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Frontier Times Magazine
Vol
3 No. 7 - April 1926</>
Contents
of this volume:
A Drive From Texas To North Dakota
Samuel Dunn Houston, San Antonio
Texas. Excellent day to day account
of a large, notable cattle drive
in March 1876 from Lockhart, TX
to what was then known as the "far
Northwest", (North Dakota). Mack
Stewart, along with other foremen,
Monroe Hardeman, Tom Osborn, Giles
Fenner, Little Jim Ellison, Coleman
James, Bill Green and Bellport drove
the Ellison & Dewees cattle by way
of Seguin and Floresville from the
Ellison ranch and the old Randow
Ranch, the Tom Dewees pasture to
North Dakota.
Further Mentions: R. G. (Dick)
Head; Captain Smith and Mat Coates
were Seguin boys, Tull Roebuck,
GeIcrge and Edgar Adams were from
Luling; the Devil's River route;
Mitchell's Lake; the Alazan Creek;
Prospect Hill, about three miles
from town; the Lady of the Lake;
Joe Smith, of Lockhart; the old
Spanish Trail; Leon Springs; Charlie
Schreiner; Little Devil's River;
Mat Coates, Cap Smith and Joe Smith;
John T. Lytle, R. G. Head and D.
R. Fant; Tull Roebuck; Duck Creek;
C. C. Slaughter; C. D. Wcidlworth.
Interesting Bits Of History Of
Williamson County
Calhoun McCutcheon, Student in,
Taylor (Texas) High School.
Account of historical investigation
led my class of students in 1926
to explore notable historical locations
in Williamson co.
Further Mentions The San Xavier
group of missions: Rockdale; the
old Kolb's Gin; Brushy Creek and
the San Gabriel River; Laneport;
the village of San Gabriel; Circleville;
the old Hoxie Ranch house; Georgetown;
Leander, where we were joined by
Ex Senator Faubion; the scene of
the Webster massacre; Hornsby's
Bend on the Colorado River; the
"Council House Fight"; Mr. Stribling;
Mr. Simmons; Round Rock; the place
where Kenney's Fort used to stand.
Beef Gathering In ’71 Was Thrilling
Captain James B. Gillett. In
the spring of 1871 Gillett was working
with Robert Trogdon's cow outfit.
He details the herding of cattle
in Brown county, Texas prior to
the days of barbed wire. This is
an excellent account detailed by
a master cattleman.
Further Mentions: the Hall pens
on Big Brady creek near where the
fine town of Brady now stands; the
old Beasley settlement; Lev Baw;
A VISIT BY TWO INDIANS
Frank P. Banta, Voca, Texas.
Mentions Indian raid thirteen miles
west of the town of Burnet, near
the Colorado river in what was known
as Banta's Bend in 1865, and a fortunate
case of the malfunction of a rifle.
Further Mentions: D. R Banta;
John Banta and Jim Stokes; Long
Mountain;
Sherrard’s Cave In Burnet County
By Mary Johnson Posey. Mentions
and describes a cave eight miles
from the town of Burnet in Burnet
co which is said to rival Carlsbad
Cavern. Speaks of historical events
that occurred in relation to the
cave, particularly the capture of
a beautiful girl, Mariel King, by
Indians and subsequent bloody fight
that occurred in the cave. It was
the story of this fight which caused
the United states government to
send soldiers for protection against
the Indians, and caused the building
of 'Old Fort Croghan at Burnet where
General Robert E. Lee commanded
for a time, followed later by Kirby
Smith, Earl Van Dorn, Adam R. Johnson,
Chalmers, George B. McClellan and
others.
Further Mentions: Father Francisco;
Logan Van Deveer, hero of San Jacinto's
battlefield;; Chief Yellow Wolf;
Captain Howard and his rangers;
Red Fox; was a Mr. Putman who held
the record for the best rifle shot
in the state; Marble Falls; Billy
McGill and Captain Neil Helm.
Scouting On The Texas Frontier
(Brown County)
In 1873 William Williams settled
on a piece of land on Sand Creek,
in Brown county. His family consisted
of a wife, one son about grown,
a little girl seven years old, and
an infant a few months old. They
were living in a camp and preparing
to, build a house. One morning Williams
and his son went into the woods
for timber to build the house. The
son came in in the evening before
his father, and found his mother
in the bed dying. She said the Indians
shot her, and expired. The baby
was lying on the ground near where
they had a fire to cook by. The
signs showed they had shoveled out
coals of fire and poured them on
the infant. The mother had poured
water on the child after the Indians
left. They had carried off the little
girl. The supposition is that she
was in the cow-pen milking, when
the Indians came, as her milk pail
was setting there with about a half
gallon of milk in it. Miss Nannie
Cross (now Mrs. Perry of Brownwood)
was the first, woman to reach the
scene. She took charge of the burned
infant and took it to the house
of her father, Mr. Riley Cross.
