Mysteries Of The Chisos Are Unfolding
By J. Marvin Hunter.
Account of geological, historical
and archeological characteristics
of the Chisos Mountains, and Emory
Peak in Big Bend region of Texas.
Mentions: Dr. Robert T. Hill
* Presidio * Langtry * St. Helena
Canyon, Mariscal Canyon * Alpine
* Terlingua * The Elmo Johnson ranch
* Castalon * Bravo del Norte * Dr.
Sedtzler *
When Camels Nearly Upset History
Except for the fact Jefferson
Davis' popularity in Washington
fell into a complete eclipse after
the War Between the States the history
of the West and South might have
been different. Instead of the West's
being won and developed by the bronco,
it might have been famed by the
camel. Sitting Bull might have,
been hunted down by a caravan of
sharp-shooting United States soldiers;
Southern cotton farmers might boast
of "40 acres and a camel," and Gene
Autry might have followed Tom Mix
in a roaring clash across the Nation's
silver screen on a swaying dromedary.
Research in the graduate school
of Tulane University by Miss Annie
E. Kidd, has unscrambled much of
the fact from legend about seemingly
fantastic War Department effort
to win and defend, then develop
the South and West, with Asiatic
camels.
Jefferson Davis, United States
Secretary of War before he was president
of the Confederates States backed
the venture. But official support
had vanished when the United States
went back to peace-time pursuits
in 1865. The strange thing about
the plan was that it worked, as
far as it was tried. Here is
the story.
Mentions: Major Henry C. Wayne
* Lieut. David Dixon Porter * Secretary
of War, John H. Floyd * Lieut. E.
F. Beale * Fort Defiance in New
Mexico * Fort Mojave in California
* Lieut. Edward L. Hartz * Sterling
Price * Fort Tejon, Calif * Samuel
McLaughlin *
KNEW BEN THOMPSON.
Colonel R. P. Smyth of Plainview,
Texas, writes in the article of
his personal reminiscences of the
enigmatic outlaw.
Mentions: the Austin Greys *
the Knights of Pythias * Phil Abraham
* Billy Sims *
Dick Dowling And His Forty-Three
Irishmen
By Elizabeth Rullman
Recorded on History's pages are
countless true deeds of valor; some
not so true, others more or less
biased. The names of many heroic
men are lauded to the skies, many
carved on monuments lofty and high,
and some are familiar in almost
every home. But there are thousands
whose deeds rank with the most renowned,
and their names are merely mentioned
in these volumes of history, and
still unending numbers, who gave
their all in enterprise of bravery,
are quite unknown.
In Texas there was one, a conqueror,
whose name should be emblazoned
among the most illustrious. His
deed, the most courageous, ranking
not a whit below that of any distinguished
human of the world, should be proclaimed
by friend and foe, and many monuments
should be erected in every Texas
city to inspire the coming generations,
of a deed that was wholly self-planned
and most skillfully executed. This
noble hero was Richard W. Dowling.
Here is his story.
Mentions: His forty-three Irishman
were: Engineer, N. H. Smith. Privates:
John Hassett, William Gleason, Edward
Pritchard, Thomas Dougherty, Michael
Carr, Charles Rheins, David Fitzgerald,
Thomas Hagerty, Timothy Hurley,
Michael Monahan, Timothy Huggins,
John McGrath, Alexander McCabe,
Matthew Walshe, John McKeefer, James
Fleming, Patrick Sullivan, Jack
W. White, Patrick Fitzgerald, Michael
Sullivan, Timothy McDonough, Patrick
McDonell, Thomas McKernon, Thomas
Sullivan, Patrick Clare, James Corcoran,
John Hennessey, Patrick Abbott,
John Flood, Hugh Deagon, John McNealis,
Peter O'Hare, Maurice Powers, Michael
Egan, Michael Delaney, Abner Carter,
Daniel Donovan, Terence Mulhern,
Daniel McMurry, John Wesley, Patrick
Malone, John Anderson.
