Probably circa mid-1930s, Macon County, TN
By Larry Reid © 2009
When Clyde Reid was barely a teenager, he normally tricked his brother Connie (yes, Connie!) into doing his chores so little Clyde could hang with his friends and have fun. One time the gang found an empty barrel and a large section of tanned animal skin. They set out to make a drum and have a counsel fire in the tradition of the red man. They did this and were soon bored. Little Clyde had an idea.
He had picked up a chunk of rosin which had been left by a fiddler after a dance. They took some heavy string, tied it to a small twig and punctured the drum head so that the string was fixed inside the barrel but could not slip through the hole. The noise made by rubbing the rosin down the taught string made the hair stand up on the back of their necks.
They hid the apparatus and agreed to meet back at their camp after sunset. That night a legend was born. They were on top of a ridge which formed one side of a long holler, as we say in Tennessee (or "hollow" if you are a yankee). They knocked the bottom out of the barrel and pointed it toward the holler, then began experimenting with various string tensions and any variation they could invent to make different sounds.
The bellowing that came from their improvised speaker was horrifying. It was very loud and could sound like a gigantic bull calling to his sweetheart. Quick, short strokes sounded much like the heavy breathing of some sort of unknown behemoth.
People began to talk about the Monster in the Holler. Some said they had seen it and it was as tall as the trees. Others seem to have found colossal footprints of some unknown enormous beast. It's amazing what you can find when you think you know exactly what you're looking for. The legend spread and hunting parties were organized.
Of course, the gang heard about this and decided to lay low for a while. There was talk that the beast must have a secret lair in a cave where it could escape the daylight. The hunting parties always came up empty. The boys learned to point the open end of the barrel different directions to throw the beast's voice and make it seem to move around.
If this story has an ending, Dad never told me. I assume that things became a bit too hot and they destroyed the evidence so that the legend would live on. No one was seriously hurt and the boys had a fine time creating their very own mythical beast.
I suppose that is the happy ending.
Showing posts with label the great depression. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the great depression. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Connie Found a Gun
Connie Found A Gun
Connie was a bit slower than Clyde which placed him in the position of constantly being manipulated into some very unpleasant situations. One day Connie was swimming in the creek, near the road bridge when his foot touched something smooth, cold and metallic. He reached down and brought up a .38 caliber pistol. It had been in the creek a while, but was not completely rusted out.
He and Clyde speculated on its origin. Maybe the infamous Bonnie and Clyde (actually Dad had a sister named Bonnie!) threw it in the creek to hide evidence of some ghastly murder. Maybe Al Capone came through here and tossed it out the window for much the same reason. The endless speculation was a big part of the value of this golden treasure. During the Great Depression in Tennessee, you had to be fairly well off to own such a prize.
Connie soon announced that he was going to clean and oil his trophy so that he could fire off a few cartridges. Clyde felt that this might be lots of fun, but that he also might lose a brother. He tried to talk Connie out of such a perilous course of action. Connie would hear none of it. He imagined that Clyde wanted to be the first one to fire the weapon and was, again, using his fiendishly devious mental powers on his little brother. Clyde could see that there was no talking Connie out of this. For the first time in their lives, he was genuinely worried about his brother's well being.
All of this was hidden from their parents, Amos and Ina Reid. Connie knew that his father would probably clean and oil his prize in preparation for selling it. They were as poor as everyone else during these hard times. Connie also realized that the entire family could benefit from this boon, but it was HIS treasure and he was not interested in sharing it. Maybe after he had fired a few rounds through it…this could be a rare moment of recognition for Connie. It was always Clyde who was so smart, such a good boy and the obvious favorite of their father. Now it would be his moment in the spotlight.
Connie begged, borrowed and stole to gather the necessary cleaning equipment and a few precious cartridges of the proper caliber. He showed Clyde his handiwork. Even Clyde could not possibly find fault with all his hard work. He waited until his brother had opened the cylinder, turned it carefully and looked down the barrel. Clyde looked him in the eye and said, "Connie, if you fire this pistol it will explode and kill you." Connie was visibly startled, but regained his balance and stuck to his theory that his brother was just jealous and wanted all the glory, as usual.
For reasons known only to Connie Reid, he re-enacted this scene numerous times. Maybe he thought this would trip his brother up and he would accidentally admit that Connie had done everything right and would be hero for a day. But Clyde stuck to his assessment of the situation and gave the same dire warning, "Connie, if you fire this pistol it will explode and kill you." He concluded that Clyde was a hard nut to crack.
The great day finally arrived. Timing was important. Amos Reid was off to work at the local sawmill and Ina had taken the girls to the General Store in town. She dare not take the boys. Connie carefully set up a tin can target and walked about 15 paces back to a tree stump. He sat as close as possible and braced his back against the old stump.
