AUTO-BIOGRAPHY of David Jones Eddleman

AUTO-BIOGRAPHY of David Jones Eddleman

 

I began life when I was very young. It was nearly eighty years ago, as well as I remember.

It was somewhere in Kentucky, the exact place at this time, I am unable to locate, but it was in Kentucky, it could not have been in any other place from the fact, that my grandfather, Peter Eddleman, when a very young man, selected that country for his home, having migrated there with the famous Daniel Boone, stationed first at the Blue Licks. This was before the days of Lexington, in fact, it was sometime before the war of the Revolution, but the exact date of his settlement in Kentucky I can not give. It was, however, before that state was even a territory.

My grandfather, Peter Eddleman was of German parentage, but not a German by birth, neither was he an American by birth. His birthplace was somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean.

Early in life, when Peter Eddleman was about twenty years old, he married Miss Rachel Elrod, also of German parentage, this was my grandmother, she had a sister Rebecca, who was my great grandmother, not by marriage but by blood.

To my grandfather, Peter Eddleman and his wife were born several children, four daughters and two sons, my father, James Eddleman was the youngest son.

When Peter Eddleman married he made a settlement in what was later Fayette County Kentucky and about nine miles from where Lexington was afterwards laid out for a town, then a cane break. Here he raised his family and spent the remainder of his long life; he and my grandmother, after they were married lived together on this farm more than seventy five years; never having moved from it.

My father James Eddleman was born and raised on this farm, he was born in the year 1799, and when he was about 22 years old he married Miss Cynthia Douthitt, a granddaughter of Rebecca Elrod Jones, the older sister of my grandmother, Rachel Elrod Eddleman: Thus it came that my grandmother and my great grandmother were sisters.

After my father and mother were married, they settled near where he was raised and engaged tin the occupation of farming, and raising a family of children. But, unlike his father he was of a more roving disposition. In his early life he lived in several different counties in Kentucky. And in the year 1841 he moved to Missouri. In Kentucky, however most of his children were born. I was born in Kentucky. But I do not know in which county I was born, but, my first recollection is located in Scott County near the old stamping ground, where a town now stands by that name.

Whether it was there that I first saw the light of day, or in some other county I am unable to decide, but there, near that old stamping ground is where begins my earliest recollection, and where I can begin to recall events that transpired in my early days.

The first of which was of course, an accident to myself, and left its scars, which I am carrying to this day. The circumstances of which are about as follows: As was the custom in those days, each farmer manufactured about everything that was needed on his farm, and my father was building some new log stables, and needed some boards to cover the buildings; preparatory to this, he had split out some board bolts for riving into boards; hauled and stacked them near the new stables, and at this time was riving out the boards. I, then very small, was playing near by and I discovered some hens eggs in one of the stacks of bolts, and told my father what I had found; he said let them be and I will get them out for you presently; I waited awhile, but his presently was to long to suit me, and I thought I would get the eggs myself; in order to do so I climbed over the top of the stack and descended down, but had not room enough to reach down to the eggs, and when I set myself to enlarge the space; down came all the bolts on me. The noise it made, and my crying brought my father to my aid, and after extricating me he carried me to the house; with my mouth bleeding and one of my thumbs bleeding. I thought that I was about killed. The thumb on my left hand was split and remains so to this day, but my mouth and nose recovered without leaving any scars.

 

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This was the beginning of my misfortunes: many of which I will have to relate, before this history is finished and my memory does not fail me. However, I think it a very fortunate thing that there are some pleasant incidents interspersed in our lives to make it bearable even in our youth, if it were not so, for of us, I fear, could survive the trials that mortals are destined to endure.

Of course, while I was recovering from my injuries, I was much petted, humored and spoiled. I was even promised, as soon as I was well, that I might have a new pair of breeches, as they were called in those days. Then, the custom was for all small children to wear long dresses, the hem went down to the floor, boys and girls alike; until boys were old enough to run errands; then boys were allowed to put on long breeches made on the same plan as men’s breeches. On my recovery; I was promised a pair of breeches.

I can remember it to this day, my proud anticipation of my new breeches that my mother was making for me---well in due time the good day arrived when I was permitted to put on the long coveted pair of breeches.

About my age at that time, I am now unable to determine, but, there was an event which transpired along those years, which, I very distinctly recall, the date of which, I and my older brothers, a few years ago, greatly differed. By some chance it was the first time that the event was ever referred to; and it chanced in this manner. About twenty-five years ago we were met at out mother’s house and the old clock, a wooded wheel Seth Thomas clock was on the shelf in its’ usual place, when I remarked that I well remembered the day that our father bought that old clock. At this remark my older brothers all laughed; and said, it was impossible; as that clock was bought two years before I was born.

In order to convince them that I was right, I related to them the place where we lived at the time that the clock was bought, the appearance of the clock peddler, the color of his horses and the kind of wagon that he was traveling in; and where I was when he came into the house, and that I had on my new breeches; had just put them on that day for the first time---none of which had ever been alluded to in our family before. They all acknowledged that my description was right, but insisted that the clock was bought long before my day. As I yet have the scar on my thumb, and recollection of my new breeches, I insist that my memory is correct.

The next proud day of my life occurred when I was promised the pleasure of going to school. I can not recall the time when I began learning my letters and to count, but I remember how it was that I learned my letters: When my mother would be reading in her Bible, and I at here knees, she would point out to me the letters at the beginning of the chapter and tell me the name, and when she found that I remembered {the name}she took pleasure in teaching me, so I very soon knew my letters {by heart} but, did not know their arrangement in the alphabet. The next thing { } that I learned was the figures, and how to count to one hundred. { }I knew all this before I started to school.

On my fathers farm was a grove of sugar maples, and my { } father built a sugar camp; and it was the custom towards the { end of } the winter, when the thaws came, to go to the sugar-camp and { } work. This was a joyful time for me and the older boys: The boys in our family older than myself, but in those days, I felt I was about equal to any of them, this was my feeling especially when it came to tapping the trees, setting the troughs, dipping the sugar water and bringing it to camp. I was ready to do my part, although my part was not so large as theirs, I made as many trips as any of them did.

Those were happy days about that old sugar-camp {when the sugar) water would run.

When those days ended, spring began open the { } and school began. I was never of a pessimistic nature and there was always some bright thing just ahead to look at and keep my young ideas all aglow, so it was when the sugar camp shut down; school was to open.

 

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In those days, even in old Kentucky, there were no districts to open. It was, what was then called, subscription schools. That is where a young man could write up an article of agreement, and get the parents of the children to subscribe to his school a certain number of pupils, agreeing to pay per scholar for a certain term.

In this case, it was Al Bonds, a son of one of our neighbors, who made up his school, to be taught in an old house On the farm belonging to his aunt, a Mrs. Samuels. The house had formerly been her residence, but having built a better house this was idle, and empty; and Mr. Bonds had to supply it with seats for the pupils; which were made of split logs with four legs inserted in each one; the legs were driven into two inch auger holes, they were about two feet long, and this made the benches about two feet high when standing its four legs; so high that the boys and girls could not reach the floor with, their feet while sitting. on benches thus, avoiding any noise from their feet. there were four of these benches in the room and they were set so far away from the wall that

We Could not lean back against the wall, thus we were compelled to sit up very strait on our benches.

The time for books as it was called was from 7 A.M. to 12 with one hour of playtime and then 1 P.M. to 6 P.M.We never heard of recess in those days. All the pupils was allowed to get their lessons as loud as they pleased, but there was no time for whispering in school hours, or gassing around, and boys or girls caught at either was sure to be punished when caught; the punishment was usually with a rule in the hand or a switch to the back.

When the day for school came, I with my Sister older than I started to school. I cannot recall just how old I was then, the only thing that aids my memory is, that I was so small that I attracted much attention, in fact so small that the larger girls in school were disposed to make a pet of me, at playtime, as soon as the teacher had gone to his dinner; they caught me up in their arms, by turns, hugging, and kissing me and carrying me around like as if I only were a Baba, this made me mad and my sister came to my relief, but they ;were so much larger than her that she was unable to render me any assistance,fina1ly,two or the larger girls, about grown, took my part, and extricated me from them and the embraces that they were wasting on me. My rescuers, were two Miss Samuels, cousins to the teacher, that was why they could control the other girls with their threats, to tell the teacher on them.

After the first few I got on very well. The news of the Baba boy at school having worn off.

Young as I was, I knew all my letters and could repeat a considerable portion of the multiplication table, this was a great surprise to my teacher, and seemed to cause him to take much interest in me, he would take me on his knee, and aid me in learning my lessons.

This school only continued during the spring months, but by the close of it I had made considerable in fly studies; especially in the tables in the arithmetic; these were my delight, and I could not be kept out of this line of study.

The hard part of all my lessons was spelling, I never could learn to be a good speller. There were certain sounds of letters in certain words that I never could distinguish; even to this day, I am at a loss to know just when to use the "i" or "e" in words or at the beginning of words.

In those days in if our parents could get three month of school in the year, they were doing rather extra.

I Was born in June 1834 and my father moved to Missouri in March l84l, for two years before moving, the talk of going west was the all absorbing question; and the strong debatable part, was where to go. It was either to Missouri or to Texas.

My mother's father, mother and sister and some of her brothers were in Missouri, and she also had two brothers in Texas.

A new country was what father wanted, where he could get cheap land for his children. Texas held out great inducements, but times were very much unsettled in Texas. And Missouri was a state with such laws as suited the ideas of any good Kentucky citizen and it gained the day and to Missouri we went.

After all things had been settled, the farm sold, to Jo Gates, our Neighbor, an old bachelor, with a very red face.

 

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The sale was made just as we closed the sugar camps; and as soon as Mr. Gates got the sale closed, he put men to work cutting down the sugar trees, and clearing up the land for cultivation. He was a farmer and cattle feeder.

Early in March 1841 the wagons were loaded, and our teams headed for the West. The train consisted of three wagons, one drawn by two yokes of Oxen, one by two horses and one, a Dearborn for the mother and us small children drawn by two horses. The big wagon, was on the old style, it had a long, crooked bed, when we got to Missouri, it was called "a prairie schooner" those old fashioned wagons had long since been discarded. The other wagon was a more modern style.

Our company, at that time consisted of father, mother, three brothers and one sister older than myself; and two brothers and one sister younger than myself; a Negro Woman and a Negro boy; and old man Stout, an old neighbor or ours, who went along to drive the ox team, he wanted to see the new country, and drove the team to pay his way.

Father took along a few head of cows; and a few head of young horses, so that he would have a start of stock when he got to the new country.

Though small I was, the trip to me was very interesting. Although, I have never traveled the road since; I can recall much of it, and have a very distinct memory of the country along the road over which we traveled.

The second day after we started, we crossed the Kentucky river at Frankford on our way to Louisville. Much of the road on which we were traveling had lately been newly Macadamized, and the rocks very soon made the feet or our ox team sore; and they got so lame that they could scarcely walk. Father and Mr. Stout talked of getting them shod, but we could find no blacksmith who would undertake the job, so they had to limp on to the end of our journey. After a while, however, we came to the end of the turnpike, and got on to dirt road again; then it was better.

In Louisville, I saw the first Street car; it was pulled by one horse hitched in front of each car, and the car run on iron rails. When we got to Louisville, it was a cold rainy day, and the streets were very muddy, though the mud was not very deep, but it looked nasty. We did not mind the rain, as we had good sheets on our wagons.

When we drove onto the Ferry-boat, it was a steam ferry, at Louisville. We noticed a small white shoat standing under the big ox wagon, but we thought it belonged to the boat, but it didn’t, the boat man said it was ours, but Father tried to drive it back, but it would follow our ox wagon, and stay right under it. This wagon usually occupied the rear of the train, and the loose cattle and horses followed it. That evening when we stopped to camp, that pig was under the ox wagon, it was very gentle, and was a pretty pig, but it did not belong to us. It would stay with the Ox wagon, and it did so until we got to the east side of the Mississippi river. Where, by some means it disappeared sometime in the night while we were all asleep.

After crossing the Ohio River we got onto dirt roads and found much mud. It rained almost every day on us until we got to old Von Sans. It was raining hard when we drove into that town. To say that the road was bad from Louisville to Van Sans is putting it very mildly, and fails to express their condition. There was a portion of the road over which we traveled, that presented the appearance of having been once crossways with poles, but many of them had rotted and the Wagons would break through such places and go down to the hubs, it looked like it was all quicksand below. Much of the country seemed level, and the water was standing all over the face or the country. Old man Stout called this road Purgatory; and he said hell could be no worse. That was the first time that I ever heard those words, and I asked mother what he meant by them. She said they were bad words, and that I should not say them. We were several days getting over this road and when we got to the Wabash river it was very full and there were several wagons just ahead or us waiting to be ferried over the river. We had to take our turn.

The ferry-boat was only a flat boat and was pulled across the river by a cable stretched across the river. All of the Wagons ahead or us had gotten across except one which was drawn by two mules, just as the team and the front wheels got on the boat it pulled loose from the shore, and swung out into the river with the hind wheel and back end of the wagon in the water, and the mules.

 

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There were only two men on the boat besides the driver of the wagon; and there were about twenty men on the bank or the river. This was the greatest excitement that I ever saw; for my life, I could not tell who was doing the greatest amount or hollowing.

Finally, old man Stout, he was the oldest man in the crowd, got the men to listen to him, and he with another man got into a canoe and tied a rope to the back end of the boat, as it swung by its cable, and when this was done, all hands on the bank got hold on the rope and pulled the boat back to the landing, and by hard work they put the wagon on the boat

and it went safely to the other side of the river.

Next came our turn, but such pro caution Was taken that no accident

occurred and we were landed safely on the Illinois side. Through Illinois the road was some better, and after the first day the weather cleared up and we had some sun-shine. Along this part of the journey, we found some very good looking homes; and the country continued to look better as we neared St. Louis. But just before we got to St. Louis, we arrived at old French town oh the Mississippi river. Those people did not empress us as being good people. It was on Saturday, too late to get over the river that night and we were compelled to camp for the night in old French town. We could get no wood to make a camp fire for either love or money. Late in the afternoon it began a slow drizzling rain, and we were in great need of fire. Father went to an old Frenchman near by who had a large wood enclosure and tried to buy some wood, but he would not sell any, only some wild grape vines climbing up his trees; these were very green and when they were cut the water ran out of them. As this was the only chance, all hands set to work, and soon we had a good pile of green vines of which to make a fire, but as it was spring the vines reminded me of sugar trees running sugar water, and as soon as the old bark burned off the water put the fire out, and we had a cold supper that night, but it did not bother me so much as it did

the others, we had some good milk from our cows and that answered me. On Sunday morning the Sun rose bright and warm, and as early as possible we were on the move to leave that horrible place. Otherwise, we should have camped over Sunday On starting that morning we noticed that the beautiful white pig was missing, and could nowhere be found nor could any one be found who had seen the pig since late the night before when it was snug in its bed, which it had made every night under the big wagon. We children much regretted the loss of that pig. She had become much attached to all of us, having been with us now for

more than two weeks, and always under that ox wagon day or night.

By ten O’clock Sunday morning we were all crossed over the river and in the City of St. Louis. No finer March morning ever dawned on that city; and as we moved slowly along the streets watching the many well dressed folk going to church; and admiring the many beautiful buildings we were very suddenly brought to a halt by the news, that the ox wagon had met an accident. That, as Mr. Stout was crossing a lately dug sewer ditch, the front wheels had gone down and let the front end of the wagon bed come down on the hounds that they wore broken quite off. We were in that great city on Sunday, and could move no further. I cannot express how keenly we all realized our condition. Father set out to find a shop where he could get the wagon repaired. Mr. Stout and the older boys to get the stock into a wagon yard. While mother and us little fellows were left sitting, in the old Dearborn awaiting results. We were strangers in a strange city, the largest that any of us had ever seen. But, in cities all people are not bad, We were soon convinced that it would be impossible to get any repairs done on Sunday in that city, but it was promised very soon on the following day, and while the men were looking after other matters. Mother was sitting in the Dearborn awaiting results.

Just opposite us stood a fine large brick building from which came a man and a woman dressed like they had started to church, and they came to mother and invited her to go into their house with her children and remain with them until the repairs were done on the wagon.

Their hospitality was offered in such good manner that mother accepted it, and the good lady set aside the use of a large room for use and a kitchen in which we could do our cooking, and offered us a good supply of food from her pantry, this, however, mother refused, as we had plenty in our wagon. With this good family we remained until the wagon was ready to move on, which was until the Tuesday morning following. When we took up our journey for our destination.

 

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In this connection it would not do to omit the name or this good family, it was Basswell; the first name, I never heard. A few years later father was in St. Louis and called and paid his respects to this family.

It is almost useless to say that the Basswell's refused to accept any pay for their liberality, and hospitality on this occasion. That was the only time that I was ever in St. Louis, but the city and the name Basswell has ever retained a green spot in my memory in consequence or this.

Our route was west on to Jefferson City. While passing through this city we came in sight of the walls of the state penitentiary where were confined the convicts; we saw several of them working on buildings all dressed in striped clothes, it was explained to me that they were convicts serving tine on account of bad conduct.

Not many days later we arrived at the end of our journey in Morgan county Missouri. In a few days father located a quarter section of school land, which cost him $1.25 per acre, Government price. That was about one half mile from the home of my grand father, Douthitt's house. It was a beautiful place, on the east and North of it was timber consisting of oak, walnut and many scaly bark hickory trees, the under growth was hazelnut. It was about the first of April when we camped on this place, and it was not very long before we had up a very comfortable log cabin, in which we felt settled. it was not very long until we were turning over the prairie sod and fixing to make a farm. Here began my first important field work, that of dropping corn after the sod plow. it was my business to place the corn in each third furrow made by the plow which was drawn by three yoke of oxen, one of the larger boys driving the team and father holding the plow. We could plow about one acre each day. This work began about the middle of May, and in about one month we had quite a nice field of corn planted. Corn planted in the sod required no other cultivation. While the team was breaking the land; the boys were in the bottom making rails with which to fence the field, and those rails were to haul out and put into a fence which was called a worm fence; father put this up while the boys hauled the rails.

In those days we used ten feet rails; they were mostly made from large walnut trees, sometimes three cuts to the tree. Father could lay up about one hundred panels of this fence per day, which he did about as fast as the boys hauled the rails. We very soon had the fence done.

The fine walnut logs used to make our fence then; would now be worth more than that farm was worth after it was all fenced and will improved that summer occurred one thing that always stayed with me and I can never forget; although all parties connected with it are dead. It was this: There lived not far from our house a family by the name of

McFarland, and one day Mrs. McFarland came to see mother in order to make the acquaintance of her new neighbor, and be as agreeable as possible she invited mother to come and see her and informed her that she had quite a fine lot of cherries then ripe, many more than she could use herself and seeing that we had none; she very generously offered to give mother all that she wanted, and insisted on mother sending over to get the cherries, Mother told her that she would like to have the cherries, and would pay for them, but she said that she would not think of taking any pay from a new comer to the country, but said, send along the little boys and get as many as we wanted. She insisted so strong that mother told brother George and I that we might go home with Mrs.

McFarland and gather some cherries, and for that purpose we took each of us a half gallon bucket, and went home with her to get the cherries. The trees were full of the finest looking cherries, and we hastened up the trees and began to, first fill ourselves, before we began to fill our buckets, after we had eaten many cherries we began to fill our buckets, but, before we got them one fourth full; the old lady came out of the house and said to us "Boys don't you think that you had better leave some for next time"

This cooled our ardor. We come down out of those trees in a hurry, and went home, and told mother what she had said to us. This said my mother is about as I expected, although she insisted so hard on you boys going home with her to get he cherries. I don't think that mother ever returned her call, at least there never grew up any particular friendship between our families; although we lived in that neighborhood about thirteen years afterwards.

 

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The second year after we arrived in Missouri; Grandfather Douthitt decided to build for himself a brick house. He owned several Negro men and boys and after crops were laid by he set his men to burning a brick-kiln, to be used In the now house; and other Negroes he set to work to get out the lumber for the house. Those days there were no saw mills and all of the lumber must be sawed out by men on the whip-saw to do this, it required a saw pit where the logs were to be sawed into lumber.

While some were in the woods selecting and cutting the logs others were hauling them to the pit where two men wore running the whip-saw. In this manner all of the lumber for the woodwork was got out ready for the house. After it was sawed, it had to be kiln-dried ready for the plains. The joist for both the floors were of Bur-oak; the lumber for the floors were of white ash; and the finishing lumber was of black walnut; all of this lumber was clear of any knots, and all manufactured on the whipsaw. The shingles were of walnut first rived out then shaven with a drawing knife on the shaving hoss, and then jointed with a jointing plain. To build a good house in those days required quite a long time and much hard work; quite different from what it is now. it took two years to build that house.

My father also built a house that year, but it was not so fine. It was built of hewn logs faced on both sides leaving the logs five in inches thick; the logs being very large they faced about 14 inches at the small end. His house was made of logs 16 feet long and the house was two stories high two rooms above and below, the walls were chinked with small stones and the cracks pointed with lime mortar this made a nice looking house and quite comfortable to live in.

The first school that I attended in Missouri Was taught in an old log cabin once used for a Baptist church it Was known as the Mount Pleasant Church near by this they had built a better house which, they were then using. This old house had cracks in it that a large dog could jump through, but it Was during warm weather and this did not hurt. It was three miles from our house to the school house; All the way through the woods, along a bridal path that is; cut out only to ride a horse in, not for wagons to travel. This road did not pass any house on the way, there was a way that did pass houses, but it was much Father that way Our teacher Was George W. Longan a young man but highly educated, and a very fine teacher. On our way home of evenings we often saw deer, squirrels, coons and Opossums crossing our road. One evening we saw an old possum crossing our road and to her we gave chase. She had several young ones on her back, about as large as half grown rats, and the way those young fellows clung to that old possum was a sight to us. When we came near to her she would turn on us with her mouth wide open and scare us back. She finally got away from us in a thicket of hazel bushes, and saved her young ones. On another evening we got after another possum and chased it up a tree and I climbed up after it but it got so far out on a limb that I could not reach it; I tried to shake it out, and got all of its feet loose from the tree, but it held on with its tail wrapped around a limb of the tree and I could not shake it loose, and all my efforts were in vain.

Our teacher took great interest in our studies and we all liked him very much. He was a good swimmer and there was a good swimming hole near by the school house, and at noon, he would often go with us to the swimming hole and take us little fellows on his back and swim with us.

He soon taught us how to swim. He often took as many as two of us on his back at one time and swam in that way. But he would not allow us to go swimming without him. He also taught us how to play games. Sometimes he would take us to a near by arbor where the church held open air meetings, and have us all sit down on the log seats; while he would practice making speeches. We all thought that he was a fine talker.

A few years afterwards, this man became a famous Christian preacher in the state of Missouri.

Two years later we got a schoolhouse in our district; it to was built of hewn logs by the patrons of the school. Who employed Mr. John Howard to teach us little fellows, he would only agree to teach the arithmetic as far as fractions. Spelling and reading were his main features. He was about the only man that I ever saw that knew all of the old Webster spelling book; this and teaching the girls and boys home manners and politeness, was his great delight.

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Every Friday after noon, he drilled us in politeness, he taught us how to give introductions and how to receive introductions; how to make a bow, and to pass the ordinary compliments that are so much used in every day life.

This was in the year 1844 when Politics wore running high in Missouri, and all of us boys had our choice. Some were for Clay, and some were for Polk. Clay and Freelinghuysen ware on the Whig ticket and Polk and Dallas were on the Democratic ticket. Being a Kentuckian I regretted much that I could not stand for Clay but I could not give up my party, however much I loved the Kentuckian, I was therefore on the side of Polk and Dallas. Many were the talks and disputes that we boys bad about our favorites for the presidents that year. The question that concerned our boys most was the admission of Texas as one of the states or the union.

I had been taught that one of my mother's brothers had given his life for that country and its cause, and this endeared the name of Texas to me. My uncle Allen G. Douthitt with Crockett was killed at the Alamo in San Antonio. Perhaps this as well as my Democratic feelings aided me in rejecting a Kentuckian on this occasion, and choosing a

man from another state. Up to that time I know but little or the political questions that actuated the two parties. It was really the Texas Question that controlled me in that case. I remember to day my feeling in my boyhood and the emotions that filled my breast. It was always a sentiment that guided my actions; it is so to day.

Up to this time I had only had the advantage of about nine months schooling, but I had been a constant student at home, and had lost nothing that I had learned, but continued to press forward in my books, such as I could get my hands on. In those days we had very poor lights, in our houses, it was long before the days of coal oil, or even sperm candles. At hog killing time we took great pains to save all the grease that, we could find about the animal, that which was clean, we saved for cooking oil that was considered not clean, was saved for lights in the house our lamps in those days were much like those used in the days of the Apostles, with iron bolls to hold the grease; while a rag dipped in the grease served as a wick to hold the blaze of the lamp, this was our usual lights. Occasionally to this was added a small amount of tallow taken from a mutton or a beef; that was molded into candles, these we saved for company or other extraordinary occasions. When our grease gave out I Was compelled to resort to scaly bark hickory for lights, and it was by such lights that I got most of my education at night with my back to the jam rock sitting on the hearth in this manner I could get the most benefit from the light burning in the fire place. Therefore it was my custom to lay in a good amount of scaly bark for my own use.

In my young days we knew no such thing as a cooking stove, then the vessels used for cooking, were the long handle skillet with its three legs and its lid; and the deep oven with its three legs and an eye on each side for the hooks to fit in by means of which it could be handled. All of these were made of cast iron. The pots and kettles were also of cast iron; and all were used about the open fireplace or on the hearth.

You may talk about your good bread. But, if you had ever eaten a piece of that corn bread that old Anaka used to bake in the skillet on the kitchen hearth, you might say that you knew about good bread, and how it tasted. That bread with its crust crisp, thick and brown, but not hard, after it had been cooking for half an hour, it beat anything I ate, from that oven on coals on the hearth and under coals on top of the lid with the meat all surrounded by potatoes sweet or Irish split open, and in the oven with the meat while cooking them you could talk about good eating, and that rich gravy made with rich sweet milk. This was what I used to call, a good dinner.

We called this baked meat in those days. A roast then was where a piece of meat was suspended before the fire by a wire and kept continually turning around so that it would cook on all sides alike, and during this process, occasionally baste it with salt pepper and vinegar, and any other condiment desired to assist its flavor. I have never in all my life found any cooking that equaled, to my taste, that cooked, in the iron vessels on the hearth as it was done when I was a boy.

 

 

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In the autumn, after I was four years old in June, I was promised a pair of shoes, if I would be a good boy and help my mother: In those days boys were not furnished with shoes until they were large enough to run errands, for their mother.

It was the custom of rather to make all the shoes for his family this work was done of bad days and at nights, all of the mutton hides, and beef hides killed on the arm, were taken to the tan yard, where they were tanned on the shares, one half for the other; it required twelve months to tan leather in those days; and it was in this manner that father got his leather to make our shoes for our winter wear.

That winter; my shoes were the last to be made; and it was late in December before he got to work on them. It was the day before Christmas that my shoes were finished and set up to dry so that I might have them on Christmas morning to put on my feet. Mother had just finished knitting me a new pair of yarn socks; and on the next day, I Was to put them and my new shoes on my own feet, all by myself. In our house, we had a large open fireplace that would take in a log three feet long. In the winter time; the fire for the night was made up, first, of a back log, usually of hickory, And in front, and on top of this was placed the other wood that made a very bright fire, in front of which all the family gathered; while the blazing fire would light up all the room. We were a happy family around those fires in those days. By bed time the fire was usually burned down to a large heap of live coals, on which a quantity of hot ashes were thrown to keep them smoldering all night; and when these coals were uncovered in the morning, they would cast off large sparks of fire.

As I was to put on my new shoes that morning it was agreed that when I awoke that I should be the first one up and that I should make the fire. Early that morning I was awake, before any other member of the family; and I jumped out of bed, and stirred up the fire; as soon as the smoldering coals were exposed to the air they began to sparkle, and one large spark settled on my toe next to the great toe on my left foot.

