OCR Text |
Show HAS LIVED IN TiEEJffillB Colored Man Wring in Reno Is Now One Hundred and Eight Years Old. STRANGE TO SAY, HE NEVER SAW WASHINGTON Was Born a Slave in Southern Missouri, August 8, 1798. Special to The Tribune. RENO, Nov, July 22. Here 8 tno presentment of a man who has lived in three centuries Strange to say, he novor nursed George Washington and nover heard of Dr. Osier. He is known In Reno as "Old Man Lucas '' and his daily occupation is driving the city scavenger wngon. Mr. Lucas was born a slavo in southern Missouri August o. 1798, and is a six-footer ot the tall and stringy type to which the rail-splitting prcsidont' belonged. Tho picturo presented pre-sented herewith is tho first ovor taken of tho genial old man and his surprise and pleasure at tho accomplishment or the act in so short a time was refreshing. refresh-ing. The old man was engaged in his daily occupation of scavenger in Reno when a Tribune representative nskeu him if he would Btand lor a pnoio. "I dunno as I has timo ter commodate commo-date youMes' now," was his kindly reply. re-ply. "It's gittin' kinder hot and I wants ter lay off in the heat of tho day. 'Twon't tako but a second? Oh g'long.' But when assured that the operation was easily dono in a jiffy the choeriui old centenarian hopped up on his wagon wa-gon and admonished his dog "ter be quiet, " while ho himself looked at the kodak solomnlj'. "You don't sav so," was his exclamation ex-clamation when told that tho picturo had boon snapped. He wantod to see tho print at once and was a little dubious du-bious of the veracity of his guest, when ho found that he could not see himself at once Never Saw Washington. "No, sir; I never mot Mister Washington Wash-ington and I ain't never been in none of the houses whero he lived. I was born in slavery and had good masters. I came West many vears ago and have worked all my life. When am I going to cash in? Dunno. but it 'pears to me that I am 6pry enough to wrastle along for thirty or forty years longer. I most know T would if T had not fallen and brokon my thigh some six years ago. 1 wasn't gittin' old till then. Since I havo had to pull mysolf up and down on tho wagon this a-way on one leg." Tho old man sprang up and down with greater agility than many mon on the sunny side or tho Osier age. "Tho break did not knit, tho doctor says, because I waa gittin' old. But, sho', I don't feel old yit, and I c'n do a biggor day's work than most of tho no "count idlers of this town. Yes, sah, I works oarly and late and it ap-poars ap-poars to be good for mo. No, sir, I ain't no politicianor but I can work, "What is my hj'gienic rule of life? Well, I ain't calculated to say, sinco I don't know what you moan. I s'pocts I just live- and tries ter be as happy as I knows how. No, sir, I don't chew nor smoke, but I certainly laiks a gins of good cool beer when the sun gits ter sliinin' down straight and hard. I oats most what I can git and always works hard onough every day to sweat good and plenty. I jlta through with my work whon night comes, and when I goes to bed I sleeps like a li'l child. No, sir, I don't take a cold bath every da', but in course I batho when I needs to. "No, sir, I don't think I havo outlived out-lived my usefulness. You see ita all accordin'. Some folks ain't nover no use and I s'pocts Dr. Hostler was 'ludin' to them when he said forty-four forty-four yenrs was their allotment. But as to dis chile lot mo tell you I am aut-tinly aut-tinly good for twenty years mo' and spects to work till I drap out o' do line. "Is I tired of livln'? No, sirree; I loves ter live jus' as well as I did when I was a li'l Bhirt-tail shavelin on the old plantation in Mizzoo, Cose if I was sho' nuff old and decrepit maybe I'd be glad to dio and git outon de way, but you see I ain't old only in age. My feelings is young; I ain't never been sick, you sec, and I havo always been to pore to eat highfalutin foods and burn out inv liver and lights." Is Straight as an Indian. Mr. Lucas is still as Btraight as an Indian not the Reno brand of brave, who is fat and squabbv and soft as a dish of jelly tho kind that Capt. Mayne Roid used to manufacture. His hnir is still quite copious and as coal black as his race. .His eyes are bright and he noeds no glasses to aid hiB falcon-like eye. He looks like an Abyssinian Abys-sinian patriarch and carries himself with dignity and grace. He lifts every day buckets and tubs that would stagger stag-ger men of loss than a third of his ago. "I hopeii to go back to old Mizzoo before I dies." said the old gentleman. "No, I spects it will bo least ton or twelve yenrs before I goes. But that will be time enough." Mr. Lucas says he has seen tho country develop more than any other single man in the world, and while he keeps pretty well posted aB to the scientific advances ho makes it a rule to do overvthing by hand and foot that he can. He has nover ridden on an elevator and likes a horBe and wagon better than tho trolloy car. |