Vol 09 No. 02 - November 1931

When Sam Jones Came To Texas Account of SAMUEL PORTER JONES, the noted evangelist, who was born in Chambers county, Alabama, October 16, 1817, and died October 15, 1906. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and became a successful lawyer. In 1872 he was converted, joined the Methodist church, and later entered the ministry. He preached hell fire in vitriolic and unvarnished fashion, pushing his views home with great force. This is the story of how he came to Dallas in 1893. Mentions: E. O. Excell * Rev. George Stuart * Col. John N. Simpson * Buckner Orphans' Home * Bygone Days In San AntonioVic Daniels Story of early San Antonio when none of the streets or plazas were paved, with exception of a small amount of brick on old Market Street in the vicinity of the big city market near Main Plaza, and the city was a mecca for traveling shows, especially for the medicine shows. The account focuses on one Dr. Lighthall, the Diamond King. It was claimed that his medicine show regalia represented an outlay in excess of $50,000 in diamonds alone. He at once became the most popular attraction in the city. POKER ALICE Account of Poker Alice, known from Tombstone to Deadwood as one of the shrewdest faro dealers in the business. Mentions: Rapid City, S.D. * Silver City, N. M., * she was little Alice Ivers, who first saw the light of day at Sudbury, Devonshire, England, in 1853 * W. T. Tubbs * the old King Solomon mine in Colorado * Del Norte * Jack McCall * Wild Bill Hickok * Fort Fetterman * A. B. Coffee, historian of the Texas Ex-Rangers * W. W. Lewis of Menard * Billy Glass * Runtiest Ranger Is Hero Of '74 Fight With IndiansBy Mrs. Edgar T. Neal Mentions: Zach Watley, the smallest .man in the company, a little fellow weighing at most a hundred and thirty pounds. * Mr. Coffee * Lone Wolf, a Kiowa chief * the glades in Jack county Texas * the center of Lost Valley * Billy Glass * UNIVERSITY HAS DESK ONCE USED BY O. HENRY Ernest Nalle, of Austin, has made a temporary gift to the University of Texas of a desk that was used by William Sidney Porter, (O. Henry), during the time that he was an employee of the First National Bank in Austin... What Is The Secret Of The Four Marked Oaks? J. G. Gilmore, county surveyor, recently unearthed what apparently is evidence that seekers of Spanish and Mexican buried gold will be interested in. It was on the south bank of what was once the beautiful Moore lake where Gilmer, the surveyor, found an excavation and a suspiciously marked tree, and then about 15 feet to the north another oak marked like the first, and then another and still another. There were four oaks in a square, all similarly marked about two feet from the ground, and in the center of the square of the marked trees was the excavation - a hole about four feet deep and three feet in diameter. Mentions: the Nueces Five miles south of Cotulla * Poteet and Moore lakes * Crystal City * J. Frank Dobie's recent book, "Coronado's Children," * General Cos' gold. * Charles Binion's Life Was Epic Of Cattle Trails Charles Binion was born in Uvalde county, TX spent most of his early life here but eventually ended up in the cattle business in Lodge Grass MT. This is his story. Mentions: Hardin * the Rio Frio * Phil Spear, Lodge Grass stockman * While still a youth, he worked for some of the big outfits such as the O R O and the Corletios * the Matador and X I T outfits * Luke Short, King Fisher and Bat Masterson * the Crow reservation, * the big cattle outfits of Frank Heinrich, Spear Brothers and, Daria Cattle company * Binion worked for the R. L. (Ryan Brothers), Flying E (Hysham company), and 7 Bar 7, (McCormick) in Montana and the Three Vs in Dakota * Orin Junction near Laramine, Wyo * SECOND GOVERNOR'S DAUGHTER DEAD Mrs. Mary Wood Albea, who was 88 years old, died in Dallas in August. Mrs. Albea was the only surviving slaughter of George T. Wood, who was the second Governor of Texas. Governor Wood was chief executive of Texas from 1848 to 1850. Indian Fights In Western Texas Very lengthy and detailed account of the major Indian wars in West Texas during the 1870’s, focusing especially on the Battle of Adobe Walls and the Panhandle War. Mentions: Judge R. C. Crane of Sweetwater * the West Texas Historical Association * the fighting attributes of General Nelson A. Miles (then a Colonel), Kit Carson * "the War of the Panhandle," which lasted until the spring of 1875* the real battle of the Adobe Walls occurred in 1864 * the Old Santa Fe Trail * Fort Bascom * the Bents Fort people * Major Compton * Woodward, Ok * Billy Dixon * General Miles * Major Price * Lieutenant Colonel Davidson * General John Pope * the mouth of Tule Canyon * One of the largest engagements occurred near, on the banks of Red River, between Gen. Miles' commanding twelve companies of United States Cavalry and a much larger force of Indians. * C. H. Connellee * Blanen Canyon * the famous Think Smith rock house * Fort