I brushed it off as quick as I could, and having my new shoes on my mind gave but little head to my smarting toe, although it pained me very much. During the last night there had fallen a very heavy snow; and it was several inches deep on the porch floor, this, I discovered when I opened the door to get some wood to go on the fire. In the snow I placed my foot and the pain in fiery toe ceased, finding, that it did not pain while in the snow, I held it there some time. Then I went in the house and dried my feet and put on my now shoes and socks.

I wore my shoes all that day. I waded in the snow and had a good time. But, that night, when I pulled off my sock from that foot, it was sticking to my toe where the spark had fallen on it, and my toe was much inflamed and very red, and kept me awake much of that night, but I was afraid to say much about it fearing that I would not be allowed to put my new shoes on it the next morning. When morning came, my foot was much swollen and very sore. I could not put the shoe on that foot. In fact, I never had that shoe on my foot again. The remainder of that winter I moved about on two crutches, when I went at all.

The mark of that spark I will carry as long as I live ,the bone in the joint of that toe has never grown any since it was burned by that spark of fire. This was the second serious accident of my life, and not yet five years old.

In my early days there were no such thing as a match from which to start a fire. If we lost seed of fire we had to use a flint, steel and spunk; or go to a neighbor for a live chunk to start our fire again. Neither were there any Telegraph, Telephone nor rail road in the whole country. We were doing well in those days, if we got a mail once a week, and that carried on horse-back. In bad weather, it often failed to come. Good flour too was hard to get, this was owing to having poor mills, but we could get corn ground at the grist mills operated by two horses and one boy to drive the horses, while the grinding was being done. On this account flour was scarce and if we could keep enough of it on hands to have a bisket every Sunday morning, we were doing quite well. Of course, it must be on the table when company come; it would not do to be without it then. It was not; however on the account of the scarcity of wheat, but the difficulty of getting it ground into good flour.

 

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In the spring of 1845 G.W. Longan was employed to teach school in our school district, and was getting on finely with his school; when one day a committee of men came to the school-house, and informed him that they, as a committee from the Christian Church had been sent to confer with him, on the subject of quitting his school and taking up the work

of an evangelist for the Church in the state Of Missouri; to devote his entire time to that business.

To their proposition, he agreed, and his school was dismissed. Thus, ended our school for that summer. This was my eleventh year, and to me it to this day seems to be the saddest of my life. In July of this year; I was forced to experience the saddest loss that could ever occur to a boy of my age: It was the death or my Father; though young as. It was; that loss, to this day, bears the heaviest on my mind and memory. It was a loss that I was illy prepared to meet; and than, it came on us so very suddenly: He seemed to be in the prime of life, health and vigor, when, in the first days of July he was taken with a chill, which left him with a very high fever, during this, the Doctor came, and to reduce the fever the Doctor bled him severely. And followed it with a dose of calomel.

The next day ho had another chill, it was a congestive chill, but very light; it left him with a very high fever. The Doctor bled him again to reduce this fever. The next Day came another congestive chill; this ended it. From this, he never rallied.

It has always been my opinion, that that Doctor committed murder, but this did not restore my father No! no one ever over took his place in my memory! It remains as fresh and green in my memory today, as when he was laid to rest. I always think of him as the best man that ever lived. And that year lingers in my memory as the most unfortunate year of my life. Late in the fall or that year: I, in company of an older brother were hauling sand on a wagon drawn by two yokes of oxen and while the wagon was heavily loaded and moving along the road, I attempted to climb into the Wagon my foot slipped and I fell in front of the wheel, it caught me in the small of my back and gave me such a strain that it came near breaking my back. The effect or this injury, I have never recovered from. During that winter I was confined to the house, partly from the strain, but more particularly from the effect or following out the prescription of an ignorant Doctor who directed that I should wear on my back a plaster on which was sprinkled tarter medic to create, what he called, an counter irritant, Well it did counter irritate. It kept me in bed the most of that winter. It made a blister on my back that reached nearly around me, and where ever the water ran on my skin from the blister, created a new blister, and the water from my body in one night would wet through a feather bed. By spring, I was but a shadow. But, as the weather warned up in the spring I slowly regained my strength and flesh, and my health was restored sufficiently that I could be some help to my mother about the house.

It had always been the custom of my mother to spin, weave and make all of our clothes at home. We raised our own wool, which was corded in rolls at the carding machine, We raised our flax, which was handled by the members of our family at home ,and sometime, some cotton, which was carded and spun at home. This called for quite a lot of spooling and reeling to prepare the web for the loom; and quill filling to got the cloth ready for cutting and making into garments necessary to clothe the family. And, we usually had some surplus to sell to the country store to pay for our tea, coffee, sugar, salt and such other articles as we were compelled to buy for home use; this was before the days of soda, but we could get saleratus, which was used then, much as soda is now.

I being rather on the invalid class, but able to do some work, was put to filling quills for the loom, next to spooling thread for the loom and taught to do most anything about the house. This work all went on rain or shine; there was no rest about our house in those days. House work never stopped. Man might work from sun to sun. But woman’s work was never done.

This was my third serious accident. I was truly glad when I was able to take hold of the plow handles in the field like other boys. But he lessons that I learned then, served me a good turn in later years.

During the Civil War, when we of the South, were forced to take up our domestic work, in order to clothe our selves, and our soldiers in the field.

 

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The summer I was eight years old, my grandfather Douthitt, came by our house going to California, our county seat, he was going in Ox wagon, one yoke of oxen; that was the manner of going errands in those days; same as we do with horses now; grandfather got mother to let us go with him. It Was about seven miles to town, and it was near noon when we got to town. Grand father had an old friend, who was a merchant in town; with whom he did most of his trading. This man had us to go with him to dinner that day; and while we were at his house I heard him relate to grandfather a part of his past life, which struck me with much force; it made so much impression on my mind that I have never forgotten it. It Was about as follows:

This man, L.L. Woods, was his name. Said, that in his early days, he was about sixty years old at this time; that he had been a merchant in another county, and that he had married a very pretty young woman, that after about five years of married life, he awoke one morning, and found his wife missing, that he did not know when she left his bed, that he must have been very sound asleep at the time, but she was gone and where she had been sleeping in the bed there was much blood, and on the sheet was the print of a bloody hand and another on the door of the room, and blood trailing from the bed on the floor and on the doorsteps, and that outside of the door were plainly the prints of a man's footsteps led directly to the bluff of the river near by, and back again to his door.

The shoe track were evidently made with his own shoes; on the feet of some other man, while he slept, but this he could not prove.

That an inquest was held, and that he himself Was held for the murder of his Wife, and that, although, he was not guilty; that, on trial, he was convicted of the murder and condemned to he hanged, at Jefferson City for the murder or his wife: that he was held in the state prison until the day arrived for the execution; and that, on that day he was dressed in his shroud, seated on his coffin and on it rode to the gallows to be hanged, where he ascended the scaffold and the rope was fitted on his neck, When there stepped forth from the crowd, a woman; and proclaimed that she was the missing woman who was supposed to be murdered; that many persons were present who recognized her, and immediately this was reported to the governor of the state, then in the city, who immediately suspended the hanging and reprieved him.

He stated further: That as soon as he Was reprieved, that he tried to find the Woman, but she had again disappeared, and could nowhere be found. No one seemed to know Where she came from, nor where she went. Five years after this, he stated, that he Was going down to St. Louis to buy a stock of good, and his horse became lame, and that late in the afternoon he came to a blacksmith shop by the road and stopped to have the shoe put on the horse, by the time this Was done, it was too late to go further, and he got to stay over night With the blacksmith. When he set down to eat his supper, to his great surprise, he saw his wife, the first time since she made her appearance at the scaffold, but he did not let on that he recognized her; neither did she seem to recognized him. The next morning, before he got on his horse to leave, he said, he asked the man how long he had known his wife, he told him, about four years, and asked why do you ask the question. He said, he told him, because, she was his wife ten years since, but for some years he had lost sight of her; and then bid him good bye.

In the spring of the year, that I was nine years old; an old uncle, a brother of my mother, who had long lived in Texas having lately lost his wife; came to our house, he was said to be a very learned Doctor, and he decided to stop for the summer and practice medicine, he made our house his house had a great many books, I think about one hundred volumes, all medical books. It was with him that my oldest brother began the study of medison (sic), and it was from him, that I first got my inclination to study medison.

Three of mother's brothers were Doctors, and of our family two of us were to be doctors, my brother Will and myself, he made a Doctor, but I was spoiled in the making, which will appear later.

That summer brother Jeff had a very hard spell of congestive chills, it came near taking him off, and but for my uncle, I think he would have died but Uncle had been used to this kind of chills and fevers when he lived in Eastern Texas. That summer this kind of sickness was very bad in Missouri, and my Uncle was kept going almost day and night.

 

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As stated in the former chapter though not fully explained, when we moved to Missouri, it was a vary new country and we had to endure many privations that We had not known in Kentucky; one of which was the Mill question: While in Kentucky we had very good mills, in Missouri we found only very poor mills, and what we found, were horse mills which were using horses as power to do the grinding or the grit, and each patron of the mill had to furnish the team to do his grinding.

Those mills were very simple, they consisted of one large drive wheel; usually about thirty foot in diameter with cogs all around in it. These run into a trundle-head which run the mill-stone that done the grinding. This large drive wheel was driven around by horses hitched to long sweeps extending out from its main beam to which the horses were hitched: It was a very slow process of grinding, but, it was the best in the country at that time; and did very well to grind corn, but made a very poor grade of flour; and when flour was ground on one of these mills it had to be bolted by hand, and this required an extra boy when wheat was sent to mill.

And when I got to be large enough to ride a horse and set on a bag of corn, I was allowed to go with an older brother to mill; and I could sit on the sweep and drive the horses while he done the bolting of the flour. In this manner I became useful.

At the mill, it was; who come first is served, first. This rule caused us to get to mill very early in the day, to avoid staying late at night. Some days, there would be more come to mill than could be served that day, then they would have to leave their sacks and come back the next day. In this case the party would have preference over any other coming to mill.

As far an I know, all the mills in that country at that time, had a still near by the mill, where whisky was made. In these still-houses, were many large tubs tar holding the beer getting it ready to be boiled and made into whisky at these place, the boys were allowed to drink all the beer that they wanted, but were not allowed to drink any whisky.

Whisky was very cheap then. One gallon of that whisky and a jug to hold it could be bought for twenty-five cents.

There were no saloons in those days, not even in the small towns but, at almost any country store, whisky could be got at the same price, as at the still. And in nearly all of the stores it was kept for free use of the customers. I never saw but one drunk man in Missouri, up to the time I was fifteen yearn old, and that was at a public sale, where whisky was free for all. And it was considered a great disgrace by all the people in the country.

Up to this time, everything had been very low; and times very hard. Corn from five to ten cents per bushel, wheat at about 40 to 50 cents; a good cow and calf about five dollars. Pork hogs about $l.25 cents per hundred. I have seen corn sell. in the field for twenty five cents per barrel(five bushels) to the barrel. Coffee at the store five cents per pound, it was green.

But in 1845, after the State of Texas was admitted, and the Democrats were in full power times began to mend. And in 1846, it seemed to me that the country took a new start to grow. It got broader, and it looked wider. And more people were coming into the country, and the demand for everything increased, and prices went up, and people coming in bought land and made new farms and new horses, and, the old settlers looked more prosperous, and everything seemed to take on new life. And in 1847 there was a more marked degree of prosperity among all the people; men were riding the country over in search or stock for sale, just any kind, so it was stock that could eat corn and grow into money.

By this time trade to Santa Fe was attracting much attention; and mules and oxen for the trip were in great demand! Besides the road to Texas was opened, and the road to that country full, of Immigrants.

Oregon too was on the tongue of many people, and some were fitting out teams for that trip, this too took many work steers, and cattle was much in demand, prices had more than doubled in the last two year. And continued to rise higher each month.

In the fall of 1846 came the news of the discovery of gold in California, and this set everybody wild to go to the gold digging. I got the fever, but could not go. I wanted too awful bad.

 

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But I could not see my way clear to go under the circumstances: Although I was young, then not 15 years old; I had become the mainstay of the family the older boys having set out for themselves. Therefore I had to content myself at home.

With the exception of about six weeks that I was 15 years old when I attended school in Howard county, taught by my oldest brother, near New Franklin. While going to this school, I boarded with Uncle Green Douthitt, he lived at Old Franklin, opposite Booneville, near the river, in which I went bathing occasionally, I got on very well at that school, but I did not like my aunt, and this made me homesick, and the first opportunity I went home, and did not return. When I rode home it was hay-time, and I set in to help put up the hay. We had twenty acres or timothy, and it was all to mow with the scythe. This was before the days or the mower.

But we understood that McCormick had patented a mower, but it was not on the market. Mowing with the scythe was very slow work, it took a good hand to mow two acres a day, and only a few could do that. At that time I was too small to do much with the scythe, but I could do anything else connected with hay making, and therefore I became useful.

This was the year that the Soldiers were returning from the war with Mexico, and while, in some cases there was much grief for those who were killed; there was great rejoicing over those who returned.

Early in the spring or 1849 my brother George, about fourteen months younger than myself died, he had long been afflicted with trouble in one ear, and that spring it gave him much trouble, and with it he took Bronchitis, and the two diseases wore more than his constitution could endure, and after about ten days he died. This was a great loss to me, he had always been my playmate, and though he was younger, he was more than my equal in strength and endurance, in our work or plays. His death was a great loss to me.

By this time the school system of Missouri had gotten pretty well organized and schools were being taught in most of the districts, winter and summer; this afforded better opportunity for attending school if it was only for a day or two in the week, and I endeavored to keep up my studies, but to do so, I had to study at night, and at odd times

when I could find a spare moment. I trained myself, on entering the house to get my book before taking my seat, and also, to remember the page and subject that I was last reading; thus avoiding use of bookmark.

In the spring of 1849 came the great rush for the gold mines, as early as February men were scouring the country in search of work stock of all description; also for cattle and sheep for the California trip. The demand became very great, prices advanced every day, men made money buying and selling stock, it mattered not what it was, nor the price, it was sure to be higher tomorrow, Brother Jeff had quite a mind for trading, and, that spring, I knew him to buy a horse one day and sell it the next day for nearly double what it cost him.

Independence in Jackson county was understood to be the place of rendesvoo (sic)for all gold seekers, and the middle of May the time for starting across the plains Kansas was then an Indian country. Kansas City un-thought of. Ft. Leavenworth the out post for the U.S Soldiers guarding the frontier.

Some years before, the Mormons had gathered near Independence after leaving Nauvoo Ill., but they had been routed from there, and had made their way across the plains to the Great Salt Lake, beyond the Rocky Mountains, and it was their trail that the gold seekers were going to follow across the plains.

I knew several boys about my own age who made the trip that year some of whom were very successful, and others did well to get back, while several never returned, but were numbered with the dead on the way. One boy, Pleas Fields, ran away from home without a dollar, and after one year returned home with several thousand dollars. All this he did before he was sixteen years old. It made old Jes Fields awful mad for his son to run away, but when the boy got back with the gold, he was very glad to welcome him home again. But Pleas, took care of his money.

 

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In 1848 their came on the year for the Presidential election, but in this race, it was nothing like the preceding election. The great and victorious campaign of General Z. Taylor in Mexico brought his name so very prominent before the American people the nothing could stay the tide in his favor, and he was nominated by the Whig party and elected, it was not that the Whig party had gained, but it was the great disposition of the American people to reward a great general, who had led the army to victory, but, the duration of his life was short after his inauguration. Millard D. Filmore, Vice President served out the time, but brought no great credit to his party.

In 1850 the rush to California was even greater than in the year before, stock of all kinds had continued to advance in price, and with the advance of stock came the advance of grain on the farms; therefore, farming was looking better, and more interest was being taken in both farming and stock raising, than had ever been before.

That summer I made a crop, we had one hundred acres in cultivation, twenty of this was meadow, and we had about ten acres sowed to wheat, and in the spring I put ten acres to oats. This left about sixty acres to be planted to corn. This was a big crop, when there was only myself and a Negro boy about my own age to work it, but mother let her Negro woman go out and help us, she could do as good, and as much plowing as either of us, and was a great help in the crop that year. Our early planting made good corn, but the late planting was out short by the drought and the chinch bugs, but it made good fodder, and our punkin (sic) crop was good and it came in very good play, as from the scarcity of water for the fatting hogs, I fed them punkins. Our water all gave out and we had to haul all that we used on the place three miles, and the punkins saved hauling water for the hogs; from the time that we put them up until they were killed, they had no water only punkins and corn. And I think that they did about as well as any hog that I ever fattened, when they had plenty of water.

In the winter of that year we had some very cold weather, and several bands of the Kaw Indians from the western territory came down to our part of Missouri, they said hunting; but it was mostly begging, as there was no game there to hunt. They camped at a spring near by where Old man Sappington lived, it was about two miles from our house, and some of the Indians were around nearly every day bogging for something to eat, they were dressed in leggings, and moccasins, made of deer skins, and they had on their bodies, skins of animals wrapped around them and over this blankets over their shoulders and arms. And the men had brass trinkets in their ears, and some in their noses, and they were bare headed, with some eagle feathers stuck in their hair. They hunted with bows and arrows, but, I don't think that they killed much game in our part of the country, in fact, there was not much there to kill.

It was lots of fun for us boys to go to the camps of the Indians they had their little teepees made of sticks tied together at the top and spread out at the bottom, to about eight feet across, there were many of those sticks, or poles, and over them they spread Buffalo skins, leaving an open space at the top for the smoke to go out. Down in the center of these teepees they built up a small fire, around which, they kept themselves warm. I went into one of their teepees one day, and there were four big Indians playing cards down on a blanket spread on the ground, and they were playing for trinkets, such as they wore in their ears and noses. They invited me to take a hand with them, but I did not accept. They could speak some English.

The spring of 1851 was only a repetition of the preceding spring, so far as the rush for stock to go to California was concerned, the prices had continued to rise and the supply was very scarce, but, this only added vigor to the business, and made it all the more interesting. By this time the towns had began to build up, and new stores were opened, and people began to buy more goods, and the looms and spinning-wheel was less in demand than in any former year. I could notice that a great change had come over the people, and more attention was given to dress both by the women and men. In place of Oxen, horses were worked to the wagon, and more people than ever, bought new buggies to ride to church in.

 

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In 1852 came on another Presidential year, and with these generally came stirring times, especially in Politics. By this time the old Whig party was showing some strong symptoms of decay, and there were being built up other parties, but, as yet, there seemed to be no very well defined line. Some strong politicians were working up a strong sentiment against foreigners, especially the Catholic influx that was then coming into the country. And other politicians were working on the freesoil question, and trying to organize their party. This, in view of the recent acquisition of so much new territory to our government, was a very growing question. The territory of Kansas, recently acquired, was expected to come in as a new state, and both the slavery, and anti slavery people were striving to get it in on their side. At that time these movements were run mostly by factions, and failed to detach many of the true Democratic party, who kept steadily looking to their own party and interest. Therefore, the democratic party had but little difficulty in electing their man that year.

As to school that year, I got but very little advantage, but by very close application at home, I finished Arithmetic, and made considerable advance in Rays Algebra, most all of this work was done at night by a hickory bark light, it was my only chance, therefore I had to endure it. Occasionally I would get to school for a few days just enough to get instructions from the teacher to keep me on the right track. Even this was great help to me.

In 1852 all of my brothers were in Texas, I with mother and two sisters were all of the white family at home, and I worked hard all that season making a crop. Between the crop and my studies I had very little time for anything else.

1855 opened up much like the previous year, cattle were scarce and very high, and the demand great. And after selling our pork and some sheep, mother and I had a few dollars that we wanted to invest. And a neighbor of ours, Mr. Ford also wanted to buy some cattle, but there were none near us at prices that we were willing to pay. We, therefore took the idea that we could find some cattle by going south into the Ozark country, where we heard they were very plentiful, and in case we could not find the cattle we hoped to find some ponies that we could make some money on, On this trip we went to the head of the Meyongo river, but could find no cattle for sale, the country had been over run by

cattle buyers, and all of the surplus bought and driven out of the country. We turned back. That day we met a man in the road riding a very nice young pony mare, I bantered him for a trade, he said that he would sell his pony if he could get his price. I asked him what he wanted for her, he said $30. 1 told him that she was sold, and counted him out his money for her, this was the first horse trade that I ever made, and Ford laughed at me for trading so quick, but I was trade. The next day Ford offered me five dollars for my bargain, but I did not trade with him. This was the only trade they we made on that

trip; except the following: The night before we reached home, we stopped at the house of Ford's father in law, and his brother-in-law flattered me very much about my good trade ,in this way he gained my confidence, and in the morning, when I was about to leave, he set in to sell me his watch, a thing that I did not need, he made me believe that he was in much want of some more sense, I bought the watch. It was an old English Bullseye watch, for which I gave him five dollars, and mounted my horse for home---.

I had not gone one mile until I come to my sense. I knew right then that I was talked out of my money. And the sweat stood in great drops on my face and all over me, and I felt goose pimples coming out all over my body, I bit my lips and pulled my hair, and almost cursed myself for listening to him, or even looking at his old watch. But, it was all done, and I Was the dupe---I had no one to blame but myself.

I took that watch home and locked it up in my dresser drawer where I kept my things. I did not show it to my mother, neither did I tell her that I had a watch, nor to any one else. I wanted to forget it. I was sick every time I thought of that old watch. The young filly that I took home pleased mother very much, and she praised me for making such a good trade. But She did not know about that old watch trade.

 

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I took good care of the filly, made a pet of her, I roached her mane and broke her to work in the plow and to drive in a buggy, and she was a nice riding pony could go most any gate, and was very gentle, But I often studied how I was to get rid at that old watch. I hated to throw it in the creek, although, I was sometime tempted to do so. It haunted my dreams. I was in constant dread that mother would find out, that I had it, and I be called on to explain it. At length, I thought of a distant relative who lived about ten miles away, who traded on anything, and thought himself a fine trader. And as there was to be a forth of July celebration near his house I decided that I would make him a visit and stay over night with him before the celebration, it would be a good excuse for calling on him. At the barbecue there was to be a dance and a Masonic march, and many attractions, and, should I fail to trade with him, I might be ready for someone else. Therefore, I got out the watch wrapped it up and wound it the first time that I had done so and to my great surprise it started to run, yes, it continued to run. The celebration was to be at old Florence, in Morgan county near twenty miles from my home.

When I got ready to go I mounted my filly and set out to make it to cousin's house before night, which I did on the third of July.

Then I arrived at my cousins I found him and his wife at home fixing to go to the barbecue the next day. As noon as he saw my saddle pony he called his wife to look at her. Now said he "Margaret, this very thing that you want, and you must strike some sort or trade with Cosin (sic) Dave to get this pony. So he put her saddle on my pony and had his wife to ride her and see it she wanted her. She tried the pony all the gates and was well pleased with her.

Coz Johnathan brought out an old sorrel mare and offered to trade her to my pony, but I laughed at him about his old yoe necked mare, he then wanted me to put a price on my pony, but I told him I was not offering her for sale, that I too need her.

He had a very fine Durham cow with a calf only a few days old this cow I wanted, but said nothing about it to him. Early the next morning, he began to talk about my pony, and asked me what kind of watch I had in my pocket, up to this time I had said nothing about the watch.

I told him that it was an old English Bull. He said let me see it? After he had looked at the watch, he said, "I have got a trade fixed up for you, I saw you looking at that cow yesterday, and I know that you want her and the calf". I said yes I would like to own the cow, but I think that her udder is spoilt, he owned that she needed some attention which she had not gotten, but with proper attention it would be alright. Well, I said you can make your offer and if I refuse it you need not get mad about it.

He then offered me his mare cow and calf and five dollars for my pony and watch. I told him to make it ten dollars or no trade. He said that he would talk to his wife about that". By then I lost hope of any trade and began to wish that I had taken his offer at once. But as he went directly to his wife and engaged her in conversation, I began to gain some hope of a trade; in a few moments he came out where I was saddling my pony and told me that he would put Margaret's saddle, on the pony, and I could put my saddle on the sorrel mare? But I said we may not go far on the same road, and she may not like to ride that old mare after riding my pony. He then said here in your ten dollars, and she will ride the pony. And there is your cow and calf, give me my Watch. Well, I took out that watch and handed it to him quick, you bet I did and was only too glad to do it. I felt good then. I was not caring for much, else. It was the millstone that was pulling me down and had been for many months, and now that it was gone and mother had never known that I had it gave me much joy.

He told me to leave the cow and calf in, his pasture until I wished to take her away and invited me to come back and, stay with him that night, and take the cow home the next morning while it was cool.

We went on to the barbecue. but it did not afford me any pleasure in fact I wanted to take that cow home and give her the attention that I knew she needed. I knew that the calf was not taking all of her milk therefore did not tarry long at the barbecue, but mounted my old mare and turned her head for the

 

 

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cow and calf, and got home with her late that evening, Mother was not expecting me home that night, and when she saw the cow and calf she was much pleased, and sat the milk woman to milking her she soon reduced the cake in the udder, and she proved to be a good milk cow just what we were in need of and mother gave twenty dollars for the cow and calf.

Now, I had thirty dollars and my old mare for the watch and only five dollars out. And I though her fully worth that money. We had plenty of new corn and oats an well an plenty of old corn in the crib, and I began to feed my old mare about all that she could eat, she rounded very fast, and soon showed that she had good mettle in her. One day I was on the prairie where there were some races tracks cleaned of, and some other boys; were there with their ponies and they bantered me to try my old mare, and when we turned her and started on the tracks, I discovered that she had been run before.

When to got to the end. of the track, I Was about one hundred feet ahead of the other pony, and I had pulled my mare back all the time. Soon I found that no pony about there could hold it with her.

According to the best judges the mare was only seven years old but that yoe neck made her much older, to look at head and neck you would think her twenty years old, but she was alright everywhere else, I only run her for fun, and that not very often. But mother heard of it and took it much to heart

One day that fall Green Walker came, to our ,house, he was en old friend of the family, and quite a fine stock man, he raised and put out many fine race horses, And mother told him about me running the mare and asked him to talk to me and try to get me to sell the mare. He came to me in the horse lot and asked me to show him the mare and he told me that mother was much disturbed about me running the mare and he advised me to sell her if it was only to please my mother.

I asked him how it was that it was; so very bad for me to own a fine race horse while it was all right for him to raise and sell and run his fine horses for money?

He said that I was young and that thought of it gave my mother trouble, and for her sake I ought to sell the mare---that on her account, he would give me seventy-five dollars for the mare ,that mother had told him that the mare only stood me five dollars, and that seventy dollars was a big profit for me to make in one trade. Then mother came to me and begged me to make the trade, and on her account I did so.

In less than one year Mr. Walker refused five hundred dollars for that mare. And I have learned since that from her came some of the fastest horses on the turf. That watch trade turned out very well but it caused me to loose many drops of sweat. In looking beck over my life I can see many mistakes that I have made some by following the, advise of friends, and some by heading the flattering tongs, of design, In the case of buying the watch in was pure and simple flattery, this to the inexperienced, is hard to resist, but on a well taught mind it is had moved to our neighborhood after my brother had gone to Texas and had never known him until that spring. By some means she had gotten the impression that he was worth considerable property in Texas. This I learned for a very reliable source; and believing it and knowing my brother was not trifling with her; I took it in hand to talk with brother one day on the subject he admitted that he had very serious intentions in his attention to her; but, if money was her object, that he did not want her. Very soon, I chanced to be in conversation with her and very carelessly and heedlessly, revealed to her that brother had, at one time, been worth considerable property, but that lately he had met with reversal, and now came near being penniless; all on account of bad land titles in Texas, and that it was impossible for him ever to recover what he had lost by those bad land titles. I noticed that she took the matter vary seriously, and inquired of me all the particulars concerning his misfortune, all of which I confided to her as one of or family secrets; and told her that we took consolation in the hope that his losses might server to make him care more for society than the gain of property, and that he would now settle himself with a good wife. When I returned home I told brother all about the conversation with the young lady. He then told me that he had an engagement to call on her the next day, and when he did that he would note very carefully her manner of reception, and conduct towards himself.

