k«tho»s
EDWARD -E £<<AY£R»2
COLL€CTION
$KOF-THE»
NEWBERRY
^LIBRARY#
I
I
!
SAM P. RIDINGS
This picture is inserted in consideration of the fact that the reader of any book of this character should consider the same a conversation with the author; and, by being able to see a picture of a person with whom such conversation is had, it should add to the interest of the same. How much more can you appre¬ ciate a broadcast on your radio if you know what the broad¬ caster looks like? In this publication, the writer is speaking to you, telling you what he saw, heard, and knows of the old trails, cow-camps, plains, and frontier of over fifty years ago.
The Chisholm Trail
A HISTORY OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST CATTLE TRAIL
TOGETHER WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE PERSONS, A NARRATIVE OF THE EVENTS, AND REMINISCENCES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SAME.
By
SAM P. RIDINGS
Illustrated
Co-Operative Publishing Company Guthrie, Oklahoma Publishers
Copyrighted 1936 by
Sam P. Ridings
reserved, including the right to reproduce all any part of this publication.
Printed in United States of America Co-Operative Publishing Co.
Guthrie, Oklahoma
DEDICATION
To my wife, Nettie L. Ridings, and to my three children, Pauline Breeden of Kemmerer, Wyoming, Capt. Eugene W. Ridings of the United States Army, and Marie Cooke of Merigold, Mississippi, this volume is affectionately dedicated by the author. — S. P. R.
.• f.™ f V,1. ; s!;i
...
I f: * ‘i •:*
i
PREFACE
It is the universal attitude and characteristic of the men who traveled the old trails of the West to have a very great desire for the name and correct location of the same to be perpetuated. Such is more important in their minds than the preservation of the his¬ tory of their own families or of their ancestral homes. This is the paramount feeling that has impelled the production of this volume. There are others as hereinafter set out.
As the ranks of the men, who traveled the plains and the fron¬ tiers of over fifty years ago, grow thinner year by year, the writer has discovered that, when friends induce him to talk of happenings and historical events of the Old West, they become very much interested. This is true, even though such narratives seem very commonplace to the writer and were considered of very little im¬ portance when they happened.
A record of some of the events and historical matters dealt with in this volume, in the opinion of the writer, should be preserved for the consideration of future generations, and no such record of many of the same have been recorded or retained. This being true, this history will be lost unless written by someone. If the efforts of the writer will result in placing some of the same in the history of the age in which they belong, this volume has served its pur¬ pose, and the labors of the writer have not been expended in vain.
In this production it is impossible to deal extensively and in detail with the various subjects herein touched upon. It is only the purpose of the writer to give a general consideration of each of these matters, and if the reader is further interested in any of them, he or she is advised to seek a work devoted exclusively to the subject' desired. Persons generally have been so busy with the other affairs of life, that they have not had their attention called, even in a general way, to most of the historical matters herein re¬ ferred to. The writer in producing this work has dealt with the subjects that he considers the reader would desire to gain infor¬ mation in reference to, and while in some particulars it may ap¬ pear that he has departed somewhat from his subject, he has written what he considers would be of interest to his readers.
In either reading or writing the writer abhors the constant use of the personal pronoun “I,” and for that reason this volume is, as far as possible, written in the third person, and he has at¬ tempted to eliminate entirely the personal pronoun of the first person singular.
It is through no idea of self-aggrandizement or financial gain that this volume is produced. Personally, the writer has done noth¬ ing which would place his name among the historical characters of the country. His services have been very commonplace, and have only been a very small part of the one great aggregation. His only ambition is to record the history of the worthy deeds of others. As a business venture, the writer will be highly gratified if he receives in return the actual expenditure made in this venture.
This publication is not only in fact a venture, but an experi¬ ment. The writer has written many volumes of legal briefs, which judges were under legal obligation to read, but in putting forth a publication that people in general can be induced to read, is a real departure, and he enters upon the same with fear and trembling, that is, as near as he ever trembled at facing any undertaking. He, therefore, asks that' his critics will deal leniently with him. As an inducement to obtain this result the writer will say: That every¬ thing contained in this volume is true in substance as historical recitals; that' is, they are as accurate as possible for any human agency to make them.
The author started writing this volume some five or six years ago, but halted when he discovered that his memory, after so many years, could not be relied upon without verifying the accuracy of the same. This proof he has made at the expense of a great amount of effort and research. He now feels that he can, without hesita¬ tion, present this work to the public with a recommendation as to its truthfulness and accuracy. With this assurance the writer submits this volume to the consideration of those interested in fron¬ tier history.
Sam P. Ridings
Medford, Oklahoma, 1936.
CONTENTS
VI.
VII. VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV. XV.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.
XIX.
XX.
XXI.
XXII. XXIII.
XXIV.
XXV.
XXVI. XXVII.
XXVIII.
XXIX.
XXX.
XXXI.
XXXII.
XXXIII.
XXXIV.
XXXV.
XXXVI.
XXXVII.
NECESSITY FOR THE TRAIL _ _
JESSE CHISHOLM . .
THE EARLY TRAIL . .
JOHN CHISUM .
COL. O. W. WHEELER .
CHARLES GOODNIGHT .
JOSEPH G. McCOY . . .
WILLIAM E. MALALEY .
BEN F. WILLIAMS .
BRINTON DARLINGTON AND HIS QUAKERS... THE DARLINTON AGENCY . .
INDIAN TRIBES FAMILIAR TO THE TRAIL..
INDIAN TRIBES FAMILIAR TO THE TRAIN CONTINUED 183
THE CHEROKEE INDIANS . . . . 201
THE WICHITA AND AFFILIATED BANDS . 223
THE CATTLE INDUSTRY IN THE INDIAN TERRITORY.... 242
THE CHEROKEE STRIP LIVESTOCK ASSOCIATION . 258
THE COWBOY . 274
TALES OF A COW-CAMP AND BREAKING IN A COWBOY 303
A DAY ON THE ROUND-UP . 326
DAYS ON THE LONE COW TRAIL . . 345
MEXICANS AS TRAILMEN, AND THEIR HABITS . 368
HORSES OF THE FRONTIER . 380
THE FREIGHTER . 393
THE POND CREEK RANCH AND GRAVES NEAR THE SAME _ _ _ _
.. 405 . 432
THE DEATH OF PAT HENNESSEY...
A ROMANCE AND TRAGEDY OF THE PLAINS 445
THE KILLING OF ED SHORT AND CHARLEY BRYANT.... 462
THE TALBOTT RAID _ - «0
HENDRY BROWN _ _ 488
CAPTURE OF FRANK SWAGGART BY THE INDIANS . 501
THE COWBOY CAPITALS . B10
GOVERNMENT OPENINGS FOR SETTLEMENT ALONG THE TRAIL
COUNTY SEAT FIGHTS AND RAILWAY WARS . ~ . 644
SUNDRY MATTERS OF INTEREST . . 658
PRESERVING THE NAME AND LOCATION OF THE TRAIL 570 ROUTE OF THE TRAIL ACROSS THE CHEROKEE STRIP 580
ILLUSTRATIONS
The Author . . . Frontispiece
Page
Mobbing Cattle Drover from Texas in Missouri in 1866 . . . 6
Horns of Long-horned Texas Steer . . . . 10
Jesse Chisholm . . . . — . — 14
Camp Wagon used on early drives up the trail . 26
Old time Concord stage coach . - . — - 34
Cheyenne School at Caddo Springs . . . . — 40
Cattle pens at Abilene . . 43
Col. Oliver W. Wheeler . . . — 57
Charles Goodnight . . . . — 71
The Goodnight and Dyer Ranch in Palodura Canyon - - 81
Joseph G. McCoy . — i - — _ 87
Abilene in 1867, when the first herds reached the same . 90
W. E. Malaley when he resided at Hennessey, Oklahoma . 99
W. E. Malaley taken shortly before his death . 114
Ben Williams, the Quaker U. S. Marshal . . 116
William (Bill) Darlington, son of Br inton Darlington . 127
Capt. J. A. Covington, from original photograph . 135
Ralph P. Collins . - . . . 138
Fred Williams, son of John F. Williams . . . . 140
Hubert Collins as a small boy . 142
Hubert Collins in later life . - . . 142
Brinton Darlington’s grave . . . . 146
Residence of John F. Williams at Darlington Agency . 149
Store Houses at Darlington Agency . 151
Cheyenne Camp west of Darlington Agency . 153
John D. Miles, Quaker Agent . 156
Group of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians . : . 165
George Bent . . . 169
Little Robe, Cheyenne Chief . . 171
Group of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians with John F. Williams . 174
Capt. J. A. Covington and wife, Sarah, daughter of Britton Darlington.... 184
Powder Face, Arapaho Chief, and wife . 186
White Shield, Cheyenne Chief . 188
Horse Race in Cow-camp . 190
Chief Little Joseph, Nez Perc . . . 232
Charles A. Siringo . 275
Charles F. Sprague . ; . 279
Rifle and Pistol . 283
Col. A. H. (Shanghai) Pierce . . . 299
Round-up from painting . 325
Cow and Calf Round-up . 327
Trail herd in formation while travelling . 346
Meal time on the trail . 349
A stampede . . 357
Trail herd swimming river . ...IZZZZZZZZZZ . 365
Plat of historical points around Pond Creek Ranch . . . 406
James C. Henderson, Range Rider at Old Pond Creek Ranch . 415
Hendry Brown . . . . . . 487
Abilene as a Cowboy Capital . . 511
William Tilghman, Western Peace Officer . 518
Capt. David L. Payne . . . . . . 530
The Chisholm Trail
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL CHAPTER 1.
NECESSITY FOR THE TRAIL
At the time of the breaking out of the war between the states in 1801, the Indians who remained in the Northern por¬ tion of the United States, east of the Mississippi River, and who had not been killed by the white invaders, had settled down on quiet reservations. The remaining portion of the Northern Indians had, prior to this time, retreated westward before the white man’s rifle as it cleared the way for the white man’s plow. These retreating Indians had made tlieir last stand either in or at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and on the plains to the east of the same. The white man’s cottages of logs, rock, and the sod of the prairie dotted the eastern por¬ tion of these plains, while the steel rails of the transcontinental railways were being extended further west and were preparing to reach out onto these plains.
In the Congress of the United States, at this time, the dif¬ ferent factions were staging a battle incessant to determine whether the states which were to be carved out of this northern plains country were to be free or slave states. Both the Ore¬ gon and the Santa Fe trails extended westward from the Mis¬ souri River, the eastern boundary of Kansas. Each of these trails wound its way to the west, as devious as the trail of a serpent, and each crossed these northern plains. The Santa Fe trail terminated in the heart of the continent at Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Oregon trail found its way to various points on the Pacific coast.
