Picturesque Judge Roy Bean
(By the way,
that's 'ol Judge Bean on the cover)
ONE OF THE most
picturesque characters of the entire
Southwest was Judge Roy Bean whose
"Law West of the Pecos" has furnished
source material for hundreds of
stories of the west. From Judge
Bean's bar was dispensed liquor
and justice, both profitable .occupations
for the proprietor. Judge Bean's
liquor was unquestionable, but his
dispensation of justice was effective
even though according to statutes
of his own enactment. The saloon
which: formed the center of Judge
Bean's operations bore a sign over
the front with the words "Law West
of the Pecos. " The name of the
eccentric, proprietor's place was
first called Vinagaroon but was
later changed to Langtry in honor
of the noted actress Lily Langtry.
It was in 1881 that the name was
changed, due to a visit of the famed
actress. Roy Bean fell in love with
the beautiful actress and immediately
changed the name of his place to
Langtry….
Up The Cattle Trail in 1867
As Written to
T. U. Taylor by E. P. Earhart
This graphic story
of the real trade travelers is full
of interest and history. Historians
who do not live by legends or rumor
will note that Mr. Earhart did not
strike the Chisholm trail 'till
he crossed the North Canadian at
Chisholm's. Trading Post. This place
is now known as Council Grove, Oaklahoma.
Further Mentions:
J. B. Thoburne, C. H. Park, of Lubbock,
Texas., Grayson county, at Old Preston,
J. B. Earbart, Mr. Henson from Jack
county, Chisholm's Trading Post.,
The Wichita Indians, Mr. Greathouse,
Wit Adair, Jim Youtig, Mead's Store
on the Whitewater, Wylie Robins,
of the firm of Robins and Tipton
of Jacksboro, Texas,
ORIGINAL CHISHOLM
TRAIL
By T. U. Taylor
Excerpt from Andreas'
"The History of Kansas",
"Early in the
spring of 1846, the Wichita Indians
and affiliating tribes, who had
been driven from the Indian Territory
in the winter of 1861-2, and who
had made temporary homes in Woodson
county (Kansas), removed from there
and established a camp at the mouth
of the Little Arkansas. The name
of their camp was Wichita, from
which the present City of Wichita
derived its name. These Indians
engaged in peaceful vocations, cultivating
harvesting large fields of corn
and vegetables. They remained until
the
fall of 1865,
when they returned south. With the
Wichitas came Jesse Chisholm, a
half-breed Cherokee, and an adopted
member of the Wichitas. He built
his house on the stream which derived
its name from him, east of the present
City of Wichita, and moved
into it with his
family. He also established a "ranch"
between the two rivers, three miles
above their junction... In the spring
of 1865 Chisholm located a trail
from "ranch" to the present site
of Wichita River, Indian Territory,
a distance of 220 miles. This trail
subsquently became and is still
known the "Chisholm Trail." It was
established for the purpose of enabling
the traders in the Arkansas Valley
to obtain wagon communication with
the Indians in the Indian Territory,
and the trail was used …
The Hersey Trail
"Tim" Hersey,
a civil engineer, surveyed the direct
cattle route from Abilene, Kansas,
to Wichita. He was employed by Joseph
G. McCoy and he blazed the way through
timber, plowed across the prairies,
put up stakes and rock piles until
the line was well marked by the
feet of the cattle and it was soon
several hundred feet wide. It was
known as the Hersey, McCoy, or Abilene
trail.
Further Mentions:
Geary, Oklahoma., the "Johnny Left
Hand Spring.", Jesse Chisholm,
WHEN TEXAS WAS
MADE A STATE
Eighty-six years
ago a joint resolution providing
for the annexation of the then Republic
of Texas to the Union was passed
by Congress. On the following day
President Tyler gave his official
assent to the measure. So -was taken
a step that led not only to the
acquisition of the vast Lone Star
State but also to the. Mexican war
and the consequent expansion of
the United States over a tremendous
western territory, including the
present State of California, Utah,
New Mexico and Arizona. Yet if a
sick man in Indiana hadn't bad a
good physician all the tremendous
course of events might have been
changed.
In 1843' Daniel
Kelso, a prominent Hoosier lawyer,
was running for State Senator from
Switzerland county, Indiana. The
district was close and great interest
was manifest in the election, since
the Indiana Legislature would be
called upon to choose a United States
Senator. The sick man referred to
had once been charged with murder
and had been acquitted. Kelso had
defended him, and the man naturally
felt under great obligations to
the attorney. A week before the
election the doctor told the patient
that his end was near. The sufferer
begged him to use every means to
stave off death until he could cast
his ballot for Kelso. On election
day the sick man was carried to
the polls, cast his vote and immediately
collapsed, dying in a few hours.