Accordingly at the appointed time he called to see her, but she did not see him; only her mother met him, and told him that the young lady was too busy in the { } to talk to him that day and was not prepared just then to set a day when she could see him.

On his return, he told me all about it, and was very thankful that he had escaped so easily. Two years after that her Uncle, Aunt and Cosin were travelling in Texas and I met then near our house, brother and I were batching then, and took them home with me, they remained with us one week; during which time they had the opportunity to learn all about us and our business affairs. They then returned to Missouri.

Two years later brother was again in Missouri, and met the mother of the young lady, before mentioned, was yet single, the mother was very solicitous that brother should call and see her daughter, but he excused himself, as being very busy. She then told him to tell me that she had found out that I was a great liar, of which she was vary sorry. That was all the word that she sent to me.--Brother never married.

The first day of October 1851 we started to Texas; we were twenty days on the road, the weather was fine, not a drop of rain on the way. It was the twentieth of the month when we arrived at brother's ranch in Collin County Texas. Where we found that we had much to do in many ways. Open prairie gave but little protection to either ourselves or our horses, which we took with us. In Missouri it had been very dry that summer, the crop was very short, we found the same conditions in Texas, but here, it did not matter so much, as the range was fresh and grass good, only our state stock was not used to live on dry grass; so it became necessary for one of us to take the stock to the creek bottoms where the wild rye and cane (sorghum) was good as well as Bois 'd Arc apples, which the horses soon learned to eat. To do this, we had to establish camps about twelve miles from the ranch, and were building a new house. It fell to my lot to go to the camp and look after the horses, while the rest of the party were building the house. My camp was in the midst of the great thicket, in the East fork of the Trinity river and Pilot Grove creek, it being several miles to any house, none, as far as known to me; being a stranger in the country.

 

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Deer in those days plentiful in the woods as we11 as in the prairies, on the prairies, it was not uncommon, in the spring to see one hundred deer in one gang, and often several large gangs in sight at the same time, they were by far more plentiful than cattle, in the woods, in the winter, they were in smaller gangs, but they were plentiful. I took my tent, my gun and my faithful dog with me and to the woods we went where I established my camp. I took plenty of provision except meat this, I hoped, by the aid of my gun, to supply myself, and have lots to send out to the ranch. Up to this time I had never shot at a deer. It was no trick to find a deer, and they were not very wild. I could easily get within gunshot at any time. But, when I raised my gun to shoot; I was suddenly seized by the buck ague, yes, I did shake all over, worse than I ever saw anyone shake with real ague.

I think, during the first two weeks, while in that bottom I must have shot one hundred times at a deer, but got no meat. All this time I had the meat of only one raccoon, that I chanced to kill, and this was all gone. The second Sunday that I was in the woods I took my gun and bridal to go out and catch a horse to go out to the ranch for some meat, I was almost starved, and just as I got among the horses, I saw a fat doe standing among the horses, I raised my gun and shot, this time I did not shake, and I brought down my meat --- well, maybe, you think that I did not feel well, just then, but you are mistaken---I was about the happiest that you ever saw, but you did not see me. I caught my horse took that deer to camps and after dressing it took three quarters cut to the ranch that day. After that I had plenty of meat in my camps.

All that winter I put in the woods by myself, except for my dog, and I had a very good time, considering my surroundings, which was brush and cane-breaks, and many wild animals, consisting of bears, panthers, and wolves, in addition to the deer, turkey and other small game. But the wolves were all that came about, as far as I know, they often howled about my camps after night, but I never saw any of them, nor the bears nor panthers. While I was in the woods, the other boys were building houses and making fences to put in a farm, and by spring we were getting established on the prairie. Our place was four miles from any timber, and about the same distance from any other settlement, this gave us plenty of room.

In the spring when the grass got up good for stock, we rounded up our horses and moved them out to the prairie. While thus engaged, it was on the 12th of April, the horse that I was riding became unmanageable and ran against a Bois 'd Arc bush with me, on which there were many thorns, and one if the thorns penetrated my left knee, and broke off in the bone. We were ten miles from home and it was getting late in the afternoon; when I pulled out the thorn I saw that part of it was left in my knee; but I thought it would fester and core out, and gave it but little attention. When I got home it was after dark, and I was very tired and after supper. which was also our dinner too, I went to sleep thinking to look after the thorn when it got light the next morning. The next morning my knee was much swollen, but I could walk on that leg, and having much horseback riding to do, I neglected my knee, thinking that the thorn would finally work out, but it never did, my knee remained swollen, and continued to give me some pain, but not very bad, and in a few years that leg grew weak, and seemed to shrink away, finally it was so weak that I could not use it very much, and in a few years, after I had another accident, I lost use of that leg. This was my fourth accident.

In that spring, on account of my injury, I was not in a condition to do much work, therefore I took up a school in the south west corner of Grason county, not far from Pilot Point, then a small town, with only two families living within one mile of the public square; my oldest brother was one of the families, and I usually spent Sunday with him.

South of the little town, about one mile was also a schoolhouse where preaching was sometimes done. One Sunday morning in May, two other men and myself were walking by this schoolhouse and the door being open we walked in and set down, not expecting anybody, but we had only been in the house a few moments when another man came in and took his seat on the other side of the house, this man had a pair of saddle bags.

Next came in two Negroes, a man and a woman, and took seats. Then

the man with the Saddlebags took out his book and began to read, and when he had

 

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read about one verse, he began to talk. He said "Friend, if you people in this cross-timber country don't quit hog hunting, cow hunting, horse hunting and deer hunting on Sunday and come to meeting, if you all don't go to hell, I'll Besarned; for which, let us all pray." At this, he turned his back to us and knelt down and began to pray---Just then; we slipped out, and left him and the two Negroes to hold the meeting. Several years later, it was after the late war, I chanced to be at a Camp meeting not many miles from Pilot Point and John Shiply, a man who was teaching a school the same summer that I was teaching, and in an adjoining district, had a tent and was camping on the campground; began to look about for all of the old timers who might chance to be at the meeting. Finally, at his table were met; John and Dan Stricklin, Zeke Lindsey, Reece Jones, Dr. Usser and myself; and at the head of the table sat This same old Preacher, Biggs, and Shiply was waiting on the table. After thanks were returned by the preacher. Mr. Shiply said, "Gentlemen, I have looked all over this crowd, and you seven are all of the men that were here in l850, as far as I can find". "Yes," Said the old preacher, I will never forget the last, time that I preached in this Cross Timber Country, it was one Sunday at the Hutchenson school-house, that day when I began to preach I had five to hear me, and when I closed my opening prayer, I had only two left, and they were Negroes". "Yes", said I, "I was one of the three men that left you that Sunday. we could not stay longer when you condemned all of our Cross-Timber people to hell." After this, we had a good time talking of past days, while we partook of a fine dinner.

While brother and I were living on our stock-farm in Cullen county, where the town of Nevada now stands, the place that we settled in 1854. It was, as well as I now remember, in the fall of l857,and on Sunday, late in the afternoon, when I was at home, all alone, and expected to be that night; that I saw a man stop his team near our house and call to me as I was sitting on fly porch--I went to him and asked what he wanted; he said that he wanted some information about the road, how far it was to timber on the road. I told him that it was about forty mile on the road that, he was traveling, then how far to Stockwater? On that road 20 miles said I why do you ask? Then said he "I want to find a place to camp for the night and want none wood to burn, and water to use can you let me have it?

I told him that I had to haul all my wood four miles and did not care to let any of it go, besides I did not like to have any one camp near my place as there was much danger or fire setting in the grass which, at this season, would do much damage to our range. Then said his wife; Doctor, this is what get for traveling on Sunday, we ought to

have remained where we ate dinner.

I then told him that in my house was one vacant room, and that they could occupy it and use my fire in the fire place, where there would be no danger. And I opened the gate and told him to drive in but no camping about me.

He took me at my word, drove in and I told him that I would show the lady into the house while he took care of his team, directed him how he could find water for the team and feed also, while I did my own chores. As soon as I got the lady seated in the house, I went to my kitchen and began my supper for all of us. Which consisted of soda bisket, coffee, fresh venison, cream gravy, butter and good rich milk, and by the time that he got his team attended to and came to the house I had supper about ready, Soon after he returned to the house, I heard him ask his wife if she had found out where his fire was to be made, she told him that she had not; Just at this time. I stepped into the room and told them that supper was about ready, and showed them the wash-pan and towel. "Oh", said he "We have our own provisions, and we only wanted to 'make a little coffee, "But", said I, "every body that I invite to my house eats with me, and you must do likewise. My supper will be on table in a moment, get ready for it!"

I placed four plates at the table just as though there were four to eat, and then' called them out to supper, when they, came in and took their

seats, I told them that my wife was very timid, only being a Texas girl and not

 

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much used to strangers, but that we would not wait for her At this they both expressed, much regret, and lavishly praised the cooking. It was the first venison that the lady had ever tasted, the gravy was so very rich an delicious that I thought that they would never get through praising the supper.

And they did eat heartily, but I had a plenty cooked. After supper requested them to resume their seats, that I would be in a moment, I hastily did my dishes and came into their room. When the lady said I do wish you would bring your lady in, I want so much to meet her. Yes, said I that is just what I would be glad to do, but she will not be here this night, she prefers to stay somewhere else, none or us will see her tonight.

Well, I said, I have carried this joke quite a ways, I think it is about time to drop it. Turning to them I said Jim! Don't you know me? No, if I ever saw you before this evening, I do not remember it. Well Jim Kinney, this is Dave Eddleman Don't you know me? Great God, he said, I was not expecting to see you here, while I remember that you went to Texas some years ago, I was not thinking of meeting you. Well, it is me all the same, and I knew you the moment that I looked in your face this evening.

We then had a long talk about our old friends about California, and all of our old friends.

The lady now asked that I bring in my wife that she might see her, not yet understanding that I had no wife which I then explained to her. Well said she I thought it strange that I could see nothing about the house, that looked like it belonged to a woman. This continual cooking and lonesome hours began to tell on me and brother Jeff advised me to look around and find some nice young lady and try to get married, but there were very few in the country; there was, were invited to visit them and get acquainted with the young lady; this we did one Sunday afternoon, and while brother and the old gentleman talked, the aunt and I and the young lady took a ride on the prairie, horse back. During, this ride, we got pretty well acquainted, and I was rather pleased with the young lady.

On leaving I was strongly and cordially invited to come again and go fishing Wednesday next, this invitation I accepted, and on the banks of a pond in the prairie, under some shade trees, we, had a very nice time, the aunt was managing, things to her liking, and the girl and I were having the time of our lives talking nonsense, just as young folk do, I thought that I was doing fine and began to build air castles picturing a fine home and this young lady the mistress of my house. In this way, the most of that summer passes away. I was always very cordially received well entertained and invited back but, I had never got myself worked up to the point to make any very solemn declaration to the young lady concerning my feelings for her, and, of course, she had never said anything to me concerning her feelings for me, but I felt that all my feelings were reciprocated, and every time that I called, just before I arrived, I thought I would, this time say something, but delayed.

Then in the fall ,it was about the first frost, I was in that part of our stock range, and thought to call and spend the night with her uncle, and have a talk with her the next morning, but about three miles from there, I saw a nice fat deer in easy gun-shot for me, and I with my six shooter killed it, about half mile from there I knew a man who had been rather useful to me on the range, and knowing him to be very hard up for meat, I concluded to go by his house and give him my venison, and I left it close by a lone tree, that I might tell him how to find it, I called at his house and made him the offer, he gladly accepted it, but said that he had no way to bring it home, and, requested that I loan him my horse. to bring it home, and requested that I spend the night, and eat some of the venison. I could not well refuse this offer, seeing that he too had a very pretty girl, who I had never before seen.

 

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It was near sun set when he arrived with the deer, then too late to make it to the house of my old friend, therefore I thought to make the time go pleasantly where I was, that I would cultivate the acquaintance of the young lady while the mother and old man were dressing the venison and preparing, supper. This, I found not a very hard task, with her it required no formal introduction, in fact, I do not suppose that she had ever been introduced to a young man, but, having known me as a stock man in that neighborhood, seeing me was sufficient, and very soon we were on very easy terms not having any dinner that day, and supper coming rather late, the fresh fried ribs, corn bread and butter-milk, went down mighty well, and by the time this performance was over it was getting late, and the old man and woman retired leaving the girl and myself alone to extend our acquaintance. I never did feel like going to bed very early just after a heavy supper, and this was one of the times that I felt like setting up, especially, as the girl was willing to sit with me. I will, not now undertake to repeat what we said, nor just what we talked about. But the next morning I set out to look over the range for my stock, and for the present abandoned the call that I had intended to make at the house of the other young lady.

It was near three weeks, after this, that I was again in this part of the range ,and it being convenient I called to see, the young lady whom I had neglected, on the previous trip, fully expecting to take up my former intentions, and if occasion presented its self to know something of my future fate. This on my mind, of course to some extent, caused some timidity, and increased my bashfulness, and put me In a condition be very, easily intimidated. but I nerved myself to the point of entering the house, about as usual. I had, however scarcely got seated, until the aunt, said it hear that you are courting up the creek. This was a stunner to me. I could scarcely keep my seat, but I managed to say, "Oh, I recon not", but she insisted that it was really so, that I needed not deny it. For, said she, that morning just after you left there, when you gave Hail the deer Sina and I were there to see about the weaving that the old lady in doing for me, and they told us all about it. "Yes" said, the young lady, "they did, and the girl and I went to the spring and she told me all that you said and done while you were there."

This finished me, I could not say one word. I don't think that I ever had such, feelings before, nor since; the embarrassment was complete. I got up, put on my hat, walked to my horse and mounted him, I did not look back, but kept my face strait before me, and went home. That was the last time that I ever saw that young lady, and her aunt. It was many, and many days after that, that I ever called to see a young lady. This affair came near making an old bachelor of me.

The summer of 1856 brother and I put in most or our time breaking the prairie and getting our farm ready for fall seeding. It took seven yoke of oxen to pull a plow that would turn 15 inches of sod, and we had two teams and two plows, and to save the expense of help I invented a plow that would hold its self and turn the sod, while I drove the team, in this manner we got considerable land ready for fall seeding.

In the summer when the ground got too dry to plow I bought up some Wheat and loaded four ox teams with it and took it to the mill at Sulpher Springs, where I got it ground to flour, and took it on to the pine mills where I traded it for lumber to make fence around our farm on the prairie, the sand In the timber country was very deep and hot and dry, and it caused our wagons to get loose, and we had a very hard trip. On this trip I lost some of our steers, one yoke, which I did not find until late in the fall. I had about lost all hope of finding the but after frost came, set out to look for them again, this time I got the course to the place where I lost them, and about sunset I came to a place where stock sometimes came to lick, there were many stock there but no steers, but I saw a small deer licking and I took out my colts, and shot it down, this I took to a nearby house, and gave it to the lady and told her that I wanted to stay over night Sure she said I could stay and only too glad to have the venison, they, were lately from Illinois, and had never tasted venison, I dressed it and told her how to cook it. I then told her that I was looking for some steers, and described them. They come up with our cows every night she said. The next morning my steers were in their lot, and ended my hunt for the steers.

 

 

 

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During a great part of the spring it rained almost every night, this filled the deep hog-wallows on the prairie full of water, the most of then when full came near to our knees in water, this made the use of shoes or boot useless, therefore we had to go barefoot through the water, to do this, the grass stubble where the prairie was burned, made our feet sore, on the bottoms, consequently, we had to provide our selves with rawhide moccasins to protect our feet, the moccasins being made of green hides, the water had no effect on them, only they would only last a few days. We used long whips and long whip poles to drive our teams and we could sit on the plow trucks and do much of our driving, this saved out feet and moccasins.

Our farm was fenced with Bois ‘d Arc post set in the ground on which we nai1ed pine planks 4 inches wide 1 inch thick and part of it had ash rails split vary thin nailed on the post. This was the first fence, of this kind ever built In that country, and it made the cattle men mad; they said, this kind of fence would ruin the range, and if it was allowed soon all the range would be under fence that was true, but the Country did not belong to the cattle men, they were actually intruders in the country getting rich on the grass belonging to the land owners, the cattle men waged war against our fence, and with axes broke much of it down. I have seen them come to the fence, about a mile from our house and break it down then run off before I could get near enough to know who they were. In this manner they exposed our crops to the stock. Of course their conduct was unlawful, but so are many other crimes that go unpunished.

About this, time we bought one hundred head of Mexican mares and brought them to our range and had them very we'll located, and learning that a Camp meeting was being held about twenty-five miles away, we decided to take some vacation and attend the meeting, we went on Friday and returned the next Monday. On our return, we found that our Mexican mares had been stampeded and run across a deep ravine where seven of them had fallen down and broke their necks, the others were run out of the country. After several weeks we found most of them, but they were scattered for forty miles away from our ranch.

After some years we learned who did this, but too late to do any good, of course it, was done by worthless parties.

It was at this camp meeting that I first met Drew Middleton and his wife; they had Just been married, and the new married couple attracted considerable attention; they are both dead now, but my acquaintance with then extended over a space of more than fifty years. They were two very excellent people.

In the fall of 1856 we seeded down 40 acres of the sod that we had turned that summer to wheat. We got it in early, and it looked fine all winter, and march being fine growing Weather the wheat had made good growth and by the first week in April it was showing signs of heading out. The 4th of April that spring was as pretty day as I ever saw at that time of the year, but just at night the wind came up from the north, and with it a mist of rain. The next morning our wheat was loaded down with ice, and the top or the ground frozen; all of our good prospects for wheat ruined. In two days the weather was warm again. Again on the eleventh of the month we had a snow about 4 Inches deep, but this did no harm, as all the harm that could be done had occurred one week since; the snow really helped things.

Again in the fall of 1857 we tried the wheat again, this time more extensively, thinking to make up for our last years losses. On the 23rd of the next April, when our wheat was in full bloom, there came another freeze killing our whole crop. With most of our fence broke down, much of it made with pine which I had hauled more than eighty miles on ox wagon, and our wheat crop lost, our horses stampeded by worthless vagabonds. I became discouraged and decided to quit the country, and sold out my interest to my brother and moved myself to Denton county, fully intending to change my whole course in life. It had been early instilled into my mind that I should study medicine, this my oldest brother wanted me to do, and now I, decided to take up the study, and in time become an M.D. as my older brother had done, and with him we opened a small drug business in Pilot Point.

 

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And while I was not busy filling prescriptions I was reading medical books. It seemed to be a prevailing idea in my mother's family that this Was the proper profession, as three of her brothers were physicians of some note in-their time, and my brother was then considered being the best Doctor in the country, and had, quite an extensive practice looked to me rather flattering. And from my injuries, I could not hope to be very successful farming.

Therefore, I began the study of medison, while I must confess, from the first, It was very irksome to me, some way, it did not seem suited to my taste. Nevertheless, I took up the course proscribed for me by the Doctor now in charge of my studies, and closely applied myself, but I did not think that I was making very great head way. My mind was more set on trading and running a stock ranch, than on my studies, or the science of medison. In fact, the more I read and thought, the less was I impressed with the study.

At that time we were receiving a Medical Journal Published in New York. One or the most esteemed contributors to that Journal was Dr. Clapp of New York City, who had long been regarded as at the head of the profession. In that Journal there appeared an article from Dr. Clapp to the profession, in which, he said. "I have now completed my 50th year in the practice of medison, and the last twenty years has been the most successful of my practice, during this time I have proscribed nothing stronger than pills made of wheat flour, nor drops stronger than simple syrup.

After reading this, I decided that I did not care to waste my time in pursuit of a science thus condemned by one of Its leading men after experimenting for fifty years.

I again turned my attention to trading and stock raising. Up to this time I had put most of my savings into Negro property, believing that slavery would continue to exist in the United States, as it had always done. Although, I knew that in the North there was growing a very strong sentiment against slavery, but this, I regarded as only a kind of religious fanaticism, among the lower classes but I did not think that any strong move would over be made by the general government. I did not believe that it would over become a political move by men of great note. I did not know then that fanaticism could grow and take hold of the strongest minds of the nation, but it being preached from the pulpit, very soon became the leading subject from the rostrum as soon as designing politicians saw that it wan the stepping stone to political preferment.

At that time the south Was making wonderful strides towards progress. A large amount of rich territory having lately been added by the war with Mexico, which was then being settled by very enterprising men from all sections of the union, consisting of many or the best men of the north, who when they arrived in the south and become familiar with our institutions became the strongest supporters of the south and its cause. This, no doubt, to a great extent, aroused in the minds of the northern fanatics a desire to destroy our cherished southern institutions and hastened the downfall of slavery. And when envy and jealously once takes possession of the human mind the end to which it leads is destruction. This was the case, and this was the result.

In 1859 there came to Texas a flood of emigration from the north such as had never been known before, and they too were of a very different class of people, and with them came fanatic preachers, preaching the anti-slavery question, at first the people of Texas gave but little heed to this, perhaps this inspired more zeal and they became all the more outspoken and. noisy and early in 1860 politicks raged feverishly with and the lines became well marked. Up to this time in, Texas, it had been a custom when men wore caught In any act of extreme violation of the law and good order, to avoid any long to make use of a rope and some convenient tree to dispatch business, mostly, however, in cases of horse stealing. But here was inaugurated a different kind of nucience, not much, however was thought of it until on the 7th day of July, bright and sunny, when all business was closed in all the Texas towns, business men at home at their dinners.

The fire alarm was sounded in 22 different towns in Texas, mostly in the northern and western part , which occurred between one and three o'clock that afternoon. Strange to say that all of the fires originated in dry goods stores, which had been closed since the day before; and in most cases not

 

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discovered until the flames were coming out at the top of the houses.

At first it was thought that the fire might possibly have originated by the matches and the excessive heat that day, but the next day it was fully as hot as the previous day and the sun wag beaming down, to determine this question several persons placed matches in the most exposed direct rays of the sun, and after being thus exposed for hours not one or them ignited this experiment decided the question of spontaneous combustion from matches, and settled the question of incendiarism.

But on whom to place this incendiarism was next to be decided; of course, the minds of everyone centered on those who were then endeavoring to create an anti-slavery feeling among the common people of the south, through the doctrines which they were preaching from the pulpits of the country.

The more that this question was talked, the more firmly it was impressed on the minds or the people, until it became the talk, end then the established opinion of all of the old Texans. The old Texans were a very peculiar people, when ,once their minds became fully persuaded on any question concerning the welfare of Texas, they stood united, this, was just the question, that touched the tenderest point in their minds, and when once aroused, they were ready to act: Therefore, very soon, meetings were called, and vigilant committees were set to worth to ferret out the active persons engaged in the anti-slavery movement. As soon as this was done began the great rush by the anti-slavery advocates find the road leading to Red River the roads were soon fuller of wagons going that direction than they were the year before coming into Texas. It was a hurry scurry movement, but all of then did not get away some or the leading and most out spoken preachers were caught on their way and treated just as many other bad men had been treated in the earlier days of Texas, which had made Texas famous for ridding it of undesirable citizens. By the time that the election came on, there were none in Texas to vote for the abolition candidate for President of the United States thus Texas was rid of a class of people, the loss of whom did not, in the least disturb its quietude, nor retard its future prosperity.

But, unfortunately, for me as well as the south, the great leaders of the political parties, on whom had always depended the prosperity and true patriotic guidance of the people, had become so estranged on the slavery and anti-slavery question, that a united front by either party could not be effected therefore the split in both the old Whig and Democratic parties, and four nominations for the president were made where there should have been only two. This threw the most of the old Whigs onto the new republican party, and the democrats were hopelessly divided between Breckinridge and Douglas, Bell, the Whig candidate, getting only a few southern votes, practically, the field was left open to Lincoln, who was elected President, even then, we may now say, had prudent wisdom, unalloyed by self and sentiment, other than pure patriotism, been the guide or our statesmen in Congress, perhaps the result might have been otherwise, but such action, in those days, would have required more than human skill and judgement to over rule the great amount of pride and bigotry then in the minds of the common people, of both north and south.

Fire eaters on both sides instilled with the deepest die of both fanaticism and egotism were in the lead, and the common people were ready to follow even to the very jaws of death---this fact--was proven by what very soon followed, the civil war---now more than fifty years have passed and gone, end those days are fast passing into oblivion, by many they are long since forgotten, yet they are as fresh in my memory as in the days as they were passing, but the living over again those days brings to me no real pleasure, yet I would not forget them for the world, they are a part Of my life, they form a part of my being, really, without this recollection, I would have no life, there would be a blank in my history, a time I did no exist, and I was not a man.

 

 

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As this is being written, to place before my children, and my grand children, a picture of the manner of living in my earlier days that they may, in after years, correctly compare their own time with my time; and the custom in those days.

When I can first recollect, there were no Railroads, no Telegraph lines, no Telephones, no sewing machines, no mowing machines, no reapers, no threshing machines, no roller mills, no steam mills and district schools for boys and girls to attend; in fact, none of the modern conveniences now known to all Persons. Then, if the fire went out, we either had to go to a neighbor for seed, or use the steel and flint and spunk, or grand mother's spectacles, if the sun was shining.

In those days all of our shoes were made at home, and all of our wearing apparel was made at home. The leather came from skins of animals that had been slaughtered for home use, or had died on the farm, all of which were carefully saved and taken to the tan yard, where they were tanned on the shares, one half for the other, it required one year to tan leather in those days. The hemp and flax that made the rope that was used on the farm, and the thread that was used to sew up our shoes and garments, were grown on the farm and converted into rope and thread by the family. The wool, that furnished our winter cloths was grown on the sheep that were kept on the farm, which after being clipped from the sheep was taken to the carding machine, where it was carded into rolls, or, sometimes it was carded at home by hand, after this, it was spun into thread, or yarn, as we called it, and first run into broaches, the wool roles on the big wheel, and the flax on the little wheel. The big wheel was run by some one of the girls, either of our family, or some hired girl.

A day's work for a hired girl was twenty-four cuts, which the girl was required to real into banks consisting of four cuts to the hank. A cut of yarn was 144 threads on a reel, the length of a out of yarn, when stretched out was one forth of a mile. To spin a thread, on a big wheel, the thread was usually drawn out about two yards, and then redrawn and twisted, then run on the broach; to do this work, the spinner would have to walk four times the length of each thread; thus, it required the spinner to walk one mile for each cut of thread she spun. To spin twenty four cuts she must walk twenty four miles. To spin flax thread, the spinner sat on a seat and run the wheel with a treadle, much like a sewing machine is run now. The flax after being grown on the farm was, when ripe, pulled and spread out on the ground to dry, then it was thrashed in the break to rid it of the seed, next it was watered, either in a pond of water, or by the dews to rot the woody part of the stem, after this, it was broke, swingled, and rid of the sheaves; and then, after hackling, it was ready for the distaff from which it was drawn out and twisted into thread on the little wheel and run onto a spool ready to be reeled into hanks.

Next came the weaving into cloth ready to be out and made into garments for home use.

The greater portion of this work, was usually performed by the female portion of the family, and by the boys, too small to do work on the farm we never sold any wool, all that we grew, was worked up at home, and what was not required for family use was taken to the country store and traded to such things an we needed from the store, and sometimes, some was sold for money. A lot of the yarn was knitted into mittens, socks which was also sold at the store; there was always a ready sale for socks. By these sales we usually got our tax money.

Father always kept a good supply. of tools, such as axes, saws, planes, drawing knife, augurs, chisels, and a set of shoe-maker tools and last for each one of the family, if those we had did not suit, he would make such as he needed. if a plow needed a stock, he could do it, and if a wagon wheel broke down it could be fitted up at home, or any other piece of work, it was always done at home. Following this custom, the boys learned the use of tools, and when very small, we could make our own little wagons and sleds, which we used as things to play with.