Concho and Fort Griffin * Anderson's supply camp * Tule Canyon * C. C. Rath * Rath City * Pringle Moore's ranch, about twelve miles northwest of Hamlin * Stonewall' county * Yellowhouse Canyon * Fort Elliott on Sweetwater Creek, in what is now Wheeler county * Miles O'Laughlan of Miami * Charles Goodnight * Buffalo bones were so plentiful over the prairies of West Texas when the Texas & Pacific Railway was built through in 1881-82, the gathering of these bones to the railroad for shipment as a fertilizer became quite an extensive business * Gens. A. R. Chaffee and Frank Baldwin * Dr. George Bird Grinnell * Fought The White Man's Battle By Odie Minatra, Karnes City, Texas Account of old John Hickman who was a celebrity in Texas during frontier days and his exploits in the Texas Revolution. Old-timers dub him the "out-ridingest, ropingest, and shootingest" negro that rode the Chisholm Trail. This is his story. Mentions: his little farm near Fort Worth * the Adams Plantation in Orange county, Virginia * Miss Sophie" George Bowie * George Bowie * Amanda McConnico * Tom Dickerson * Capt. Hurlock * Tim Winters * David Crockett * Deaf Smith * Major Henry Butler * Round Mountain, and Lost Valley * Bennett Brothers of Topeka * John, as cook for Major Jones' Ranger Company * Mrs. Lindsey's house * Ridding The Pasture Of Wild HorsesRollie C. Burns, Lubbock, Texas. Describes the wild Mustangs of the panhandle, particularly around Lubbock and the old IOA ranch in 1889, the trouble they caused and their efforts to expunge them from the region. Mentions: George Brown * Cal Merchant * Clarendon, Texas * George M. Boles * When Culture Came To CuthandBy J. M. Deaver Describes early history of Garvinsville or, as it later was called, Cuthand in south Red River County, TX. Here is some excellent history of the area. Mentions: one of the important stage routes of East Texas was between Clarksville in Red River county, and Mt. Pleasant in Titus county * Between Sulphur River and Cuthand Creek, on the farm of "Flitter Foot" Sims, was established one of the stage stands, at a place, in later years, known locally as the "Old Sims' Field." * the Big Road * Uncle W. A. Garvin, the first postmaster * Enterprise * Uncle George Sterling * Step-and-Fechit Creek * Harris was' the neighborhood constable * Widow Ware * Peter's Prairie * old Mother Bryant * her daughter, Lula * Buzzard Roost, Seed Tick Ridge and Mt. Nebo * Calvin Ware was the village blacksmith * Dent Rowland * Clarksville * Sal Johnson * Sulphur * Morgan * Beeville Pioneer, 83, Was In Battle Of Turkey Creek Account of Andrew Mitchell Tunis of Beeville, a long-time ranchman of Western Live oak County, TX. This is his story. Oakville * Timothy Cude his brother-in-law * Mrs. A. .L. Turner, of Beeville * the Oakville * the ranch on Spring Creek * Hans Tullos * the old J. Campbell ranch, later known as the West ranch * Turkey Creek, over the line in McMullen county * Sebastian Bell * Turkey Creek, on which the battle was fought, is now known as Hill Creek. It was midway between the old Encino ranch and the Nueces River, on what is now part of the Shinner ranch * San Cajo Mountain * Rans Tullos and his two sons, Andrew and Woodie Tim Cude, Caleb Coker, Bob Nations, Pleas Waller, John Wilson, John Edwards, Cullen Andrews, Sebastain Belt, Sam Nations and Tobe Odom. * How Ben Tompson Died With His Boots OnJohn R. Lunsford Account of how Ben Thompson, noted gun fighter and city marshal of Austin, was shot to death. Mentions: Jack Harris, one of the proprietors of the variety theatre, saloon and gambling hall located on Main plaza at the corner of Soledad street, on the site now occupied by the National Bank of Commerce * King Fisher, then sheriff of Uvalde county * Ada Gray * the old Turner Hall opera house at Houston and St. Mary's streets * Tom Howard * Billy Simms * Jacob Coy, special policeman * Joe Foster * Phil Shardein * old "Bat Cave" on Military Plaza * the palatial "White Elephant" saloon * Verimendi street between Soledad street and Main * Leonardo Garza * Wolff & Marx department store * Major W. M. (Buck) Walton * George Pendexter, John A. and N. O. Green * Fred Cocke, county attorney of Bexar county; Tarleton and Boone, T. T. Teel, Mack G. Anderson and Judge Thomas J. Devine * Jeff Davis' Camels In TexasBy Grace Gaddis, in The Texas Outlook Account of Jefferson Davis' very interesting experiment with camels in the Southwest. In 1856, to West Texas, Arizona and New Mexico came the first long train of camels which a certain group of men were certain would supplant the mule in transportation, freight and military use in the arid regions of West Texas. CONTRIBUTES A CANNON BALL Dr. J. H. Driver, of Brownsville, sent a large cannon ball to Frontier Times Museum. Dr. Driver informes us that lie unearthed the missle while plowing potatoes… OLD AGE RECORD IS CLAIMED BY TUCSON Santa Fe. N. M., Sept. 7.