The foregoing describes the situation generally in the North. In the Southern portion of the United States, in the
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
years preceding the war between the states, the fearless Davy Crockett had gone forth from liis home in Tennessee to fight for the independence of Texas, and with his companion, Thimblerig, had cut loose from civilization at Nacogdoches, and, threading the forest wilderness, and swimming the rivers, had reached the old Alamo Mission, where now stands the beautiful City of San Antonio, Texas. There, fighting a for¬ lorn hope, these soldiers of the frontier had died, together with Bowie, Bonham, Travis, and their other Texas companions. These brave defenders of Texas liberty had fallen when mas¬ sacred by the ruthless invading Mexican Army, led by the more ruthless Santa Anna.
The hardy and fearless pioneers of Texas had rallied under the battle cry of, “Remember the Alamo” ; and under the leader¬ ship of the rugged, intrepid, and sagacious Sam Houston had conquered Santa Anna and his Mexican Horde at San Jacinto. This conquest had been made in one of the most remarkable and decisive battles that the world has ever known. The flower of the Mexican Army had been driven back across the Rio Grande, and the power and control of the Mexican Govern¬ ment completely torn down and annihilated for all time in the country to the east of that river. Thenceforth the flag bearing the lone star floated over the great empire of Texas, and soon above it waved the Stars and Stripes.
Also, prior to this national conflict, the Indians in the Southern portion of the United States, living east of the Mis¬ sissippi River, who belonged to the Five Civilized Tribes, com¬ prised of the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Sem¬ inole, had been taken forcibly by the armed forces of a Chris¬ tian and civilized Government, and placed on separate res¬ ervations in what is now the eastern portion of the State of Oklahoma. There had also, prior to the time stated, been ceded to the Cherokee Indians a strip of land fifty-eight miles
NECESSITY FOR THE TRAIL
wide immediately west of the Cherokee Reservation, immedi¬ ately south of the southern boundary of Kansas, and extend¬ ing west as far as the United States’ possessions at that time reached, which location was then undetermined. This strip of land was said to be an outlet for the Cherokee Indians to the west from their reservation for hunting purposes. This was known as the Cherokee Outlet and later as the Cherokee Strip. The Cherokee Indians, as all people know, were not hunters. This land was never utilized by them, and this coun¬ try until long after the Civil War was unoccupied. The land included in this outlet had really been considered worthless; hence the generosity of Congress. Regardless of the early im¬ pression of this country, it is now well known that it con¬ tained some of the finest, most valuable, and fertile land in the United States.
All this vast stretch of country, north of the Red River, prior to and for many years after the Civil War, was unoccupied and remained a veritable wilderness, over which roamed lawless bands of Western or Plains Indians, buffalo and other native wild animals. Onto this country, during that time, occasionally ventured intrepid explorers, traders, and outlaws, some of whom returned therefrom, while others left their bones upon the plains. Thus extended westward these two advances of civilization, while between them lay a vast domain, extend¬ ing from the Red River on the south to central Kansas on the north. This intervening country, several hundred miles in width, was as void of civilization and protection of govern¬ ment as the jungles of South America.
Such was the situation in the West when active warfare between the states was entered into at the firing of Fort Sum¬ ter. The entire Nation was thereafter engaged in Civil War for the four years ensuing. During these four years, and up to the year 1866, the energy, power, and wealth of both the
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
North and the South were exerted and spent in this civil con¬ flict. During these years extensions of the frontiers and ad¬ vancing the same were forgotten. Following the final capitu¬ lation of the Confederate Army at Appomatox, the armies of the North and the armies of the South left their bivouacs, cantonments, and forts, and returned to their former homes. Soon thereafter the men and women of the North took up their march to the west, singing both in spirit and in words:
“We will cross the prairies as of old Our fathers crossed the sea,
To make the West as they the East The homestead of the free.”
In the South the men of Texas, joined by the Eastern and Northern men, pushed their herds westward, through thickets and woodland, across the glades and prairies to the Rio Grande. The trails left by the retreating Mexicans served as cow-paths, which were followed by the advancing herds. These pioneers left the line of their march marked with homes and ranches..
During the Civil War it had been impossible to send cattle out from the State of Texas. That State was a part of the Confederacy, and cattle during that period were not sent to States in possession of the Federal Army. During most of the war, the Mississippi River had been in the possession of the armies of the North, and for that reason no cattle could pass from Texas down or across to the east side of that river. Dur¬ ing all these years the cattle of Texas multiplied, until the most accurate statistics show that at the close of the war there were over 3,000,000 cattle on the farms and ranches of that State. M hile this number purports to be accurate, we know that it cannot be exact. It has been said that the cost of rear¬ ing a steer to maturity in Texas at that time was fifty cents, and this was the cost of branding it. There was no market for these cattle, and they were practically without value.
NECESSITY FOR THE TRAIL
Following the close of the war some of these cattle were driven east to the Mississippi River, and shipped by boat to New Orleans and other points down the river, but the demand for them in this direction was soon satisfied. The people of the South, if they had the opportunity, were generally with¬ out means to buy any great amount of meat. In 1866 some cattle were driven across the desert to the Pecos River, and up that river to New Mexico and as far as Santa Fe, but the de¬ mand in these localities was meager as compared with the supply. The states to the north and northeast needed these cattle, and were able and willing to pay good prices for the same if it was possible to transport them to the localities of the demand. Reasonable prices for these cattle would have made the citizens of the State of Texas wealthy beyond their most exaggerated dreams.
In the year 1866 many Texas cattlemen, and also pur¬ chasers from the North, drove herds north across the Red River, thence taking a northeast course across the country of the Five Civilized Tribes, in what is now eastern Oklahoma, attempted to cross either the State of Missouri or the State of Arkansas, and thus reach the markets or railways. Almost without exception these undertakings ended in utter failure and disaster. The Five Civilized Tribes were engaged in farm¬ ing, thus dependent on their crops for support; and the inter¬ ference with these farming enterprises and the difficulty of handling these wild range cattle in a farming country was the first great difficulty encountered. The greatest trouble, however, arose upon reaching the States of Missouri and Ar¬ kansas. On the borders of and within both of these states, where these market bound herds must cross, were large num¬ bers of men discharged from both armies, who sought the course of least legitimate efforts to provide means for living. Mem¬ bers of this class were ready to take up any means possible, re-
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
Mobbing cattle drover from Texas and stampeding herd in Missouri in 1866 — McCoy.
NECESSITY FOR THE TRAIL
gardless as to whether it was legal or not, to obtain money. If it could be done under the pretense of being for a commend¬ able purpose, it would cause them less trouble.
Members of this lawless element would stop these north bound herds, claiming that they were interested in preventing the spread of what was then termed the Spanish fever, a dis¬ ease later known as the Texas fever. In most cases these par¬ ties would levy blackmail on the drovers, requiring them to pay certain sums of money before they would be permitted to proceed on their journey. In case the drivers in charge of the herds refused to meet the demands of* these lawless men, they were whipped and robbed, and all of their belongings and their cattle taken away from them. For the reasons stated there was not a successful drive of cattle north from Texas during the entire year of 18G6. The season closed with this record, and no market had yet been found for the herds of Texas.
In the year 1866, there was organized at St. Louis, Missouri, a railway company under the name of “The Kansas Pacific Railway.” The purpose of this company was to extend a line of railway west from the Missouri River. In 1866 or the spring of 1867 this company boldly pushed its railway westward onto the Great Plains. It took its course up the valley of the Kaw River from Westport, now Kansas City, Missouri, to Topeka, Kansas, and pushed on to Manhattan, Junction City, Abilene, Salina, and Ellsworth. Abilene, Kansas, was the nearest lo¬ cation, on a direct line, north on the prospective route from Texas to make the cattle drives and reach this new railway. A young energetic cattleman from central Illinois, by the name of Jos. G. McCoy, recognizing the opportunity of establishing this location as a shipping point, and preparing to care for the herds coming from the south, built shipping pens at Abi-
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
lent*, sent messengers out to meet them, and advertised Abilene generally as the great shipping point on the new Kansas Pa¬ cific* Railway. On account of the efforts, energy, and labor of young McCoy, Abilene became famous throughout the West as the northern terminus of the Chisholm Trail.
In the spring of 1867 the people of Texas learned that this new line of railroad was being built across the plains country to the north. The only question that then remained was the possibility of making the drive and breaking a trail across the several hundred miles of intervening wild and uncivilized country, which was not only exposed to the ordinary dangers of a wild country, but was also exposed to the assaults of the Western or Plains Indians, who for years had been on the war path. Many were the ranchers of Texas who stood upon the south bank of the Red River and looked anxiously to the north across this country; then returned to their ranches, afraid to venture over it. This feeling was brought about largely from a knowledge of the well advertised difficulties encountered and results of the attempted drives to the north the preceding year. Such was the necessity for a broken trail to guide the herds from Texas across this wild, exposed, and dangerous land.
There were no historians stationed along the routes of these trails of the West ready to record the deeds of these hardy plainsmen, and much of this early history is therefore lost to future generations. From the best recorded facts that can be gathered, and from the best existing information, it appears that it remained for a Californian, small and insignificant in appearance, but who had met and overcome all the difficulties and adversities of the plains and frontier, to make the first successful drive over this route. His name was Col. O. W. " heeler. More will be said in future pages of this remark- aide man and the drive he made.
NECESSITY FOR THE TRAIL.
In as much as we are dealing at this time with the re¬ sources of the State of Texas and its capacity for producing the great herds that were ready to be thrown onto the northern markets, it is well, at this time, to observe the character and resources of this country, and to submit a general description of the same.
This great State has included within its boundaries over one hundred and seventy million acres of land, with all kinds and characters of surface, soil, and climate. The writer has traveled over all parts of the State of Texas, and from such personal observation considers it, when taken as a whole, one of the greatest States, if not the greatest State, of the Union of States. If the State of Texas was entirely segregated from the rest of the world it could come nearer subsisting, or could subsist longer and with less difficulty, than any other known territory of the same size. Over most of the State, except the extreme eastern portion, is found some specie of what is known as the mesquite grass. This grass is especially adapted for grazing at all seasons of the year.