The plows used in those days, were the Barsheer, with a long wooden mould board, which was usually split out of a twisted tree, one that twisted to the right, so that it would turn the dirt. After some years, come the Cary plow, this was a great improvement on the old bar sheer, it had half iron mould-board. This did not require so much of the wood mould-board, but it required some, which was made as that of the one described.

 

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The Wheat, oats and rye was cut with a reap hook, and the meadow was mown with the scythe; later the cradle came into use but it was many years afterwards before the mowers and reapers were used on the farm. After harvest, the wheat was hauled to the stack-yard and stacked in a circle around the threshing ground, where it was tramped out by the use of horses walking over it until the grain was knocked out by the feet of the horses walking over it. When quite a small boy I rode one horse and led another, on these threshing floors to tramp out the wheat. It was great fun for me in those days. Our Buck-wheat was usually thrashed with a frail, the boys called this using elbow grease.

Our clothes were all made at home, the summer wear was of flax and our winter wear was or wool yarn filled into flax wool, called jenes (jeans?), usually colored brown with, walnut bark. Some times, our nicest suits were of gray mixed, this was by taking the wool of the black sheep and some of the white wool and carding it together. I have seen some real fancy cloth made in this manner, this kind or suits were our Sunday suits. I never wore any goods bought at the store until I was in my twentieth year. When, one day mother said to me; go to the store and get yourself a new suit of clothes--well, you bet, I went, and got the new suit, it was a full suit, hat and boots, shirt and cravat, the first I ever wore. I don't know just how to express my feelings when I put that new suit on Sunday morning; the whole outfit only cost ten dollars, but I felt like it was worth a hundred dollars to me. Up to that day, every thing that I ever wore was made at home and I always felt well in my home spun, but now I was dressed in store goods---this was something grand to me---I felt now, that I was a young man. Up to this time I had never gone into company. I was rather a backward boy and did not much care for company, I would rather read a good book than to be at a party, of which, in those days, there were but few. Sometimes there would be a corn shucking, and a quilting, and at night a play of some kind after the quilting was done, but this was among the close neighbors, it was not like society to me, and I never cared much for it. An old fashioned corn shucking was where the farmer had gathered his corn with the shuck on it and piled it down by his crib when he would invite in all of his neighbors to help him shuck out his corn some night. On such occasion, the farmer's wife would usually have in a quilt and invite in her neighbor women to help her quilt the same day of the shucking. After the quilt was out and all the, corn in the crib the crowd would be called in to help eat a good supper. When this was over came the time for the young folks to have their fun. On such occasions, at some places, there would be some whisky, which was passed around freely, but I never knew any one to get drunk on such occasion.

I had never heard of a saloon in my young days, the country people did not know what such a place was in those days ,and, to get drunk, was a lasting disgrace.

In l86O, after the burning of so many towns in Texas; as alluded to in a previous chapter. The lines became very strictly drawn; and if a man felt any free-soil sentiment he dared not express it. Nothing could have been more unpopular, and I presume, before the winter set in, that most of the Freesoilers; had left the state.

We Texans had no idea, at that time what the future had for us in store; while many of the Hot Spurs, talked freely or war, but very few believed that there would be any war. We thought that there was too much good sense and judgement on both aides to allow a war in the United States and therefore, trusted to great and good men to find a way out of the rising storm, but, we had not then reckoned on the fanatical feeling brewing in the north. We, in Texas knew that slavery was guaranteed to us in our constitutions both state and National, and that we were so far South of the Mason and Dixon line that our slaves were in no treat danger of being induced to run away from us---in fact, I was so strong in this, that I bought several Negroes about this time, because I wanted to use them on my stock-farm, that I was just then opening, up in Denton County, which was then a very fine range country.

I bought a man his wife and two children, that I might have a cook in my house and a man to look after my affairs while I was away from home. In the vicinity of my ranch, were several other ranches, neither of which were, presided over by a white woman; as all of us were Bachelors. None others were expected to go out on the sock range at that time, in that locality. The country was then new and very sparsely settled. In small towns, however, there were many good families

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news of which, he said, greatly pleased him, and that it would only make too happy to welcome me into his family as a son-in-law----well, this did come on me rather unexpectedly, and for a few moments, it was a stunner to me. I was not yet quite ready to become his son-in-law, and, indeed, I felt pretty sure that no such fate would ever befall me, but, this I did not say to him.

After a few moments of reflection, I proceeded to tell him all about the origin of the joke, and the whole affair from the beginning, and explained every thing connected with the affair, believing, that as her father, that he was entitled to know and understand the matter which was only a joke from its incipiency, began in the midst of a crowd of young people only in fun, the first time that I had ever seen his daughter, and, that in private, there never had a word passed between his daughter and myself; all of our conversation having been public, that the joke had been humored and circulated without my aid or consent, and that I supposed that his daughter would testify to that, and that I hoped that nothing unpleasant might come out of an innocent joke publicly uttered. He fully agreed with me, but impressed on my mind that he was not opposed to have me numbered with his sons-in-law, that such would be very agreeable in his family.

The young lady continued to hold the ring in her possession, and as long as she did this, the impression that there might yet be a serious turn to the affair; this condition continued to exist for many months, during which time I never had a conversation with her except in public. One day many months afterwards, an aunt of this young lady gave a party, to which I was invited, also were most of the parties who were present at the beginning or the joke, and the young lady was present wearing my ring, and of course it furnished the topic of the conversation. By this time, I bad decided that I was getting very tired of the joke, and that, I would take steps to terminate it then and there. And as all persons present were familiar with the beginning I wanted that they should also know the ending. I therefore declared that I was ready to redeem my vow, or receive my ring from the young lady.

Between us and the place to procure the license was a creek then raging full, and the rain then coming down in great torrents, no prospect of the creek being passable soon, but I had a friend present that said that he would swim the creek, or die in the attempt to procure the necessary papers, and began to make ready to start, when the lady asked me to join her in another room that we might talk the matter over as soon as we arrived in the room, I asked her why she made this request? She said "up to this time we have never had a private conversation, and before going further, we should talk some", Well, said I, "What have you to say? Just say on!" She said, "if we are to marry, I would like to know your feelings for me, you have never told me that you loved me, and I would like to hear from you on this subject". I said to her, no! My feelings have nothing to do in this matter. My feeling have never been consulted, but, I now say to you in all good earnest; that I have no love to pledge to you, end if I ever marry you, it will be only to redeem my vow which was made to the ring, not to you. By you taking the ring under the vow, so long as it remains on your finger my vow stands, but when it is returned to me I shall feel myself relieved from my vow made to that ring.

She said, I believe what you say is true, and therefore I return the ring to you, and relieve you of any pledge or vow connected with it.

Just at this time some person entered the room and heard her remark and saw her return the ring. This ended a romance, which, although began in fun, gave me no little annoyance for many months and taught me a very good lesson

I could relate other very good romances, but as they do not connect myself with them will not take up any tine with them now.

In the early days of Texas There were no Banks. Neither was there any paper money, all we had was gold and silver, and our six shooters, if one would not pass the other would. All our business was on the cash be basis, But, in Louisiana they had Banks and in Texas the bills from that state were considered very good, but it was seldom that we ever saw any of this money. But, such a thing as exchange, was not known in those days. About this time I concluded to take a drove of mules and horses to the Cotton-District of Louisiana, and when I

 

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got in the vicinity of Shreevesport I made a trade with a man in which I sold him mules and horses but before we closed the trade, he and I were in Shreevesport, and my drove was at his house, about twelve miles from Shreevesport; while in town he suggested to me that we had better go around to the Bank where he did business, and have me meet the banker, so, that in cane we closed our trade that he could pay me in a bank check, which the bank would cash on presentation, this we did and he introduced me to the President of the bank, and told him that he was about to close a trade with me, and in that case he would give me a check on his bank for the money. The next day we closed the trade, as contemplated, and he gave me a check for sixteen hundred and fifty dollars, in payment for the stock. In a few days, I was in the city and called at the bank to have my check cashed. The banker readily recognized me, and told the cashier to wait on me. I endorsed the check and handed it to him, he then counted out the money, all in Louisiana Bank bills; there was quite a lot of them and it took me sometime to look them over, and as there were other persons wishing to be waited on I took my little bundle of money to a side desk, and proceeded to count it over, but it would not count out just right, and I counted it over the third time and each time it was the same; so I told the cashier, that I thought that he had made a mistake in counting my money. No! Said he; you have had that money to yourself too long for me to correct any mistake, in all this time you could have hid away half of it. Well! I said; I have counted It over three times, and I am sure that you have made a mistake, and I would like to have you correct it. No! Said he, we never correct any mistakes here. You don't, well it won't hurt me, and I will let it go as it is.

At this, the president said, I will see if there has been any mistake; and he came to me and asked to count the money, which he did, and he found that I had one hundred dollars more than my check called for. Well, said he; the cashier has made a mistake, he paid you too much but the bank will not loose by it, the cashier will have to make it good to the bank, and it is just as you please whether you let him correct it or not. 0h, I said, it is not my money and he can have it back which he vary gladly did when he learned that it was his loss, if the mistake was not corrected.

A trip to Louisiana, with stock, usually consumed about five or six weeks, it was this much of my time from my ranch, but it was at the season of the year when I could do but little other business, therefore whatever I cleared on these trips was a clear gain, and they, sometimes turned me a very good profit.

In the fall of l86l,it was just after the war had broken out, I decided to make a trip with a drove of horses and mules, and I bought up several head, besides my own raising, and fed them for several weeks so that I had them in very good condition and all well broke to drive about this time a cozen, Jasper Douthitt, from Missouri came to my place, and he concluded to make the trip with me. It was about the first of December when we got started on our trip, and the first place that we offered my stock for sale was at Shreevesport, while the planters all wanted my stock, none of them had any money, the cotton crop was good, but owing to the war, there was no sale for cotton. Up to this time, the talk had been, that cotton was king, but, just now, the king, seemed to be down and out of business, and the farmers were, out of cash. Finding the Country in this condition, I was forced to look in some other direction for business, or suspend, this I could not afford. I, therefore struck a trade with B.& B. Jacobs Whole Sales Liquor men of Shreevesport, in which I bought quite a lot of fine wines, brandies, and whisky, with the understanding that it should remain in their store room until the opening of business the next spring, Here, I got rid of several of my horses and mules. I then started on in the direction of Alexandria, hoping to find times better in the sugar country, but in this was mistaken. I had now gone too far, to think of turning back for Texas, and I took up my line of travel on down the river.

In those days, the finest country in the world was, along the rich sugar lands from Alexandra to the mouth of Red River, the plantations were the best improved, and the lands in the highest state of cultivation that labor and money would produce, At every plantation, in addition to the Overseer's home, and the Negro quarter, which was laid out like a town; stood one of the finest mansions that cultivated taste could devise, around, which unlimited money had been spent in landscape gardening. It was a feast to the eye to travel through this country at that time.

 

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Yet, with all of its beauty and grandeur; on some accounts, it was the most unpleasant country for a stranger to travel through, perhaps on the face of the globe. While those people were enjoying all that wealth could bring to their doors, they seemed to care nothing for the stranger at their outer gate, he might shiver in the cold and rain, or swelter in the burning rays or the summer sun. It mattered nothing to them. Only at the hotels in the little towns could a weary traveler find a place to rest and refresh himself. The answer always same, you can get to stay at the next house.

After many weary days we arrived at a stand, where drovers always stopped, near the mouth of the bayou Chafferlair, with a man by the name of Barber, there were fourteen of us travelers at his house that night, from different sections or the country, and we had set before us a very nice supper, of which we all eat very heartily, it being late coming, and being tired, we retired early, In about three hours after all were in bed, from every room you could hear men groaning, and calling for medical relief, a sudden outbreak of cholera could have been no worse. Not a man escaped the attack, every one was taken in the same manner. Cholera for three hours could have been no more alarming. But, none of us died, although I felt like I would for a time, such cramps I never had, in all my life.

Continuing on down the country, we arrived at Bayou Sarah, here we crossed the Mississippi river, on account of the wet weather and bad roads in the river bottom, and took the high land to Baton Rouge. At this place Jasper Douthitt decided to quit me and join the army, the Confederate forces were then at Ft. Donalson, and there he went. I put my horses in the sales stable, and continued to hunt a market for them, but here, as at all other places in that state, cotton, the great king was found down, and no money in the country. Well, yes, I was discouraged, much so, but I was bound to stay with my job, and continue to feed my horses, as on their condition, depended my success. It rained almost every day, and the roads were too bad to go to the country, and if I had gone, it would not help matters.

One day, I saddled one horse and rode down the river until I saw fine house not very far from the road, the Negro quarters were extensive, and everything denoted much wealth, here I reigned up my horse at the gate and called for the master of the place, when out came an old gentleman, with a very pleasant smile on his face, and when he got within about thirty yards of me, he said, "If you are a damned Yankee go on, If you are a true Southern man, get down. Down I got, and said I want no better welcome, I am a Texan, just from Texas. He met with an open hand, called a Negro and ordered my horse taken and fed, and said you will rest here until tomorrow, it was then not much past noon, and continued, our dinner will soon be ready, before which I must introduce you to my family, and in we went to his parlor, where were seated his wife, her sister, his two daughters, and a young man, from a neighboring plantation, but then, a southern soldier on furlow (sic) from his command at Pensacola. After the introduction, the old gentleman had me take a seat near where his elder daughter sat, when she opened. a conversation with me by saying. "You are a Texan, I presume" at this, the young man sitting on her other side said, Miss Pauline, tell me how you judged him a Texan, is it from his uncouth appearance?" Well, I can't just describe my feeling on that occasion, but before I could collect myself sufficient to say anything, Miss Pauline, said "No, quite the reverse of that, I knew the gentleman was a Texan when I saw him riding on the road some distance away, Texans are such fine equestrians I can always recognize them."

Her answer cooled my rising temper, and I had only to thank her for the compliment, and ignore him it was, perhaps, this remark that attracted the attention of the old gentleman, who was Mr. F.D. Conrad, Sec. of State under President Pierce, and quite, a polished gentleman, who took up the conversation, and freely asked questions concerning Texas and what it was doing in the way of furnishing soldiers for the Confederate army, all of his questions, I was at that time able to fully answer, which seemed, to please him very much from then until dinner was announced our conversation continued, Miss Pauline, being much interested and asking many questions. At dinner, I had the pleasure of setting next to her by the arrangement of her father. That dinner lasted for one long hour, and consisted of several courses, during which time much conversation was indulged in, sometimes very spirited.

 

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After dinner came cigars and then siesta, which consumed another hour or more. It was past five O'clock before, any more gathering in the parlor, or any opportunity to talk business, which I was very anxious to do with Mr. Conrad concerning my horse trade, the business; that had brought me to his house, and when I did got to see him, he said, that he only talked business in the fore noon, which we could attend to the next day, This slow way of going did not much suit me, but, I had no good way to help myself, therefore had to submit, and make the best of lost time.

That night we had music in the parlor, with dancing, and conversation and quite a pleasant time. Supper came on after eight o'clock, and it was very late before any one suggested time to retire for the night, I was real glad when the hour came.

The next morning when breakfast Was over the old gentleman said 'Now for business, what have you for sale?

I described my horses and told him how many I had that I wanted to sell. He said that he would take all or them if I would take in exchange for them sugar, of which he had in his sugar-houses about five hundred hogsheads, and that I should have the sugar at three cents per pound at his warehouse, or at his wharf, in front of his house.

I told him to come to the city, at Holt's stable and look over my horses, and that if we could agree on the prices, that we would trade. He said that he would come the next day, and I returned to city.

The next day, he came and with him a large red headed young man very finely dressed, and very pompous in his ways, Al my horses were in a separate stable from any other horses, and as we passed down the row of stalls in which were the horses, I gave the price of each and gave the age and quality of the horse; when I did this, the young man alluded to would examine each horse end look at its teeth, but said nothing. When we came to the last horse, which was only a four year old, I told his age also, at this, the young man looked at its; teeth and said, "This horse is twenty years old." Mr. Conrad then said, if your statements; regarding all the other horses, are no nearer the truth, than in this case, I do not want your horses. At this, I turned to the young man and told him that I would bet him one hundred dollars that he had told a Damn lie, and meddled with my business.

He and Mr. Conrad then stepped to one side and after a moment, Mr. Conrad returned to me and handed me a card, on which was written. "I demand satisfaction, choose your weapons and time for meeting and the place and signed Charles Chinn of Baton Rough, I turned the card and on thc other side wrote, six shooter, sun rise, in front of Holt's sale stable, no seconds, D.J. Eddleman of Texas, and handed the card back to Mr. Conrad, he handed it to Chinn and they walked away together. My trade, I could see was at an end, In a very short time Mr. Holt came to me and said, "Do you know what you have done? I asked how and what, I do not understand you. Why, said he you are about to meet the most dangerous man in this state, he has killed several men in duels, and he will get you, you had better apologize, and go on with your trade. Well, said I, "I have no apology to make ,he has lied, and I can prove it by every judge of a horse in this town, and as for the trade, I have no hopes of that, if Conrad is to be influenced by that fellow. That man, he said is Conrad's son-in-law, and one of the wealthiest men in this county." Holt then looked at the horse, and on examination, said that Chinn was wrong, then he got several other men to examine the horse, and all the other horses, and they all agreed with my statements regarding their ages, and decided that Chinn was wrong. Heard no more from the matter that night.

The next morning before the sun was up, I was standing before the sale stable door, and just after I took my stand Chinn came in sight at the corner of the street, and said to me. "I want to talk with you". I said, "come on you are in no danger until the sun rises." He walked up to me and extended his hand and said. "I want to apologize, I Was drunk yesterday, and my friends tell me that I did you wrong, therefore, I wish to make amends." Of course, I accepted his apology and we went to the saloon called the Sun, and there, took an, Irish whiskey stew. I then returned. to my boarding house, got my breakfast and returned to the sale stable, and met Mr. Conrad and Mr. Chinn and closed up my horse trade, And turned over all my stock to Mr. Conrad, and assisted in placing them In his lot and then went to his sugar house and weighed and marked my sugar, there were thirty-five Hogsheads of sugar.

 

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This trade we closed after the Christmas Holidays, but I had to await the rising off Red River before I could start it to Texas and I returned to my boarding house in the city, until sometime in February when we got news that a rise was coming down the river, in the mean time I made arrangements with a Captain of a red river boat to take my sugar to Shreevesport, and he was to stop the boat at the Conrad landing and take on my sugar. his boat was then in New Orleans, not long, afterward I received a telegram from the Captain of the boat that be would be at the landing on a certain day to take on my sugar. I then went to Conrad's house and had the sugar hauled to the landing, just as we got the last of it there the boat came into site, and in a few hours I was headed for Texas, after having been from home over three months.

By far, this was the hardest trip that I ever had with a drove or stock up to that time and I had only been able to take in enough money sufficient to meet my expenses and carry me safe home. at Alexandria I had sold some stock to good men on time until I might return, when I was about to start for home I wrote those men about what time I would call on them for my money and asked them to be prepared to settle it When I arrived, in this I was not disappointed, they met me at the boat and paid me what was what coming to me.

At Grand Eco, I found the water so low that the boat could go no higher up the river and there the boat stored my sugar until late in it the spring, on account or low water, it was in May before it reached Shreevesport.

It was late into March before I arrived at home, at Grand Eco, I had to buy a saddle horse to ride home and from there to Denton Texas I made an horseback, and it took several days to make the trip. When I reached home, I found the country in a great stir, it looked like all off the men in Texas was on the move for the army, the call had come out for men and they were answering. in good shape, and had I kept my horses at home I could have beat anything that I had done and saved all my hard work and worry on that long trip.

It was in the fall at 1854 when I moved from Missouri to Texas.

That fall, there was a great move in that direction. The road was full of immigrants, and many wagons had painted on their wagon sheets, "To Texas or bust." And a great many amusing incidents occurred to divert our minds from the worry and work on the road.

In our party there were several young men, each of whom was going. to Texas to make his fortune, some or whom were good fiddlers, and we had with us a good fiddle, and at night, after the camp work was done, the fiddle came out, and we had some road musick (sic). This often brought visitors to our Camp, sometimes from other wagons, and sometimes from houses near by where we camped. One night, when we were camped near a farm- house In. the south part of Missouri, soon after the musick started, there came from the house a man and a boy to listen to the musick; when the light shined on the face of the man, I thought that I recognized him, Did not you work for John French in Cooper County some time since? He said, I don't recollect, I have worked for so many men, that I don't remember all the men that I have worked for. Directly he stepped to one side and called to me to come to him, when I did, he asked me who I was? I told him, and he remembered me. "No" said he, "please don't say anything about that French Affair here. I came here and hired to work for this woman, and after working for her sometime, she and I got married, and I am doing well here and do not want to be disturbed, besides, I did not put that bull off that bridge, it was all a lie that I told for fun, and the being in the river, they put it off on me, but I am innocent."

"Oh." said, Jim, "there was no bull but off the bridge, it was all on account at your boasting, there was nothing in the paper about it, and if you could have read the paper you would have known better. French played that joke on you because you let on that you could read, when you could not."

French had shown him a paper offering one hundred dollars for the man that but, the bull off the bridge, Jim Hailey having bragged that he had done such a thing, and to have some fun said that he was going to take Hailey to Booneville and get the reward. The next morning Hailey had fled the, country.

 

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The entire trip to Texas without a drop of rain, and the roads were just as good as could have been desired. Our rout, after leaving Missouri was through the Indian Territory, the Five Civilized tribes. We first entered the Seneca Nation, then the Cherokee Nation, which we left at the .Arkansas River which we crossed at the, mouth of the Grand River; here we entered the Creek Nation, then we kept the old military road on to Boggy Depot, after crossing, the Canadian River near the old town of North Fork, we entered the Choctaw Nation. Only a very small portion of the Chickasaw Nation was on our road; we left the Indian Country at Old Warren, when we crossed the Red River. No prettier country over was before the human eye than was the Indian Territory, that fall. On all the rout over which we traveled there were but few houses near the road which led through the most beautiful valleys along some of the nicest running streams of clear water that I had ever before seen, it was; so very different to what we had in Missouri, that it filled my heart with a degree or admiration never to be forgotten. The few houses that were on the road, were such an generally afforded places where travelers passing through the country could find lodgings and accommodations on their journey. Such places usually kept corn to sell to the immigrants passing through the territory. The summer, that year, in Missouri, had been very dry, and no good corn was raised, but when we got into the Indian Territory, we found good corn, this to us, Was a great surprise, and we asked of the Indians if their summer had been very dry? To this they said, July hot, August and September good rains. We asked then, when do you plant your corn, and they said, when black berries get ripe, we plant corn, July sun don't hurt it. Therefore, their corn, while late was very good.

Occasionally, along the road, we found campers, some of them had the appearance of having been camped for some, time, even some of them had made crops in fields rented from Indians, and had around their camps chickens running loose and, occasionally, a calf "was tied out to graze." On inquiring, of these, why they tarried here so long?" Their answer usually was that this was a fine country, and would someday, come in for settlement by white, people, and that, they wished to be on hands when that time came.

Many graves are now, in this country, fi1led by those early comers and their grand children are now to be found among the mixed bloods of the Indian tribes. Some of them, the best of citizens, while others, are only average, or below average citizens. This, is the way that this country was finally brought in, as they turned it. As long as the Indians kept their blood uncontaminated with the white mans blood, they were able to keep up their tribal relations and Indian customs, but, when the white mans blood predominated, the white mans ideas, also predominated and thus civilization was forced on the Indians.

It is a remarkable fact, but, never the less true, that what ever land and country the Indian might possess, has ever been, by the white man, considered the choice of the Earth. And, indeed, it looks to be true, even to this day, the lands now owned and held by the Indian, even in his allotment, is turning out to be the richest in oil and valuable minerals, while it may appear poor in every other respect. and, another remarkable fact, is that, there are now good full blood miners who have rich oil land, than any other class of allotees. This, causes us to ask the question, can it be possible that kind Providence has stretched out a protecting hand to this class?

When we crossed the Red River, we were on Texas soil, a land that had become dear to by blood shed at the Alamo, one of my mother's brothers having lost his life in defense or that place, serving under Col. Crockett, while fighting for freedom from Mexican rule, and the independence of the Lone Star Republic of Texas.

We found Texas all that we expected it to be, and even more, the richness of its soil, and its great depth, exceeded anything that we had looked for, and its fresh range almost untouched and unused stretched out farther than the eye could reach, regardless of the distance we might travel. These advantages, with the cheapness of its rich lands, made it the land to be desired, by all enterprising, men, especially the young. But, of what use is rich land, and fresh range, unless we are prepared to avail ourselves of the fine opportunity that they spread out before us, and within our grasp, only a few profited by these good opportunities.

 

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The people whom we found in Texas, especially the old Texans, who had born the heat and burden of winning the Independence of Texas, were a worthy class, and a credit to any country, they were, at testimony to the fact, that it requires a people above mediocrity to win the freedom of any country and place its standards of citizenship on the highest plane, this, they had done and we, the new comers, were only entering. in to enjoy, with ease, that for which, they had endured every degree of privation, distress and want, but they welcomed us with open arms, and gave us the glad hand. Up to that day in Texas, it was not a question of so much importance just what a man was or where he came from as it was, as to what manner of man landed on the Texas side at Red River, by his acts, from that moment on, they judged him.

True Texas hospitality was extended to all comers, and continued as long as he proved himself worthy. Strict conformity to this rule was calculated to make good citizens, and build up a country, and all of the old citizens were anxious to have the country settled up as speedily as possible, not that they were dependent on others for aid, but to develop the rich country, which they had redeemed from the Mexican rule, schools, Churches, and good society all demanded that this rich land should be cultivated, to this all old setters were wide awake.

That year, 1854 witnessed the arrival at many immigrants from many of the other states, even, from the most extreme northern states came many good families and settled in Texas, to when, the southern institutions and customs were unknown and strange but, as a general thing, as soon as they were understood, were approved and endorsed and such men

became among our most esteemed citizen, and took their places in the ranks of our mast cherished southern men.

For true, generous hospitality the old Texans were never excelled, nor do I believe that they were ever equaled in any other country. It made no difference about being acquainted, stranger you might be, but, when you called at any house, you were cordially invited to partake of the bounties with which he was blessed, be it only venison and bear meat or the finest luxuries that the land could afford, it was at your service, and yours while you remained with him without price, and when you departed, you were cordially invited to call again. Those were the days and that was the country, where all good men were friends, and there were no strangers, and each man was ready to help his brother on the road to prosperity.

Could I find another such a land, settled with that class of men, I would gladly bid farewell to this land and these people, to immigrate old as I now am. In those days Texans had no fear from Mexican invasion, that question was settled, but we had a common enemy, it was the Indian on our west, we were yet subject to raids from the Indian on the plains, and it was against them that we were all united.

Those plain Indians, occasionally made raids on our out side settlers. carrying away horses and sometimes, women and children and, they were to be dreaded and guarded against, and it was expected of every man to do his part in case of necessity.

On one occasion, which I will relate here; I was once traveling in company with another man through a section of country, through which, neither of us had before traveled, and being anxious to reach a certain place, we stopped to inquire at a house near our road, the way to the place, it was then late afternoon, and our place of destination was yet several miles distant, the man invited us to remain overnight, but, being anxious to reach the place, we thanked him, and after getting directions, we started on, when we were called to by the lady of the house, and warned of the danger of going further that evening on account or the possibility of Indians being in the country, as it was then on the full of the moon, the time when Indians usually ride their raids. She called to us to come back and wait until morning fearing that the Indians might intercept us on the road, Thinking that her warning was timely, we accepted her offered hospitality, and remained until the next morning, that night at, her suggestion, hiding our riding horses in a thicket. The next morning, we had not gone far on our road when we discovered signs of Indians and we got to the place where we was going, we found that the Indians had been there and taken away all of their horses and the people had all assembled at a central house for mutual protection, while the men had gone in pursuit of the Indians hoping to overtake

 

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and rescue their horses from the Indians, but, as usual, their hopes were unrewarded and late that night, they returned unsuccessful. This was only the experience of many former occasions.