Further Mentions: the little
town of Sabine, situated on the
Sabine River * a Federal or Northern
fleet, consisting of four gun boats,
the Clifton, Sachem, Arizona and
Granite City, manned by sharpshooters,
under command of Admiral Farragut,
with the aid of Lieutenant Frederick
Crocker * Major General W. B. Franklin
* Captain Odium * Dr. George H.
Bailey * General Magruder * Lieutenant
Crocker *
Bowie's Official Report Of San
Saba Fight
Some time ago we published an
account of Bowie's battle with Indians
on the San Saba river in 1831. This
battle is generally believed to
have taken place on Calf Creek,
in McCulloch county, while some
believe it was fought at Bowie Spring
on Celery Creek, a few miles north
of the present town of Menard. Rezin
P. Bowie wrote an account of the
fight, and it is given in Yoakum's
History of Texas. This article is
the official report of the battle
made by James Bowie, who was in
charge of the little band of men
who went from San Antonio to search
for the silver mine that now bears
Bowie's name:
Mentions: the Political Chief
of Bexar * Tahuacanoes * Ysayune,
the Comanche captain * Caddoes *
Mr. Buchanan * Mr. Thomas McCaslin
* Daniel Buchanan * James Coryell,
Mateo Dias, Cephas K. Ilam, Jesse
Wallace, Sr. Gonzales *
TEXAS BRANDS
Brands! The very word spells
romance. The days of the open range.
A day gone by but still living in
song and story. A day when Texas
vas one great ranch. A day when
thousands of cattle roamed the open
range. when the cowboy was the first
Citizen of Texas. When the Chisholm
Trail was the First Highway of Texas.
When a man was not a men unless
he was expert at the "shoot big
iron". Some of the old brand designs
of the day tell the romantic story
of the glorious period. Maybe it
wasn't civilization at its height
but it was a period of life, adventure
and thrills.
Mentions: A brand granted to
Don Juan Joseph Flores on July 1,
1762 at San Fernando de Bexar by
Don Angel de Martos y Navarrete,
governor of the province of Texas.
This is the earliest brand issued
in Texas… * H. T. Collier in Reeves
county * H J. Collier of Pecos,
Texas * the "Hash Knife" outfit
* Mrs. Virginia Hay * Dave Dillingham
* Ben Thompson * Mr. Edward Spruell
* Mrs. Willie V. Gerhardt * Judge
A. V. Pue * Rev. J. E. Fuller, pastor
of the Bandera Methodist church
* the Montague brothers, Mr. and
Mrs. Charles Walker, Jack Walker,
Elmo Newcomer, Bill Newcomer, Rudolph
Schott, D. E. Conwill, Rankin Conwill,
D. O. Tallman, Mrs. Claud Stevens,
Mrs. Howard Eckhart, Mrs. Florence
Fenley, I. E. Adamietz, Mrs. Sidney
Saathoff, Allie Gerald Langford,
and Rudolph Schott * Charlie Eckhart
* Dr. Z. Fuller * Mr. and Mrs. Bennie
Fleenor of Bandera * Little Miss
Eva Lois Fleenor * Tex Elam and
Bruce and Charlie Montague *
On A Mexican Mustang Through
Texas
By ALEX E. SWEET and J. ARMOY
KNOX
This is part of a serial account
of two daring adventurers who colorfully
describe their exciting and sometimes
humorous happenings on their trip
through the wilds and wiles of Texas
during the 1870's.