When the ballots were counted it
was,
found that Kelso
had won by one vote. Then came the
election of a United States Senator
by th'e Hoosier lawmakers. The annexation
of Texas was the great issue before
the people. The South favored the
measure, but in the North there
was bitter opposition, on the ground
that such. action would increase
the area and political strength
of the South and certainly lead
to war with Mexico.
Indiana, as always,
was it doubtful State, and the Legislature
was evenly divided…
DEATH CLAIMS A
PIONEER
Speaks of Pauline
Wiess Coffin, picturesque pioneer
resident of East Texas and forebear
of many prominent Beaumont residents.
Wild animals were their neighbors
and bear, deer and wildcat were
…
Further Mentions:
one grandson, Arthur Wiess Coffin,
who resides at Wiess Bluff; one
great-granddaughter, Pauline Jeannette
Coffin ; ten nieces, Mrs. Paul 0.
Sergent of San Antonio, Mrs. W.
A. Priddie, Mrs. Rae Hoopes, Mrs.
Tom Andrus, Mrs. W. W. Kyle, Mrs.
Virgil Keith, Mrs. Frank Votaw,
Mrs. Mattie Ivy and Mrs. Maggie
Hooks, all of Beaumont, and Mrs.
Blanche, Pauline Wiess was born
in Nacogdoches, the only daughter
and the oldest child of Simon Wiess
and Mary Sturrock Wiess. seven nephews,
E. C. Wiess of Mineral Wells, Abel
Wiess of Silsbee, Ray and Harry
C. Wiess of Houston and Perry M.
and Byron Wiess. of Beaumont; eight
grandnieces, Mrs. Gerald Donovan
of New Rochelle, N. Y., Mrs. Kenneth
Cunningham of Detroit, Airs. Joe
Ellis of Dallas, Mrs. Phil Justice
of Beaumont, Mrs. Amos Carter of
Fort worth, Mrs. Phil Lauglin of
Fort Worth, Mrs. Allen Ames of Oklahoma
City, Ok., and Mrs. Alexander Marshall
of Beaumont.
GEOLOGIST LIVED
FOR 40 YEARS AS SOLE RESIDENT OF
COLORODO TOWN
He was G. H. Judd,
a promising young geologist with
a college degree. Judd lived in
the boom town of Gothic on the crest
of the boom and stayed to be the
"ghost city's" only inhabitant for
years. Further Mentions: the famous
Leadville stampede, the Elk Mountains.,
Tincup,
Recollection of a Trip to California
47 Years Ago
By Vinton L. James,
San Antonio, Tex. Interesting account
of Uvalde county sheep rancher who
sold out and took his new bride
to California in 1883.
Further Mentions:
Mayor French and the elite society
of San Antonio, the G. H. & S. A.
Railroad, Vinton L. James, Wagner
Sleeping Car, At Langtry I met
my old friend Roy Bean then the
"Law West of the Pecos" (he had
hauled my wool to San Antonio in
former years). He named his place
"Vinagoroon" (the name of a deadly
poisonous insect peculiar to that
locality). Pat Garrett, General
Lew Wallace, the author of Ben Hur,
Geromino, General Nelson A. Miles,
the John James herders, James Houston,
Mr. Franchild, In 1883 San Francisco
had the best and cheapest restaurants
in the world; the Palace
Hotel, corner of Montgomery and
Market Streets, one of the finest
hotels in the United States. It
was built of California redwood
and was only a few blocks from the
Market Street ferry… Colonel
Andrews, the man who built the first
raidroad into San Antonio, my father-in-law,
now arrived from Texas and we departed
for the Hotel Del Monte,… wealthy
people of San Francisco and California,
the Crokers, Huntingtons, Hopkins,
and Fargoes, Hotel Del Monte, Miss
Hattie Croker, Charles Croker on
Knob Hill, San Francisco, Colonel
Grey, I accompanied Colonel Jack
Hays, formerly the.celebrated Texas
Ranger, then a citizen of Oakland,
California. Colonel Hays was now
in tile winter of his distinguished,
life, and suffering from all the
infirmities of old age, bedridden
and almost helpless, one could see
at a glance that he was not long
for this world, but he received
us with all the warmth of a brother
Texan, and inquired about the Mavericks,
and many others of his old friends,
and spoke about old times in San
Antonio, Texas, Mrs. S. Maverick,
MAJOR W. M. GREEN
DEAD
Major Green was
born in Hill county, Texas, in 1854.,
and served With the Texas Rangers
in 1871 and 1872. He took the lead
in organizing The Texas Ex-Rangers
Association, which body was perfected
at Weatherford in 1920. He was elected'
to the position of major commandant
which place he held until his death.