The beauty of the State of Texas is unsurpassed. In most of the southern portion of the same the Spanish moss2 trails down from the trees and is swayed by the gentle breeze. Also in the southern portion of the State, in the early days, the long-
J-Spanish moss is so familiar to persons living in the South that it is not necessary to describe the same, but persons living in other portions of the country usually know very little in reference to it. This moss is a parasitic growth found in large areas of the South, including southern Texas. On higher ground it is seen covering the trees in bunches, but in lower ground it grows much longer, trailing down from the trees and swinging gracefully in the wind. Along bayous or wooded lakes these fine stems on vines grow many feet long, giving to the timber a sort of dismal and dreary appearance. These long bunches of moss are gathered by the natives ami placed in piles to decay until nothing but the fiber, which is the greater portion of the same, remains. This fiber is washed and spread or hung out in the bright sun¬ light. The color of the fiber at first is gray, but the effect of the bright light on the same is to turn it a glossy bright black. It is then placed in bales of about eight pounds each and shipped to market. This fiber is used for upholstering. All buggy c.ushions were upholstered with the same, and it is in general use for similar purposes yet. It is an article familiar to all persons, but few of them know where it comes from or what it is produced from.
10
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
Spread of these horn^ seven (7) feet tTro<(2)inches
This set of horns was brought from Southern Texas during the cattle days, and is now owned by and kept in the Stock Exchange Bank at Cald¬ well, Kansas.
horned cattle, the descendants of the herds driven by the Moors into old Spain, roamed through the dark chaparral thickets, wild as the deer with which they associated. These were the first cattle introduced into this country, and were brought here by the early Spanish explorers and settlers. In the central portions of the State the cattle grazed through the ragged mes- quite thickets, where the grapevine cacti twines around the trees. Here also extends the long stretches of prairie dotted with great bunches of broad-leaved cacti with the long and dangerous spines, around which the cattle cropped with great caution; the native mesquite grass. This cacti is generally known as the prickly pear, and during the early springtime these huge bunches are covered with large yellow bloom. These blooms encircle leaves as large as a palm-leaved fan.
In the eastern portion of the State is found the towering long and short-leaved pine, in the forests of which twilight reigns a greater portion of the day. Out in the western por¬ tion of the State extends the broad plains, generally known as
NECESSITY FOR THE TRAIL
11
Llano Estacado. Here the “man-cactus”2 rears its head and stands like a lone sentinel on the plain. On the south the Gulf of Mexico washes the borders of the State, and along its beaches is almost perpetual summer. In the extreme northern por¬ tion, while the summers are long, during the winter months the chill winds and often the blizzards blow down from the north.
It has been heretofore stated that, in the days preceding the Civil War, the long-horned breed of cattle was found in the State of Texas. In making this statement the writer de¬ sires to impress the significance of the same as to the size of the horns of these cattle. The illustration appearing herein, while large, is not by any means the largest coming out or found in that country. The horns on these cattle were so large that in this day and age they are beyond conception. This is the more remarkable from the fact that they generally lived in a timbered country or among brush. These cattle in early days, when they were hunted, would hide in the chaparral thickets 5
2 There are perhaps more varieties of cacti than of any other plant. It grows in
different localities in all shapes, sizes, and forms. In portions of Texas, even further
north than Palo Pinto County, one variety grows in the mesquite timber in the form of a vine, which entwines the trees just as a grapevine. In the Staked Plains country one variety grows on the plains, standing straight some six or eight feet high. These cacti often grow isolated and long distances from each other, and when seen from a distance they look very much like a man standing out alone on the plains. Hence, they are called “man-cactus.”
'3 * The chaparral thickets of southern Texas consist of an evergreen oak together with all other sorts of bushes and vines, often including cacti, interwoven. Frequent¬ ly when going through these thickets large vicious rattlesnakes sound the traveler a warning. This vegetation is as near impenetrable as could seemingly be made. The cattle and other animals would make trails or cow paths through the same. When the cattle would come out of these thickets to graze on the adjacent prairie the cowboys would watch and rope and tie as many of them as they could before they could return and hide. They would then drive a herd or bunch of tame cattle along, and release these tied animals and drive them away with the tame cattle. There were some of these tied animals which would not leave with the tame cattle, and would persistently attempt to return to the thickets. The cowboys would again rope them and sew their eyes shut by taking thread and sewing the eyelids together over their eyes, so that the animals could not see to run to the thickets. They would then follow along with the tame cattle, and when sufficiently far away the thread would be cut in the stitches and permit the animals to regain their eyesight. The cowboys of those days thought no more of roping and tying one of these wild and ferocjous animals than we would of catching a chicken or turkey.
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
and come out during the night to graze, and return to their hiding place shortly after daylight.
The writer desires here to register a protest, on behalf of the old time southern long horned cattle, on account of the al¬ most universal misrepresentation of this long suffering breed, from the hideous pictures which have been made and published illustrating them with long horns sticking up in front of their heads in a curve the shape of inverted teeth of a hayrake. If this departed race of cattle could know that they had been de¬ scribed thus, there would be a universal rattling of old bones, and, on sight of one of these pictures, there would be a gen¬ eral stampede.
The picture herein set out of the horns of one of these ancient cattle is an exact outline of all of them. There was but very little difference in the shape of these horns. They ex¬ tended almost straight out at right angles from the head, with but a small graceful curve in them. It is a shame to disfigure these cattle with the sort of horns that most of the artists have placed on them.
In the extreme eastern portion of the State were found a breed of cattle with shorter horns. These cattle were known, in the earlier days of the cattle industry, as the Southeastern cattle. The descendants of these cattle are still found in por¬ tions of eastern Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. While ranch¬ ing and cattle raising is still a large portion of the business and industry of the State of Texas, it is now systematized, and instead of the ancient longhorns are found the fat classy Here- fords. The old days with all their excitement, danger, and thrill have passed away. The affinity of all persons for the land of their nativity is natural, but it always seemed to the writer that this characteristic was more pronounced in Texans than most other persons. During the cattle drives up the trail, it
NECESSITY FOR THE TRAIL
13
was a common remark by cowboys and cowmen from southern Texas that when, they returned to where they could see the Spanish moss swing down from the trees they would be satis¬ fied and would remain there. It is a fact that can be ascer¬ tained from observation, even at the present time, that there are fewer native Texans who emigrate to other localities than from any other state.
14
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
Jesse Chisholm, former scout and plainsman, for whom the Trail was named. Courtesy of Oklahoma State Historical Society.
JESSE CHISHOLM
15
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL CHAPTER II.
JESSE CHISHOLM
The cattle trail, known as the Chisholm Trail, was the greatest one of its kind in the history of the world. Its length varied according to the different periods of time during its existence. In its inception it extended and was traveled all the way from San Antonio, Texas, to Abilene, Kansas, a dis¬ tance of approximately eight hundred miles. The early herds going north over this trail crossed the Red River at various points, but when well established it crossed that river, left the State of Texas north of the City of Ringgold, and entered the State of Oklahoma below the mouth of Cache Creek and south of the City of Waurika, near the line between the present Cotton and Jefferson Counties, Oklahoma. It then took its course north. In later years it straightened out, gradually working west, until it followed near the present line of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway and the route of the Meridian Highway, known as Government Highway 81, and crossed the north line of the State of Oklahoma south of the City of Caldwell, Kansas, the exact location being about eighty rods east of the point where Highway 81 crosses the state line between Kansas and Oklahoma. The trail ran from this point north to Abilene, Kansas. From Caldwell to Abilene it varied but sixteen miles from a course due north, Abilene being sixteen miles further east than Caldwell.
This cattle trail was named for Jesse Chisholm, and was so known throughout the entire West. The reason for this will hereafter appear. Two things are peculiar in this regard. One of them is that while Jesse Chisholm was one of the prominent
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
and noted characters of the frontier and old West, he was not a cowboy or cattleman. It has been truthfully said, that the only cattle he ever drove were yoked to his wagons. The second is that he never traveled this trail except from the present City of Wichita, Kansas, to its crossing on the Cimarron River, where the present City of Dover, Oklahoma, now stands, a dis¬ tance of less than one hundred and fifty miles.
Considering the times and surroundings in which he lived and died, Jesse Chisholm was truly a remarkable man. His life was spent without any idea on his part, that he would ever be known as a historical character, and he died without con¬ sidering that he was, or ever would be, known other than an ordinary trader. Much of the history of this remarkable man has been lost. Some that remains is legendary, but many written records are preserved proving his activities, worth, and standing. The following are some of the high points of his life. There are many others, but in this brief sketch they cannot all be included.
Jesse Chisholm was a mixed blood Indian, being something less than a half-blood Cherokee, lie was born at the old home of the Cherokees in the East. The exact date and location of his birth are uncertain, but from the best information obtain¬ able he was born in the State of Tennessee in about the year 1806. His father was a white man of Scottish descent, and his mother was a mixed-blood Cherokee. The exact proportion of Indian blood of his mother is uncertain. The only record we find as to this fact is that her name was Rogers, and that her family were mixed-blood Cherokees. His mother was a sister of Talihina Rogers, whose first name is often given with other variations, but who married General Sam Houston. The Rogers family were evidently quite intelligent, as its members reached a degree of considerable prominence among the Cherokees.
JESSE CHISHOLM
17
It is a well known fact that the Cherokees, aside from being a well civilized and cultured people, produced men in their tribe who could and did compete favorably with the ablest statesmen of our Government, History reveals that the Rogers family moved from their home in the East, among the first emigrants of their tribe to remove to Arkansas, settling in their new home in the year 1816. Homes in Arkansas had been, prior to this time, guaranteed by the President of the United States for such of the Cherokees as would remove to the same. This was done by a letter written, granting such permission and guarantee, by President Jefferson, dated Jan¬ uary 9, 1809, which was approved by treaty of 1817.
It is very probable that Jesse Chisholm’s father and fam¬ ily removed to Arkansas at the same time, as we find them located there soon afterward. The Chisholm family became prominent in the Arkansas settlement of the Cherokees. In the treaty concluded July 8, 1817, between the National Gov¬ ernment and the Eastern Cherokees and the Arkansas Chero¬ kees, we find among the Arkansas Chiefs who signed this treaty the names of James Rogers and John D. Chisholm. The rela¬ tive standing of these two men among the Indians and their intelligence can be judged from the fact that Rogers and Chis¬ holm were the only ones among fifteen chiefs signing this doc¬ ument who could write their names. The remaining thirteen all signed by mark. Rogers was selected from the tribe in Arkansas as a representative of the Government, and sent east to assist in procuring the consent of the balance of the Chero¬ kees who had not moved, or as many as possible of them, to move to the Indian Territory.
