characteristic of the early settlers in the region where the frontiersman lived, and hence is of some historical interest to us.
No apology is needed for including the selection in these volumes, although it has no fine literary merit; for it is the plain, direct story of a strong man with a clear brain, who accomplished whatever he undertook, whether it was building a home, fighting the Indians, or writing a book.
The story will speak for itself, and as it is a truthful account of things that actually happened, it will appeal strongly to the imagination of all young readers. However, it is worth while to call specific attention to some of the faults in style and actual errors in grammar, in order that the reader may not be affected unfortunately by the language, or be led to approve it as a style to be followed in these modern days. This can be done by means of questions, and as an illustration of the method we will consider the first four paragraphs of the selection, beginning on page 37.
“There had been no war among us for so long that but few who were not too old to bear arms knew anything about the business.” Does the phrase among us mean that the settlers had not fought among themselves, or that they had not been in conflict with the Indians? What was Crockett’s exact meaning? Does he convey it clearly? Does the word business seem dignified enough to be applied to war?
“I couldn’t fight at all.” Does the abbreviation of the words could not make Crockett’s style dignified or familiar? Do you often see similar abbreviations in what is known as “good literature,” except as they are found in conversation, where the tendency is always to use abbreviated forms and familiar terms? Does not the use of such abbreviations in this selection make it seem as though Crockett were talking to his readers in a free and easy manner, rather than as though he were writing a formal book?
“When I heard of the mischief.” In the first sentence of this paragraph, Crockett speaks of a “most bloody butchery” at Fort Mimms. Now he refers to it as the mischief. Is the word mischief strong enough?
“In a few days a general meeting of the militia was called.” Who were the militia? Why could not the militia be sent out as a body instead of calling for volunteers? Does he mean the organized militia, or simply the able-bodied men in that vicinity?