Sandy Faulkner, the legendary “Arkansaw Traveler,” was an early settler, hunter, and fiddler in Arkansas, known for his jovial and adventurous spirit. Born into a wealthy Kentucky family, he settled in Chicot County and later near Little Rock. Faulkner inherited and spent several moderate fortunes, living a roving life filled with hunting and socializing. His encounter with a fellow fiddler in the woods inspired the famous “Arkansaw Traveler” tune, which he joyfully shared with villagers. After the Civil War, Faulkner lived in Little Rock in modest circumstances until his death in 1875. He left behind a legacy of wit, music, and merriment that continues to echo worldwide.
The one pre-eminent thing which entitles the Arkansas pioneer, Sandy Faulkner, to immortality is the fact that he is the real, original “Arkansaw Traveler.” He was an early settler, a hunter, a wild, jolly, reckless spendthrift, and a splendid fiddler. He was of a wealthy Kentucky family, and settled first in Chicot County and then on the river only a few miles below Little Rock. By inheritance, he received two or three moderate fortunes and spent them royally. Of a roving nature, a witty and rollicking companion, he would roam through the woods, hunting for days and weeks, and then enliven the village resorts for a while. He was born to encounter just such a character as he did chance to find, playing on a three-stringed fiddle the first part of a particular tune. Now there was but one thing in this world that could touch his heart with a desire to possess, and that was to hear the remainder of the tune.
After meeting this rare character in the woods, what a world of enjoyment Sandy did carry to the village on his next return! “With just enough and not too much,” with fiddle in his hand, the villagers gathered about him while he repeated the comedy. His zest in the ludicrous, his keen wit, and his inimitable acting, especially his power of mimicry and his mastery of the violin, enabled him to offer his associates an entertainment never surpassed, either on or off the mimic stage.
After the war, Faulkner lived in Little Rock until his death in 1875, in straitened circumstances, residing with a widowed daughter and one son. Another son was killed in the war; the two daughters married and are both dead, and the son and only remaining child left this portion of the country some years ago.
When Faulkner died—over eighty years of age—he held a subordinate office in the legislature then in session, which body adjourned and respectfully buried all that was mortal of the “Arkansaw Traveler,” while the little morceau from his harmless and genial soul will continue to travel around the world and never stop, the thrice welcome guest about every fireside.
What a comment is here in this careless, aimless life and that vaulting ambition that struggles, and wars and suffers and sows the world with woe that men’s names may live after death. Poor Sandy had no thought of distinction; his life was a laugh, so unmixed with care for the morrow and so merry that it has filled a world with its ceaseless echoes.