The first recorded account of Jesse Chisholm and his ac¬ tivities is in 1832. It will be borne in mind that at the time of the removal of his family to the West Jesse Chisholm was only about ten years of age, and at the time stated, in 1832, he
18
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
was about twenty-six years of age. Even at this early age he was engaged in laying out and establishing trails. The Choc¬ taw Indians procured the National Government to construct a road for them over the rough country between Fort Towson and the Arkansas River. This was done that these Indians might receive their supplies sent to them by the Government from the Arkansas River to the north instead of the longer route by way of the Red River on the south. From the char¬ acter of the country over which this new trail was to pass, selecting a route for the same was a very important and diffi¬ cult matter. This trail extended one hundred and forty-seven miles over this wild rough country. This route was selected, laid out, and surveyed by Robert Bean and Jesse Chisholm.
The important points, marking the life and character of Jesse Chisholm, were good judgment, his retiring and unas¬ suming disposition and character, absolute trustworthiness, fi¬ delity and honesty in his dealings, and his never assuming au¬ thority or forcing his judgment or services upon anyone until the same was solicited or sought. He was a wise counselor, a safe adviser, and was held in high esteem by all who dealt with him. This was especially true of the Indian tribes of the en¬ tire Indian Territory, and extended even to the wild Apaches.
Jesse Chisholm having come West as a mere child, and being a keen observer, by the time he reached manhood knew the country of western Arkansas and the Indian Territory per¬ haps better than any other man. He had a fine memory and fine intellect, and it is said that he could speak well and con¬ verse in fourteen different Indian languages. His services were always much sought after as a guide and interpreter.
Jesse Chisholm married the daughter of a trader by the name of Edwards. His father-in-law operated a store near what was then known as Fort Holmes, which was located at the mouth of the Little River, near the present site of Bilby,
JESSE CHISHOLM
19
Seminole County, Oklahoma. This store and location, at one time known as Fort Edwards, was at first on the north side of Little River, but afterward was removed to the south side of the river and remained there during the important period of its operation. This trading post in 1849 and 1850 had the reputation of being the most important one on the trail be¬ tween Fort Smith and Santa Fe. At the time of the Beale ex¬ pedition to the west, hereinafter referred to, Edwards was still operating this post, and Jesse Chisholm was living in the southern portion of what is now Seminole County, Oklahoma. His home was near the Canadian River, and was almost on the transcontinental route laid out by the Beale expedition. Chisholm’s home at that place was said to be the outermost point of civilization.
Jesse Chisholm had but one child, a daughter, Mrs. Jennie Chisholm Davis, who lived a few years ago in southern Ok¬ fuskee County, Oklahoma. Her postoffice address was Paden, Oklahoma. During his travels Chisholm rescued, or procured the release of, many prisoners taken and held by the Comanche Indians. Among them was a white boy, who was a small lad when obtained from the Indians. While this boy was perhaps never legally adopted, he remained with Chisholm and took his name, and was known as George Chisholm. He followed the footsteps and example of his foster father, was a scout of con¬ siderable note, and served in that capacity during the Civil War. Jesse Chisholm’s father-in-law’s name was James Ed¬ wards. Edwards was a white man who intermarried with a Creek woman. Thus Jesse Chisholm was a mixed blood Chero¬ kee, while his wife was a mixed blood Creek.
Jesse Chisholm succeeded his father-in-law in the opera¬ tion of this store at the mouth of Little River, and as his suc¬ cess grew and increased his influence extended until he became known as the most successful and influential trader on the
20
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
Southern Plains. The Apaches, Kiowas, Comanches, and other Plains Indians came long distances to his store to trade. In order to better handle this trade he established posts further to the west. He operated one near the present town of Asher, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma; another near Lexington, Cleveland County, Oklahoma ; also one at Council Grove, which location is about six miles west of Oklahoma City. It is a well known fact to all persons familiar with the frontier at that time, that salt was one of the most sought after articles of con¬ sumption. This fact wras soon realized by Jesse Chisholm, and he was early interested in the production of salt in what is now the State of Oklahoma, and produced the same at a num¬ ber of points in the Indian Territory. One of these was in Blaine County, prior to the Civil War.
One evidence of the shrewdness and far seeing business judgment of Jesse Chisholm was, that, after the railway ex¬ tended west from the Missouri River, he early saw the import¬ ance of connecting himself writh the trade that was increasing from the north. He had previously established a trading post on what is know n as Chisholm Creek, which location is now within the corporate limits of the City of Wichita, Kansas. He spent much time at this post and gave it a great deal of attention. Also he often made trips to the north and east, from there go¬ ing as far as Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In the intervening time, after the establishment of this trading post until his death, he studied and familiarized himself writh this northern trade, and, had it not been for his untimely demise, he would have profited very much from the same. Chisholm Creek was named for him. His connection with the trading post at that point, and his connection with the increasing trade from the north, brought about the locating and laying out of this trail which bears his name. This trail will perpetuate his name longer than anything else he left behind.
JESSE CHISHOLM
21
Jesse Chisholm had perhaps more power and influence with all the Indian tribes of the Indian Territory than any other man. He was sought out as a friend by them, being one in whom they could confide, and with whom they could counsel. He was a safe adviser in time of need and in time of distress. At the time of the breaking out of the Civil War he counselled and advised neutrality on the part of all of the Indian tribes in the Indian Territory. Today we can appreciate the wisdom of his counsel. His advice in this regard would have been accepted by all of the Indians, had not both parties to this con¬ flict brought about conditions which made it impossible for the Indians to follow this course. The participation of these Indian tribes in this controversy between the different por¬ tions of the Nation was followed by the dire results that Chis¬ holm had foreseen.
Jesse Chisholm himself remained absolutely neutral dur¬ ing this conflict, and at the close of the war he was sought out and sent by the Federal Government as a representative to the Indian tribes, or at least some of them, in making or conclud¬ ing treaties with the Government. His dealings and services at these times and in these matters were fair and always satis¬ factory to both parties. His influence for good was felt in this wild country more than that of any other man, and for good reason did the Indians of the Indian Territory view his deatli as a calamity.
He died in what is now Blaine County, Oklahoma. At the time it occurred he was on one of his finding expeditions, and was looking after his interests in this portion of the country. His death occurred in March, 1868, at the age of about sixty- two years. His photograph, a copy of which is reproduced herein, is the only known picture of him in existence. This was taken in the later years of his life, and perhaps not long be¬ fore his death. It is said that it was taken at Leavenworth,
22
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
Kansas, perhaps in the summer preceding his death, when it is claimed that he made one or more trading trips to that place. This picture would indicate a man much older than Chisholm really was at that time, but he had never acquired the art of posing for a picture. He was buried near where he died, on the North Canadian River in southeastern Blaine County, Oklahoma. He died suddenly ; it has been said or presumed by some, from pneumonia, but others have claimed from indiges¬ tion. His grave was lost for many years, but was located a few years ago by Jos. B. Thoburn, who at that time was Cur¬ ator of the Oklahoma State Historical Society, and who has done more to preserve the history of the State of Oklahoma than any other man.
It is really difficult to find any portion of the frontier which Jesse Chisholm did not visit during the period of his active life. It seems he was constantly on the move to or from some Western point. There was a small settlement of Chero- kees in Mexico, and in the spring of 1842 George Guess, better known as Sequoyah, the inventor of the Cherokee Alphabet, set out from the Cherokee Nation with his son and a few com¬ panions to cross the intervening wild country to this place. After many perils and wild adventures he, his son, and one companion reached this settlement. Sequoyah, however, never lived to return to his home, but died in Mexico in 1843.
Jesse Chisholm was sent to investigate the fate of Se¬ quoyah, or at least did so. A report setting forth the journey- ings, wandering, and difficulties of this Sequoyah party was published in the Cherokee Advocate, a Cherokee publication, on the 26th day of June, 1845. There was also furnished with this article a statement as to the death of Sequoyah, witnessed by Jesse Chisholm, which statement reads as follows :
“Warren’s Trading House,
Red River, April 1st, 1845.
JESSE CHISHOLM
23
We the undersigned Cherokees, direct from the Spanish Dominions, do hereby certify that George Guess, of the Chero¬ kee Nation, Arkansas, departed this life in the town of San- femando in the month of August, 1843, and his son (Chusa- leta) is at this time on the Brasos River, Texas, about 30 miles above the falls, and intends returning home this fall.
Given under our hands day and date above written.
Sanding Rock, his x mark.
Standing Bowles, his x mark.
Watch Justice, his x mark.
Witness :
Daniel G. Watson
Jesse Chisholm.”
There had been a great amount of agitation, in which it was sought to procure the Government to establish a southern route for travel, which would run from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to California. Several attempts were made, much of this route laid out, and a great amount of improvement in the way of building bridges and grading crossings on streams done on the same. The first expedition launched in this enterprise was commanded by Capt. R. B. March in 1849, the second by Lieut. A. W. Whipple in 1853, and the third by Lieut. E. F. Beale. Beale was in 1858 ordered to survey a route from Fort Smith westward for a wagon road and stage line, which would con¬ tinue to the Colorado River. He also made and submitted an estimate of the expenses for building a railroad from Fort Smith to Antelope Hills, this being approximately the western line of Oklahoma. This cost he placed at $9,311,900. He started on this mission on the 29th day of October, 1858, and was engaged in carrying out this enterprise for about one year.
The first requirement of Beale on this trip was to find an efficient guide to accompany him. He first sent a messenger
24 THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
to procure the services of Black Beaver,' who was then living at or near Camp Arbuckle on the Canadian River, which could not have been far from the home of Jesse Chisholm at that time.
Black Beaver objected to taking this trip, and stated as a reason for his refusal that the Comanche Indians were at war with the Government, and the expedition would be com¬ pelled to cross the country occupied by this tribe; that it was late in the fall, the grass was in good condition to bum, and the Comanclies would burn the same, leaving the expedition without food for their stock ; thus it ending in disaster. This would perhaps have been the result of the enterprise, had it not been for the fact that the weather during most of the time this expedition was in progress was such that the grass would not burn.
