"THE OLD WEST"
A poem By J. P. Morris
Dean T. U. Taylor Passes On
By J. Marvin Hunter
Here is Frontier Times obituary
to Dean T. U. Taylor - a close friend
of the editors and a great Texas
historian and educator. Dean Taylor's
first contribution to Frontier Times
appeared in the issue for September,
1924, and thereafter at intervals
he contributed historical articles
until about 1933, when his articles
appeared with regular frequency.
He wrote about the early settlers
he had known and from whom he secured
his data. Here is his story.
Mentions: Jesse Chisholm * John
S. Chisum the great cattle baron
of New Mexico * Rev. Conway T. Wharton
* Memorial Park cemetery at Austin
* E. C. Bantel, Leland Barclay,
Harris Brush, Phil M. Ferguson,
S. P. Finch, John A. Focht, Boulden
Crofton, Banks McLaurin, John D.
Miller and Julian Montgomery * Miller
Institute in Virginia * Mrs. D.
C. Strother of Randolph Field *
Summerfield Taylor *
A Camp Meeting At Menardville
In 1886
By J. Marvin Hunter
Mentions: the McKavett road *
the San Saba river * the old Spanish
dam * old San Saba mission * Dr.
Doerr * B. Strom * Matu Street *
Fritz Luckenbach * Emil Toepperwein
* Tom Scruggs, Hugo Schuchard, Nellie
Schuchard * the Priest children
* Dave Maddox * J. D. Scruggs *
Rev. Jim Crawford * Jack Potter
* Grandpa Sheen, Grandpa Chastain,
and Grandpa Ezzell * Parson Keith,
M. J. Allen * Capt. C. M. Grady
of Brownwood * Mrs. M. L. Walker
of Coleman * Mrs. R. C. Gay of Santa
Anna * Mr. and Mrs. O. L. White
* Miss Mary Louise and Jim White,
of Livingston. Montana * General
Alvaro Obregon * Jose Maria Morelos
* Miguel Hidalgo * Benito Juarez
* Porfirio Diaz * Venustiana Carranza
* Francisco Villa * Mrs. M. O. Peril
* Miss L. C. Meyer, Belton, Texas
*
David Crockett: Backwoods Politician
By Grace Miller White, San Antonio,
Texas
When David Crockett left his
home in Tennessee to come to Texas,
he was a disillusioned and somewhat
bitter man. He felt that his friends
had turned him down, and he realized
that the forces he had opposed so
vehemently had defeated him and
ruined the brilliant career he had
foreseen for himself. For David
Crockett had come to think and to
speak of himself as a great man,
who night some day become President
of the United States. But he had
trusted his future to polities,
and politics, always fickle, had
let him down. He did not think the
fight had been a fair one, and the
questionable methods his opponents
had resorted to was the thorn that
rankled most in his heart. The disappointment
and humiliation was more than he
could gracefully accept. The things
about him which he had always loved
no longer enchanted him. His beloved
Tennessee, his home, the forests
and the streams where he had thrilled
to the hunt and where he had fought
the forces of nature with all the
vigor of his strong manhood were
no longer a joy to him. The untamed
wilderness about him was no longer
a challenge to his prowess. A discontentment
had settled over the famous bear
hunter; something had happened to
the rollicking, carefree Davy Crockett.
What he could not know was that
this defeat in which he had reached
the lowest stage in his fortunes
was in reality that tide in the
affairs of David Crockett which
was to lead him on to glory. This
is the story of his political style,
especially of his frankness, down-to-earth
manner and of his country-style
loyalty to truth and integrity.
Mentions: Shoal Creek, in the
southern partf of Tennessee * Andrew
Jackson * the Chickasaw Indians
* Judge Roy Bean * Colonel Alexander
* John Quincy Adams * Surgeon Beaumont
* Nicholas Biddle * Mr. J. W. Wiseman,
of Floresville *
q sum of $1828.00 for for performing
a series of experiments on the stomach
of a wounded soldier, in illustration
of the process of digestion. "Surgeon
Beaumont" is now famous in medical
history for the discoveries he made,
and he did receive the $1828.00.
A Dalton Tells The Story Of Quantrell
By Garland R. Farmer, Henderson,
Texas
History records that William
Clarke Quantrell, whose guerilla-fighting
militia struck terror to thousands
during the Civil War, died from
gunshot wounds in Kentucky during
the Spring of 1864. Frank Dalton,
uncle of the notorious Dalton gang
and cousin of Frank and Jesse James,
says Quantrell did NOT die in Kentucky,
but recovered and later taught school
in Texas for many years. Dalton
should know, for he was a member
of Quantrell's band. Here is his
story.