Horses were often stolen on the western boundary of the settlements, sometimes by roving bands of Indians who slipped away, from the reservations, as if on a buffalo hunt, and came into the horse range and drove away horses, but, all the horse stealing, was not done by Indians, but, by white men, on the Indian's credit, in this, however, they were not always successful, as any expert Texan, could very soon detect, the thief from the signs left on the trail. When it was decided that the thieves were white men they were hastily pursued and when caught with the horses, it required very little time to settle the case; it was not often in those days that the courts were called on to try horse thieves, and, relating this, calls to my mind an incident that once occurred, in those days, and will well illustrate the ideas of the Down Easters who occasionally passed through Texas, this, however, occurred just after the close of the civil war. I had just arrived in a town where the overland stage had a stand, I was from some distance farther west, and at the dinner table, there were three passengers, two old ladies and one old man, a missionary, and some one asked me the news from the west, I said there were two men hanged last night near Iradell, when one of the old ladies asked me what they did with the men, I told her that they used them to start a new grave yard---"What?" she said, "To start a grave yard, is that the way that they start graveyards in Texas?" "Yes", said I "all the graveyards started in Texas are started in that way, we only use dead people for this purpose in Texas, Is not that the way that you do in the east?" "No, she said, "did you ever hear the like before?" And she called to the old man, who was very deaf, and related to him that two men out west had been hanged the night before, in order to start a new grave yard. "Tut, Tut, Tut" said he; "I have heard of their cruel ways in Texas before, but this does beat all, I want to get through Texas as soon as possible." And they all hastened to get into the stage, that was waiting for them at the hotel. And, of course, we Texans were as much puzzled how they ever started new grave yards in the East, if "they did not use dead people for that purpose---to bury them alive would certainly be very cruel, in the estimation of any old Texan.

For a few years before the outbreak of the civil war the frontier of Texas enjoyed considerable quietude, as Texas had put on the frontier a regiment of good rangers, who kept back the Indians, and this caused the settlers to fill up the country very fast. New towns were laid out, and new farms put into cultivation, it looked like the man with the plow and hoe would take the country, and as this was taking place, the cattle and horse ranches were moving further out west.

More new counties were organized, and the country took on the appearance of a well settled country, and the people were enjoying peace and the greatest of prosperity. But, Alas, all soon was ruined. On the out break of the Civil War, the troops on the western frontiers left the out post and the Indians, then very soon ,to a great extent, abandoned the reservations, and returned to their old habits of committing depredations on the out side settlements, who, for better protection, fell back, and as others became the out side settlers, they, in turn fell back. This, did not have to continue very long until quite a large extent of country was left to the mercy of the Indians. It is astonishing how fast a country my retrograde when it once starts on the retrograde movement, and nothing can cause a movement faster than the invasion of an Indian raid through the country. I have known Indians to come into the country in large numbers, well armed, and seemed to be as well organized as Federal soldiers, even wearing Federal uniforms, and during one night collect large herds of horses, several thousand head, and drive them out of the country, burning the houses of the settlers as they passed, and capturing the women and children, and carrying them away captives, or killing them, just as it best suited them.

The most heart rending sight that I ever witnessed, was in following after the Indians where they had just made one of those horrible raids, the course or which was well marked by the smoldering fires of the burning cabins along the route of the raid, with, occasionally the dead body of some woman, man or child, just slain by the Indians.

 

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This was a sight not pleasant to recall, and, but, for the fact, that it is a part or the sad experience of my life, I would not record it here. In raids of this description, it was my misfortune to loose the hard earnings of many years of hard toil. My property consisted, mostly, of stock horses on the range, Which grew, bred and increased until year by year I could fancy myself, in a few more years almost, if not quite, out of reach of the starving wolf howling at my door, end free from poverty's grasp, a thing that I had always dreaded. But, alas! How vain are human hopes, in the midst of our most prosperous days, come the most direfully destruction, and all of our fond anticipations are destroyed.

On the fifth of January 1867 one cold snowy night, while our frontier's were supposed to be guarded and we protected by the U.S. Troops, just after we Texans had been disarmed by the Federal authorities, thus rendered helpless to defend ourselves, the Indians made a raid into our country, and drove off from our range, thousands of our horses, and carried away women and children; in this raid, I lost many of my best stock this raid came down between the Clear Creek and the Elm, to its very forks and with thorn they took nearly all of the horses in that section on country. Later on in that year, about the middle of October, they made another raid, this time between the Clear Creek and Denton Creek,

In this raid they again penetrated my stock range and took many of my horses, in the two raids, I lost over three hundred head of horses.

In this raid, there were about three hundred Indians they came from the Reservation near Ft. Sill; where they were being fed by the Government of the United States, They were armed with long; range guns and dressed in Federal uniformed, and at a distance, presented the appearance or Federal soldiers. As soon as it wad discovered that the Indians were in the country, we got together as many men as possible, armed with old guns and pistols, not taken from us by the Federals, as they were disarming us only a few months previously, and hastened on the trail in pursuit of the Indians! We overtook them near the South East corner of Montague county, where they had several thousand horses which they had gathered and were taking out of the country. When our men came up in sight of the Indians, the drove was leisurely moving on, but it was so very large that it made slow progress; when the Indians saw us they threw out a rear guard of about 150 men to fight us back, they had long range guns, and before we got in range of them for our guns they were shooting our horses down under our men and killing some of our men, it was useless for us to try to capture them, they were too strong for us, the wind coming directly from them to us, they set fire to the grass, which being dry, burned over our dead and wounded before we could move them, and the Indians went on with our horses. In this raid they did not capture any woman or children, horses seemed to be all that they wanted. These were not all of that raids made, there were many other raids, out these are mentioned here, and described, to give an idea of the life of a man on the frontiers or Texas, and especially as to how we Texans suffered just after the close of the Civil War, when we had laid down our arms and took the oath of allegiance to Thc U.S. Government.

This heavy loss coming on me just after the emancipation of my slaves, in which, I had invested much of my earnings, all of which had come to me by years of toil in all kinds of weather; up to this tine in my life I had never stopped for wind, or rain, show or sleet, heat nor cold. Sleeping at night on the wet or cold frozen ground, with only the clouded canopy or starry decked heaven to cover me, my head on my saddle, using my saddle and riding blankets for covering, eating from my provision sack, which I carried tied to my saddle, and drinking my coffee from my hot coffeepot, without cream or sugar; and after dark, fearing that an Indian might be watching my place of encampment, from afar, ready as I slept to pounce on me and take my horse and scalp, I usually moved to some distance, established a sleeping place, with out fire, and my horse tied to my saddle I spent the night. This was life in the early days, and it was under these difficulties that I earned what was stolen from me by the Indians, and emancipated by the Government.

Is it any wonder then that I have no great love for this Government, especially under Republican rule, and more especially, since I cannot receive some remuneration for my horses that the Indians took from me while they were under the protection of the Government and armed with guns of the Government.

 

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As I have before stated, not all of my horse stealing in Texas was done by the Indians. I now call to my mind what occurred in the fall of l866, about one year before last Indian raid described.

When quite a party of us engaged in horse raising met at an abandoned ranch known as the Keep place, where there were good lots for holding stock, with the intention or making a roundup, expecting to be there several days; there being a vacant house, we decided to sleep in it that night and not expecting danger, we left our saddles, bridals and rope sat the lot, except a few lariats on ponies tied out to graze for the night; the next morning when we got out, no horses were in sight, going, to the lot, we round all or our bridles and saddles, not stolen, cut to pieces, made entirely useless, and our lariated horses gone, we at once knew that thieves had done the mischief, and began to hunt for signs to determine the direction that they had gone. While we were thus engaged, other parties came up on the track of the thieves, tracking them by the shoe prints of one stolen horse which they were taking with them. It required all that day for us to repair our saddles and bridles and by the time that we were ready to move, other men came in their pursuit, and by the time that we were ready to move, our party numbered near forty men, and were from four different counties, all in pursuit of the same gang of thieves. But, we took their track, which we were able to follow, by means of the shoe on one of the stolen horse's. We followed them about forty miles, and came upon their place of hiding stolen property; here we found some of our stolen saddles and one of my horses, it was hobbled in a thicket near by where the saddles were hid. These we took along, not many miles from this place we came upon some men rounding up some cattle, two of whom were part of the thieves, the ones who secreted the stolen property, and they had some of it in their possession at that time. Here we made some arrest, but one having in possession some or the stolen property refused to surrender, and, of course met his fate, the other was taken alive, and turned over to the party coming from Fannin County in his pursuit. After this I returned home, but others continued the search following others of the party for several weeks. During that fall several or the thieves were killed--none taken alive, except the one, and, he, I understood, after- wards killed while attempting to escape ;two of the pursuing parties were also killed, and others wounded, this was one of the worst bands of thieves ever known in Texas.

The forty thousand horses captured from the Indians by General Custer at the Antelope Hills, were horses taken from the Texans by the Indians, and should have been restored to their owners in Texas, when captured, but, instead, they were sold and the proceeds placed to the credit or the same Indians, and the Texans were the losers. As an evidence that; some of horses were really the property of Texans; after they were sold at the Fort, and bid in by J.M. Daugherty, Contractor; furnishing beef to the, Indians; and brought back to Texas, and turned loose in the range, many of them had the original brands of the Texas stock stolen by the Indians. Of course, we knew that, they were our stock, but our hands were tied, we were only Texans, and could not fight the government.

I was never a very ardent secessionist, but, I believed that the State had a right to secede, and I still believe the same doctrine. I was a southern man, bred and born in the south; and I remain the same to this day; and, not only a southern man, but, a Democrat from democratic principles; in politicks, I could not be otherwise. And when the question of secession came up in Texas in 1861, I voted for it, and if I had it to do. over again, I would not change my vote. At that time, I looked for war, but, got a lot more of it than I looked for. I was not in the war as a soldier in the ranks, on account.

of my disability, but, I filled a soldier's place by giving my services as clerk in the Quartermaster's office under Major J.B. Ford at Bonham. A great portion of my time I was buying Mules for the army, this kept me on the range a great portion of the time; therefore, I had rather an easy place to fill, and had I not filled it, it would have taken a good soldier to fill it, but my service never cost the Confederate Government one penny; I paid my own expenses and donated my time, free of pay. My name was' never on the pay roll even as an employee.' But, while thus employed, I turned in, of my own mules ten head, which was worth, in C.S. currency, about $800.00 each, at least, that was the price

 

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that we were allowing other party's for such mules; for which ,we issued Quarter Master Vouchers. But I was not cashing in my vouchers, therefore, I never got anything for my mules. Besides this, at the close of the war, I had on hands several thousand dollars of Confederate money, the last of which, that I ever spent, I paid Mrs. Cash five hundred dollars a piece for four home made bed blankets, of her own weaving. At that time

she had on hand quite a stack or blankets, all of which I offered to take at the same price, but the old lady would not trade them for our money, here is where she showed wisdom. This was really after Lee's surrender, but we had not heard it. I do not consider that four years or my life entirely lost.

After all or our privations and hardships that we endured, I can look back and recall many pleasant times, that Oasis in the desert, are green spots in my memory, which, I hope never to forget. Even if the war was going on, it was not all gloom at home if our brothers and friends were, in the army, we had with us our Mother, sisters and our young lady friends, and occasionally some of the boys home on leave, at who's coming we would make merry, and greet them with a house party at our ranches, such as would, for the time, cause them to forget the hardships or war, and their toils in the ranks, and change their dreadful marches to the pleasant steps of the quadrille. On these occasions, the ladies were never found loitering, but ever ready to lend their aid to make the time pass pleasantly, as long as the soldiers could remain at home. True! We were deprived or our coffee, flat tobacco, store clothes, hats and boots, but we retained our energy, and held in remembrance the days of our ancestors when they fought for liberty, and we resorted to their habits of life, and manufactured our needed supplies at home, just as they did then. Our spinning wheels sat up a roar, and our looms were heard in each house, our tan yards were at work, and shoes were made at home and sent to the army to supply the boys in the ranks of war. At the beginning of the war, it was great rush to enlist, many fearing that the, war would be over before they could get in to the ranks. I now call to my mind a bachelor friend, who lived not far from me, who was very fearful that the war would be over, he was so anxious to go, and he wanted to take a whole company with him; he, therefore offered to fit out any young man, not able to mount himself who would join his company and aid in electing him captain, in a few days his company was full, up to that time no regiment had been formed in Texas, and he could not wait for one, but marshaled his company and set out for the north, fighting had then began in Missouri, but not to any great extent, Captain Winn, however, hurried on towards Missouri with his company, and reached the state just before the Lone Jack battle, but, in place of him taking his men to help out the Missourians, he resigned, and turned his command over to his first Lieutenant, and hastened on to Jackson County, where lived his sweetheart and married her and in only a few weeks was back at his ranch with his young wife. The height of his ambition had had been attained, and he was content to remain at home-- then the conscript law went into effect, he hired a substitute, and remained at home.

Several years after the close of the war, I was selling the Rise and Fall of the Confederacy, by Davis; when I called to sell him a copy, knowing that he often boasted that he Was the first man in Texas to raise a company for the war, I fully expected him to buy a copy, but, on mention or my business, he very firmly said "No, I do not want to own the book, nor do I want my children to read it. I want to forget the war, and all about it. "Yes, said his wife, "I shall always have great respect for the Captain for risking his life to go to Missouri and bringing me to Texas at the time he did."

After the war had gone on for a few years, it became very distasteful to many of the soldiers in the ranks; and quit a lot of them quit the army and returned to their homes. This state of affairs be carried quite annoying to the officers, and the absentees were strongly urged to return to their commands, but, in place of obeying orders, many of them took up camps in a very extensive thicket along the Sulpher River, known as Jornigan thicket, was thickly, set to haw bushes Bois 'd Arc and green briars, which made it almost impenetrable, except to those well acquainted with it. By them hiding in this thicket, they got the name of "HAW EATERS." Really, the boys did not mean to desert, but they were opposed to be sent east of the Mississippi river and it was in consequence of an order to

 

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this effect that caused them to leave their commands and take to the haw thicket. As soon as this was made known to the commanding Generals they decided to issue an order removing this difficulty: Therefore, arrangement was made to organize a new battalion especially for services on the west side of the Mississippi river, with the assurance that it would not be ordered to go east. As soon an this order was promulgated, and came to the notice of the men in the thicket, they came out and joined the new battalion. The place of rendesvoo for the new battalion was at a school-house on Buck Creek about three miles from Pilot Point. In a very few days after head quarters were established at this place, about 1500 men had enrolled as members of the battalion.

It was now January, and the weather was very cold for Texas, but the men in good tents and plenty to eat seemed well contented. It chanced while those men were in camps at that place, that the wife of an old man living near by took sick with Pneumonia, and in a few days the case proved fatal, and the man was left in rather bad condition with the care of about seven children to look after, and the most of them very small, a very unfortunate condition for any old man.

In a few days, realizing his condition and the imperative need of a mother for the little children; the old man sought advise from every man he met, as to what he should do; of course, every one advised him to marry and bring home a mother to his children. It required but little such advise to convince him that this was the proper thing to do, but, who? That was the question. Since coming into the country, a few years before from Illinois, he had settled on a small farm, lived at home and therefore, had no acquaintance with any women in the country, and, as to where to look, he had no idea.

On the other side of the creek lived an old German, who for many years lived the life of a bachelor, but lately had married an American lady, with them lived a widowed sister, young and handsome, and if she was to marry, would, in all probability want a young man, not an old man with seven small children, but, this was not suggested to the old man, only that she might be induced to marry him. Not being well versed in courting, he employed some of the officers of the battalion to call on her, and if possible to arrange for a union in matrimony, for him. This. proposition, probably suggested the idea of a sham marriage, and instead of arranging with the lady, arrangement was made with a boy about 15 years old living in the neighborhood, some what resembling the young widow, to aid in the joke she consented to loan the boy a dress and a sun bonnet for the occasion, and the old German donated the use or his house for only a few hours. All preliminaries were arranged by proxy, and on being informed, the old man was much delighted, and agreed to carry his part of the wedding to a successful termination, this, he did by going to Sherman, about thirty miles away to procure the license and engage the justice of the peace to solemnize the ceremony, and assured his proxy that he would be on hands at the appointed hour. For that purpose, early in the morning, of the day set, he mounted his, horse and raced the north wind to Sherman and procured the papers for the occasion. While this was being done the proxy got things ready at the' house of the old German, and had the boy dressed and ready when the man arrived late in the evening. Every body in the country for miles around, except the old man understood the joke, and when he rode up to the place that night, there were about 1500 men assembled around log fires near by, as the weather was very cold, awaiting the fun; nothing daunted, the old man took the one pointed out to him by his proxy, and led on to the Justice of the Peace, who stood waiting with the, license in his hand, ready to do his part as soon as the subjects were presented before him, for his services he had just been paid five dollars in gold by the supposed bridegroom.

As soon as the ceremony was intended someone stepped up and pulled off the mask and revealed; to the old man that he had really been rted to Col. Bourland that they had found three men guilty of treason, and turned them over to him to be executed; which was soon done by a detachment of soldiers belonging to Col. Bourland's Regiment. The three men were all hanged on a large tree just east of the public square.

This perhaps, would have been all that would have been executed; however, there were yet about forty men in the guard house, none or whom had been condemned and but for the acts of some of the friends of the men hanged, and yet at large; who by way of retaliation, shot and killed Col. Bill Young from ambush as he was riding on the public road, not far from his home. As soon as this assassination became known, it enraged the whole country, and a son of Col. Young, Capt. Jim Young with a company of soldiers was then in camps not far away; as soon as the news of the death of his father reached them, he with his whole company hastened on to Gainesville and on arriving there took possession of all the men then in the guard house, marched them out, and hanged them on the same tree, were the other three had been hanged. I was not in Gainesville when this last hanging was done, but I am sure that it was done just as I have here related it. This was the most serious trouble that occurred in our section of Texas during the war.

About one year later at Pilot Point, there came near being another such an incident of the same character as the Gainesville affair. By some means, the news got scattered abroad, that the Negro men of the neighborhood were holding secret meetings at the house of a Mr. Beard, he not being a slave-holder, but, a Negro sympathizer, created suspicion, a mass meeting, of the citizens was assembled and after much talking it appointed a committee to further investigate the rumor, with instructions to take such action as the case seemed to demand, for the good of the country. This resulted in a jury being empanelled to further investigate. Charges were brought and he was brought before the jury, in his examination, he admitted that the meeting had taken place at his house, and that, not only, certain Negroes were present, but also stated that old man Holt, a white man, was also present with the Negroes, Up to this time, nothing had been said about Holt, he being above suspicion. By this time several Negroes were in the guard house also another white man by the name of Cox, but against whom there were no very serious charge, This investigation had gone on for several days; and there being several soldiers home on leave, who were liable to take a hand, regardless of consequences ;I suggested that we call on the Military authorities then at Bonham to take charge, and relieve our citizens from any embarrassment in the business. This suggestion was immediately adopted by the jury, and was requested to take the matter to the General commanding at Bonham. This was about noon, but it was 3 0'clock P.M. before I got in my buggy to start, it was 55 miles to Bonham but I reached there before daylight. On arriving at Bonham I found that I would have to go onto the headquarters of General Bankhead to get my mission acted on, this was just after the battle at Honey Springs.

 

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In august of that year, and the Confederate troops were retreating in the direction of Texas, and I did not know how far I would have to go, but as soon as I got my breakfast and my horses got through eating I again started on the trip, it was just sunset when I arrived on the Middle Boggy, where I met the retreating army, it had just come into camps. Here I placed my business before General Bankhead, and he proceeded to make arrangement for taking charge of the matter, but I was in need of rest and camped with him until the next morning, when I resumed my journey, but it required that I should return by the way of Bonham, then on to Pilot Point, where I arrived the following day about noon, having traveled all day and all night. But my work was not yet done, to complete it I had to go on to Gainesville and get an order signed by General Hudson, commanding the Militia to order a company out from Camp Blocker, twenty-five miles west or Gainesville, by the next morning I had this company on the march for Pilot Point.

On the arrival or this company at Pilot Point it took charge of the Negroes and had them whipped and restored to their masters and the white men were ordered released, but before this time; Cox had got scared and tried to escape from his guard as he was being taken back to the guardhouse after eating his supper, when the guard fired at him, the shot killed him. In the mean time Huse Holt, a son of Old man Holt, rushed past the guard, just after the Negroes were liberated, and before the guard had received orders to release Beard, and shot him, killing him. This was the hardest driving that I ever did in my life, and I have always believed that my efforts on this occasion saved lots of trouble, and perhaps several lives.

Some years after the close of the Civil War Huse Holt Was indicted by the Grand Jury of Denton county for killing Beard and was convicted and sentenced to 99 years in the state penitentiary, about twenty-five years of this time he served, when he was pardoned.

About the last days of November of that year. we received another hurried call for help from Gainesville, this time, it was a real Indian raid, up to that time the worst that had ever occurred, in that part of the country. It was near night when we got the message for help; and by the time that we got our forces together and ready to start it near midnight, and as before, we reached Gainesville after daylight, the sun was just rising, and as soon as we could eat a hurried meal we were in our saddles ready for anything, This time Col. Jim Diamond was. in command, and very soon after sunrise he drew up his men, in all ,about five hundred, and made them a fine speech, telling them that very soon we, in all probability would meet the Indians, and that if any man present was afraid to fight that he had better go back and stay with the women and children, just at this time, a runner came up, stating that the Indians, with a very large drove of horses was three miles out of town and that we could overtake them in one hour, if we would follow him, but Diamond was not done with his speech, he kept us there for about one more hour before he made the move, then, not in the direction of where the Indians were reported to be, but marched us up on the other side of elm for about twelve miles, in a slow walk over the prairie where the Indians had gathered the horses, occasionally, we saw a horse wandering, about with an Indian arrow sticking in it, which they had shot when the horse broke away front the herd, this brought us up to about two O'clock P.M. when the clamor of the men grew so strong that we were turned in the direction of where the Indians were seen in the morning, and in about two hours we came upon their trail going, in the direction of Red River when we struck this trail, orders from the Col. were no longer heeded, but, the men, not belonging to the Colonel's command, turned on the trail, going at almost full speed of their horses, hoping to overtake them at the river, about 18 miles away, but on arriving at the river, we found that the herd was on the other side, and out of sight it was now after dark, and we had had nothing to eat since early morn. Here we decided to kill a fat cow and roast its flesh and eat whole our horses eat some grass, we had neither salt nor bread, but, we ate the roast beef with a good appetite, and felt much refreshed. The moon being at the full, in about two hours, we mounted our horses and took the trail, which we could easily follow, in fact, our horses were eager to follow it. This we followed until about nine A.M. when we halted and roasted some of our beef and ate another hasty repast, on beef alone, and our horses took in some more grass. After two hours rest we resumed our onward march.

 

 

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We continued to follow the trail, which led in a North West direction towards the Wicheteau mountains, but from all appearance we were not gaining much if any; it was, as I remember on the morning of the third day after we crossed the Red River that it began to snow, the wind, that morning, was from the north, and with it a mist, which turned into snow, and it was only a short time before the ground was covered so deep in snow that we could not follow the trail further, and the wind by this time had turned into a very severe norther, and the snow changed to a fine hominy sleet, which made it very disagreeable to face. Our horses were tired out, and nearly starved, as well as were the men; and on consultation, it was decided to abandon the chase, and retrace our steps. Up to this time I have never learned just what did become of Col. Jim Diamond and his command, but it was not with us after we crossed Red River, not when we arrived at the river, I have always been of the opinion, that had we broken away from the Col., when the messenger told us where the Indians were that morning, that we would have captured that herd of horses, and probably the Indians, but that is passed now.

This was the only large raid made by the Indians during the Civil war, it was made by the Kiowas and Comanches, who were, at that time, being fed by the Confederate Government. John Gouch, at that time was furnishing them beef at the reservation at Ft. Cobb. After this raid many of the Indians left the reservation and moved out to the Antelope Hills where they were camped at the time that General Curtis made his famous fight on them and captured forty thousand horses.

In the summer of 1862 while General Albert Pike was camped at Ft. McCulloch on the Blue River in the Chickasaw Nation, the Chief's of all the tribes then at Ft. Cobb came to the camp of Gen. Pike and while there made and signed treaties with Gen. Pike, and in those treaties Pike agreed to furnish beef to the Indians as long as they wouldn't remain on the reservation; and it was in compliance with these treaties that John Gouch was feeding those Indians when they made the raid just referred to.

After the signing of the treaties General Pike made presents to the head men of the Tribes, by having the Quarter Master take them into the store and dress them up in new-suits of clothing. It was a very hot day in July, and the Indians were dressed in their breech-clouts when they entered the store, and the clerks made each or them put on a heavy pair of army flannel drawers, breeches, under and over woolen shirts, vest coats and over coats, and army-hats. They were dressed In full uniform, suited to the coldest weather, and each or them come out of that store with the perspiration streaming down their faces. From there they went out to see the artillery practice on the high prairie in the hot sun. This was more than they could bear. You ought to have seen those Indians shed those clothes; they pulled them off, and piled them up in one heap, and there they left them, at least for the time being, If they ever returned and took then away, I do not know it. The way that I chanced to be at Ft. McCullough at that time was that during the past winter I had made a trip to Louisiana with a drove of stock as before stated, and on that trip I had bought a lot of fine wines, brandies, and whiskeys, and had just received them at Pilot Point, this fact had been made known to the General. And he invited me to bring a load or my wet goods to his camps to sell to the officers of his command. And it was by this invitation that I was at the Fort, at that time. While there I talked with several of the Chiefs, and they were well up to our ways in Texas, but, did not like Texans much.

After grass got good that spring I had hired several ox teams to go to Shreevesport to haul out my sugar and fine wet goods to west Texas, and to help pay freights I bought up a quantity of flour with which to furnish down loads to my teamsters and to make a little money besides, my goods were all at Shreevesport and as I passed through Jefferson Texas some parties there wanted my flour, but, they would not offer me as much for it as I could get In Shreevesport, and it would cost me no more to take it on, so we could not trade, but, that night I put the wagons and teams in the wagon yard in the city. Early the next morning my wagons were attached by the officers and I was arrested and taken before the Provost Marshall, charged with attempting to ship flour to the enemy, which were then said to be near New Orleans. And while I was at the Marshall's Office my flour was being placed in the warehouse of his son-in-law, J.B. Terrell, who had wanted to buy my flour the day before.

 

*Editor’s note the following page is labeled Page 46 but it is obviously a misprint, since there is no break in the story line. Pages 44 and 45 are not missing.

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Here is where the late David Culverson, and the wholesale merchants Murphy brothers came to my relief, by signing a bond or fifty thousand dollars; guaranteeing my loyalty to the southern cause, as soon as this was done, I was released and my flour ordered restored to me. With this order, I went to J.B. Terrell and demanded my flour reloaded on my wagons, Mr. Terrell then came across with the price demanded the, day before, which, I order to save time took, and proceeded on to Shreevesport; and loaded back with sugar and my wet goods, which had been in the warehouse since the fall before. it was after my arrival at Pilot Point that General Pike sent for me to come to Ft. McColoch with my fine wet goods at good prices as mentioned on a former page.

It required several trips to Shreevesport to bring out all of my sugar, but it was finally accomplished and all sold out at very good prices, but it was in Confederate money, which was continually depreciating in value; therefore, it could not be determined if I was making or loosing money. Not long after this, I made a trip to Houston Texas and bought some dry goods which had run the Blockade, such articles were very scarce in our part of Texas and the price was not the thing to be considered, it was the chance to get the articles, and this was my chance, and I bought what ever I found for sale, some dress patterns, thread and other notions and took them to Pilot Point, where I offered them for sale the dress patterns, at five dollars per yard, and the other things in the-same proportion; it was only a few days until all my goods were sold, and I had my pockets full or paper money. With this, I bought thirty head of young mules, one and two years old; for which I paid three hundred dollars each, it was anything to get rid of my money---the mules I could turn on the range, and they would grow, while the money was continually depreciating in value.