Jesse Chisholm was then requested to accompany Beale as a guide, and he at first made the same objection that Black Beaver had made. In fact, the services of both of these noted scouts and guides were sought, but Black Beaver could not be persuaded to go. Chisholm finally agreed to and did accom¬ pany the party. They pushed their course up the Canadian River, past the Cross Timbers, past the Wichita Mountains, and onto the Great Plains. Most of this was done in mid-
i Black Beaver was a member of the Delaware tribe of Indians. He was born in Illinois in 1806. He was a contemporary of Jesse Chisholm, and led many ex¬ peditions both for private parties and for the Government. On these trips he travelled the then Indian Territory, Colorado, and the country to the southwest into Mexico. He also made a number of trips as far west as the Pacific Ocean. He commanded a company of Delaware and Shawnee Indians in the service of the Gov¬ ernment during the Mexican War. At the breaking out of the Civil War it was ap¬ parent that the scattering garrisons of Federal Soldiers in the Indian Territory would be exposed to the combined forces of the Southern Army, and these garrisons were ordered to assemble and travel north to Fort Leavenworth. Which they did. In mak¬ ing this trip Black Beaver guided them. He led this command into the Cherokee Outlet near the point where the Chisholm Trail c.rosses the southern boundary of the same, and followed almost the line of the same to the southern boundary of Kansas. This was four years before Jesse Chisholm laid out his trail. For this service Black Beaver suffered loss by confiscation of his property at the hands of the Confederacy, for which he was never compensated by the Federal Government, except to a very small percent of ltis actual loss.
JESSE CHISHOLM
25
winter, and all under very adverse circumstances. The hard¬ ships of the party were many and great, their suffering was se¬ vere, and they were exposed to an unusual severe winter, but Beale rendered an enthusiastic report of the trip and of the conditions which he found. His men had built bridges, cut down banks to afford crossings, and completely constructed a road adequate for their wagons to travel over. The report, made by Beale, and presented to Congress, had nothing but praise for the route. The life of Jesse Chisholm was simply a succession of these trips, trials, adventures, and dangers. He thought nothing of them. To him they were simply a part of the day’s work. If we had a graphic description of these ad¬ ventures written today they would entertain the readers of Western History for generations to come.
Camp wagon used on the early drives up Chisholm Trail.— McCoy.
THE EARLY TRAIL
27
CHAPTER III.
THE EARLY TRAIL
The original Chisholm Trail was established in 1865, and was used to reach the Indian tribes in the Southwestern coun¬ try. Before the railway extended west from Kansas City or Westport, that location, as well as the ones on the border of the frontier to the north of it, had become important trading points and bases of supply for the western country, which in¬ cluded the Plains tribes of Indians. From Jesse Chisholm’s store on Chisholm Creek these supplies for the Southwestern Indian tribes could be disbursed ; hence the necessity of a trail on Avhich to carry them to the consumers.
The trail, as originally laid out, extended from this supply store on Chisholm Creek to the vicinity of the present location of Anadarko, Oklahoma, or a distance of approximately two hundred and twenty miles. When the cattle herds came up from Texas in 1867, they followed this trail from the crossing on the Cimarron River, now Dover, Oklahoma, to near the present site of Wichita, Kansas, passing just west of this loca¬ tion and going on north to Abilene. Thus, it is seen that ap¬ proximately one hundred and fifty miles of Jesse Chisholm’s trail was adopted as a part of the cattle trail from Texas. In return, however, for the use of the trail the cattle drivers named the entire trail “The Chisholm Trail.” The old trail, subse¬ quent to 1865, was extended from Anadarko to Fort Sill. After 1867, when the cattle drives began, the cattlemen, in order to distinguish the trail continuing on south from the Cimarron River to Anadarko, which was a part of the original trail, des¬ ignated that portion of the same as “The Trader’s Trail.” This was so named for the reason that that portion of the trail was
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
used by the freighters and traders, and in order to distinguish it from the cattle trail, which left the Trader’s Trail on the townsite of the present City of Dover, crossing the Cimarron River at the mouth of Kingfisher Creek, about one and a half miles to the east of the other trail, and then passed to the east of the present City of El Reno, Oklahoma. This cattle trail, the entire distance from San Antonio, Texas, to Abilene, Kan¬ sas, was known as the Chisholm Trail, and was so designated by the cattlemen from the time when the first herds passed over it in 1867 until it was finally closed in 1889 by the flood of immigration and the homesteader’s plow.
While this trail was universally known and went down in history as the Chisholm Trail, yet few cowboys and persons in general knew for whom it was named, and few persons knew to what Chisholm it referred, why it was named for him, or who he was. Many persons even yet, who are quite well informed, do not know the origin of the name, and some contend that the trail was named for John Chisum, who was once a Texas cattle¬ man living at Paris, Texas, later in Concho County, Texas, and still later in New Mexico. As will be observed in future pages John Chisum never traveled over this trail, never claimed to have anything to do with it, nor to know anything about it. When the initial herd went over the Chisholm Trail, John Chisum was crowding his first outfit to, and establishing his ranch in, New Mexico.
There is no one now living who knows, nor is there any record left showing the exact course taken in making this first drive over the route of the old Chisholm Trail. In determin¬ ing the same we have only the record left by Jos. G. McCoy in his Historic Sketches of the Cattle Trade of the West and South¬ west, published in 1874. McCoy was the man who put Abilene on the map and determined the northern point of the cattle trail. In his book he only gives us a general statement of the
THE EARLY TRAIL
29
location of the cattle trail in 1867, and thereafter, from the Kansas line north to Abilene, but nothing so far as to the lo¬ cation and route further south. We do have, however, a defi¬ nite designation made of the route of this trail across the Chero¬ kee Outlet or Cherokee Strip as it existed in the year 1872. This record is authentic. It was made by the United States Government and shows the location of the trail over each one hundred and sixty acres of land crossed by it in going over the Outlet at the time of the Government survey of the same. This route is given herein in the last chapter of this work.
From the south line of the Cherokee Outlet on south to the crossing of the Cimarron River there could be no change in the route, as it passed most of this distance through the only opening there was in the black jack timber. This timber extended for miles on either side of the trail.
Referring to this original trail as laid out by Jesse Chis¬ holm from the present site of Wichita to the southern line of the State of Kansas, it appears that after leaving Chisholm’s store on Chisholm Creek it bore south and slightly west, pass¬ ing a short distance west of the present City of Wellington, Kansas, and on in approximately the same direction, crossing the Chicaska River north and east of the present City of Cald¬ well, Kansas. The writer, when a boy, heard it said that after the City of Wellington was established, it being east of the trail, the citizens of Wellington plowed a furrow branching off from the trail and going to the town of Wellington, and placed signs at the intersection directing the traffic through the newly established town. From the Chicaska River the trail bore southwest in about the same general direction, and reached the south line of Kansas about two miles south and slightly east of the present City of Caldwell, at a point about eighty rods east of the highway and railway tracks.
30
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
After crossing the Kansas line the trail still bore south and somewhat west, passing to the west side of the railway at a point about one-half mile over the state line, and following the exact line of Highway 81 for about three miles. It then crossed to the east side of the railway, passing about one half mile to the east of Renfrow, Oklahoma. Next it bore due south for about four miles, passing east of the breaks on the head of Polecat Creek, south of Renfrow. It crossed Polecat Creek about two miles east of the railway and Highway 81. It then took a southwest course, crossing the section line running east on the north line of the City of Medford, two miles east of that city. From the last mentioned point, it ran about due south¬ west, crossing exactly over the townsite of Jefferson, Okla¬ homa, and going south from there, crossing the Salt Fork River on the east side of the railway bridge, thence south, vary¬ ing to the west, crossing the townsite of Pond Creek a short distance west of the railway and Highway 81. It continued south and west just west of the railway until after it crossed the county line into Garfield County. It then crossed to the east side of the railway, passing about one-half mile east of the railway at Kremlin, Oklahoma, and continued on the east side of the railway, varying from one-quarter to three-quarters of a mile, until it reached a point between North and South Enid, when it crossed to the west side of the railway. At North Enid it was three-quarters of a mile east of the railway. It crossed the townsite of Enid, passing apparently over the Gov¬ ernment Square. It then bore somewhat more to the south¬ west, and at a point one and a half miles south of Enid it was three-quarters of a mile west of the railway.
The trail then dropped back east, crossing to the east side of the railway two and one-half miles south of Enid. It soon, however, returned to the west side of the railway and followed the same course, near the present track of the railway, on south
THE EARLY TRAIL
31
across the townsite of Waukomis. The lines of the trail and railway vary but little in this course, frequently crossing each other, one crossing being on the townsite of Waukomis. The trail and railway continued on almost the same line south. At the town of Bison, near which was the old camping ground of Buffalo Springs, the trail crosses the townsite west of the rail¬ way, and leaves the Cherokee Outlet near the center of the south line of Section 36, Twp. 20 N. of Range 7 West.
The trail in later years varied somewhat from the original route taken. Also there may have been some variation after the establishment of the trail in 1865 and before the line was marked by the Government in 1872. When this survey was made the cattle trail had been established, and the line marked followed it. In later years the trail between Renfrow and Medford, Oklahoma, varied further to the west of the original, and passed over the townsite of Medford. At Jefferson, the trail used by wagon travel, by stage lines, and by some cattle drivers passed one mile east of Jefferson. This route was taken in order to avoid crossing both Pond Creek and Osage Creek, and effecting the crossing of Pond Creek below the point where the two creeks came together. In this course the trail passed around and on the south side of the large pond on the south side of Pond Creek.
This pond extended in a semi circle for almost three-quar¬ ters of a mile around a bend in Pond Creek, on the south side of the creek and a short distance east of the railway. The creek was named for this pond. Also the original townsite of Round Pond was named for the same, the name having been trans¬ ferred from the old station. This pond has now been drained, and is only a dry depression. In the early days, within the memory of many, it was a large deep pond filled with fish. Also, in later years, there was somewhat of a variation of the trail at Skeleton Creek, where the City of Enid is now located.
32
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
At this point the later trail passed further to the east. T old Skeleton Ranch was located some distance east of the rt way, and a well known camping place was at the springs the east portion of the City.
Continuing with the route of the trail from the south li of the Cherokee Outlet, where we left it, it followed what now the line of the railway south to the City of Henness Oklahoma, crossing that townsite west of the railway. It th took its course south through the natural opening in the bla< jack timber, on the east side of Turkey Creek, to the prese City of Dover. On the townsite of Dover the trail divided. T cattle trail went to the southeast, crossing the Cimarron Rh just below the mouth of Kingfisher Creek, one and one-hj miles below the railway and Highway 81. The original tri or Trader’s Trail continued south, crossing the Cimarron Ri\ just east of the railway and wagon bridge on Highway 81. then followed almost the exact line of the railway on soui crossing the townsite of Kingfisher, and on to Okarche.