(Continued from Last. Month)
Mentions: the Fort Stanton Indians
* Gen. Ord * Lieut. Bullis * Jose
Tafoya; Lieut. F. D. Sharpe, 20th
infantry; and P. C. Gilbert * the
agent, Mr. Godfrey * Donohue's ranch
* Sanze Ranch * R. W. Barry and
Juan Diez * Fort Duncan * George
Taylor and Dick Taylor, * Steel's
ranch on the Nueces river * Nicholas
Coalson's sheep ranch * Camp Wood
* Henry Dill, stage driver, killed
at El Muerto, Texas, Aug. 1, 1877
* Sandy Ball, killed four miles
west of El Muerto, Aug. 1, 1877
* Gabriel Valdez and Horan Parsons
* Bass Canyon, near Van Horn's Wells
* Point of Rocks, in Limpia Cayon
* Librado Galindo, Petro Rentirio,
Julian Molino, Martin Lara, Remulo
Montoga, and Madaleno Villalobos
* Mr. Doty, killed near Brady City,
McCulloch county, Texas, Jan. 16,
1878 * John Sanders, stage driver
* Frederick B. Moore, killed at
San Ygnacio, McMullen county, near
the line of Duval county, April
17, 1878 * Vicente Robeldo, a shepherd,
killed near Brown's ranch, Duval
county, Apr. 17. 1878 * Guadalupe
Basan * the Soledad ranch, Duval
county * John Jordan, killed at
Charco Escondido, Duval county,
April 18, 1878 * Antonio Valdez
* Margarito Rodriguez * Gen. J.
E. Johnston * Gen. Tom Green *
Granite Monument To Jesse Chisholm
By T. U. Taylor, Austin, Texas
Jesse Chisholm died at Left Hand
Springs on March 4, 1868, five miles
east of Greenfield, Oklahoma. He
had been in the northern part of
Blaine county at the salt springs,
converting the brine into salt and
on returning with James R. Mead,
P. A. Smith, and Joe Van (colored
boy) he camped on March 3 at this
historic spot, Left Hand Spring.
It was the famous camping ground
and there were many Indians there
at that time. A bear had been killed
and its meat was cooked in a brass
kettle and everyone ate their fill.
Jesse Chisholm during the night
contracted an aggravated case of
ptomaine poisoning and there were
no doctors within 100 miles. He
died early March 4, 1868. His home
was over 59 miles away and there
were no roads, only trails, and
no means of rapid travel and no
embalming process. The friends decided
to bury him in the old Indian burying
ground at Left Hand Spring. In 1939
a granite marker was erected on
the selected spot at Left Hand Spring.
Mentions: James R. Mead * Joseph
B. Thoburn * Alvin Rucker * The
firm of Driscoll and Moritz * Dave
Dillingham * James Cooper and Billy
Weizbrod * the Battle of Horseshoe
Bend * Edward's store * Tehuacana
Creek * Comanche Peak in Hood county,
Texas * the town of Wichita * Gibson
to Edwards * Chisholm Spring to
Choteau near Lexington * Sahkahkee
McQueen Chisholm * Paden, Okfuskee
county * Wewoka * Fort Gibson in
Eastern Oklahoma * Chief Left Hand
Spring * Greenfield *
Dr. Richard Fox Brenham
By Houston Wade
So this is the story of the heroic
death February 11, 1843 of the man
for whom the present city of Brenham
is named. This worthy Texas hero
was the son of Robert Brenham and
his wife, who was Miss Mary M. Fox
before her marriage. This accounts
for the Fox as the middle name of
Dr. Brenham. The ancestry of this
great man has been traced without
a break to Governor John West of
Virginia, who was a brother of Lord
Delaware, and from him back to England
where his ancestors were of the
oldest and best landed gentry as
far back as William of Normandy,
also known as William, the Conqueror;
son of a tanner's daughter. His
rich life and courage is the subject
of this account.
Mentions: Frankfort, Woolford
county, Kentucky * Transylvania
College, of Lexington, Kentucky
* Mr. Stanford Woodward * Cooke
county, near Gainsville, in North
Texas * left Brushy Creek, near
Austin * General Hugh Melipod *
George Van Ness * Captain Archibald
Fitzgerld and Thomas Hancock. Miss
Cazenau, a daughter of Congressman
William L. Cazenau, of Austin *
George Wilkins Kendall * Captain
Claudius Buster * George Van Ness
and Thomas Hancock * John Higgerson
* Captain J. G. W. Pierson * John
Lyons * Patrick Lyons * Thomas Jefferson
Green * Colonel William G. Cooke,
a hero of San Jacinto * George Wilkins
Kendall * Captain Archibald Fitzgerald
* Captain Chauncey Johnson * the
Dawson Massacre * George Van Ness
* Thomas Hancock * John Higgerson
was a Fayette county man, * Nicholas
Mosby Dawson *
Fence-Cutting Days In Texas
By Ira Aten.