He is survived by his wife, two
sons, Homer of Laniesa and Ocie
of Colorado; three daughters, Mrs.
Bessie Harding. of Vincent, Mrs.
Burt Smith of Colorado and Mrs.
Roy Smith of Odessa.
When Beavers Made Reservoirs
on the San Saba
Great early history
and observation on Mason Co, TX
Mentions: The
big and little Saline Creeks, upon
which are many valuable salt licks,
Big Bluff and.Little Bluff Creeks,
Leona, Honey, Comanche, Willow Elm,
Beaver and San Fernando Creeks are
the principal Mason County tributaries
of the Llano, while Tecumesch Creek
and Ranch Branch are the tributaries
of San Saba. Fort Mason is the post
where the brave and good man now
General Robert E. Lee, had his headquarters
while in command of the Second Cavalry
of the United States forces.
The people are generally devoted
to stock raising, because it is
so much more profitable and so much
less laborious in this county than
farming. Devil's River, James
River, and Mill Creek,
CAMELS IN TEXAS
The pushing of
an old claim by relatives of Col.
Bethel Coopwood, deceased, for payment
for a herd of camels claimed to
have been seized from Col. Coopwood
by Federal soldiers, is perhaps
the first intimation many Texans
have had that camels were ever brought
to this State to be used as beasts
of burden. Further Mentions: Indianola,
Texas, Kerrville,
The Adventures of Big-Foot Wallace
By John C. Duval.
(Continued from last month) Sad
account of the effects of the "white
flag" at Mier and journey to Camargo,
Reinosa and Matamoros
We delivered up
all our arms to the Mexicans, who
marched us off in double file to
our quarters in, some deserted stone
buildings. Never shall I forget
the humiliation of my feelings,
when we were stripped of all our
arms and equipments, and led off
ignominiously by a numerous guard
of swarthy, bandy-legged, contemptible,
"greasers." There we were, two hundred
killed in the fight. How many were
wounded we never knew. Now … delivered
over to the tender mercies of these
pumpkin-colored Philistines, and
all through the workings of that
miserable little "white flag." .I
could have cried with a right good
will if hadn't been so mad.
As I have before
stated, as soon as we had surrendered,
they fastened us up in some deserted
stone like so many pigs, where we
were kept for five or six days with
nothing to cat except a little dried
beef, was so tough I gave one-half
of my rations to a messmate, who
had a remarkably strong set of teeth,
to chew the other half for me; and,
to wash…
Besides, on the
morning of the second day after
we were imprisoned, while I was
sitting in front of a small grated
window, looking out ruefully and
hungrily upon the passers-by, a
little Mexican maiden-bless her
little tawny hide-came tripping
alone, and unsuspecting, from my
woe-begone visage, the empty condition
of my stomach, made signs to me
to know if I didn’t want something
to eat. I could not speak a word
of Spanish at that time, but I easily
made her understand that she had
guessed how matters were with me
precisely, and she forthwith tripped
off, and soon returned with a batch
of the inevitable tortillas, some
red peppers, and a considerable
chunk of roast kid-meat, which she
handed to me through the little
window. I made her a low bow, pulled
my forelock, and smiled as sweetly
and as amiably as I could with my
powder burut and dirt-begrimed countenance.
She went off laughing at my grimaces,
and turning a corner, I lost sight
of my little pumpkin-colored angel
forever.
In some places
the inhabitants, and especially
the women, seemed to compassionate
the miserable condition of the "Gringos,"
as they called us, and gave us water
to drink, and sometimes more substantial
refreshments. In others, we were
booted at by the mob, that was sure
to collect around us whenever we
stopped for a few moments, who would
call us, by all sorts of hard names,
and pelt us with stones and clods
of earth, and stale eggs,.
Another Trail Driver: William
Hinton Posey
Cora Addison Posey.