From Okarche it bore southwest, leaving the route of Hij way 81, and going further west to Caddo Springs, where w afterward established and still is maintained the Cheyenne J dian School and the present station on the railway known Concho. At Caddo Springs a beautiful spring gushed frc the ground, from the waters of which many a weary travel and his tired animals quenched their thirst. It then continu southwest, crossing the North Canadian River at almost t same point that the 98th Meridian crosses the same. Aft< ward, in 1869, at this point was established the Darlingt Agency, it being the official agency for the Cheyenne and Ai paho Indians. From here it continued on south, crossing t South Canadian River west of Union City and Minco, to Ai darko, and afterward extended to Fort Sill.
THE EARLY TRAIL
33
In reference to the location of the cattle trail coming up from the south and before reaching the crossing of the Cim¬ arron River, it is difficult to give an exact location of the same until in later years, for the reason that it was some time be¬ fore it had a definite location. In the first drives this trail after leaving Red River bore much to the east of a direct line of travel. This was done for the purpose of following a portion of the way the old trails made by drivers in preceding years, whose destination was further to the northeast, and also to en¬ able these pioneers in some cases to follow for some distance a trail left by soldiers returning from, or during, the recent war. Perhaps the greatest cause of such deviation was to avoid the western or plains Indians, who at that time were continuously on the war path. In the beginning the main object was to get a trail broken, and then the travel could follow the same gen¬ eral direction. This they did, but in the future it gradually dropped back to the west, making a more direct route. Finally the trail was a well established route, following generally the present line of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway from its crossing of the Red River on north.
It will be borne in mind, that until long after the laying out of this trail there were no established stations along the same. The Pond Creek Ranch was one of the first permanent locations on the trail, it was not established until long after the trail, and was first known as the Sewell Stockade. This ranch stood about one hundred and fifty yards east and a little south of the water tank on the railway south of the present town of Jefferson, Oklahoma. Darlington Agency, on the north bank of the North Canadian River, was established in 1869, and Fort Reno in 1874. The marks of the old trail are even yet plainly visible at points along the route of the same. They can still be seen near the Kansas-Oklahoma state line, at the crossing of Pond Creek, and the tourist on Highway 81 can see
34
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
them just south of Hennessey, Oklahoma, as well as at many other points.
The cattle trail after entering the State of Kansas, as stated, passed a short distance west of the present City of Well¬ ington, when it bore north, crossing the Arkansas River west of the City of Wichita, and went on to Abilene. During the driving and shipping season of 1867, the first year of the cattle drives from the south, there was much variation in the routes taken in Kansas. The next season the persons interested in the drives procured a surveyor to run an exact line from Abi¬ lene to the point where the trail left the Indian Territory. This line was laid out and markers, consisting of piles of sod, were erected to guide the drovers straight to Abilene. It is probable also that furrows were plowed to mark the route of the same. The writer has heard this was done.
This trail was traveled all the season in later years by freighters and other conveyances, including stage coaches, after the agencies and forts had been established. The travelers had no hotels or inns to accommodate them, they were compelled
Old time Concord stage coach, similar to those used on the Chisholm Trail.
THE EARLY TRAIL
35
to carry their own equipment, and camp in the open. The stage coaches changed horses and continued their travel all night, ob¬ taining meals at the stage stations. The camping places on the trail were at any point where wood, grass, and water could be found. This was usually on any of the streams. In the winter season wood was the most sought after, and in the summer water and grass.
In the summer buffalo and cow chips were easily obtained and were ample fuel for the camper. The principal camping points on the trail were in their order, traveling south; the Nenesqua River, Slate Creek, near the present site of Welling¬ ton, Kansas, Chicaska River, Bluff and Fall Creeks, near the Kansas and Indian Territory line, Pond Creek, near the pres¬ ent site of Jefferson, Oklahoma, Wild Horse Creek, south of the City of Pond Creek, Skeleton Creek, near the present City of Enid, Buffalo Springs, near Bison, Turkey Creek, on the east bank of which the trail ran from Hennessey to Dover, Oklahoma, Red Fork Ranch, now Dover, Kingfisher Creek at the present location of the City of Kingfisher, Caddo Springs, and Darlington Agency, after its establishment in 1869. Stage stations and ranches were maintained in later years at the following points in the Indian Territory : Polecat Creek, Pond Creek, Skeleton Creek, Buffalo Springs, Bull Foot, Red Fork, Kingfisher, Fort Reno, and at other points temporarily.
The writer first knew this trail as a small boy. Wichita, Kansas, at that time was the terminus of the railway, and all commodities for consumption in the settlements beyond that point were hauled by wagon or, as it was termed at that time, “freighted.” The writer had been over this trail from Wichita to Pond Creek Ranch many times prior to the fall of 1881. After about the year 1876, the settlements in southern Kansas cut off the cattle drives from Texas, as they could not enter or cross the cultivated farming country. Caldwell was located
36
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
in Kansas, just north of the state line. Wellington, some twenty-five miles north and east of Caldwell, was located and established as the county seat of Sumner County. It was then a small town of scattering buildings on the hill north of Slate Creek. The trail at that time was used as a traders’ trail ex¬ clusively, except for the small number of native cattle which were driven over it. It did not follow the section lines, but maintained its usual course directly across the prairies. It crossed the Chieaska River about four miles east and about two and one-half miles north of Caldwell, at what was then known as Ryland’s grove. The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Rail¬ way built into Caldwell in 1880, and the trail that far south, for all purposes, was closed forever.
After the trail crossed Fall Creek and Bluff Creek, a short distance southeast of Caldwell, it ascended the long hill south of these creeks, crossing the line into the Indian Territory near the top of the grade, about two miles south of Caldwell. In later years, from a point a short distance south of the state line, the traveler could look to the north down upon the City, and for miles over the farms, farm houses, and cultivated fields. Further to the south on the trail this view was soon lost. Often when passing over this trail, in early days the writer has paused to observe this view; and while doing so, has pondered upon the fact, as to how many travelers upon this cattle and trader’s trail have from this point looked back upon civilization for the last time for many months or years, and many of them forever ; and how many wayfarers upon this trail coming up from the south, dirty, dusty, travel stained, and travel worn, after hun¬ dreds of miles on the plains, have been gladdened by the first sight of civilization that they had had perhaps for many months or many years. Persons who have never spent months or years on the plains or on the extreme frontier, cannot ap-
THE EARLY TRAIL
37
preeiate what civilization or settlements mean on his return, to a traveler who has done so.
The writer traveled over this trail to the south from Cald¬ well in 1881. He was then a small lad, and its wonders still remain vivid in his memory.
The trail at that time, from a point where it reached the high ground, just south of the Kansas line, on to the creek of Pond Creek, a distance of twent-three miles, passed through a continuous prairie dog town. The barking of these little denizens of the prairies was incessant along the entire route. With each bark the tail of the barker would give a quick jerk, and its barking apparatus and tail seemed to work in entire unison. All the other stretches of upland along the route were covered with prairie dog towns. The trail at that time was also used as a cattle trail. During the shipping season many herds daily passed over the same. The main portion was beaten as hard as the concrete of the highway that now parallels it. This had been done by the millions of hoofs that had trampled it.
The prairie dog owls, about the size of a quail, were seen on all sides, perched upon the prairie dog holes. These owls would sit there apparently dozing, with one of their big eyes shut and the other half closed. When one sought to approach them, they would either drop into the prairie dog holes or rise and fly away, seemingly as light as a feather. Occasionally the vicious buzz of a rattlesnake, a sound familiar to every traveler upon the western plains, would be heard. Then its spotted body either slid into a prairie dog hole or coiled into a circle, with its head and blunt nose protruding upward in the center. Its body coiled around and encircled its head for protection of the same, from this position, when the stranger came close enough, the body of the snake would straighten out like a spring that had been compressed, its mouth opening wide
38
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
automatically raised the long fangs lying down along its jaws, and it would, if close enough, sink these fangs into its victim. On the extreme end of these snakes’ tails were carried rattles. When disturbed this tail began quivering, and these rattles started a continuous and monotonous buzzing.
It was always said that any person, even though he had never seen or heard a rattlesnake before, would instantly know what it was upon first sound. The sound had a vicious men¬ acing meaning that no one could mistake. All the animals feared these snakes as much as men. Many prairie chickens in large bunches would be seen along the trail. These birds were then extremely tame, and would rear their heads in an inquir¬ ing way, as if seeking to ascertain what the rights of such travelers were in this untamed country. Occasionally, a bunch of wild antelope would be seen some distance away. Almost invariably, they would circle around the traveler in order to get the scent, and from that they would know what sort of a creature was invading their country. The white bristling hairs on the rear portion of these fleet-footed animals would glisten in the sunlight. On all sides were seen the unmistabable signs which told the traveler, that he was in a land that had not yet been brought under the hand of Civilization.
After crossing Pond Creek, and passing around the large pond on the south side of the same, for which the creek had been named, the trail reached the old Pond Creek Ranch, one of the oldest landmarks on the same. Here the open well of brackish water, equipped with a wheel and bucket to bring the water to the surface, supplied the thirsty sojourner with suffi¬ cient water to quench his thirst and that of his team or horse. To the south of the old ranch, at this time, were first seen by the writer the two graves of luckless cowboys, wrho had less than ten years before died in encounters with the Indians, and who had been buried as they had lived, “on the lone prairie.”
THE EARLY TRAIL
39
About one mile to the south from the Pond Creek Ranch was the crossing of the Salt Fork River. The crossings of the Salt Fork, Cimarron, and the South Canadian rivers were the three worst crossings to be negotiated on the trail. All of these rivers flow over a bed of sand, and all of them, being long rivers, are subject to extensive rises, during which time they remain impassible for long periods of time. During these rises, the force of the swift water causes the bed of the river to shift, and for some time after the water subsides this sand is un¬ settled and loose. Persons or animals crossing it will sink into the same. This is called quicksand. All of these rivers, also the Red River, and the North Canadian to some extent, have this soft sand in them after a period of high water. Freighters were sometimes caught with their wagons and teams in this quicksand. Often it would be so bad, that they would be com¬ pelled to unload their wagons, carry their freight out, and take their wagons apart, carrying them out piece at a time.
It was a well known fact among travelers on the trail, that horses were worse to bog in this quicksand than any other ani¬ mals. While mules bogged, on account of the small size of their hoofs they could withdraw their feet from the sand better than horses. Cattle having cloven hoofs, while withdrawing from the sand, the hoof would close up and were withdrawn with ease. In crossing these rivers after a flood time, when possible, a bunch of cattle were driven across first. These cattle could easily go through the quicksand, and their going through the same would settle it until teams and wagons could easily pass over. There have been many wagons lost in all of these streams. These parties had attempted to cross while the water was deep. Before they could get their wagons out they had sunk into the sand until the water had risen covering them, and they could not be removed. At low water time, in all of
40
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
these rivers, portions of these wagons could be seen sticking up above the water.