When I first knew Pilot Point, it was a very small place, only two families, and three boarders no other house nearer than one mile of the public square, this was in the fall of 1854, but the town grew rapidly. Then, there were only a few small farms opened, the citizens were mostly engaged in stock-raising, and farm lands were at a very small value good prairie land within one mile or the new town could be bought at twenty five cents per acre; very soon new men came into the country and bought up some of the lands and put in farms, and the country, improved, and the town built up, but there was no school house, nor house to preach in, so all the preaching that was done was at a school house some distance from the town not many years had passed until the masons decided to organize a new lodge at Pilot Point, but there was no suitable house in which to have their lodge meetings. While several new store houses had been erected, they were all only one story houses, and no one building could be induced to erect a two story house. Therefore, the mason were compelled to build from the foundation up, at first, they tried to get the citizen to build a church and allow the lodge to be put on the top of the church, or a schoolhouse, but there was no uniting them on any proposition. Therefore, the Masons determined to build for themselves.

When this decision was arrived at, the masons, proceeded to get a lot and raise money to build the lodge. My brother, Dr. Eddleman donated the lot, and the following list made up the masons; subscribing to form the new lodge and build the house: Viz: J.F. Elmore; Nick Wilson; A.J. Miller. T.W. Skinner; John Morgan; J.B. Self; Z. Lindsey; C. Yarbough; Yarbough; Derickson;T.W. Derickson; Ren McAdams: W. Noll ;A. Gounah; A.W. McFarland and myself. We soon got together money enough to erect the, house, lay the floors and make it habitable; at least the upstairs; portion, the lower part so near finished that a school could be taught in it during warm weather, and preaching also. As soon as the new lodge was organized a resolution was passed donating, the first story to the several churches then preaching at that town, the Saturday and Sunday use of the house, when not otherwise occupied.

This arrangement worked nicely and we had meetings, regularly up to the summer of l863, when the Baptist were holding a revival meeting witch lasted over two weeks and the preachers in charge were nearly worn out when they called in help, it was one Parson Hutton, who came to their relief, He arrived on Sunday, but too late to hold the noon service. Just as the congregation was about to be dismissed, Hutton arose and announced that he would preach in that house that night, at early candle lighting, and that his subject would be concerning the children of the devil, these masons who hold their meetings over head, I said he, and I want all of you to come back to night and hear me.

 

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This occurred just at the full moon in August when the weather was a it's most pleasant stage for night meetings, and those people were not different from all the rest of the world, regarding the Masons; especially at that day, when a lodge was a new thing in the country, and it was but little understood by most people, and now, that it was to be exposed by one or the most noted preachers in all the land; it naturally drew a large crowd and early the house was full, and standing room near the windows was at a premium. In order to give sufficient ventilation the sash had been removed from all the windows, which insured a good view from the outside.

At the appointed hour, the preacher took his position on the rostrum in the west end of the house, which was elevated near two feet above the floor, and thus brought his head very close to the floor above; as, might be expected, the preacher at once began his subject being greatly inspired by the large attendance to hear his denunciations, and vivid description of the children of dark midnight horrors inspired by their father, the devil.

With both hands elevated above his head, he was picturing in the most fluent language that his wits could invent the dark deeds and direful wickedness planed and executed by those dark lantern masons who were allowed in this day and time to hold their meetings over church houses; and censoring in the strongest language the members of the churches of that place for allowing them to hold their meeting over the house of worship---just at this time there came from above, the most awful crash that I ever heard, it , sounded just like the whole top of the house had fallen in, rafters, roof and all about to crush through the floor on our heads---the preacher, cried out in his loudest voice "Lord save us", and sprang in the direction of the, door, but, every other person in the house was aiming for same place. The consequence was, that soon there was a great pile of human beings down on the floor and being tromped on by the stronger; persons, who were striving for the door It was only one moment, then, all was silent above, not a tremor to be heard. It was with the greatest difficulty however, that the people could be calmed enough to see that the danger, if any, was all past.

After a few moments, the people became quiet, by this time, most of them were out of the house and could see that the top of the house was standing, and no appearance of any damage to the house. But, no amount of persuasion could induce the preacher to return to his rostrum, nor to resume his subject.

"No" said he, I am going home, the rest of you people can do as you please". At this, he mounted his horse, and late as it was set out for his home, about thirty-five miles away. The congregation slowly departed and this closed this seemly prosperous revival.

A few months afterwards, I chanced to stop over night at the hotel in Whitesboro, a town about ten miles from where the preacher referred to resided; some time after supper I received an invitation from the Master of the Masonic Lodge at that place to visit the lodge, this invitation I accepted and on entering the lodge, the Master informed me that he wished my assistance in conferring the third degree on a very highly esteemed candidate, who was then waiting admission, and I took the gavel, and proceeded with the degree---when he entered to my great astonishment; it was that same preacher, who had so strongly denounced masonry. only a few months past, at our town.

After the ceremonies; I said to him, I am much astonished to meet you here "among the children of the devil at this dark hour of the night. What caused this great change?" "Oh," said he, "I have bean converted." "Well", said I, "it pretty near took the roof of the lodge to do it."

The joke was so good that I told it to all of the lodge, and the Old preacher joined in with us, and seemed to enjoy the conversion, perhaps, as much as he did his conversion to the Baptist faith. His life after that indicated that he had really been converted, and he became a true and faithful worker among us as long as he lived.

The cause of the crash was not premeditated, but it chanced, that the Tyler and some young members had gone up to the lodge to have a few hours lecturing and locked the door behind. Hearing his unjust remarks, thought to silence him by standing one of the long benches on end and letting it fall full force on the floor over his head, hoping to call him to his senses. It seemed to work all right.

 

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In the fall of 1864 I close a trade with John S. Chisum, in which I bought 165 head of stock horses and a jack, also a five hundred acre ranch, about 100 acres of which was in a farm. I moved to this place In October, just ten years after I left Missouri. My family, at that time consisted of myself, a Negro man his wife and two children, and one other Negro man, belonging, to a friend of mine then in the Mississippi state the Negro I had promised to keep until the, close of the war for him.

When I moved on this place there was a dry well in the yard, which had never had any water in it although it had been dug for two years. I put the two Negro men to hauling water from the creek and pouring it into the well. I suppose that they put in about twenty barrels when we stopped to let it settle, after a few days, we began to use water out of it. well and found it quite good; we continued to use water out of that well for five years, never putting anymore in it, and we had plenty for all purposes about the house. I lived on that place five years and then sold it and moved away, after I had left the place about one month, that well went dry. It has never had any water in it since. This is a phenomena that I cannot explain but it is true.

This farm is in Denton County Texas, about ten miles north of the county seat. When I moved to that place the creek was very dry it had made up of many trials and sorrows, it seems more thickly interspersed than are the sweets and pleasures. This, perhaps is why our pleasures when they do come are so much enjoyed.

In the next February, I was in Pilot Point, one Saturday, and met several men in the trading humor, and while there arranged for some trade to be closed in the next few days, provided I could see all the parties, of whom I had heard, to do this required some good hard riding but, I thought that I was equal to the occasion. So early the next Monday morning I mounted my horse and struck the road. During that week I rode about three hundred miles, swam two creeks, and bought and sold one farm in Collin county; bought and sold 18 mules in Denton county; bought and sold two Negroes, in Grason County; bought and sold four hundred sheep in Dallas county; and reached home late Saturday with 55 head of stock horses and one jack, clear profit, all trades satisfactorily closed.

This was a hard weeks work, but one that paid. In those days, when a man promised you anything, you could depend on him, but, now it is sadly changed. It cannot always, be said now that a man's word in as good as his hand. Although sometimes neither are good.

 

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Up to the close of the Civil War, in Texas, we never weighed out a piece of beef for our neighbors, but when we killed, it, we usually retained one quarter for home use, and the remainder, we put in a wagon and sent to our neighbors; and when any of them killed a beef, they did the same way. In this manner we generally had plenty of fresh meat on hands, and, never much to go to waste. But after the war; things changed, new people came into the country, and a great many, not just such as we desired to have for neighbors, they were of a different type of folks. to our old Texans ;and they brought their pennies with them before, if we came within one dime of the change, it was near enough, but our new comers wanted change to the cent, and they had their coppers to make the change. To an old Texan, this looked close, and to this day, I have not gotten used to it.

One cold rainy afternoon, about the rising of grass, as I was on my porch, mending my bridals and saddles, getting ready for the spring work; an old man stopped at my front gate, and said that he was out of provision and money, and as the weather was threatening, that he would be glad to stop with me for the night. I said all right, you kept me once under just such circumstances, and, of course, I am only too glad to return the favor, so get down and come in Mr. Simpson, I am glad to meet you. " When did you come to me without money, asking for food and shelter?" Said he. "Oh, just ten years ago last January; said I. You kept me at your house during a snow storm; and why should not I be glad to keep you tonight?" "Well", said he," if ever I met you before; I have forgotten it."

I then reminded him of the time and the occasion, when he kept me and Oliver Kieth, neither of us having money enough to pay a respectable bill, but in those days, bills for lodging, was rarely charged, never the less, I usually offered to pay, when I stopped with strangers, but I never charged a man for staying with me, stranger or not, it made no difference. That night Mr. Simpson and I had a very pleasant time talking over past events. He was an Englishman, who came to Texas, while it was yet a Republic, and had known what hardships in a new country meant, and by this time was a genuine Texan, and a true southern man, it was a real treat to have him with me, and I felt lonesome, when he departed the next day. Afterwards, in passing through the country he frequently called on me, but, I never was able to return his visits although, I was often in his section, yet, had such urgent business that I could not get the time, which, I regretted very much.

During the last year of the war, it was plain to many of us that the war could not last much longer, and, our hoping was against good judgement, for a successful termination in our favor, but we were determined to abide the results, be they, what they might. And, therefore, were not surprised when we heard of the surrender of General Lee and the army East of the river, that, of course, we knew, meant the end of the war.

And with the end of the war, come the consequences; this called for the freedom of our Negroes. And what else was unknown to us. It was then Spring of the year, and I called my Negroes around me and told them that end had come, that the war was over, and its results to them, as their freedom; that they were now free to do just as they pleased, that they could no longer look to me as their master and, provider, in the future, they must take care of themselves.

I gave them time to consult among themselves and to decide what they wanted to do; whether to stay with me and make a crop on my farm, and work as they had always done, or to go out for themselves. After a few days, they decided that they would go, saying that it would not look like freedom, if they did not change places, and that they had found a place where they would go; I did not ask them where, but told then to take all of their clothing, bedding and furniture, that they had on put the team to the wagon, load in and go, but to return the wagon and team to me, as soon as possible, after they had gotten

located. And, thus, I saw depart the hard earnings of several years of my life, but I did not blame the Negroes, it to them, I hoped, would be a blessing, and to me, no great curse.

They went, as I supposed they would, to live with some parties who had never owned slaves, and pretended to them that they were their friends and on this pretext got one years work out of them, while the Negroes got nothing, except one year of bitter experience with their supposed friends. Up to this time, according to my observation, the best friend that Negro has ever had was his, old master, after he was freed.

 

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This was during, my bachelor days, and as I had always been rather resourceful, I did not feel that the loss of my Negroes would break me; it is true, I did not like to return to cooking, my meals, as I had done before I bought my Negroes, but, I still knew how it should be, done. But I decided that that better plan was to hire some help, and after looking about, I found another Negro man and woman, who wanted to enjoy their freedom by finding a new place to work, and I contracted with them to take the place of my lost help. This put my place in working condition again; and we moved on something after the old style.

Along in the summer or that year, the Federal Troops came through the country gathering up mules, where they could find them. that had on then, to C.S. brand, which indicated that they had been the property of the late Confederacy, and also searching for arms of any kind, disarming the Texan. These were Negro troops in charge of white officers of the U.S. Army, this, to Texans was very distasteful, but, they were not sent out to please us, neither would it have pleased us, was our consolation. This did me but little damage, as I had no property they could lay claim to, except, an old cap and ball, pistol, of no real value, which I turned over, and thus satisfied their cravings.

About this time, the Republican party was making great efforts to build up the party in Texas, and to get recruits from the old Democrats they were offering very strong inducements and some of the weaker ones were falling in to the ranks; and some very good men too were caught by the offers made, and their great desire to hold office were John L. Lovejoy Jr., of Denton; J.B. Richardson and A.W. Robertson, also of Denton and Judge Taylor of Decature; Judge Andrews. of McKinney; and Harden Heart at Greenville; all of whom were good friends; of mine, and had been for years. One of these men came to me and urged that I too should join the republic ranks, and as an inducement said that the state was to soon to be reconstructed, and that officers were to be appointed in the counties as well as in the state, and that, if I would join them that I might choose my office and my commission would be sent me. This offer, I unhesitatingly refused telling him at the same time that no inducement could be placed before me that would cause me to sacrifice my principle, and join the republican party.

Well, he it will not be long until you will have cause to regret your decision: and I have come to you. as an old friend to use my influence to get you into the party, and in case you reject it; you will have to stand the consequences. I then asked, what could be the consequences? He told me that the salvation of myself and my brother depended on my decision, and that if I did not come over that we would both be disgraced, and possibly have to serve a term in the state penitentiary, that charges were going to be brought up against us, charging us with high crimes during the late war, which it would be hard for us to defend, with all the federal officers against us. I told him that I was ready to face any charges that they could bring, against me; and so was my brother.

It was in that fall that the first grand jury, after the close of the war met in Grason County, it was composed of a select men according to the views of the party then in power, well calculated to do the bidding, or dictates of the officers running the country. And as threatened by my friend, both brother and I were indicted for highway robbery together with a man by the named of Anderson; a refugee, from Missouri, but now returned to his home in that state. Sometime since, as before stated, I had bought a lot of thirty young mules, all of which were running on the range, it chanced that one of those mules was running on the range in Grayson county near the house of a man by the name or Kitchens. One Sunday morning it got in the enclosure of Kitchen's, and he took his rifle and killed it. He was seen to shoot it by several or his neighbors, and knowing it to be my mule they sent me word about it. Brother and I and Anderson went to see about it and we went to the house of the party who gave me the information concerning its death; there we met, Kitchens, who did not deny that he killed the mule. And I claimed that he ought to pay me the value of the mule; this we agreed to leave to two of his neighbors, and they, with Anderson decided that Kitchens should pay me for the mule, But all that, he had to give was a three year old filly, which he offered me for the mule that he had killed. As it was all that he had he could spare, at the suggestion of his neighbors,

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and my brother, I consented to take it and call the matter square. This, I thought ended the matter; and would have done so, had it not been for the carpet-baggers who infested our country just after the war.

It was for taking this filly, from old Kitchens in payment for my mule that he had killed; that we were indicted by that Grand Jury. As soon as possible, brother stood trial on the indictment, Judge Harden Heart was the trial Judge, and after the evidence was all in. and the prosecuting atty. rested, the Judge on his own motion instructed the jury to find the defendant not guilty, and ordered the indictments of the other cases dismissed. This ended that awful threat to force us into the republican party.

Dropping, back a few years in my history, in order to relate some of my experience with hired help; while brother and I were improving our farm in Collin county, we found very expensive, as well as consuming much of our time in going to the blacksmith shop for repairs. We were continually breaking a link or hook or needing a plow sharpened, to remedy this, we saw the need of a shop on our place as in much as it was six miles to the shop and to go there, it took the best part of a day. One day there came by our place, a young man wanting to find work, he said that he was a good blacksmith, but would take any job to find employment. We offered him twenty dollars per month and board if, he would do our shop work, and help on the farm, when not working in the shop. This offer he accepted, and we bought a set of tools, built a shop and after that had our work done at home, but, to do, this work, it required coal, stone coal was out of the question: Therefore we had to go to the timber and build a coal pit and burn char-coal to do our work, but this was no great job, it was soon over, and then, we felt like we were in good condition. We kept this man until in the next summer and paid him as he earned his wages. I had bought a span of very small Spanish mules and broke them to work, and our blacksmith took a liking to them and contracted to work them out at the same wages that we had been paying him; the mules he was to take at $130.00 in work, but they were to remain on the place until paid for. In a few days he traded for a surrey and a set of harness; and the next Sunday while neither my brother nor I were at home he hitched up the mules to his surrey and drove away leaving his clothes at our house, by this we supposed that he would be back soon; we waited until Thursday, when we chanced to hear that he had passed through Greenville, going east the same day that he left our place. This caused us to conclude that he fled the country with our mules not paid for. I immediately set out in pursuit of him. I found his trail on the road from Greenville to Paris ,and trailed him to Paris, where I arrived about noon Saturday, after taking my dinner I sat down under some shade trees by the hotel thinking what to do, when an old man came and sat by me and started a conversation with me in this, conversation he told me that he was the Mayor of Paris, when I learned this, I told him my business, and described the man and the mules that I was looking, for. He told me that the man had offered the mules for sale the day before, but had not sold them, but, thought that I might learn more about him if I would see a Mr. Holmes, and directed me how to find him. I next found Holmes and inquired for my man and mules. Holmes said that the mules were in his pasture and that the man

was working, for him and stopping at his house.

I then returned to the Mayor's office, and reported to him what I had found out, and he advised me to see a lawyer, which I did, and then got out an attachment for the mules. To do this I had to give an attachment bond, but, I was not long in finding a man who was willing to make my bond, and by night I had the mules in the hands of the officer, when this was done, I felt better, but under the law I had to wait several days before I got a trial, which the Mayor put off ten days, this required another trip to Paris. We retrieved the mules and I returned home, to get my witness; and return ready for trial

When the, case came to be heard, i got judgement for my claim, and in due time I got my money, but my expenses and the delays was about worth what I got out of the suit, counting my time and troubles and the expense of taking two witnesses to Paris to be present at the trial. Law suits are not much profit,

 

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even to the winner.

My second Law suit came on very soon after the termination of the preceding one, and it was unlooked(sic) for on my part. It grew out of my attempt to assist a friend and cosen(sic) of mine; originating about as follows: When I settled in Collin County Texas, it chanced that the land that I bought lay joining a tract of land belonging to Ambrous Douthitt, an uncle; but I did not know it when I bought the land, or I would not have bought it, as I had no very good opinion of him, not that I ever knew much of him myself, but, from what I had heard of him. But he had a son, who had visited us in Missouri, and I thought much of him. Soon after I began to improve my land, this son or his came to my house and told me that his father had given him 640 acres adjoining my land and that he was going to make a farm on it. Since I had seen my cosen he had been to California, and brought back considerable money, which he had let his father have to meet some urgent demands, which were pressing him, but, with the understanding that it would soon be returned to the son, and that in addition to returning the money; the land was to be a gift pure and simple, in the tract, was 4444 acres, and the old man could well afford to let the son have the land, as the money witch bought the land came from his mother, who was now dead. The young man went to work on the land and by fall had about fifty acres broke ready to put in wheat; when the old man moved onto the place and asked his son to let him see the deed, which had not yet been recorded, as soon as he got the deed in his hands, he tore out his name, and handed the deed bank to his son telling him that he could hunt some other place, but that he could not remain there; at this the son demanded the return of the money that he had loaned his father, on his return from California; at this the old man got very mad and drove his son out the place; this left him without money or anything else, not even a pony. Finding himself in this condition, he came to me for assistance and advise. I told him that I would gladly help him, but if ever his father found it out that he would do me some damage, I know this to the the disposition of the old man but I loaned him a horse and five dollars which enabled him to go and have his deed recorded, it having already been acknowledged and that he could then take steps to oust the old man from the land, the son followed my advice, and had the deed recorded but did not immediately make any move to oust his father.

Sometime later, by some means, the old man learned that I had aided his son, and advised him to record the deed, this made him very mad at me. The first that I knew of it; however, was one morning very early, when I and a hired man were sleeping by some stacks in my lot to keep stock from breaking in on the stack, it was just at sun rise that I heard some one call my name, and say "get up I don't want to bloody your bed." This not only roused me, but, also the young man sleeping by me. On opening my eyes I saw the same old man with a six shooter in his hand presented at me. At this, my hired man drew a six shooter on him, and told him to drop his pistol or he would shoot him, the old man said, "I did not know that you was here," and dropped his pistol, and turned his back and walked away.

To protect our stacks we had pinned several head of cattle which had been breaking in on the stacks at night, but as soon as we got up in the morning turned the cattle out and run them away, and never penned them at night, unless they first broke in on the stacks. It chanced that some of the cattle belonged to the old man which were in my pen, and he went directly to the justice of the peace and got out a warrant for me, charging me with stealing his cattle, but in this case, I beat him on his own evidence, this enraged him more than ever, and he then went to the District court and filed suit against me for ten thousand dollars damages. Of course I had this suit to defend, it cost me a lot of money, first a big lawyer fee, and then my time and expense of attending court and each time he arranged to have the trial delayed, this occurred at several terms of court, each time heaping expense on me, in the way of hotel bills and lost time. Finally, I tired of the conduct of my lawyers, dismissed them and got other lawyers, who pushed the case to a trial, or have it dismissed, when it came to the case was dismissed without any trial, but it was in court three years. All this was brought on me by my efforts to befriend a man I believed was worthy, and being imposed upon by his own fathers. But, it brought me no gain.

 

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After my experience as a bachelor for several years, and being tired of this lonely life, I began to prepare for the change, it had never been my desire to prolong this dreary life, but, I wanted to be in a position, when I made the change, to be in a position to enjoy life in some comfort, and have some leisure time, and while I was making such arrangements, I was also looking about for the suitable person to become the mistress of my home. Having both of these affairs on hands at the same time took up all my hours, but, I never allowed any business to suffer for want of attention, if I could possibly help it.

Well, I thought that I had both ends of these affairs in very good shape, so I closed a trade in which I became the owner of two Negroes, a man and his wife, this would give me help, both in the house and on the ranch. Then, the next thing was to close up matters, which had sometime been pending, with a certain young lady, by this time had decided that she was about as ready to close matters, as myself, although we had net positively come to a definite understanding on the subject, but after I had bought the Negroes and got them home and found that they would answer my purpose, my next move was to see how it would suit the young lady to take charge of my affairs, and for this purpose, I called on her one beautiful Sunday morning thinking that we would have the entire day to talk matters over. I had not been in her company long until she said." I understand that you have lately been buying some colored persons?"

Yes, said I,"I bought some Negroes the other day, a man and woman, I thought that both you and I would need some help, and I would be prepared for the occasion."

"But", said she "aren't you ashamed to deal in human souls?" "No," said I, "Why do you say this?" "Because I think it a great sin, one that you ought to be ashamed of as long as you live".

This was not exactly the kind of conversation that I was expecting to have that day. In deed, it took me by much surprise, more really than I was prepared to meet, in fact, just then I did not care to meet nor answer anything that she said, it was so very different to anything that I expected of her. This was in ante bellum days. She was raised and educated in Missouri, and her father was a good steady farmer, and as far as I knew was a true southern man, although, the question had never been discussed between he and I. After I had heard her words concerning the Negro question, I lost my interest in her, I really did not care to discus that question with her, I knew that the more we talked that matter over, the wider would be the chasm between us, and I sat for a while dumb in her presence, then arose put on my hat, mounted my horse, and rode away, I did not say goodbye, I did not tell her that I was going, but I went.

I reflected over this case quite a little, and the more that I reflected, the more I thanked my fate that it happened just when it did. I was always kind of sentimental, but this kind of sentiment was not the kind that I indulged in. The termination of this affair lengthened my bachelor days by many years. After that I had several flirtations with young ladies, sometimes very serious, but never one like this. I after this, determined to await the turn or fate ,believing that when I saw and met the right lady that nothing could intervene that would cause any breach in our determination and finally that good day came, when and where I was least expecting it. But it was not, until after the close of the civil war, during the days of reconstruction in Texas.

Aside from this one event, I view with no degree of pleasure the days of reconstruction in Texas. The many trials and indignation's heaped on us Texans were enough to fill a life with hatred for the carpetbaggers sent into the south, calculated to last a whole lifetime. And I review them with no degree of pleasure, and would not here refer to them; were it not that my children and grand children, in days to come may know the truth, which has not been told by the historians who have written on the subject. No, the truth would have been too great a stain on the party then in power at whose instance all the black deeds and humiliations that were forced on the southern people. Only think of it. Southern men being required to march single file between two rows of black Negroes dressed in federal uniform, with guns in their hand as we went to the poles to vote. There was no need of this, it was only done to humiliate us southern men, after we had surrendered. Brave Honorable Conquerors in civilized

 

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warfare would never think of offering cruel indignation to a conquered people, after they had taken the oath of allegiance, and become peaceful citizens. History records nothing of the kind; except, in the case of the treatment of the southern people after the surrender and the fall of the Confederate Government. The treatment meted out to the Southern people just after the close of the Civil War, will forever remain a stain on the party then in power; however, much their historians may try to smooth it over with fabricated stories, taught in their school histories in the vain hope of deceiving the rising generations. Truth is mightier than falsehood, and in time will rise above it.

It was in the days of reconstruction that the frontiers of Texas suffered so much from Indian raids, and so witch property was driven away It has ever been my opinion, that those raids, if not at the instigation of Northern influence, that it was winked at by such influence, as an effort to humiliate and destroy our property, it occurring just after we had been deprived of our arms; had this not been done, the Texans could and would have protected themselves, but, without arms, it was impossible for us to defend ourselves and property.

Now, in my old age, I freely confess, that with the downfall of the Southern Confederacy and the reconstruction of Texas, died all my Patriotism, since then, I have never felt that love. or country that fired my pulse, as in the days of my youth. How could I feel otherwise? It robbed me of my Negroes, it allowed armed bands of Indians to raid the country and drive away my property, while, at the same time it was feeding and clothing those same Indians, and with its soldiers protecting them against pursuit by Texans. Had Texans been allowed, they would have reclaimed their stock, and broken up those tribes of raiding Indians.

It was in those days that my stock was driven off; one raid occurred on the fifth of January 1867, in which I lost over 125 head of stock horses, this raid covered all that country between the Clear Creek and the Elm Fork of the Trinity river, and was made by a large band of Indians sufficient to drive away a very large drove of horses as well as to take along several women and children captives; burning their houses, and killing several men on the raid. Again, in the fall of the year, they came down between the Clear Creek and Benton Creek, covering a large scope of range, where in thousands of horses were grazing, in this range I owned about 200 head, nearly all of these were taken by the Indians. In this raid, there must have been over three hundred well armed Indian, dressed in Federal uniforms, at a distance resembling a troop of cavalry, they even carried a bugle with them, and, when overtaken by Texans near the South east corner of Montague county, having in the herd several thousand horses, they sent back about 150 armed men and with their long range guns shot down our horses and men, before we were in reach of them with our pistols and shot guns, and having the wind in their favor they set fire to the grass and burned over our dead and wounded, before we could remove them, and drove on out of the country unmolested further.

After this raid, we sent men to Ft. Sill to see and find out about our stock, and after getting permission from the commanding officer, they rode through the herd of Indian horses and there saw many of the horses driven from our range, with our brands on them, but were not allowed by the officers to claim or molest them. This loss came on me at a time that I was illy prepared to meet it. The previous year I had married, and my wife had become in bad health, her condition was such that it become necessary for me to take her to a sanitarium, to do this I was compelled to go to New Orleans, and I rented out my farm, gathered up a few scattering horses, which had been overlooked by the raiding Indians put her in a spring wagon and started east, hoping to sell enough to place her in the sanitarium and put together some capital to operate on. Not with standing my losses, I retained some hopes, I was always of an optimistic turn, of mind, which helped to keep my spirits up. But the year was a bad one financially. In the south, there was no money, and consequently, no sale for stock. but, we traveled on and finally, reached Carollton Miss. Here, I found, through, a stranger, a good friend, with whom I left my stock and took my wife on to New Orleans, and placed her at the Hotel Dieu, under the care of Dr. Brickell, and returned to Carollton, and set to work to close out my stock.