Posey braved many dangers as a driver
supplying Confederate forces in
the Civil War. After the war Posey
located at Indian Creek delivering
many herds of cattle at Alexandria,
La., Little Rock, Ark., Abilene,
Kansas, and other points. In 1868
he drove to California, following
the Overland Mail Route to Los Angeles,
etc, etc
Further Mentions:
Miss Isabella Addison, Cuba to New
Orleans, Geo. W. Flemming., Past
Grand Master, D. F. Johnson,
On The Great American Desert
in 1849
Account speaks
of the harsh endurance and incredible
dangers associated with pioneers
and gold-rush travelers through
Arizona. The route usually followed
was by the Gila Valley, and the
Americans reached Tucson from the
Rio Grande, for the most part by
Coke's Wagon route of 1846
Further Mentions:
Lieut. Cave J. Coutts, Camp Calhoun,
Dr. Langdon, Fort Defiance, John
Glanton, Farish, excepting C. O.
Brown, who afterwards became prominent
as one of the early settlers of
Tucson, Jaeger and Hartshorne, Lieutenant
Sweeney, Dr Webb, Yuma Indian Tribe,
Caballo en Pelo, or the 'Naked Horse,"
the head chief of the Yumas. Gen.
Conde, the massacre of Gallantin
(Glanton) and his party, the Alarieopas,
Mr. Thurber.
The Overland Mail Line
Fascinating, lengthy
and descriptive account of two famous
mail lines of the 1850’s, including
routes, topography, dangers, bandits,
raids, Indians, etc.
"The first mail
eastbound was started from San Diego,
California, in October, 1857, about
which time a contract for the opening
of a wagon road was made by Superintendent
James B. Leach and Engineer N..
H. Hutton. This, according to Bancroft,
corresponded largely with the route
taken by Col. P. St. Geo. Cooke
in 1846, but led down the San Pedro
to the Aravaipa, and thence to the
Gila, 21 miles cast of the Pima
Villages, thus saving forty miles
over the Tucson route, and by improvements
about five days for wagons. The
work was done by Leach and Hutton
from the Rio Grande to the Colorado
between October 25th and August
Ist, 1858.) Although the advertisement
in the San Francisco papers noted
four horse Concord coaches, it (the
mail) was really carried in saddle
bags until some months later, when
stations were established and stock
strung along the line.
Further Mentions:
Farish's History of Arizona, Silas
St. John, who was connected with
the San Antonio and San Diego Line,
. Mr. James E. Birch, president
of the California Stage Company,
Mr. Isaiah C. Woods, previously
at the head of Adams & Company's
Express in California, Charley
Youmans took saddle and with two
remounts reached Cariso Creek via
Warner's Ranch at 8 p. m. Here the
mail'was taken by Silas St. John,,
accompanied by Charles Mason, to
the next station, Jaeger's Ferry
at Fort Yuma, in 32 hours 'without
a remount. Fairly good time for
110 miles, only one water hole open,
Cooke's Well…" "Fort Yuma Captain
Wallace (Big Foot) rode to the next
station, Maricopa Wells. He had
a companion and two relief horses.
From Maricopa Wells to Tucson John
Capron and Jim McCoy were the riders
'" James Laing of Kentucky,
and William Cunningham of Iowa.,
Poston's trains, Edward E. Dunbar,
Col. E. V. Summer, Fort Davis, Camp
Lancaster, In 1858 the Butterfield
Line was organized to run, from
Marshall, Texas, to San Diego, California.
Its eastern termini were St. Louis,
Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee,
converging at Fort Smith, Arkansas,
and the western terminus was San
Francisco, California. Its president
was John Butterfield of Utica, New
York, who had a contract with the
Government for carrying tire mails
over this route for $600,000 per
annum… William Duckley of Watertown,
William Brainard, Linder, Dragoon,
Springs, James Hughes of Watertown,
New York, the line blacksmith, James
Laing, William Cunningham, Bonifacio,
Mr. Archibald, B. J. D. Irwin,
Tascosa's Lone Settler Recalls
Wild Days
A. B. MacDonald.
Account of Mrs. Mickle McCormick,
TASCOSA settler, on the Canadian
River in the Texas Panlrandle, who
lived there when it was the toughest,
wildest, liveliest, most lawless
cow town of all the wild frontier.
She remained after the other 500
who had lived there prior had died
or gone away. Nearly all the adobe
houses, saloons, dance halls and
gambling dives that were there then
have crumbled in the beating rains
and winter blizzards of the Panhandle,
and the dust of their walls has
been scattered by the four winds
of heaven.
