The Turnbo Manuscripts
by Silas Claiborne Turnbo
1844-1925
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THE ROOSTER WAS ENJOYING A RIDE ON THE DRIFT WOOD
By S. C. Turnbo
Back in the early days of Little North Fork of White River Mr. Owen Kersey lived on this stream opposite the mouth of Otter Creek. On one occasion a great torrent of rain fell and the water in the creek rose to a great height. It got all round Kerseys house and into it and Kersey and his family went upstairs on the board loft. The water rose so rapidly that the puncheon floor was soon afloat. About the time the water was high enough in the house to move the puncheons, a calf which was in the yard and which belonged to Kersey swam into the house for protection. As the calf began to float and swim around among the floating puncheons it felt greatly distressed and began to bleat in a pitiful way. Kersey hearing the distressed cry of the calf told his wife that he must try to save it from drowning and he went downstairs into the water where it was more than waist deep and caught the calf as it was struggling around in the water and carried it up stairs. In a few minutes afterward the creek rose high enough to move the house several yards from its foundation but fortunately it did not go to pieces neither did it get quite up to the loft. Mr. Kersey and all his family including the calf was saved from drowning. The flood took all their chickens down stream and they lost them all. A settler who lived on the creek below them on higher ground said that he seen 4 or 5 of the chickens going by on a drift. Among them was a large rooster which was crowing in a defiant way as the swift current was carrying the drift the chickens were on down stream.
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