 

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But, I found it a difficult task, money was scarce, feed was high, and no special demand for horses, a11 those things together made it look dark to me, but I kept on struggling, sometimes, it was hard to sell enough to get expense money. Crops wore not only short in the south that year, but it was the year of Jubilee for the Negro, they had understood that they were to get 40 acres and a mule, this, it seemed, had been promised

them by the carpet-baggers who wanted their votes, and they understood that, when the legislature met that winter that they would get their reward for voting, it was the first vote that they had ever cast, and all that year, many of them had idled away their time waiting to get the 40 acres and the mule, at the convening of the legislature.

The day before the Legislature met that year in Mississippi, I was on the train going to New Orleans, and from Wenonia to Jacksonville I never saw such crowds of Negroes, all going to get the 40 acres and mule, but the 40 acres and mule never appeared. Just after the close of the war, cotton was very high, and many of the Yankees from the North, with more money than judgement, thought to come south and make their fortune by working the Negro, and our idle lands, and controlling the Negro vote. Well this proved a sad experience to many of them, especially these with the money, In the place of cotton remaining high, it kept going down and the lazy Negro would not work for his new Yankee master, therefore but little cotton was the result, and the Yankee and his money soon parted, this was much the case that year where I was, trying to sell horses.

Neither did the Yankee carpet-bagger last very long in the south his promise to the Negro never materialized, and the Negro soon found out the value of a Yankee promise; that is truly the secret about the south remaining a solid south, the Negro found that his interest was with all other southern men.

Finding that I could not sell my horses until spring market opened, I put them on the cane and fed them some corn to keep up their condition. And not being able to keep my wife in the sanitarium, I went to New Orleans and brought her up to near Wenona and placed her at the house of Mr. Lane a very kind old southern man, and again set out to sell horses this time I headed for Petersburg in Yallabushy county, aiming for the Northern part of the state, but the rains set in and put the rivers so high that traveling was difficult, and while in Petersburg I closed out my stock, except one horse, this I kept to ride back to Wenona, where my wife was staying; it was On Saturday that I closed the trade, it was raining hard then, and rained all that night, but the next morning I struck the road for Wenona: I had not gone far until I met a man in the road, he spoke to me and called me by my name, but I could not recall that I had ever met him before, although, he claimed that we had met avoided the dangerous places and got across safely. Before we separated; he advised me in case I might see anything suspicious just how I might avoid it, and to whom I might go to for further aid in crossing the next river, which was only a few miles further on my way. After separating from this man, I had not gone more than one mile before I heard horses feet coming up behind me, on looking around, I saw the first man whom I had met that morning, coming in full gallop after me, it was in the midst at a very heavy timber bottom, but the road was wide, immediately I turned my horse facing him, and drew out my six shooter and presented it at him, but said nothing, he did not seem to notice it or me but passed on by far to the other side or the road as possible, never checking, his horse. I turned and followed after him. Just at the edge of the timber; I came to an old, field, around which the there was no fence, there, I had been directed to leave the road and take a path leading diagonally across the field to intersect another road leading into the river bottom, beyond the field, which was the correct road for me to go, no danger appearing, but not anything suspicious appear, then, I should take the main road until I came to a house, where I could find assistance, if desired. On taking the path, at the edge of the old field, and following it about one hundred yards, I came In sight of the other road leading into the other river bottom; just as I did I saw the suspicious man at full speed and his horse entering the river bottom, where ,I was expected to cross the river. I then turned my horse retraced my steps until I came to the road which I had left, took and followed it until I came to the house, as directed by my friend, here I called for the young man, but he had gone to the next house on the road. Where, I went, and found him, and related to him the message from the man who conducted me over the river. He, like the other, believed that I was being persued by bad men, and he told another man, then took me across the country about five miles out of my way, and put me in another road leading, to Greenesburro, but through a very densely settled country free from danger. After this, I had no further trouble. The uninitiated may say what they please, about Masonry being of no value but, just then, I thought it worth my life. All these men were Masons, and went out of their way to serve me without money or price.

After two days I landed at the home of Mr. Lane, where my wife was boarding; and after a few days, I sold my remaining horses, closed up my business in that section, and wife and I started for New Orleans. The day that we left the Lane farm, before we got to Wenona, it turned very cold, and the train was late, and the exposure brought on a case of Pneumonia to my wife, and, although, we took the sleeper, she was very sick when we got to our hotel in New Orleans, the next day, but I summoned Dr. Brickell as soon as possible and by good treatment we got her in condition to take the steam boat for Jefferson in a few days.

Strange, how changes come, and events transpire in the course of a man's life: We had not been on the steam boat long, until I asked to see the Captain desiring to secure a good birth for my sick wife, and to my great surprise, he was an old friend, and glad to see me, and gave me all that I required to make the trip easy on her. After we had talked a while he called up his wife and introduced her, she also recognized me, as the man whom her father, as Provost Marshal a few years before in Jefferson Texas, concerning the flour that I was hauling to Shreevesport, as hereto fore related in this narrative, she, on that occasion had become much enlisted in my behalf, and thought that her father had been imposed on by designing persons, wishing to get my flour for less than it was worth. The whole affair, she here related to her husband.

We had quite a pleasant journey up the river, and on to Jefferson. On our my we met other persons going up the country, some going to our own county. Arriving at Jefferson we, together with the other parties bought an old family carriage and in it made our way home, where we landed about the tenth of March, Six months after leaving home the Fall before.

 

 

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As stated before; when I left home I had rented my place to Old man Kiser, with the expectation that he would make a crop on the place the next year, but I reserved the use on one room in the house for my man who I left in charge or my stock, and I left in the crib about 800 bushels of corn, and the hay off of twenty five acres of good millet, in the barn loft; I also reserved the use of my stables for my two stallions and two Jacks; and my man Russell was to take his meals with Kiser and occupy the bedroom reserved for him. I had four good feather beds, these and the blankets, sheets and quilts, I put in a large box and nailed them up and stored them in the room that Russell was to occupy, also a box of table wear of all description used on my table. All these thing were securely nailed up and were to remain so until my return, and in the room where they were left.

On my return, that spring I found my man Russell gone from the place, having been driven off by Kiser; my corn all gone, my five hogs that I left in the pen for Russell to finish fattening, and to make into pork, had been killed by Kiser, and to save it from spoiling, he and his family had eaten it up lard and all. My stallions turned out on the range to winter on the grass, and my two jacks also, one of which had starved to death; and the other, and the stallions were very poor. Russell had left the place soon after I started on my journey, and had given my business, in a manner, no attention, although, I was paying him twenty dollars per month and board for his work. My four feather beds had all gone except one, and it was very light, my blankets were all gone; so was all the other articles boxed up and left in my house. Kiser had ten children, a son-in-law and two grand children, ten cows two horses and twenty head of sheep, and all had wintered on twenty five bushels of corn, which he bought when he moved on the place.

When I returned and looked this matter over, I called on Kiser to explain matters, this made him mad, and he moved off the place; up to this time not a furrow had been plowed for that years crop. This was the experience that I had with this very good man(?)

It was no use to go to law, if I had a judgement, it would be of no value, and to kill him, would not mend the matter, so I let him go. And began to look after what few stock yet in the range, not stolen by the Indians, and thieves scouring the country.

I rounded up a few head, and about the middle of May I started to drive them North to find a market, times had got, so uncertain that to try further, in that locality, was useless. I made this drive in connection with T.K. Blake a friend, who had also lost much stock by Indian raids, as well as myself. We made our way to Benton county Ark. arriving there about the first of June 1868. By this time the North portion of Arkansas was being settled up by many Northern men coming into that country buying up the waste places, made so during the late war. Many of those people were real Yankees and as this was the year that the Klu Klux Klan was attracting so much attention, and, in many places, causing much excitement; that country was not free from the contagion. There lived some where in the country two Northern men, and each of them were much worked up about the Klu-Klux-Klan, and they fixed port holes in their houses, through which to use their guns, in case of an attack from the dreaded Klan. One night, one of them was certain that he saw a Klu Klux approaching his house, and he watched it for a while, as it approached, it was sometimes, only about six feet high, at other times, it was near twice that high, this convinced him, that this was a real Klu Klux, and he put his gun out through his port hole and fired, at the sound of his gun he heard some noise, and some scuffling on the ground, this confirmed him in the belief that he had killed a real KLu Klux, and he fled to his neighbor for aid after a while they returned with lanterns, and hearing nothing, they made a close examination, and on investigation found the old white mare belonging to the neighbor who was assisting him in the search. Yes, she was dead, dropped right in her tracks, where she was eating the blue grass at the edge of his yard, now without any fence, the original fence having been destroyed in the late war. Well, the poor man had to make a mortgage on his forty acres to secure the neighbor for the mare that he had killed.

After I had bought out a field of corn that summer, as soon as it was in good roasting ear, I put my horse up and began to feed them, new corn, and

 

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get then ready for the fall market and about the time of frost, I started with them to the cotton district or Arkansas.

When I got to the cotton country on the Arkansas river near Pine Bluff, I found some Yankees, who had come into that country to make some money by working the Negroes; they had rented an old cotton plantation belonging to some ruined southern family and had contracted with the Negroes to work the plantation, just what kind of trade, they made with the Negroes, I do not know, but from their talk with me, it seemed that they were putting up the money to run the place, the cost of which was to come out of the crop, before the Negro got more than a bear living, while he was making the crop; this I inferred, from the fact, that, before I made any trade, they told me to go on and sell the Negroes as many of my horses as they wanted, and that after the trade as agreed on, that they would pay me for the horses ,but, in doing this, that I must understand, that they must have ten dollars on the price of each horse sold, and that I could price the horses, to the Negroes, with this understanding in view, but not to let the Negroes know that they were getting a rake off in the trade. I was out to trade, not to protect the Negro, he had his Yankee friends there, to do that. And with this understanding, I put ten dollars on the price of each horses, which was to go to the Yankee for helping me to trade with the Negro. After I had priced each horse and put its price on a piece or paper and give it to the Negro wanting the horse, he took it to his Yankee friend, and after consulting with him and the Negro being satisfied, we closed the trade. When this was all done, the Yankees and I retired to his house and there they paid me the agreed price with the Negro less ten dollars on each horse.

In this manner, I closed out my stock, leaving there with the money in place of the horses.

I relate this occurrence, only to show how good were their Yankee friends to the Negroes. It was this same love of money that caused their forefathers to se11 their Negroes to the southern planters, and rid the northern states of a class of property worthless to them. And, after the Southern planter had found a way to make this class of property valuable, they became envious of the south and its prosperity, and their envy changed, to fanaticism, the agitation of which led to the civil war. And, now, the children of those fanatics, were here to augment their wealth, by the results of their fanaticism. This, is not an isolated case, I met many like it, in the then past two years, both in Louisiana and in Arkansas, also in Mississippi.

But, ill gotten gains, rarely last long; it has proved so in almost every case where the Yankee came south, just after the close of the war to build up his fortune on the downfall of the southern man neither financially nor politically, have they been able to sustain themselves in the South, where they have undertaken it by trying to elevate the Negro above his old master.

At this time, in Arkansas; General Catterson with his Negro militia was harassing the old citizens of that state, and giving them much trouble. This, caused many young men to become very desperate, and many murders were committed, by whom, it was not known. And along the border of Texas one Cullen Baker had become a terror, operating sometimes in Arkansas and sometimes in Texas; it was quite a scary time to travel on the high ways. While I was near Pine Bluff, I got acquainted with Col. Walton, who had a son about grown, he took quite a liking to me, and he prevailed on his father to let him go home with me, and attend the Carlton College at Bonham that year, having an extra horse for him it was no ill convenience to me, and he went with me. As we were nearing Jefferson we stopped at a house to stay over night, and they were in much dread of Cullen Baker, it was known that he was in that locality that day, that night he was killed near where we stopped, this, we learned the next morning.

At Jefferson, I bought a new wagon harness, and a barrel of sugar a barrel of flour, some coffee, lard, hams, and salt, and cooking outfit and we headed for west Texas. I had now been from home near seven months, and was anxious to return.

We had not gone far on the road when a man in a new fayton (sic) passed us, and later we passed it, where it had stopped for the night. The next

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morning while we were camps it came up to us, and I recognized the man in the fayton and hailed him, it was Mr. Nusome of McKinney. I asked him if he knew that he stayed with the father of the outlaw, Hilderbran? "No," he said, he did not, and had he known it he would not have stayed there for anything, but no harm had come to him by staying there, but as the times were very scary he asked to travel with me and to camp with us at night at night. It was agreeable and from there on to his town we traveled together Hildebran, was later killed at Hillsboro Tex.

Not very long after I got home I put young Walton in school, at Bonham but the poor boy was in bad health and did not live long.

In the fall, while I was gone, another big raid had been made by the Indians, and this raid soared many people out of the country, and reduced it almost to a frontier country again but, I went to my farm, my stock now being about all gone. I put in a small crop of corn, and the rest of my ground, I rented to George Grissum, and he occupied one half of my house, and I the other half.

Soon after I planted my corn, I made another trip to Arkansas; this time I went with Mr. McKinney to assist him in recovering some mules that had been stolen from him, belonging to his Mother-in-law. We found one of the mules in Polk county, where it had been sold by the thief who stole it, and the thief was plowing in a field not far away, we got the mule and the thief, the thief, we turned over to the officers, and the mule, we took to its owner in Texas. This wound up my traveling for sometime, and I stayed at home and cultivated my crop. I made a good crop of corn, and that fall sold out my farm and the remainder of my stock, except two horses and moved to Denton Texas, bought me a small lot and built me a log cabin on it. The logs I bought, after they were hewn by the man who furnished, the timber; I gave him ten dollars for the set or lops, they were 16 foot long, and about 16 inches on the face. I hauled the logs ten miles on my wagon and when they were all on the lot, I got some men to help me, and we raised the walls of the house. I then covered it, chinked it with stoe and painted the cracks, with lime laid the floor, made and put in the sash and doors, and did all the work myself, after the old style of building log houses.

Just before my house was complete, my first child was born, it was on the l6th day of November, that wife and I were talking about some articles that she wished me to buy that afternoon, as I was ready to go to town, among the articles was a lamp chimney, at the same time she called my attention to the chimney on the lamp across the room from us, which had not been burning since the night before at bad time, while we were looking at the chimney, it arose up about two feet, turned over and descended to the table and remained standing on the little end, the movement of the chimney was slow and deliberate, just as if some hand was directing its movements, when it touched the table, it made a very slight ring just enough to let it be known that it had touched the table, it did not quiver. but remained standing. This phenomena filled my wife with frightful foreboding, and, instead of going to the store, I sent after the Doctor and some old ladies, and that evening our first child was born no evil results followed the acts of the lamp chimney, nor has this strange occurrence been explained, although, I have related it to many wise persons.

In the course of a four weeks, my house was ready for us to occupy and in that one room we began life, poor but happy and content, and with good health we were hopeful of prosperity, but, alas, how vain are hopes, at our highest expectations, disappointments often come it was so with us in this case. Before the winter was past and gone; my wife was taken sick, first, it appeared to be only a small rising on her jaw, then, it spread over her face and head it was then a well developed case of erysipelas, of rather a malignant form, by the time that this showed some symptoms of better she was attacked with a severe spell of sciatica pain it was very bad, and she soon became so much afflicted that she could only be moved on a sheet. She remained in this condition for several months this placed on me the care of the baby and all of the house work, as well as waiting on her; help on that occasion was out of the question except when a neighbor would call in to see how we were getting on.

When I look back at this trying time, I consider it the hardest time that, I ever experienced, it was at a time that I was compelled to plant a crop ,or have nothing, and to put in some land on my own lot for a garden, which, as it was close to the house, I went out and did all that I could until called in by the cries of my wife or baby. The condition of my wife got so low that she

 

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failed to give any nourishment for the child, and we had to feed her. To get cows milk, at that season or the year, was impossible, in Texas; there were no such thing as a dairy, neither did people milk cows in the winter time, in Texas, therefore, we had to resort to condensed milk; and there was only one man in town who kept that in his store. One day, when I was needing some condensed milk, I called at his store and asked for the milk; the merchant had only one, can on hand, and this, he refused to sell, stating that he did not care to break his stock, as it was his aim to keep on hands. a full assortment or all the lines that he handled, and he would not sell his last can of anything. It was forty miles to Dallas, the nearest place, where another can could be obtained; no amount of talk did any good, and I had to send to Dallas for a can of milk for the baby. It is needless to add, that the end of that merchant was nigh, in a very short time, he failed in business.

1870 was the best crop year that I ever saw in Texas, there was no time during that season, that we could wish for rain, that it did not come within 24 hours. I made eighty bushels of corn to the acre that year, and every thing else that I planted grew to perfection, and that summer I put up one more log house, and between it and the other, I made a room, this gave me plenty of house to answer my purpose.

That fall, while hauling saw logs to the saw mill, I had a very bad accident, a tree fell on me, crushing my body severely. Several of my ribs were broken, and some of the joints or my back bone were injured; from the effect of which I have never recovered, it was months before I could get out, and when I did, I was on crutches, and have been ever since, when I could get out, I found myself deep in debt, and no visible means of even supporting, my family.

I had always been a very zealous Mason, and had early learned the Masonic work, and I was known to be proficient in all of the ritualistic work, but was scarcely able to visit lodges, but my efficiency, and my condition being known generally, at the meeting of the Grand Lodge of Texas, in June 1871, the Grand Master appointed me Dist. Debt. and Grand Lecturer for one district for that year, and while there was no salary attached to these offices, yet, it was understood, that each Lodge receiving benefit would make remuneration for the services. Upon this work, I entered with all the zeal, that any one possibly could, I made it my day and night work, and did all within my power to make myself useful to the order, and beneficial to myself. This, brought me a sufficiency to keep my family free from real want, by using the greatest economy, but it required my absence from home most all the time, and my wife and the baby: were compelled to be alone much of the time, but she endured it with more heroism, than, perhaps any other woman would have done It Was her unfaltering devotion that sustained me, and kept me at work. Before this, there was a part of my life, in which, I had been Master of two Lodges the same year, one of which was a U.D. Lodge, the other a Chartered Lodged at the same time I was High Priest of a Chapter, and Ill Master of a Council of R.A.S Masters, no two of these orders located in the same town The Council was in Gainesville, the Chapter in Denton; the Chartered Lodge in Pilot Point and the U.D. Lodge near Boliver, and my ranch located ten miles north of Denton. During the term: of my offices, I never missed a regular meeting of either body, but that was in my Bachelor days, when my duties at home were not so pressing.

I continued in the Masonic work until in December 1880, but not all the time in the same district, but each year my district was enlarged until it covered one half of the state of Texas and I was put on a salary, and it was increased until it reached $2000, per annum for the last several years I visited one hundred lodges annually, and usually devoted three days to each lodge, this covered all my time. Some time I was from home as much as four months without seeing my family. The work was laborious indeed, and under this continued strain my health got very poor, and I was compelled to give up the work.

During these years, by the closest kind of economy, we had saved up enough to build us a very comfortable house and had about $l000, in a bank owned and run by P.W. Daugherty, a brother of my wife, in whom, I had much confidence. I had just made my last deposit, of $500, only two days before, and gone out on my work, when his bank was closed. This left me in a great straits again, on

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this stake. I had expected to start some kind of business for myself. But, now I was down again, when I least expected it, but I could not lay still. Up to this time, I had never tried my hand at anything like acting as an agent to sell articles by sample, or solicit subscription for books, but, now I was ready for what ever might present itself; just so that there was some money in it. The first thing that presented itself was to take the agency to sell a patten stove shelf, it was something new, and I started out to sell it. The first day I sold three sets. On each I netted for myself $1.50 this made, me four dollars and fifty cents the first day; well, this gave me confidence in myself and helped me out a whole lot, financially. This I held onto until I had about canvassed all of my territory. About this time, I was offered the agency to sell the Rise and Fall of the Southern Confederacy, by Jefferson Davis, in Denton county, this, I accepted, my commission was 40% on my sales; the first week I sold fifty two copies at $l2.OO. per copy, and had good luck to make all deliveries. In this, my work panned out so well, that the state agent offered to extend my territory over three more counties, which I accepted, and the remainder of that summer I put in selling books, and delivering them. I canvassed all of my territory very closely. At the same time that I was selling the Davis history I was prepared to furnish the Military history of Gen. Grant, by Bedowin but this history I never offered to a Southern man, only when I met up with a Northern man, who I know did not want the Davis history, then, I was ready to suit him, and generally I succeeded but, I never sold both books to the same man, I never tried.

When I settled my place in Denton, it was my intention to put out a Nursery on it, but, my getting crippled had caused me to defer that, and now, I decided that it was about time for me to start that business, if I ever did, and the more that I thought of it, the more I decided to go on with it.

About this time a man in town showed me a letter that he had received from a nurseryman in Tenn. making inquiry concerning starting a Nursery in Denton. I took the letter and answered it. In it, I made a preposition, which he accepted, and came directly to my house, and brought with him some small stock from which to start the business. Some of the stock was large enough to deliver and I went out and sold it, and by May, we had quite a start for a home grown nursery. This was the first start for a Nursery in Texas. Up to this time, it was looked on, as very uncertain business.

About the middle of May, there came a man to Denton from Ft. Scott representing, the York Nursery Co. his name was York, and he and I made a trade, in which we made our Nursery the Southern branch or the York Nursery Co. and increased our selling force In the field, and that fall, our sales amounted to forty thousand dollars, of which, we made about a 90% delivery, this, put the nursery business on top in that town, and we proceeded to organize the Lone Star Nursery Co. with an authorized capital of twenty thousand dollars, one half of which was paid up, and other half was withdrawn from the market.

I took the field, at the head of the canvassing forces, and York took charge of the office work the first year. The second year, we increased our selling forces, until we had sixty salesmen in the field and we had planted out five hundred bushels of peach pits the fall before, to bud these and to set out our grape cuttings, apple grafts, and other young stock, we employed about twenty men in the home nursery, but that season was very dry and our success in propagating was not good. But our got sick and died that summer, and things were as well looked after as they should have been: Nevertheless, while I was away that winter York and his friends took account of the growing stock, and on their estimation, the stock holders, in my absence, held a meeting and declared a dividend of one hundred per cent, and, in the place of paying out the dividend, they issued stock to each stock holder, thus taking up all the stock of the Co. (this was clearly watering the stock) but only the York party understood it.

That year, our sales department had been run on the tree dealer plan, and kept separate from the growing department, and only the members of the company, who took districts, reaped any benefits from the retail sales, and as there was but little of the home grown stock ready to go on the delivery, our receipts there from were small, and much exaggerated, there was not one tenth

 

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the number of living buds as was reported and valued by the York's at the meeting when they declared the dividend and issued the extra stock, but, before this was known to the rest of our stock holders, the York's had sold out their stock, and left the field. This left us the bag to hold. As soon an we realized that our stock was half water, we proceeded to squeeze out the water by reducing our stock to its real value.

I decided to become a tree dealer myself and took two tours of counties next to Red River and the Indian Territory under my care, to carry on this work I employed seven men to canvass my, territory in Texas reserving the Territory for myself. And I contracted with O.H. Peery, a man in whom I. at that time, had much confidence, to take charge of my men in the state, and conduct their work, but, in place of that he went into the territory and sold stock to the most worthless Negroes in all the land and represented them as good for their contracts. I filled his orders and sent him out on his deliveries, his sales amounted to over ten thousand dollars, on his delivery, he never collected 5% of his sales. The rest of the stock perished in the trenches.

I had paid this man fifty dollars per month all the year as an advance payment which was to come out of his commission on his sales but, as he made no cash delivery, he had no commissions coming to him. Not with standing this, he brought suit against me for $l000.00 in the county court. At this time both he and I were members of the same Church, he being one of the Elders, and there were two other Elders, and two deacons, and as he claimed, in order that he should bring the suit he brought charges against me before the other elders and deacons and they five proceeded to expel me, as they said, to give Peerey the right to bring the suit, this suit was never tried in the court, but at his suggestion, he withdrew the suit and called for an arbitration before a committee of the Alliance. I was, for a long time before this, a member of the Farmers Alliance, and he, to get an advantage went to an Alliance and was received before I heard of it after he had done this, he found that he, under the Alliance rules, could not try a suit with a member in good standing, therefore, his application for the arbitration.

The arbitration resulted in my favor. This subject will be further alluded to later on in this narrative.

It was while I was engaged in the nursery business, that my attention was called to the condition or the farmers, especially the wheat growers of Denton county. I being the reporter of the Agriculture Department at Washington; had an opportunity to know about the amount of wheat raised in the county; which was about 300000 bushels; for which there appeared no sale, except through the owner of the Roller mill at Denton, the owner of which, declared that he could not use the wheat of farmers in his mill, and that he was getting, the wheat that he ground from the North, therefore, their wheat had to be shipped away, and that to handle it, he would have to take it at its, value in St. Louis less than the freight to that place. This, on investigation, I found wholly untrue. That he had never shipped in a car of wheat from the north to be ground in his mill, but, had always ground this home grown wheat to instead; and what he could not use, be had shipped to other markets.

In order to aid our farmers, I devised a plan for our farmers to build and own their mill, and thus extricate themselves from the grasp of Deavenport. To do this I got the President of the county Alliance to call a meeting of the county alliance to meet on the third Friday of August, of that year; and at that meeting, I placed my plans before the members of the county alliance. On hearing my plans, they were adopted and the Alliance Milling Co. was chartered and, and in thirty days we were organized and ready to begin preparations to build our mill. A move in this direction, of course, attracted the attention of the other milling interest, and it was laughed at by them, but, we continued to go on in our own way. But in the face of much opposition ,and considerable annoyance. All of which seemed to come from the owners of the either mill and the combined milling interest of the state. As soon as it was known that we had let the contract, for the erection of our mill, it was reported that a suit had been filed against, our Company for fifty thousand dollars damage, by Nordyke-Mormon company, this; of course was meant, to discourage our enterprise by putting a damper on the minds of our stock-holders, which were all farmers, and generally supposed to be scary about law suits.

 

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Our stock holders all being members of the Farmers Alliance, and the shares being put a five dollars each, non assessable, and the capital stock set at one hundred thousand dollars, it required quite a lot of work to get this amount of stock subscribed, but It was entered into with a hearty, good will by the members, until the published news of the law suit, which was claimed to be filed by a lawyer by the name of Strange, residing in Dallas, I was, made the president of the Milling Co. and C.C. Bell sect. and we were in charge or the business of the Company.

One day I came into the office, and found Mr. Strange in the office, he was trying to induce Mr. Bell to pay him one thousand dollars to drop the suit, and Bell was just on the point of accepting his proposition as I stepped in. Mr. Bell introduced me, and told me the proposition. After hearing it, Strange, then began to argue the case with me, and advising, me to accept his proposition---Well, It is needless to repeat here just the words that I did say, and they were not very mild, but it was enough. I wound up my talk by giving Mr. Strange just one hour, in which to leave our town, or be arrested for black mail, and he accepted my proposition, and left the town in less than one hour---This closed all talk of the law suit. But opposition did not stop here. After we had the mill ruining, which was, within one year; There were other parties who wished to get a hand into our mill, which, was guarded by our by-laws, and their first move was to have a change made there in; this, they said, could not be accomplished, while I retained my influence in the Alliance, as I was yet at the head of the milling Company. Therefore, a conspiracy was concocted by W.A. Ponder, a banker, who was by the by-laws excluded from owning stock; C.C. Bell and O.H. Peery, a known enemy of mine Of this conspiracy, I was informed, by one of our mill Directors, whom they had attempted to get in with them, but failed, this man had five thousand dollars of stock, and was very scary, at times when under the influence of the designing, parties, not knowing just what to do, he call-

ed on me for advise, and from the manner, in which, he approached me, I inferred that he had been tampered with, by designing parties, of this, I accused him, and he then divulged the whole secret to me.

