facts of his early life must be known, that we may understand the
circumstances by which his peculiar character was formed.

He had no instruction whatever in religion, morals, manners, or
mental culture. It cannot be supposed that his illiterate parents
were very gentle in their domestic discipline, or that their example
could have been of any essential advantage in preparing him for the
arduous struggle of life. It would be difficult to find any human
being, in a civilized land, who can have enjoyed less opportunities
for moral culture than David Crockett enjoyed in his early years.

There was quite a fall on the Nolachucky River, a little below the
cabin of John Crockett. Here the water rushed foaming over the
rocks, with fury which would at once swamp any canoe. When David was
four or five years old, and several other emigrants had come and
reared their cabins in that vicinity, he was one morning out playing
with his brothers on the bank of the river. There was a canoe tied
to the shore. The boys got into it, and, to amuse themselves, pushed
out into the stream, leaving little David, greatly to his
indignation, on the shore.

But the boys did not know how to manage the canoe, and though they
plied the paddies with all vigor, they soon found themselves caught
in the current, and floating rapidly down toward the falls, where,
should they be swept over, the death of all was inevitable.

A man chanced to be working in a field not far distant. He heard the
cries of the boys and saw their danger. There was not a moment to be
lost. He started upon the full run, throwing off coat and waistcoat
and shoes, in his almost frantic speed, till he reached the water.