Everything possible was done for
the little sufferer. It was tenderly
cared for, but in two weeks went
to join; its mother. News was sent
to Brownwood and the Brown County
Minute Company joined by several
citizens, went in pursuit. They
were joined in the west part of
Coleman county by part of my company,
commanded by Sam Gholson. I was
absent at the time. They pursued
the Indians for some distance but
could not overtake them. Sometime
after this we saw in a Houston paper
a letter written by Mr. Convers
of Houston in which he stated he
found the body of a child hanging
to a tree near Double Mountain on
the forks of the Brazos. The Indians
had split the girth of a side saddle.
It was the mother's saddle that
they took when they captured the
child. The Indians had put her head
through the split and hung it to
a tree. They scalped her alive,
as her hand was on top of her head,
held and stuck there by the blood.
This account goes on to detail
the scouting that was a result of
these atrocities.
Further Mentions: Captain Coney;
Lieut. Stedrman from Fort Concho;
Fort Sill; man named Dripps; Sam
Brookshire; G. K. Elkins; Ben Kirkendall;
William Lawrence and James Caulk;
Sergeant Best; Jim Jackson; G. K.
Elkins' ranch'; Buffalo Gap; Clay
Mann's ranch; Ben Cooper.
Adventure And Romance Near Home
W. P. Webb. Mentions: Thomas
L. Bryan; Elanor Attebury; Issac
Van Zandt, the man who founded the
town of Marshall, named Upsher Comity
and Gilmer, the county seat; Alice
Lee Perkins of Nacogdoches; Josephine
Ranney; Thos. Swift;
History Of Sam Bass And His Gang
The following multi-installment
narrative of the notorious
gang of outlaws, is considered authentic
and accurate. The sources from whence
the facts are derived are regarded
as being generally reliable with
many of the incidents occuring in
Denton and adjacent counties.
This notorious character was
born in Lawrence county, in the
State of Indiana, on the 21st day
of July, 1851, near the town of
Mitchell. His father, Daniel Bass,
was an honest, industrious farmer,
who by continued toil and rigid
economy, accumulated sufficient
property to insure himself and family
the ordinary comforts of life. Sam's
mother was named Jane Sheeks. She
was married to Daniel Bass in 1841),
and shared with him the privatilcns
and prosperity of their married
life up to 1861, when she died.
The wayward Sam had many advantages
in training as a youth, but spurned
them all for a life of reuthless
and wanton crime and notorious outrage
against the citizens of Texas. This
is an engaging account, and we can
supply you with all the installments
if desired.
This volume continues chapter
11 through chap 17 and concludes
the story.
CHAP 11 (cont) Mentions: Deputy
Sheriff Riley Wetsel, and A. .R.
McGintie, constable; Capt. Whitehead's
field in Clear Creek bottom; the
road north cf Bolivar; Tom Yates,
Jack Yates, Alex Cockrel, Charley
Hart and Dode Fain; Hard Carter's
house; Finley Grissom; Elm river
and. Hickory Creek; Capt. June Peak;
Everheart's forces; I. D. Ferguson,
Robt. Mellhenmy, A. E. McMath, Wnr.
Davis, Drake and Bryant; the swamps
of Hickory Creek, back of Star's
field below the Alton Crossing;
met a man named Thomas at Robertson's
Mill; A E. McMath and Wm. Davis;
I. D. Ferguson; Alvin Owsley, Ed
Wilson; a hollow near Warner Jackson's,
a brother to Frank Jackson; W. S.
Kirksey, Tom Gerren and John Wark;
John Scaggs, a negro; Scott Mayes
of Denton; Bob Murphy and Green
Hill; Riley Wetsel, deputy sheriff;
P. J. Mullen, a lawyer at Denton;
a dungeon at Tyler; the Collins
Family; Big Caddo Creek, by Berry
Meadows; Deputy Sheriff Freeman.
Sergeant Smith of the rangers; Lieutenant
Campbell and Sergeant Jack Smith;
McClasen's store; Breckenridge a
few' miles from Taylor's store;
CHAPTER XII. Mentions: The Bass
War-The Most Daring Feat of All-The
Robbers Suddenly Dash
Into the City of Denton and Recapture
Their Horses-Hot Pursuit and Escape
of the Bandits.