Mentions: the true name of Quantrell
was Charles Hart * Nathaniel Hart
* Jim Lane * Dr. Samuels *
The Land, A Boon To Mankind
By W. C. Moore
Mentions: Col. Tom Pierce, president
of the G. H. & S. A. Railroad *
Mr. Kingsberry * James J. Hill,
president of the Northern Pacific
Railroad * The great Indian chief
Tecumseh * Governor Harrison of
Indiana *
Lieutenant Dabney H. Maury at
Fort Inge
By Col. M. L. Crimmins
Dabney Herndon Maury came from
a distinguished family of Virginia.
His uncle was Commander M. Fontaine
Maury, the most distinguished oceanographer
of his time and Mayor Maury Maverick
of San Antonio, is his fourth cousin
once removed. In 1854, Lieutenant
Maury took station at the "Camp
on the Leona," that later became
Fort Inge. Here is an account of
his life and experiences especially
in this post.
Mentions: John Nance Garner *
Cerro Gordo * Captain Stevens T,
Mason * Lieutenants Thomas Ewell
and Thomas Davis * the city of Uvalde
* Colonel George Crittenden * Matamoras
* Mier * John J. Crittenden * Dr.
Getty * Jerome Bonaparte * Dr. Wedderburn
* Captain Baker * Colonel Morris
* Eagle Pass * Fort Duncan * Castroville
* Madame Tardee, * O'Donnel * Fort
Ewell * Callaghan Ranch where old
Laredo Road crosses the Nueces River
* Dr. Herff * Camargo on the Rio
Grande * Fort Ewell * Rio Frio *
General Persifer Smith *
Former Governor Joseph D. Sayers
By Frank H. Bushick
Account of the life of former
Texas Governor, Joseph D. Sayers
of Austin who was born at Grenada,
Miss., September 23, 1841, and in
1851 removed to Bastrop, Texas,
where he lived for many years, in
fact until he was elected governor.
It was at Bastrop that he read law
under Colonel Wash Jones, a very
notable lawyer and orator of pioneer
days, who served a term in Congress
as a Greenbacker and in 1882 nearly
turned Texas upside down as an independent
candidate for governor on the greenback
ticket. Under the tutorship of this
remarkable old pioneer, young Sayers
acquired a sound legal training
and love of politics, but he never
followed his old friend outside
the Democratic party. Major Sayers
was elected to Congress in 1884
and was relected successively until
1898, when he was nominated and
elected governor. No Texan ever
stood higher in Washington than
Major Sayers. Here is his life,
experiences as a soldier in the
Civil War where distinguished himself
by charging across an open plain
in the face of the enemy's fire
and capturing a battery of light
artillery and as a politician.
Further Mentions: General H.
H. Sibley * Brigadier General Thomas
Green * General W. P. Hardeman *
General Canby * Colonel Tom Green
* Val Verde * the battle of Glorietta
* the battle of Bisland, on Bayou
Teche, in Louisiana * the battle
of Blair's Landing * O. M. Roberts
*
Shanghai Pierce, Cowman
By Margaret Pierce, Wichita Falls,
Texas
Account of the life experiences
of A. H. (Shanghai) Pierce, one
of the most successful of the great
Cattlemen of Texas. After the Civil
War he began to buy cattle seriously
from all over the state of Texas.
He was a good trader and always
had good credit. His ranch grew
to the size of two or three hundred
thousand acres. He branded 1,600
mavericks a year. He Was one of
the first cattlemen to become interested
in breeding with the "humpies" or
steers of Brahma blood. His cattle
were known from the Rio Grande to
the Canadian line as Shanghai Pierce's
sea lions. Here is his story.
Further Mentions: the W. B. Grimes
ranch * Victoria and Alligator Head.
which is now Port O'Connor * the
Island City Bank in Galvseton *
old Deming's Bridge Cemetery on
Tres Palacios in Matagorda County
* Brownsville Railroad line * Pierce
Station in Wharton County * George
W. Saunders *
Captain Neal Colwell, Texas Ranger
A. J. Sowell
Lengthy and detailed account
of Captain Neal Colwell who was
born in Dade county, Missouri, in
May, 1844. His father, Thomas Colwell,
was a soldier under General Jackson
in the war of 1812, and participated
in the famous battle of New Orleans,
fought on the 8th of January, 1813.
Captain Colwell came to Texas in
1860 and entered what would be a
long-standing and notable career
as a Texas Ranger Captain, which
service he continued in until 1883.
The home of Captain Colwell was
near Center Point, in Kerr county
He married Miss C. E. Martin of
San Marcos, sister of the late Judge
W. W. Martin.
Mentions: Carson River * Black
Grove * Newmarket * Eugene B. Millet
* Mansfield * Yellow Bayou * Sergt.