He asked his brother to join him. Clyde declined the invitation with a comment about one of them needing to survive this day. Connie was now becoming more than a bit nervous about his brother's gloomy prediction. He considered waiting a while longer and doing a bit more cleaning on the weapon. Then he loaded the three bullets into the cylinder, closed it, cocked the hammer, drew a bead on the tin can and pulled the trigger.
Everything seemed to happen at once. At the very moment the pistol fired, a well aimed rock hit Connie square in the back of the head. How a bullet could ricochet in such a manner as to come back around and hit one in the back of his head was not his immediate concern. He tossed the pistol into the air, grabbed his head with both hands, rolled around on the ground while screaming at the top of his lungs.
He instantly went from horror and panic into rage when he noticed that Clyde was rolling around on the ground laughing so hard he was having trouble breathing. Connie looked at his hands and could find no blood, although a lump was beginning to swell on the back of his head. Then the chase began.
If Connie had been a thinking man, he might have picked up the gun and fired a couple of shots in his brother's general direction. But, he didn't think of that until they were about a mile from their ramshackle home. By the time they worked their way back around to the house, all they could do was collapse and try to catch their breath.
Score another one for Clyde.
Connie was a bit slower than Clyde which placed him in the position of constantly being manipulated into some very unpleasant situations. One day Connie was swimming in the creek, near the road bridge when his foot touched something smooth, cold and metallic. He reached down and brought up a .38 caliber pistol. It had been in the creek a while, but was not completely rusted out.
He and Clyde speculated on its origin. Maybe the infamous Bonnie and Clyde (actually Dad had a sister named Bonnie!) threw it in the creek to hide evidence of some ghastly murder. Maybe Al Capone came through here and tossed it out the window for much the same reason. The endless speculation was a big part of the value of this golden treasure. During the Great Depression in Tennessee, you had to be fairly well off to own such a prize.
Connie soon announced that he was going to clean and oil his trophy so that he could fire off a few cartridges. Clyde felt that this might be lots of fun, but that he also might lose a brother. He tried to talk Connie out of such a perilous course of action. Connie would hear none of it. He imagined that Clyde wanted to be the first one to fire the weapon and was, again, using his fiendishly devious mental powers on his little brother. Clyde could see that there was no talking Connie out of this. For the first time in their lives, he was genuinely worried about his brother's well being.
All of this was hidden from their parents, Amos and Ina Reid. Connie knew that his father would probably clean and oil his prize in preparation for selling it. They were as poor as everyone else during these hard times. Connie also realized that the entire family could benefit from this boon, but it was HIS treasure and he was not interested in sharing it. Maybe after he had fired a few rounds through it…this could be a rare moment of recognition for Connie. It was always Clyde who was so smart, such a good boy and the obvious favorite of their father. Now it would be his moment in the spotlight.
Connie begged, borrowed and stole to gather the necessary cleaning equipment and a few precious cartridges of the proper caliber. He showed Clyde his handiwork. Even Clyde could not possibly find fault with all his hard work. He waited until his brother had opened the cylinder, turned it carefully and looked down the barrel. Clyde looked him in the eye and said, "Connie, if you fire this pistol it will explode and kill you." Connie was visibly startled, but regained his balance and stuck to his theory that his brother was just jealous and wanted all the glory, as usual.
For reasons known only to Connie Reid, he re-enacted this scene numerous times. Maybe he thought this would trip his brother up and he would accidentally admit that Connie had done everything right and would be hero for a day. But Clyde stuck to his assessment of the situation and gave the same dire warning, "Connie, if you fire this pistol it will explode and kill you." He concluded that Clyde was a hard nut to crack.
The great day finally arrived. Timing was important. Amos Reid was off to work at the local sawmill and Ina had taken the girls to the General Store in town. She dare not take the boys. Connie carefully set up a tin can target and walked about 15 paces back to a tree stump. He sat as close as possible and braced his back against the old stump.
He asked his brother to join him. Clyde declined the invitation with a comment about one of them needing to survive this day. Connie was now becoming more than a bit nervous about his brother's gloomy prediction. He considered waiting a while longer and doing a bit more cleaning on the weapon. Then he loaded the three bullets into the cylinder, closed it, cocked the hammer, drew a bead on the tin can and pulled the trigger.
Everything seemed to happen at once. At the very moment the pistol fired, a well aimed rock hit Connie square in the back of the head. How a bullet could ricochet in such a manner as to come back around and hit one in the back of his head was not his immediate concern. He tossed the pistol into the air, grabbed his head with both hands, rolled around on the ground while screaming at the top of his lungs.
He instantly went from horror and panic into rage when he noticed that Clyde was rolling around on the ground laughing so hard he was having trouble breathing. Connie looked at his hands and could find no blood, although a lump was beginning to swell on the back of his head. Then the chase began.
If Connie had been a thinking man, he might have picked up the gun and fired a couple of shots in his brother's general direction. But, he didn't think of that until they were about a mile from their ramshackle home. By the time they worked their way back around to the house, all they could do was collapse and try to catch their breath.
Score another one for Clyde.
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