Truth or Fiction? Tales of Jesse E. Casey in the Ozarks

American Panther, 1834, by William Jardine. (Image: American Philosophical Society ¹)

By Nancy Gilbride Casey


Truth or fiction? Family history or tall tale?

Perhaps a little of both?

It's not often that one finds their ancestors in the pages of a book, but the Casey family has found two, courtesy of an itinerant story-gatherer named Silas C. Turnbo.

Turnbo travelled northwest Arkansas in the late 1800s, collecting hundreds of stories of the exploits of early Ozark settlers, particularly exciting tales of animal encounters. He wrote two books which were published, Fireside Stories of the Early Days in the Ozarks, Vol. 1 and Vol. ². An additional manuscript of dozens more Turnbo stories has been transcribed into 28 volumes on the website The Turnbo Manuscripts. While his books were not best sellers in their day, they have become a veritable goldmine of genealogical treasure for the descendants of folk mentioned in their pages.

One terrific story, with the highly-evocative title, "Jumping Astride of a Panther and Hitting it in the Head with an Ax," features Jim's 4x great grandfather, Jesse E. Casey, one of those early settlers of the region.³

The second, excerpted from the chapter "Serious Wounds Inflicted on Hunters by Infuriated Bears in the Buffalo Mountains of Arkansas,"⁴ features not only Jesse E. Casey, but his son (and Jim's 3x great grandfather), Stephen Casey—and a bear:

"A story of a similar nature to the above was told me by Jasper Casey, who mentioned in another sketch that his grandfather, Jesse Casey, was an early settler on Buffalo above the town of Jasper in Newton Co., Ark. Casey was a bear hunter as well as a preacher. Mr. Jasper Casey said that it was told him that his grandfather, after killing a few bear to supply the family with meat a few months, would leave home on preaching tours. He would visit the settlements along White River and Crooked Creek and preach at all the settlers houses who desired him to, and pay equal respects to those who lived on Buffalo. His hunting after bear and other wild animals was generally attended with fair success until one day when he and his son, Steve Casey, who died on Crooked Creek in 1899, went out together to hunt for a big fat bear, which they had seen on a few occasions and which they knew was not hard to find. In a few hours the dogs which were 4 in number started a monster fellow which proved to be the one they were looking for and after a short chase It climbed up a tree which stood on a steep hillside with a ravine or gully a few feet below the tree. The ravine was 7 feet wide by 6 feet deep with steep banks on each side. When grandfather and Uncle Steve come up to the tree the former shot the bear, and it fell to the ground as limp as if he was dead and rolled down into the gully. He was not dead but quickly revived and rose on his feet. The brave dogs leaped down and attacked him immediately which nearly resulted in the death of one of the dogs. Grandfather was a great admirer of his bear dogs and loved them because they were faithful and obedient and if there was danger of one losing its life in a conflict with a wild beast he would risk his own life to save one of his dogs. When he saw that the bear was crushing the life out of his dog with its teeth he grabbed Uncle Steve’s rifle, which was loaded, and took aim to shoot the bear, but it and the other three dogs were mixed in such a roll and tumble way and the bear still hold of the wounded dog that he desisted for fear that he would kill or wound a dog. There was no time for delay in waiting to see whether the dog would get free from the bear or not for without interference the bear would certainly end the life of his faithful animal.

Snatching his knife from the scabbard grandfather leaped into the ravine, intending to bury the long blade into the bear’s body. Bruin was on his guard and as the man drew his arm back to make a desperate stroke with the knife, the bear dropped the dog and dealt the hunter a terrific blow with his paw which sent him backward against a sapling. The beast was wild with rage and rushed at grandfather and caught him by the right knee and tore the knee cap loose with his teeth. It was a terrible moment and Uncle Steve was horrified at his father’s dangerous position and without a moments hesitation jumped down the bank in front of the bear and placing the muzzle of the gun within a few inches of the forehead, fired. The bullet tore a great gapping hole in the head of the bear.

Grandfather was careful about training his children to never indulge in the use of improper language. He could never allow them to use profane words or unbecoming talk of any kind in his presence. To carry this rule out in a proper way he would set a good example himself before his family, for it was the desire of his heart to raise his offsprings to be honorable citizens and obedient Christians. But as the dying bear was sinking down, Uncle Steve could not refrain from saying, "Now, d—n your black hide, you infernal bear, I guess you will let loose of father’s leg." Grandfather though suffering intense pain, noticed Uncle Steve’s strange exclamation and remarked, "Steve, you know I taught you better than to use such an expression, and this is the first time I ever heard one of my children make such an uncalled for remark and it hurts me to hear you say it." It was many a day before grandfather was able to leave his bed. He was lame the remainder of his life."



Until next time...

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NOTES
¹ William Jardine, "American Panther," (1834). American Philosophical Society.org (https://bit.ly/3dWpVnA : accessed 1 April 2020), citing "Expanding Animal Knowledge in the Age of Natural History," November 2013.
² S. C. Turnbo, Fireside Stories of the Early Days in the Ozarks, Part One. (No place: No publisher, No date.); digital images, FamilySearch.org (http://bit.ly/3d8gCk1 : accessed 19 March 2020), p. 50-51, digital images 315-316.  
³ Silas C. Turnbo, "Jumping Astride of a Black Panther and Hitting it in the head with an Ax," Fireside Stories of the Early Days in the Ozarks, Part One; image copies FamilySearch.org (https://bit.ly/3bKhSbz : accessed 30 March 2020), p. 50-51.
⁴ "Serious Wounds Inflicted on Hunters by Infuriated Bears in the Buffalo Mountains of Arkansas," Springfield-Greene County Library; (https://bit.ly/39vRBMv : accessed 30 March 2020), transcription from typescript: The Turnbo Manuscripts, Volume 6.