Lengthy and detailed article
of fence-cutting wars in Lampasas
County, Brown and Navarro County,
Tx. Also includes account of the
first installation of barbed wire
in Texas By John Cogswell
Mentions: Adjutant General W.
H. King * Judge Blackburn * Camp
Leona, near Uvalde * Jim Ned country,
north of Brownwood * Captain William
Scott * Mr. Gilbert * Governor L.
S. Ross * Richland * Jim King *
Chas. A. Culberson * John Cogswell
* General W. H. Mabry * Sergeant
Ira Aten * Francis Smith & Co *
R. W. Low and A. E. Noel, of Brown
county * Kaufman * Captain L. P.
Seiker *
The Big Bend State Park
By W. B. Tuttle.
Mentions: Persimmon Gap * Dog
Canyon * Tornillo Creek * Boquillas
* Green Gulch * the Chisos Mountains
* the Burnham Ranch * Boot Canyon
* the Carmen Mountains. and the
Fronteriza Moutains * Mariscal Canyon
* Santa Helena Canyon * the Green
Ranch at Glenn Springs *
The Savage Jibaro Head Hunters
By J. Marvin Hunter.
Interesting diversion from Texas
history, this article on the The
Jibaro Indians, who in their own
language are called Shuara, inhabit
the virgin forests around the great
rivers Pastaza, Morona, and their
affluence, regions politically divided
between Ecuador and Peru, and still
form one of the most numerous and
most important tribes of South America.
BOUGHT WIFE FROM INDIANS
Eighty years ago Texas established
on the De Cordova Bend of the Brazos,
in Hood county, one of the far flung
outposts of its northwest frontier.
Charles Barnard, Indian trader,
was the father of the settlement.
Barnard had built a mill at Glen
Rose several years before, but settlers
came in too fast for him, so he
sold out and moved fifteen miles
north, into the heart of the wilderness
that then marked the Brazos bottoms.
He erected a double log house, which
still stands, with outbuildings
for his stock of merchandise, then
set out for Waco to buy goods with
which to enter a career of barter
with the Comanches, who were overrunning
the country. This was in the late
1850s. At Waco, Barnard bought not
only his goods, but a wife as well
- Her name was Cavassos. This is
the story.
THE EDITOR'S BOX
Mentions: Mrs. Jennie Rodgers,
of Pipe Creek, Texas * Mrs. J. W.
Scott * Mrs. Cinda Perkins * Jeane
Harrison * Mrs. J. T. Rodgers *
Miss Alberta Roby * Rev. and Mrs.
J. W. Scott * the Leon Valley school
* Fred Reynolds * Donald Graham
* Jesse Chisholm * P. J. Blackmon
* M Maurice Brown, of Patricio,
Texas * Mrs. G. M. Lance, 615 South
Winnetka St., Dallas, Texas * an
early settler at Conroe, Montgomery
county, Texas * Wilson Strickland,
or James Strickland, Amos Strickland,
David Strickland, and Henry Strickland
* Mrs. Mary A. Bell, Mrs. G. T.
May and Mrs. Coonie Chandler of
London, Texas, and Mrs. W. A. Peril
of Kerrville * the old Shreiner
store in Kerrville * Mr. and Mrs.
Louis Heyen, of Hondo, Texas * Mrs.
Simon Rohlf * the H. J. Mesch ranch,
about two miles below Tarpley *
Mrs. Cleora Davenport's ranch, 12
miles south of Bandera