John C. Douglas * Pat Dolan * F.
C. Nelson * John B. Jones * George
Danner, William Baker and Joe Moss
* Cypress Creek * Leakey * Sam Larrymore
* Sergt. W. G. Coston * Ragsdale
* W. K. Jones * Frank Jones * Monroe
Surber * Lon Spencer * Paint Rock
* Green Lake * Aleck Merritt * Dr.
Nowlin * George Beakley * William
Layton * Pat Dolan * Frank Moore
* Sergt. Ed Seiker * Sam Henry,
Tom Carson, L. B. Caruthers * Bingham
* Jesse Evans * the Chenati mountains
* Tom Carson * Capt. George W. Baylor
* Fort Davis * Bingham * Capt. Charles
L. Neville * Fort Stockton * Victorio,
the famous Mescalero Apache chief
* Ysleta * Col. Grierson * Fort
Quitman * A man named Baker *
Memories Of Mormon Mill
By Ida Babcock-Hall. Austin,
Texas
Account of Mormon Mill in Burnet
county by one who grew up near there
as a child.
Mentions: Hamilton Creek * Fort
Croghan * Delaware Springs * Lyman
Wight * cult known as Members of
the House of David on Lake Michigan
* Swisher and Collins * Gail Borden
* Abijah Hopkins * McCartney, Eubanks
* Hubbard * S. E. Holland * Joshua
T. Moore * Price Kinser * Herman
Park *
An Essay On Texan Trails
By Harold Alberts
El Camino Real, (the King's Highway),
the Old Chisholm Trail, the Old
San Antonio Road, are names in themselves
reminiscent of rich romance, filled
with nostalgic memories, sweet and
bitter, of the great Texas and the
great Texans of the past. The trails
of Texas are the history of the
life blood of the people of Texas
-- Here is a brief account of the
historical significance of the trails.
Mentions: LaSalle and DeSota,
de Vaca and St. Denis, Nolan and
de Zavalla *
Nopo, the Captive Indian Boy
By Mrs. J. R. Irion, Dallas,
Texas
In the autumn of 1859 a band
of Comanche Indians made a raid
on some settlers southwest of Austin.
The attack was accompanied by the
usual murders and thefts of horses
and cattle, which the Comanches
always employed in their raids.
This raid then commenced a pursuit
of the Indians by Colonel Rip Ford
and his company of Rangers. The
Ranger raid resulted in among other
things, the capture of Yovrobepo
(Nopo) who stayed with the writer's
grandmother, a Mrs. Calhoun for
a period of years - here is his
story.
The Fusee Clock Is A Wonder
Mentions: William Watson * Jacob
Zech of Prague * Mr. Geo. B. Davis
*
The Reunion Of Old Settlers At
Bandera
Mentions: Little Miss Yvonne
Aclanis of Medina * Dr. P. B. Hill
* Mr. and Mrs. Herman Harper * R.
J. Cooke * Baldwin Parker * Charlie
Eckhart * Hon. Gerald C. Menn Coe
* Mr. Fred Rothsch * Archie Graham,
T. B. Whitworth, Joe Denton, John
Adams, Lee Cravey, and Ernest Jump
* Dave Dillingham * Lois Fleenor
* the Montague Boys * T. Brooks
Wood *
Uvalde Settler Tells of Trailing
Indians
G. P. Hodges, an old settler
of Uvalde County, furnishes the
facts for this detailed account
of Indian trailing by the settlers.
In those days, especially during
light moons, if a gun was fired
at night the near neighbors were
up and listening. The presence of
Indians was made known by firing
guns, blowing horns, or yelling.
Runners on swift horses would go
day and night to alarm the isolated
settlers of a raid, and men would
gather to fight them. This account
details a raid made in 1871 with
Comanches coming east from the Nueces
and Frio Canyon and stole horses
from Mr. J. F. Patterson. They killed
a boy there who was working for
Mr. Patterson, taking care of his
cow ponies, and shot at Joe Dean,
who was standing by the yard gate
talking to his brother-in-law, Jesse
Campbell. This triggered a trailing
of the Indians by nine men from
the settlement - this is the story.
Further Mentions: the ranch of
widow Dean * Judge Harper * Joel
Fenley * Hondo City * Isaac King
* Joe Dean * William Johnson * Hardy
Cocke, Phil Hodges * Sevier Vance
and Joe Decker * Elam's and Wilson's
ranch on Ward's Creek * Tom Wilson
* Judge Harper's ranch * old D'Hanis
* E. N. Requa *