Going on south the trail passed the grave of Pat Hennessey, at the present site of the City of Hennessey. It was located about twenty feet west of the roadway, on the side toward the bank of Turkey Creek. Several flat rocks rested on the top of the grave. This was the condition about seven years after the death and burial of Hennessey. The grave was not enclosed, and around the same in places the grass had not grown. There were many persons who stopped to view this grave, and this may have been caused from their trampling the grass. Most every stagecoach that passed this grave stopped for its passengers to view the last resting place of this pioneer.
At Caddo Springs the Cheyenne school had been estab¬ lished, and its buildings which were there at that time still stand. The present growth of trees around the same were not
Cheyenne School at Caddo Springs as the same appeared in 1880.
THE EARLY TRAIL
41
there when the writer first knew it. About two and one-half miles from this point to the southwest was located the Darling¬ ton Agency, with its large and extensive storehouses standing on the north bank of the North Canadian River. Further on to the southwest, on higher ground, stood Fort Reno. Over this fort the National Flag was flying high and waving in all its glory. It always gladdened the heart of the traveler. The fort then consisted of primitive buildings, which were later re¬ placed with more modern structures. From here the sound of the cannon at sunrise and sunset echoed far against the dis¬ tant hills, proclaiming to the wild Indians the power of the white man, and that civilization was crowding in upon them.
Some ten or twelve miles from this fort to the south the teams of faithful horses, steady mules, and plodding oxen slow¬ ly dragged the wagons of the freighters through and over the long stretches of sands across the Canadian River and over the long sandy bottom on the south side of the same. Over this sand in flood time the Canadian River carried a torrent of water. The scenes as heretofore set out were such as were found along this primitive highway, the old Trader’s Trail, when the boys, who are now old gray -haired men, traveled over it. Such were the scenes of childhood in the west, and such will never be seen again.
42
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
CHAPTER IY.
JOHN CHISUM
There has been a vast amount of discussion and purported argument on the part of a few persons, advancing the claim that John Chisum opened the Texas cattle trail to Abilene, and that it was named for him, but unfortunately most of these per¬ sons did not know who John Chisum was, or how he spelled his name. Some of these arguments, apparently made in can¬ dor, have been so unfounded as not to occasion any attention. The great trouble in collecting history of this kind is, that there are so many old gentlemen, absolutely honest in their in¬ tentions, who want to advance their long set opinions as to the same, and some who claim to have personal information are so positive, claiming they could not be mistaken, when there are some forgotten facts which change the results of their con¬ clusions entirely. One eminent writer expressed the matter very accurately by saying, that he encountered so many honest old men who had “elastic memories.”
The writer knows of but one credible authority which states that John Chisum first traveled this trail. The writer of that article never talked with John Chisum, but obtained his information from other sources. Edward Everett Dale, Dean of the History Department of Oklahoma State University, in his excellent work entitled, “The Range Cattle Industry,” pub¬ lished in 1930, simply gives both contentions. He cites, in favor of the John Chisum contention, the only credible authority there has ever been published in favor of that argument. This authority is the McArthur manuscript. This manuscript deals with the early cattle industry, and gives the information of the writer as it had come to him, not from John Chisum personal¬ ly, but from some other source which he deemed authentic.
44
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
The McArthur manuscript sets forth, on pages 152 and 153 of the same, in substance, that John Chisum in 1866 crossed the Red River at the northwest corner of Cooke County, Texas, followed Mud Creek to its source, crossed the Washita River at Elm Springs, and went north to the Canadian River, fol¬ lowing the Kingfisher Creek valley to the Cimarron River, thence north to the Salt Fork River, and on north, crossing the Kansas line at Caldwell, and the Arkansas River at Wichita, Kansas, continuing north past Newton to Abilene. Without in any way attempting to detract from the McArthur manuscript as an authority, and particularly not attempting to discredit the author, as he was a very able man, the writer will say, that it takes but one statement to effectually dispose of the con¬ tention made in this authority, and that is that there was no Abilene, Kansas, until the year 1867. Abilene was a station on the Kansas Pacific Railway, which was built west from Kansas City. It had no existence until the road was built, and the road was not started west from Kansas City until the spring of 1867. If Abilene had been established, he could not have shipped cattle from that point until the railway arrived and the loading pens had been built. That was not until late in the summer of 1867.
There could have been no other purpose in driving cattle to Abilene, or to any other point in Kansas, than to have shipped them east. The Indian tribes of western Kansas were on the war path at that time, and it was almost impossible for an emigrant train to get through, much less a herd of cattle, so there could have been no intention of driving them in that direction. The statement is made in this article that this herd was driven to Abilene, and as Abilene was the northern shipping point the evident purpose is to show that the cattle ^ ere shipped at that point, and they could not have been shipped without a railroad to ship them on. John G. McCoy, who built
JOHN CHISUM
45
and owned all of the first cattle pens at Abilene, says that the first herd from the south arrived there late in the year 1867, and belonged to Col. O. W. Wheeler and his associates. The McArthur manuscript is evidently in error as to the year, and, being wrong as to the year, it cannot be correct.
John Cliisum could not have traveled over this trail in 1867, for the reason that he was on his way to New Mexico with a large herd of cattle at that time. On this trip he traveled across the desert to the Horse Head crossing on the Pecos. In 1866 he was preparing and arranging to make this drive in 1867, and was gathering a large bunch of cattle with full in¬ tentions of changing his residence from Concho County, Texas, to New Mexico.
A very important consideration, in determining the estab¬ lishment and the naming of the Chisholm Trail, is that the trail has always been known and designated as “The Chisholm Trail,” while John Chisum did not spell his name “Chisholm,” hut spelled it “Chisum,” thus the spelling of the name itself would determine who was intended.
The most convincing fact that has been presented, and one which would determine the matter, if there was no other, is as follows: In 1866 Charles Goodnight, who was operating a ranch in Palo Pinto County, Texas, drove a herd of cattle south¬ west from his ranch to Concho County, then west across the desert to the Horse Head crossing on the Pecos River, and up that river to New Mexico. John Chisum was preparing, in 1866, to do this same thing. In 1867 Goodnight and Chisum joined their herds and drove over this route to New Mexico. These two great western characters were together for years, and knew each other better than most brothers. In 1927 Hu¬ bert Collins, who was a very good friend of the writer, was preparing his book entitled “Warpath and Cattle Trails,” and wrote to Goodnight making inquiry as to John Chisum’ s con-
46
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
nection with the Chisholm Trail. Collins received a reply from Goodnight, and sent a copy to the writer. Hubert Collins is now deceased, Charles Goodnight is also dead, but the original of this letter is still in possession of the persons having the papers of Hubert Collins, and the writer still has the copy. This letter to Collins refers to a number of other things, but so far as it pertains to the matter referred to, reads :
“Chisum never crossed Red River with a cow in his life and told me so but he did follow the Goodnight Trail to Bosque Grande on the Pecos River below old Fort Sumner in 1867 and continued driving over that trail for several years. I handled all of his drives for three years and know what I am talking about.”
This letter, signed by Charles Goodnight, is dated at Clarendon, Texas, July 23, 1927.
Further, it will be borne in mind, that in 1866 John Chisum was not located in northern Texas. In 1863 he moved from Paris, Texas, and in 1866 and 1867 was located in Concho Coun¬ ty, Texas. This point was about as far from the Chisholm Trail as he could get and still remain in Texas. He would, at this time, have had as little interest in opening this trail as any cattleman in Texas.
In order to further clarify this matter, and not in the least detract from the character and standing of John Chisum, who was a very important western character and a very honorable man, we will set out herein a short review of his life and ac¬ tivities, showing some of the high points in the same.
John Chisum was born in Tennessee in the year 1824. In 1837 his parents moved their family west, settling south of the Red River, near where is now located the City of Paris, Texas. He had three brothers, Pitzer, James, and Jefferson. After John Chisum was well established in New Mexico, these three brothers joined him there, and assisted him in handling his
JOHN CHISUM
47
vast herds, as they grazed over a western empire. John Cliisum grew to manhood in the new location of his family in Texas. He was a sober, industrious young man, and having acquired a considerable amount of real estate, laid out and platted on his land the town of Paris. In addition to his town platting venture, he launched out as a builder and contractor. He took the contract for and built the first court house in Paris, and also many other important buildings of that period.
John Chisum, even in his early years, and extending through his entire life, was a shrewd, farseeing, cautious, and fair dealing business man. Scrutinizing carefully all the his¬ tory possible of the life of this man, the writer will say that he has not found an act of dishonesty in the same. His one great enemy, Major L. G. Murphy, never made such a charge against him. In 1854, when about thirty years of age, John Chisum first entered into the cattle business. For some time he held his herds around Paris, and for a few years drove cattle to Shreveport, shipping them by boat to the Mississippi and down the same to market. In 1857, in order to obtain a loca¬ tion where his cattle business could better expand, he moved to Denton County, Texas, and, with the same object in view, in 1863, he moved on to Concho County, and there established an extensive ranch, where his liei’ds roamed over a wide range and increased until 1867. The dream of John Chisum was ever for expansion of his holdings and for building greater his in¬ terests. For this purpose he was looking westward, a course which he never abandoned, and which finally ended at the foot of El Capitan Mountains of New Mexico.
In the year 1866, Charles Goodnight drove his herd west¬ ward from the Concho, across the hundred miles of barren, waterless desert to the Horse Head Crossing on the Pecos, and up that river to New Mexico. This same year, John Chisum was gathering his herds and marshalling his equipment for the
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
same drive. In the summer of 1866 and the spring of 1867, John Chisum’s cowboys guided their mustangs over the glades and prairies of this portion of Texas. The long skirts of their tapaderas 1 trailed through the mesquite as they gathered to¬ gether the herds, that were to enter into the aggregation, which was to constitute the extensive caravan on the journey to New Mexico.
As early as was convenient in the year 1867, this well equipped outfit trailed its course from the Concho to the west¬ ward. The country over which this trip was to be made was wild. Few white men had traveled over the same, and death in some violent form lurked at all points on the route. The wild Indians of the plains and mountains were hostile, and were ever ready to plunder the unprotected traveler. Spanish spurs jingled on the heels of John Chisum’s riders, the best of pistols swung at their waists, and the most effective rifles of that day were strapped on their saddles. A string of wagons, each drawn by mules, carried all the needed supplies of the en¬ tire outfit, while the long string of wild gaunt Spanish cattle strung out in traveling fashion onto the desert, heading west¬ ward for the Pecos River. After taking their course over al¬ most one hundred miles of waterless desert this combination of animals and men reached the Horse Head crossing on the Pe¬ cos, and the wild and famished animals plunged into the water.