Mrs. McCormick's
house, a little 'dobie of two rooms
stands, alone, in a clump of weeds
and mesquite bushes. Its walls of
sun dried earthen bricks have been
worn so thin by the rains and winds
of half a century that they have
sagged inward, and have cracked
in places, and the finger marks
of Mrs. McCormick are there. Rags
and old hats are stuffed in the
windows that are broken. Wild buffalo
grass grows thickly right up to
the doorsill, and the rickety, weather-beaten
door shakes. She offers a good description
of Billy the Kid who she knew well.
Further Mentions:
Boot Hill. the nearest town on
the north was Dodge City, 242 miles
away. The nearest town on the west
was Springer, in New Mexico. To
the. east it was about the same
distance to Mobeetie. Everything
we used was freighted in from Dodge.
"I knew Billy the Kid well, and
Pat Garrett, who killed him, I knew,
too. He lived here for a year and
a half." Cape Willingham, Jack
Ryan's saloon, " …four dead men
were carried past my door next day
and I fell in with the procession
and went to the funeral on Boot
Hill. It wasn't much of a funeral.
There wasn't a preacher within 200
miles, probably, and I don't believe
there was a Bible or prayer book
any nearer. There wasn't a soul
in Tascosa that could say a. prayer
at the funeral, so we all tried
to look as solemn as we could while
we buried 'em," John Lang, Ed
King, Fred D. Chilton, killed Mch.
21, 1886, Frank Valley and Ed King,
McMaster's saloon,
Early Days on the Plains
By Rollie C. Burns.
Lubbock, Texas. IN MARCH, 1873,
an exploring and surveying party
organized at Sherman, Texas, under
Gov. E. J. Davis' administration
to explore Northwest Texas. There
were one and ten men all told. Fifty
were mounted and furnished Spencer
rifles and Colts forty-five pistols.
Their business was to guard and
keep the company supplied with fresh
meats. The author, Mr. Burns, was
with this company when he was 16
years old. This is his account of
very early Lubbock history. NOTE:
THIS IS GOOD GENEALOGY OF EARLY
LUBBOCK.
Further Mentions:
Gainsville, Cook county, Captain
Wegefarth, Wichita river, at the
mouth of Holiday creek, Waggoner's
camp on the Wichita river, the Pease
river and the Prairie Dog Town Fork
of Red River, First Lieutenant Lamb
and Second Lieutenant Sicker, (The
Sicker brothers later became noted
Texas Rangers of southwest Texas),
Henrietta, in Clay county, which
then consisted of three or four
log houses., Montague, Charlie Moore,
Collin county, J. W. Wilson, who
was starting a ranch in, Clay county.,
Dr. Warren and Ham Scott., B. C.
Warren., Walker, Loving's Ranch.,
the famous 22 ranch., the Hensley
brothers, Van, Sanders, was foreman
of the ranch., Singer's store, the
Kidwell ranch, O. L. Slaton's present
ranch house, Buffalo Springs. This
hill is east of town and I believe
is still known as Cozzy Hill; the
land is owned by J. W. Peppers.
George U. Boles. C. W. Singer and
a Mr. D'Quay., Estacado, Marshman
and Underhill, the 10A ranch, J.
K. Milwee, Mrs. Singer, Mrs. R.
C. Burns, The Kidwells and Brighams,
In 1890 came J. W. Rayner, and
located a townsite in Section 20,
Block A. There was also a town located
by J. T. Loftin and John Harrison
of Ft. Worth, and F. E. Wheelock
and R. C. Burns on Section 7 Block
A. In 1891 ,there was a consolidation
of the two towns on the present
site of what is now Lubbock, The
election of officers ,and the organization
of the county took place in March,
1891, and the following officers
were elected: G. W. Shannon, county
judge, W. M. Lay, sheriff; Geo.
C. Wolfarth, clerk; U. G. Moore,
treasurer; W. S. Clark, assessor;
J. B. Jones, surveyor; J. D. Caldwell,
F. E. Wheelock, L. D. Runt, and
Van Sanders, Commissioners. Each
of the competing towns had put up
buildings, and each faction had
eight or ten small houses, so after
the consolidation they moved to
the present site. Nicolett Hotel,
now the Broadway Hotel, J. D. Caldwell,
Preston Phoenix, Will Sanders, Joe
P. Lewis, In 1892, R. E. L. Rogers
published the Lubbock, Leader, M.
M. Cox, J. W. Hunt, J. J. Dillard,
and Jas. L. Dow.,