Which, was, at the next meeting of the county alliance, that Peery was to bring charges against me in the county alliance, thus to break down my standing, and while I was down to make certain changes in the by-laws, as they desired. This, however did not work just as they expected, and their project failed. I was president of the milling company two years, during that time I built the mill and put it on a paying basis, raised the price or wheat from 55 cents per bushel to $l.00 and reduced the price of flour from $3.00 per hundred to $2.50, and cleared the mill $8000.00 the first year that it run, and worked up a trade for the mill that consumed all of its out put, with out the aid of a traveling salesman. The first year, I gave my services, the next year it paid me six hundred dollars. The next year I demanded $800.00, but they employed another man at $l000.00 and he sunk them $3000, that year, after that, I had no more to do with that mill.

While I was in the nursery business, I undertook to put out an orchard of one hundred acres, this was, by far the most disastrous business that I ever enraged in. The putting, out this orchard and cultivating it for four years caused me to sink over $8000.00, and brought me no good. I can not blame any body for this failure, only, my own poor judgement, in attempting such a business in that country, where, I now think orchards will never be much success. In fact, in looking back on my past life, I can now see where my judgement has been very deficient, in many respects, but my greatest trouble has been, in placing too much confidences in those that I thought to be my friends, but, really, not my friends, but designing persons, through me, seeking their own aggrandizement, or for their private gain.

For listening to such advisors, I really am more to blame than even those who gave the advise. I should have had better judgement. More is the pity, but the results always, fell on my family, who really are the sufferers, when the head of the family makes any mistake.

I have often, thought, that it would be a great blessing, if all children could be taught in their youth to avoid the mistakes of their parents, ant, this perhaps, might be, if parents were to reveal to the children, the many mistakes of their on lives, which they too often try to conceal, fearing, it might show weakness in them. It is for this cause that this narrative is being written, but comed (sic) to late in life.

 

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In the mean time, I had filled the place or Vice President of the state Farmers Alliance, and served on several important committees; and now that the State Alliance had in view the organizing of the Farmers Alliance Exchange to be located at Dallas, I was chosen one of the Directors of that exchange, and this duty called for my presents at Dallas most of the time. And for about one year, I was at Dallas. It was I think, in January 1886 that I returned to Denton, that day the county alliance was in session, and a unanimous vote, it called on me to become the County Alliance Agent to run the business of the members. It wanted me to start a trading, establishment to handle all kinds of produce that the members might have for sale, and to furnish all kinds of goods and supplies that the members might want to buy, It was to furnish the expense money and some capital to start the business, and I was required to keep the business going, and my salary was to be one hundred dollars per month, and I was authorized to employ all the help that I might need to run the business. The goods were to be sold to the members at cost, expenses added.

The County alliance appointed an executive committee, who should have supervision over my business, and they were to furnish me the expense money to start the business. When I got ready to start the business, I went to Dallas and through the Farmers Alliance Exchange, I bought a car of such things as I, had been called on for, and placed them in a car billed to Denton. When the car arrived the freights on it amounted to $63.00, and I called on the Executive Committee for the money to pay freights, but it had no money, I then paid the freight out of my own pay rented a house and opened up business. In a very short time I had four clerks and one book-keeper busy, and my business seemed to prosper, all the time I was very careful; to keep within the expense bill allowed me. When the County alliance met in July, I made my report and in it informed it that it might elect my successor if my work did not please it. It held an election and, although I had several opponents, I was largely re-elected, and as before, my business was under the supervision of the Executive Committee this time a new committee three of my contestants for the place were on the committee. Up to this time, my bond had been one thousand dollars, but, in a few days the executive committee visited me and told me that I must fill a bond of seven thousand dollars, and that my salary must be reduced to $75.00. I immediately wrote out my resignation and tendered it to them, and we began to take stock, the doors; Were closed and all business suspended until the invoice was complete, which showed that my business had been run so that it showed only ten dollars and twenty eight cents profits above all expenses, for the past six months. As each of them wanted the place, no two of them would agree on the other, they all undertook to run the business, and each draw his three dollars per day, of course, the business; soon failed. For this, they undertook to throw the blame on me, but I was out of it.

This, wound up my work for the alliance. I have often thought, that had I put In my strength for myself, as I did for others, that today, I would be in far better circumstances. While I was thus engaged, I had greatly neglected my farm and private business, to this, I now turned my attention, but not being physically able to the work required on the farm. I turned my attention to selling life insurance, this was new to me, and not very remunerative. Never the less, I followed it for several years. Some time in the locality and some time in another, and while at this, I conceived the idea of organizing the Texas Co-operative Investment Company, as all Insurance policies; mature on the happening of some event. I could see no good reason why, the happening of the event of having the money to pay the policy, might not be the event, that should mature the policy--on this principle, I organized my Co-operative investment Company, but on investigation, my plan did not suit the Officers of the U.S. Government, and they decided that it was on the Lottery basis which, if allowed to run must not be by the use of the mails. Without the use of the mails, we could do nothing. In order to have the officials properly understand our business, I made a trip to Washington City in the summer of l893, and ,spent one month trying to show my plans in such a light as they might not conflict with, the late decisions on the lottery question, but finally had to suspend business.

 

 

 

Page 65

 

Up to this writing, I have followed one line, but, as there are other incidents, which may be interesting, to my children I will drop back, in my history a few years and bring up, what I, think ought to be in this narrative to make it complete.

At the close or the civil war, I found myself destitute of money, except some confederate bills; which were then of no value, but I had some young mules and horses on the range, which, I thought, might be turned into money, if I had them at the proper place, and hearing that a demand for such stock could be found in the cotton district of Louisiana, created by the influx of several Northern men, who, on account of the high price that cotton was then bringing; had rushed south and rented some of the best cotton plantations in the south, and were stocking them with mules and horses and employing the freedmen to work their old masters plantations, which their new Yankee friends had rented. It is said: That it is an evil wind that blows no body any good. So the coming of these Yankees into the south helped several of us Southerns.

To carry out my plans, I formed a partnership with Red Robertson, and he and I bought up some stock, while my mules were being gathered, and in January of 1866 we made a trip to the cotton country with the stock, but sales were not as good as we expected, and we had to go some distance, even as far east as to Trenton Louisiana, and then turned up the Ouchetau river, up to Loch Loman. Here, I left Robinson and crossed to the other side of the river to see some parties. While I was gone, Robertson got to drinking whisky with some parties, and got drunk, and then, got into a fight with a Yankee who had rented a farm and got some Negroes on it. When I returned they were both too drunk to know what they were doing, but had been separated, and kind of made up. But it was the too late for us to go further, and I got a lot and feed for the stock, and we turned in for the night. We had to stay with the man who run the store where they had bought the whisky, and he was as drunk as was Robertson. But it was the best that we could do, and I got them off to bed as soon as possible. The day had become warm until late in the afternoon, when it turned cold, and by ten O'clock the ground was freezing, the moon was shining brightly. It was, about midnight when I heared (sic) my stock leaving the lot, and as quick as possible I got out to the lot, but when I got there, the horses and mules were all out and gone, even my saddle horse tied in the stable was gone. I knew then, that they were stolen, the gate being yet shut and locked, but the fence had been let down by men, and the stock driven across a large cotton patch, as they went I could here men driving, them, and the stock breaking through the frozen ground.

I returned to the house and tried to make Robertson get up, but he was yet too drunk to understand that we were robbed, and the land lord was in the same condition, and there was no other help to be found.

The day before I had traded for a horse two miles down the river and I hoped that he would break away from the other stock and go back to his old home. Depending on this, the next morning I took all of our money and walked to the place, and there, I found my horse, as I expected. But, I only found a young lady and some small children, the old folks had gone to town, but I placed all my money, except a few dollars in the care of the young lady, gave her the address of my mother, and directed her, in case I never returned, to send the money to my mother, mounted my horse and returned to find Robertson, by this time he had come to understand our condition, and was getting sobered up. I hired a horse for him to ride and we started out to trail up our stock, this we could do very well until they got into the well traveled road, which they had followed for several miles, this, put us out for some time, but, we at last found where they left the road and turned into the woods, when we got on this trail we could follow it very well. Finally we found where they had crossed them over the Darbone river, here, I swam the river and found the horses, they were on an island of about two acres with heavy timber and a dense undergrowth, they had been fed here, but I could find no one on the Island. I turned their heads towards the place where they had been crossed over, and Robertson came over and we soon had them back, and on the way out of the woods.

We took them to a house and put them in a lot, and got the man to keep them for us while we got our baggage together, and returned to his house. I went and got my money and then we got the baggage. With his baggage Rorbertson had 18 quarts of whiskey in a gunny sack.

I asked him what he was going to do with it. Take it with us, of course, said he.

 

Page 66

 

I then said, Robertson, you, see what trouble your drunkenness has brought on us; now we will have no more of this while we are doing business together. And you can do one of two things: You can take your choice; it is this you can either break those bottles on the pine root, and then sware(sic) that you will drink no more Whiskey while on this trip, or, we will here and now divide our business, and separate our stock, each going, his own way. Now which will you do? Take your choice. He said, "I will break the DAMNED bottles." And he deliberately broke everyone on the root referred to, and then turned to me and said "Sware me." And then turned to me raising both hands said "Sware me."

I did so, and had him repeat after me the oath. We then mounted our horses and started on our trip again endeavoring to close out the stock, we now had 18 head to sell. Our course now lay back towards Shreevesport, the first town on our way was Farmersville in Union Parish.

It was Saturday when we reached that town, and near there, we found a farmer, who was also a Preacher, and with him, we got permission to stop over Sunday, but he would not sell us any fodder, our stock were starving for roughage, and, on this account had refused to eat corn, this man had many stacks of fodder, but not sell us none; Sunday I tried to persuade to sell us some, if only a few bundles, but he would not sell. I then told him that I was going to hire his old Negro man to steal it for me, he said, if I could do that, that I was welcome to the fodder, that the old Negro was also a preacher, and had always been in the family, belonging to his father when he himself was born, and if there was an honest man living, that Negro was the one. I then told him that I would under take the job, and if I succeeded, that I would arrange so that he, himself might be a witness to the steeling.

I then had a talk with the old Negro, and for fifty cents he agreed to give my stock four duzzon(sic) bundles that night while we were at the supper table. It had been drizzling rain all day and the night was dark and when the supper bell rang, the farmer and myself went to the lot to watch, we had only been there a moment, when the old Negro carried along and got over the fence only one panel from us and pulled from the stack the four dozzon bundles of fodder and threw it over to the stock and then got ever the fence and scattered it out, and returned to his own quarters. The farmer and myself then returned to the house. Well, said he, "I would just as soon though of stealing myself, as to have accused old John, I think, that I have heard him preach some of the best sermons on honesty, that I ever heard from any preacher."

The next morning, I paid the Negro fifty cents for the fodder, and our stock had cleaned up their corn, and were looking, fine, after their bate of fodder. I had offered the farmer two dollars per Dozen for the fodder, which would have been $8.00 and I now got it for fifty cents.

At Homer, we closed out most of our stock, at Mendon some more, and the remainder we took on to Shreevesport, it was, raining most of the time and the roads were very bad, especially near Shreevesport, over the red shoot by.

Arriving at Shreevesport that night, we stopped at the Tremont hotel the weather being cool, there was a hot stove in the bar room, and about twenty old planters, all being entertained by a smart young man, who was explaining to them the cause or the June rises in Red River. It was the snow water coming down, after the hot may suns on the east side of the Rocky Mountains, which came down with such a rush that it put Red River out of its banks, this, he said could not be prevented.

After I had heard this fine discourse, no one else saying anything, I told him that his theory was fine to listen to, but, that there was yet one thing that I wanted him to explain to me? Alright, he said, what is it? When that snow water leaves the Rocky Mountains and starts for Red River, where does it cross the Rio Grand and the Pecos Rivers, and how does it get ever the Staked Plains in Texas to reach the Red River." "Why! "said he, "Young man, I pity your ignorance, don't you know that the Rio Grande is at Matamoros, Mexico?"

"Yes," I said, but that is the mouth of the Rio Grand but the head of it is in the Rocky Mountains in New Mexico, West of Texas. "You never studied Geography, or you would know more about the country."

I studied Geography on the ground, and in riding around the head of the Red River, I never came in sight of the Rocky Mountains, the Staked Plains cut off the view, and the Pecos River was still west of that.

 

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This, attracted the attention of the planters who had been listening to the smart young man, and they began to laugh at him too. In the crowd was an old Irish man, he said, "I thought all the time that you were one of those Damned Yankees who could tell a Damned sight more than they know."

The next morning we closed out our stock and were then ready for home, but, as old was at a premium of fifty per cent in Texas, we decided to sell our greenback money for gold, which we could get in Shreevesport for 25% premium, and we bought $8,000.00 in gold and put it in belts each taking $4000.00 and belting it around us, it, with our six shooters made a heavy load, and before night we put the six shooters on the horns of our saddles, we had 250 miles to go on horse back to reach home and we were making 50 miles each day this took 5 days ride, by the close of the second day our sides were sore, and we almost wished we had our paper money, but We toughed it out, and finally reached home safely.

It Was on the 15th day of April that I departed the bachelor life in the year 1866. Up to this time, in this history, I have not mentioned the exact date. That year my brother T.J. Eddleman came to live with me, and in May he decided to move his horses from their old ranch to my ranch, and for that purpose, he left my house; expecting to return in about six weeks, but the months of May and June closed, and he had not returned. And I began to feel uneasy about him, it was about 80 miles to where be had gone, and in those days, we had no direct mail, nor any way of communication, except by horseback messengers. I waited on until the morning of the tenth of Ju1y, when, about three o'clock A.M. while I was sleeping I heard him speak to me as if he was in my room and I had a conversation with him, as I believe, and during that conversation, he reported to me all that he had done since he left my house, just as our conversation closed, my wife asked me to whom I was talking, I told her it was my brother who had just stepped into his room, and asked. Did you not see him? She said no nor you either for it is dark. At that, I called him, but he did not answer. I then got up and went to his room, but he was not there, and had not been there, from all appearance.

This caused us to get up and make ourselves ready to go to Pilot Point to see if we could hear anything from him. We arrived early in the morning and when there, we found that he had been sick and Dr. Eddleman had come to see him.

After two days we got news that he was dead, had died about 1 A.M. of the tenth July, some two hours before I thought that I had the conversation with him. It might have been all a dream but, if so; what I dreamed on that occasion, was just as true, as though he had been there and related it all to me.

In that revelation, if such it be; he revealed to me all that he had done since leaving my house, some eight weeks before. After it was decided. that Dr. Eddleman should administer and wind up his business. I had him make a memorandum of the things revealed to me ,but did not tell him how I knew it, and he found it just as I had related to him. A part of which was really not proven true until seven years later. This was concerning a certain tract of land which had been sold and paid for, but no deed had been made, when now, however the deed was made by my mother, who had become the owner of the land, by order of the court, no adverse claimant appearing.

I had told the Dr. that this land was sold and to whom, but no record of such transaction, he was compelled to render it with the other property of the estate, he also found the property which had been received in exchange for the land. When the real owner came I wrote mother calling attention to the information which I had given the Administrator concerning the transaction, and on this, she made the deed. Several years later, I was in conversation with Dr. Eddleman, when he called my attention to this matter, and demanded of me how I knew about; this transaction, and I then told him just how I got my information on. He asked, why I had not told this to him before, and I told him that had I done so, that I feared that he would not believe me, but, now time and circumstances had proven that my information was reliable. Although it might be termed, only a dream, possibly it was, but dreams sometimes come true, they did in Bible days, why not now? When they are of much importance?

The Dr. Said, in those days, I might not have believed you but latter I have seen many things which I now believe, that I might have doubted years ago.

 

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After I moved to Denton in 1869 Wife and I assisted in organizing the Christian Church in town; and we both took an active part in building it up. While there had once been an organization of the church, it had gone down, and there was no church house in which to meet, we, therefore set to work to build a house, and after a few years got up

a house and was prospering very we11; and I became vary zealous in the work. About this time, there came to our town, a man by the name of J.H. Jackson, who claimed to be a Christian preacher, and he could make a nice talk, and the church agreed to employ him to preach for the church, but his family was back in some other state, and the next day he came to me and asked me to go on a note with him to get money to bring his family out; well, I did so, and when the note was due, I had it to pay.

Then, in a short time there came another fine man he was not a preacher, but a very zealous member and could put up a fine prayer, and I, of course thought that he was the very man we wanted in the church he had money and soon opened up a dry good's store in company with two other gentlemen, and their business seemed to prosper for a short time then, it went broke, I was very sorry for him and his good wife, both of whom, it seemed had taken quite a liking to my family, and after his failure, I being sorry for him made him the proposition as alluded to on page 57 or this narrative---in the mean time we had made him one of the elders of the church. Up to this time I had not studied much about the methods of church rule, nor the power of officers in the Church? I knew the rule in Masonry, and supposed that it ought to be about as just in the church, but when I learned that all the power was vested in the officers, and that the members had no say in the matter, I felt that it was well that I should remain outside, although nearly all of the members advised me to pay no attention to the rulings of the elders and deacons, at the same time, admitted that, they were without any power to review the action of their elders, I felt that I was greatly relieved by the action. Since that time, I have decided that so, far as any church organization is concerned to have nothing to do with it. Up to that time, I admit, that I had great faith in all church members, especially in that church, really I about thought, that there was; no other way to be happy beyond, except through that church. But, since then, I have done much reading and thinking, and I have arrived at the conclusion, that being in the church dose not make a Christian, nor, does it make a good man. Nor do I believe that the carnal man is better now than when Christ was here in the carnal body, if so he was; But, in Him I have lost no faith, but, my faith in Christ is greater now than ever before, and day by day I see more to increase my faith in Him, but, in the church, less and less, this, however is on account of the carnality that rules and governs the church, where only the spirit or Christ should rule.

In the year 1870 I filled the position of Mayor of Denton, the first Mayor after the war, it had been organized one year before the war; but it had to be reorganized, and it fell upon me to undertake the work. The country, was tough then, more so than ever before the war, there was several saloons, and the wild boys, from the country, when full of whiskey knew no bounds, and as soon as they learned that the town was organized, they decided to try the strength of corporation and the grit of the Mayor, and one morning the town Marshall had several of them under arrest, charged with drunkenness and disturbing, the public peace, among them one of the most prominent cattle men in the country, and when brought before me for trial they pleaded for time to get ready, they wanted five days, this, I granted but required bond for their appearance on day of trial. Their leader, Tobe Pain, said "Oh, will be here but we will not sign any bond for our appearance, my word is good." Yes, but the court don't know you, it only knows the law, and under the law you must give bond or go to jail, you have your choice. Yes, they gave bond and on the day set for trial, they all came up and plead guilty, and paid their fines.

After that, I served another term as Mayor, but it was some years afterwards, when the town had gotten much larger.

In the fall of 1891 I made a trip to Tablaquah Indian Territory, in the interest of the claim of my family as Cherokee claimant. My wife being of the Cherokee blood and by rights, should have been placed on the rolls, but under the rulings of the court was denied on some technical point, the exactness of which I never could understand, nor did the judge, who made the ruling, in my opinion.

 

 

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In 1893 after I returned from Washington City, I went to Houston, and in the fall of that year I moved my family to that city, but we did not remain long there. My wife had long had a desire to move to the Indian Territory, and the locality at Houston was too low to give her the degree of health that she was want to enjoy, therefore, in April following she came to Muskogee, but, as I was then engaged in Life Insurance, I did not come with her, but followed on in about one month.

On arriving in Muskogee, with our house hold goods, after my freight was paid, I had only five dollars, and my wife owed for two weeks board for herself and Erna, this was hard times on us, but I went to work just as though I had plenty, and it was not long, until, I began to make some money, but, when I did, I had only one dime left. That day I made three dollars, and then, my luck changed. I have often heard people talk about being up against it. I realized it then, but it would not do to give up. Life Insurance was the only thing in sight for me, and I worked it for all that it was worth for the next three years. During this time I saved up enough to buy a lot, that is the right to build on a lot, but no title. Here, with the help of Pearl and Myrta we built us a house. This stopped rent, and made us feel like we were at home.

In 1897, in February we got possession of the Times, it was then a morning paper, and the only daily paper in the Indian Territory, and I undertook to edit it and help on the paper. When we got the paper it was deep in debt, and we had a hard job to pull it through, and make a living out of it. Muskogee was a very small town at that time, and there was not much to make a paper pay, but after a while the Spanish-American came on, and I put on the Associated Press News, this, then was the only news paper in the Territory using it and, while this entailed more expense, it created a greater demand for our paper, and it, was becoming a very good business, when on the 23rd of February 1898, by some means fire broke out in a building near our office and quickly consumed it as well as most of the town. For the size of the town, it was the most disastrous fire that I ever read of. It caught us with only $500.00 insurance on the plant, but we never missed an issue of the paper.

About one year later I obtained judgement in the U.S. Court of Claims for some of my loss by Indian raids in Texas, and this put me on my feet again, and enabled me to build a good house for my family, a thing that I had always desired to do; and once in life. I had them in a good house, a thing that I desired above all things, and especially new, as I was in bad health, and know not when I would be called home.

 

 

 

 

Editors Note: This ends the tale of David Jones Eddleman, on the following pages are the homage written to David Jones Eddleman and his wife Mary Daugherty Eddleman by their daughter Ora Reed Eddleman. It was submitted by request to the newspaper the Chronicles of Oklahoma on September 22, 1944. It provides family details about David Jones and Mary Eddleman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

506 Market Street

Muskogee, Oklahoma

September 22, 1944

 

 

 

Mr. James W. Moffitt,

Editor The Chronicles of Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

 

 

Dear Sir:

I, am enclosing herewith sketch of the life of my father, David J. Eddleman (l834--1922) a pioneer Oklahoman, and that of my mother, Mary Daugherty Eddleman, a Cherokee, whose death occurred December 14, 1943. You requested this material some time ago, but I have been unable to prepare it for use in the Chronicles. My sister, Ora Eddleman Reed, has written it, and we shall greatly appreciate your consideration of same.

 

Photographs are enclosed under separate cover, and we shall be glad to pay for outs. Kindly let us know the cost.

 

Very truly yours,

Pearl W. Eddleman

 

506 Market Street, Muskogee, Oklahoma

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAVID JONES EDDLEMAN

 

1834- -1922

 

MARY DAUGHERTY EDDLEMAN

 

1848-1943

 

 

 

 

 

The death of Mary Daugherty Eddleman, December 14, 1943, at her home in Muskogee, Oklahoma, marked the close of a long, full and useful life. Mrs. Eddleman a age was ninety-five years, six months and two days, and the last fifty years of her life were spent in Muskogee. She was the widow of the late David J. Eddleman, pioneer newspaper man of Indian Territory and Texas, whose death occurred November 15, 1922 in his eighty-ninth year. The story of David and Mary Eddleman's long life together-------they celebrated fifty years of married life in 1916------and the life of their pioneer ancestors, is packed with the thrilling experiences and vicissitudes attendant upon the early settlers of Kentucky, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma.

David Jones Eddleman was born in Kentucky, June 2, 1834, a son of James Eddleman and Cynthia Ann Douthitt. His great-great-grandfather, Peter Eddleman, came to America from Germany in 1762,. with his wife, Margaret Sharer and five sons. All of their sons served in the Revolutionary War. The youngest, Peter Eddleman, went at the age of 18 into Kentucky with Daniel Boone, settled there and married Rachel Elrod. They cleared a cane brake about nine miles from the present site of Lexington, and there improved a farm, where they lived, died and were buried, never having left this farm during their lifetime. They celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary there, having reared four daughters and two sons, one of whom, James, was as stated above, the father of David J. Eddleman. James Eddleman moved his family from Kentucky to Missouri in 1841, settling near California, Missouri. Their family consisted of three daughters and four sons, arding School at Clarksville, Texas. Returning home the Daugherty boys helped to rebuild and develop that part of Texas. Lum Daugherty became a merchant, Tom a successful lawyer, Boone a farmer, Matt was also a lawyer and Will and Jim (J.M. Daugherty) were associated together in. the cattle business, being among the most successful stockmen of Texas and Oklahoma. All have now passed away. Their parents died before the war between. the States.

Mary Daugherty Eddleman was born April 12, 1848, near Houstonia, Missouri. She was the daughter of James Madison Daugherty, a Cherokee Indian, whose father was William

Daugherty who traced his ancestry to a William O’Daugherty who came to America from Ireland in 1760, settling first in New York and later in Georgia. He was adopted into the Cherokee Tribe of Indians and married a Cherokee woman. His son. William married Sally Bunch a

 

 

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Cherokee, and they were the parents of James Madison Daugherty, father of Mary Daugherty, the subject of this sketch.

William Daugherty and his wife Sally Bunch had left the old Cherokee Nation in the East, moving west with a number of Cherokees and settling in the territory now embraced within the limits of the State of Arkansas, between the Arkansas and White rivers, which was then part at the country ceded to the Cherokees as a future home, but which was afterwards changed according to the treaties of 1828 and 1832 and definitely established in the treaty of 1834.

The Daugherty family made and improved a comfortable home near the town or settlement of McGehee, in Arkansas, this town being named from Ausburn McGehee, a Scotsman who had come there in an early day from Maryland, with his wife, Mary Tabor. Young James Madison Daugherty married, Eleanor McGehee, daughter of Ausburn McGehee, The young, couple set out with the intention of joining the Cherokees in Indian Territory, but went instead to Missouri. There their children were born, six sons and the daughter Mary. The family moved to Texas when Mary Daugherty was three years of age, settling at Old Altar, near Denton, in 1850. James Madison Daugherty did not long survive their move. His death came November 5, 1853, hence his wife was left to bring up their large family. She was an energetic, intelligent and determined woman, and by excellent management reared her family, saw to their

Education, despite the many handicaps of those times, and acquired considerable property and slaves. She died, however, before

 

 

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having accomplished one purpose she and her husband had always had in mind: to return to the Cherokee Tribe now in Indian Territory.

It remained for Mary, who had married David J. Eddleman, to make the effort to carry out her father's long cherished wish to rejoin the Cherokees.

Mr. and Mrs. Eddleman moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma (then Indian Territory) in 1894 and became identified with the events of that time. Mr.Eddleman bought from Theo. Gulick the Muskogee Morning Times which had been established only a few weeks and was the first daily paper in Indian Territory. It was pioneering all over again, for the country was new and unsettled and scarcely ready for a daily newspaper. But Mr. Eddleman was a born pioneer, and fighting of any sort just suited him. His paper was successful at last, and is today, as the Muskogee Times-Democrat, an important afternoon newspaper. Mr. Eddleman's paper was the first to put on the Associated Press service in Indian Territory, and it was all owing to his indefatigable will and determination as well as the work of his now grown sons and daughters, that the venture was a success.

Mr. and Mrs. Eddleman were instrumental in organizing the First Christian Church of Muskogee and were loyal members to the end of their lives. They were actively interested in all that meant good government and clean, wholesome living. It is to such rugged, fearless, whole-hearted Christian pioneers as these and their like that Texas and Oklahoma owe much at their progressive spirit. Mrs. Eddleman, who survived her husband almost twenty-two years, was active until past ninety, when she became

 

 

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blind. Even then she retained her keen interest in life arid in her friends, her church, and in the United Daughters of the Confederacy, (General Forrest Chapter in Muskogee) of which she was a life member. She was especially interested to young people, and among the friends of her grandchildren she was known lovingly as "Gram". She was gifted in the art of story telling and her tales of early days in Texas were thrilling and entertaining.

David and Mary Eddleman are laid to rest in the family plot in Greenhill cemetery near Muskogee. A son, George, a veteran of the Spanish-American War, lies beside them.

Surviving children are Miss Pearl Eddleman, Mrs. Myrta S. Sams, A.Z. Eddleman, Mrs. Erna Miller and Mrs. Ora S. Reed, all of Muskogee, Oklahoma.

 

Ora Eddleman Reed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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