-Disdainful of all things modern, Santa Feans at last have had their civic pride aroused because Tucson, Ariz., is trying to claim it is more of an antique than is Santa Fe. All citizens are reviewing history to disprove of Tucson's claim that it is the oldest city in the United States. A recent edition of the Tucson Citizen quotes findings of Dr. Alexander Craig article says that "General Coronado raised the flag of Spain over the little Indian village of Tucson in 1552 and laid the cornerstone of that first mission with his own hands."…Further Mentions: Dr. Andrew Douglass, of the University of Arizona * St. Augustine, Fla * . C. F. Coan, New Mexico historian Mystery Man Of Big Bend Knew Only Own Law Account of Milton Faver, mystery man of the Big Bend country. His life was not only an eventful one, but was made more intriguing because of the veil of mystery that defied penetration to the very last. Occasionally the winds of chance lifted it for a hurried peep on his early life, and these served to further excite the imagination and add zest to the romance when it was learned that he was born in England, constructed a fort in the Big Bend region and married a Mexican woman When Faver decided to go somewhere, be it day or night, he would have his servants saddle his horse, and accompanied by a few soldiers as a bodyguard he would set out on his journey. He might vanish into the nearby Chinati Mountains, or he might show up in Mexico; he might be gone two or three days or he might be gone that many weeks his return, was as unexpected as his departure. He was as eccentric as he was mysterious. This is his story. Mentions: Brewster and Presidio counties * Cibolo Springs * J. D. Bunton, sheriff of Marfa * the Highland Hereford Association * Joe Bunton * He did not trust the banks, and never deposited any money with them. Mexican legends have it that he made a great deal of money and, that it was buried about the fort. said that it is not uncommon to find holes that have been dug around the place * Ranchmen who visited the old fort in the early days were welcome, but there was a degree of formality about their admission and reception that smacked of royalty, despite the crude surroundings Introducing Barbed Fence Wire In Texas There is no one in Texas now who is opposed to the use of barbed fence wire. But if one back to the 1870’s, he will find that the political voice of those days rang with denunciations of the barbed wire fence. John W. Gates who became, "Bet a Million Gates" in after years, first introduced the new-fangled barbed fence wire into Texas in 1878. This is his story. Mentions: S. J. Houghton * Col. Ike T. Pryor * Reek and Thad Thomson and Judge Rector all citizens of Austin, owned a 120,000-acre ranch in King county * Governor Ireland * Sandborn * Warner * E. Steves & Sons, and Martin and Schryver of San Antonio * the great Edwards Plateau region * Camp San Saba Established In 1860 Very little now remains to show of the pioneer settlement in McCulloch county known as old Camp San Saba on the banks of the San Saba river, about 12 miles south of Brady. This is the story. Mentions: The oldest inhabitant of McCulloch county from the standpoint of actual residence is A. F. Turner, who lived some two or three miles south of Camp San Saba. He was born in San Antonio July 27, 1853 and came overland in an ox wagon from that place to what is now Camp San Saba with his father and mother and other members of the family, arriving Feb. 12, 1861. His father immediately commenced the erection of a stone dwelling on the bank of Katemcy Creek about one mile south of the present Camp San Saba. * Kerrville * Monroe Fleming * Mr. Turner's father W. R. Turner was prominent in many of the early historical events of McCulloch county * Captain Mayberry * Captain Dan Willis * Staten Creek * Hudson branch * The last white man killed by Indians in the vicinity of Camp San Saba was Ben P. Smith who is buried under the large live oak tree in the Brooks field in Camp San Saba * F. C. Bates, Sr. Pioneer Sheffield Citizen 99 Years Old When Fort Lancaster was being erected, when soldiers trooped over the high hills of the Sheffield country, Mr. Bates was a mature man living on the frontier, teaching school in Uvalde county, helping build a new civilization that shuddered under the threats of hostile Indians. Like old Fort Lancaster and its bleak tombstones used as stepping stones for the present generation of progress, Mr. Bates represents an epoch in the winning of the west. This is his story. Mentions: a son, F. C. Bates, Jr. * The town of Batesville is named after the family * he built the fourth residence at Eldorado and assisted in organizing Schleicher county, with W. B. Silliam, C. C. West and others * Uvalde * Mrs. John C. Ware * Mrs. T. C. Nayes * Mrs. Carrie Orr * Mrs. Sallie Murchison * Mrs. W. D. Hayes * CAPT. JACK HAYES BURIED AT OAKLAND Mentions: L. W. Kemp, of Houston, * General Woll * William Spencer Gilliam * Mrs. Josephine Gilliam, at Poteet, Texas * Round Rock, Williamson county