Further Mentions: Stephen, Christal;
Henry Collins; Elizabethtown; to
P. C. Withers, deputy sheriff; A.
E. Allen; Chas. McDonald; T. M.
Yates; Jess Chinn and Gillis Hammett;
Bollard's Mill; the small town of
Davenport's Mills; the store of
Hardy Troope; Stein and Medlin;
Alex Cockrell and John Work; Reuben
Bandy; Capt. Grady and Ed Willson;
Elm bottom near the Fishtrap Crossing;
John Carroll, deputy sheriff, Jim
Courtwright, city marshal of Fort
Worth Bill Woody and Jack Yates;
Everheart, sheriff of Grayson county,
Parish, deputy sheriff of Cooke
county, and Deputy U. S. Marshal
Walter Johnson; Pond Creek, in Cooke
county; John Carroll, one of Egan's
deputies, Stoker, deputy sheriff
of Tarrant county; Salt Creek, near
Cottondale in Wise county; Sergt.
Floyd; Charley Carter;
CHAPTER XIII. Mentions: Jim Murphy
with the Robbers-A Peep Into the
Inside Life of Bass and His Brigands-Observations
Further Mentions: house on Cove
Hollow; old Judge Hogg; Alonzo Carruth;
the C 2 ranch; the Decatur road
to Medlin's Point; W. H. Mounts;
Kauffman; Tom Gerren; Trindad Crossing;
the Ranch Saloon; Williamson County
Bank; Riley Wetsel; Sheriff Tucker;
Mays' & Blacks' store;
CHAPTER XV. Mentions: Jim Murphy
Bargains to Bag Bass for the Consideration
of the Release of
Himself and Father from the Tyler
Jail.
Further Mentions: Henderson Murphy;
Major Jones; Walter Johnson; Hon.
A. J. Evans, U. S. District Attorney;
C. C. Cannon;
CHAPTER XIV. Death of Bass and
Barnes.
Further Mentions: Maurice Moore,
deputy sheriff of Travis county;
Grimes of Williamson county; George
Harrall; George Ware, a ranger;
Major Jones, Ware and Tubbs; F.
L. Jordan.. and Albert Highsmith,
citizens of Round Rock; Capt. Lee
Hall; Lieut. Reynolds; Lieut. Armstrong
from Austin; Sergt. Neville of Lieut.
Reynolds' company; Dr. Cochran;
Henry Harrell; the Salt Creek fight;
Jim Chapman; Joel Collins, Bill
Heferige. Torn Nixon, Jack Davis,
Jim Berry and the were in the Union
Pacifier robbery;
CHAPTER XVII. Reflections.
Further Mentions: Joel Collins,
Heffrige and Berry;
Use Canes Presented By Lincoln
In 1863 President Lincoln gave
silver mounted canes to each of
thirteen governors of pueblos among
the Pueblo and Zuni Indians in New
Mexico, on the occasion of their
visit to Washington. Today these
canes represent the emblem of authority
in the pueblos. They have been handed
down from governor to governor.
Lincoln's memory, through the
canes, still stands as the symbol
of authority -the recognition of
the Great White Father for his redskin
children of New Mexico.
When Birchfield Cussed And Roared
Captain William Carter, San Angelo,
TX gives account of a battle with
Indians in which he was a participant
and which took place in Uvalde county
in September, 1866. It was then
that a band of about 30 Indians
made a raid on Turkey Creek, Uvalde
county, and among others drove off
all our horses from Wood's ranch.
Early next morning the settlers
rallied and took their trail. The
pursuing party was composed of Steve
Birchfield, Jesse Cox, Irve Cox,
Henry Cox, Jim Spears, Billy King
and Carter; seven in all. Account
goes on to describe the unique qualities
of Steve Birchfield, a large, pompous
man who could cuss and fight Indians
like no one else.
Further Mentions: Jim Spears
who was afterwards Sheriff of Tom
Green County; the Cook boys; John,
Tom, and Dave; the three Bates boys,
Felix, Finis, and Barliss; John
Kenedy, Henry Patterson, Johnnie
Bodes and Bob McKinney;
The Hopi Snake Dance
Days of Peril on the Clear Fork
J J Bragg. In 1912 His father
settled on Elm Creek in Young County
ten miles west of Ft Belknap in
spring of 1860. His Uncle George
Bragg lived two miles away. Account
of Indian problems of Harry Williams,
Hol & Alex Clark and James Clark,
Fort Griffin, etc.
Further Mentions: the Clear Fork
of the Brazos, in the Shackleford
county.
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Condition: Excellent - may have
minor shelf wear
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