Thus John Chisum moved westward and up the Pecos, passing the site where now stands the beautiful City of Ros¬ well, New Mexico. He continued his course northward with his ten thousand head of cattle, his horse Remuda, and mule drawn
. i Tapaderas is of Spanish or Mexican derivation. It is perhaps composed from the Spanish words tapa, meaning cover, or from the verb tapadura, being the act of covering. These tapaderas were heavy leather, which covered the front of the saddle stirrups and extended down in long pointed leathers at the sides, reaching almost to t le ground. They were so named by the Mexicans and southwestern cowboys' an were worn on the saddle stirrups in riding through brush or high grass, or to protect the feet in a storm.
JOHN CHISUM
49
wagons, until he reached a point about forty miles south of Fort Sumner. Here in a large grove of cottonwood trees he located a ranch, which he named Bosque Grande .* * Here he fought all the wild elements of the frontier, and finally con¬ quered them. He remained at Bosque Grande about five years, when he moved his ranch down the Pecos, locating at a point about five miles south of the present City of Roswell. This was a lovely location, which he named South Springs. Here he built a veritable frontier empire. He was not only the Cattle King of the Pecos, but of the entire West. His brands, at that time, marked more cattle than that of any other man in the United States. His buildings were large and commodious, and his word was law up and down the Pecos. Here he reigned in western style, with all the pomp and splendor of a Feudal Lord.
John Chisum is well known throughout the West, even to this day, on account of the peculiar marks and brands of his cattle. These were known as the “long-rail” and “jingle-bob.” The long-rail was a long bar brand,’ extending along the side of the animal, being burned with a branding iron, but of such a length that it could not be burned off or destroyed with a frying pan brand.4 The jingle-bob was a peculiar slit in the ear of an animal. When properly slitted, it would cause one portion of the ear to drop down, and the other portion would stand upright. This mark was easily recognized when cutting out cattle on a roundup.
While John Chisum was a man, all of whose character¬ istics were of peace and good will toward all mankind, he is better known in history as one of the leaders of one faction in the Lincoln County War. A narrative of the life of John
* Bosque Grande is a Spanish name which Chisum applied to his ranch. The English meaning is big grove.
>A bar brand is a straight horizontal line burned on an animal.
*A frying pan brand is a large spot burned on an animal by a large flat iron such as the bottom of a frying pan, which would destroy and bum off a brand over which it burned.
50
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
Chisum is not complete without at least a short statement as to this conflict.
Lincoln County, New Mexico, at the time of the Lincoln County war, comprised in its borders one-fifth of the area of the Territory of New Mexico, including what is now about five counties. The village of Roswell had been started at that time. It was located five miles north of John Chisum’s ranch at South Springs. The town of Lincoln, some fifty miles to the west, was the county seat of Lincoln County. Roswell was in the valley of the Pecos, while the town of Lincoln was over in the range of the Capitan Mountains. Major L. G. Murphy, who had been a major in the Reguar Army, had been mustered out of the same at Fort Stanton, some nine miles west of the town of Lincoln. Murphy had engaged in the mercantile business at Lincoln, and also carried on a number of other enterprises. He became very wealthy and powerful in New Mexico. He was crafty, grasping, and tyrannical. He had been educated for the priesthood, but had strayed far from its precepts. He was well educated, and used it to his advantage. He became a big political power in New Mexico, and the oppressive use of this power brought on the Lincoln County war. This war not only drenched the mountains and valleys of New Mexico with blood, but caused one governor of the then Territory of New Mexico to be removed from office, and echoes of this war were heard in the White House at Washington and in the Halls of Con¬ gress.
Murphy had a ranch west of the town of Lincoln, but he moved it over southeast of Lincoln, nearer to that of John Chisum. It is claimed he was stealing John Chisum’s cattle, and in so doing relied on the sheriff, whom he had elected, to pro¬ tect him. Whether Murphy or his men actually did any of the stealing is not certain, but in any event persons from whom he bought some of Chisum’s cattle were convicted for stealing
JOHN CHISUM
51
them. At this time a highly educated, extremely religious, and conscientious attorney by the name of Alexander A. McSween had settled in Lincoln, and was attorney for Murphy. Murphy hired him to defend some of the parties arrested for stealing Chisum’s cattle, and McSween having, as he stated, discovered that these men were guilty, refused to further defend them. This was characteristic of McSween. He was a man who never shot a gun in his life, never took a drink, and carried his Bible in his saddle pockets when attending court away from Lincoln.
McSween’s withdrawal from the employ of Murphy brought about a friendship between him and John Chisum. John Chisum, McSween, and an Englishman by the name of J. H. Tunstall associated themselves together in a number of busi¬ ness enterprises at Lincoln, among which was a bank and a general store, which were operated in competition with Murphy. Tunstall also owned a ranch several miles southeast of Lincoln. This Englishman had working for him as one of his cowboys a quiet little lad of about eighteen years. He was a smiling, good natured young cowboy. His hands and feet were as small as those of a lady, and whenever occasion permitted he dressed very neatly in western style. This boy had been born in New York City, but, when only a few years of age, had gone with his family to seek their fortune in the West. His father had died, and was buried at Coffeyville, Kansas, and his mother had made the journey further west with her two children.
Here the boy had drifted onto the cattle ranges, though young in years, had become an expert cowboy, and was working for his friend Tunstall. This lad’s name was William H. Bonney, but he is better known as “Billy the Kid.” Every sentence and paragraph of the history of the Lincoln County war is punctuated by the crack of his pistol. Had he been granted a pardon, as the other participants in the Lincoln
52
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
County war were, and had stopped when the war was over, he would have been a hero. But such was not the case, and he is known as a western desperado. Even as it is, he still lives in song and in spirit in New Mexico. Ask an old Mexican in that country, “Usted savy Guilleymo Bonney?” (Do you know Wil¬ liam Bonney?) His face will light up, and he will reply, “Si, Bele the Keed.” In the minds of these old residents, Billy the Kid still rides over the Capitans, across the hills and valleys of New Mexico, and down to old Fort Sumner. Billy the Kid was a friend of John Chisum, and a frequent visitor at South Springs Ranch.
Murphy had elected a cowboy by the name of Brady to the office of Sheriff of Lincoln County. Murphy, having the sym¬ pathy of the Sheriffs office, had sued McSween and Tunstall, and had an attachment issued for their property. An organized band of about twenty deputies, sworn in by Sheriff Brady, armed themselves, and after first being filled up with whiskey, served at Murphy’s saloon, went out under the guise of serving this attachment, and met and killed Tunstall. This was done in a drunken orgy. They met him on the road, killed him and his horse, and laid them down side by side, with Tunstall’s coat under his horse’s head, and his hat under his own head, as if they had lain down and gone to sleep. Billy the Kid, kneel¬ ing at the side of his fallen friend, with tears flowing, swore a solemn oath that he would kill every man who had helped to murder his benefactor. He performed his work in that regard well. He was killed when twenty-one years of age, and, it is said that, not counting Indians and Mexicans, he had account¬ ed for twenty-one men.
The Lincoln County war continued with fighting and bloodshed, until it culminated in the killing of Sheriff Brady by Billy the Kid, and in the three days’ battle in Lincoln, in which McSween’s house was surrounded by officers and some
JOHN CHISUM
53
sixty deputies acting in the interest of Murphy. In this battle McSween never fired a shot, but prayed most of the time, and was killed grasping his Bible. The McSween house was burned over the heads of the defenders, but Billy the Bad let all the inmates run out, and helped them all he could in their at¬ tempt to escape. Then he picked up a splinter, lit a cigarette, and drawing his hat down tight on his head, threw the door open and rushed out, killing two men, and escaped without a scratch. Billy the Kid was a one-gun man, but it is said that on this occasion he carried a pistol in each hand.
Billy the Kid was convicted for killing Sheriff Brady, and sentenced to be hung, but a few days before that event was to take place, he killed his two guards and escaped. He could have left the country and escaped entirely, but he returned to Fort Sumner, where he was eventually killed by his one-time friend Pat Garrett. The Lincoln County war ruined Murphy. Before the event of the Three Days Battle, Murphy, bankrupt and sick, retired to Santa Fe and died there before the result of the battle and McSween’s death reached him. He was the one-man power on the side opposed to Chisum, Tunstall, Mc¬ Sween, and Billy the Kid, and with his death the contention ended, as his followers lost interest.
Pat Garrett was elected Sheriff of Lincoln County, ar¬ rested Billy the Kid before his conviction and sentence, and after his escape followed him, and finally killed him under cir¬ cumstances in which Garrett stated he had the advantage. Pat Garrett’s description of Billy the Kid is the most apt of any that the writer has seen. A portion of the same reads as fol¬ lows:
“Billy the Kid was a likeable fellow. He was quiet and never bragged. There wasn’t any fuss or bluster in him. He was not quarrelsome, he never hunted trouble. If you had never met him before or heard of him you would have thought
54
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
him a mild, inoffensive sort of a boy. You certainly would not have taken him for a fighter or a killer. I never saw him mad in my life and I hardly remember him when he was not smiling; but he was the most murderous youth that ever stood in shoe leather, and he was game all the way through. When I was elected sheriff, he and I broke friendship. When I started in to hunt him down, I hoped to capture him, I did not want to kill him.”
The injustice and oppressive methods used by the Murphy faction in the Lincoln County war were circulated throughout the west. Some parties censured Samuel B. Axtell, then Terri¬ torial Governor of New Mexico, claiming that he should have used different methods in handling the situation. President Hays concluded that it would be best to remove Governor Ax¬ tell and appoint someone far from either faction to take his place and handle the final adjustment of the situation. The President thereupon removed him, and appointed in his place his friend, General Lew Wallace. Governor Wallace pardoned all the participants in the war, except Billy the Kid. He held a personal interview with Billy the Kid, in which he informed him that he would also pardon him for all his offenses, except the killing of Sheriff Brady, and if he would stand trial on that charge and was convicted he would pardon him for it also. Billy the Kid was suspicious, and thought if he was once dis¬ armed he would be killed by his enemies. He refused the Gov¬ ernor’s offer, and returned to his old life, with the result as stated.
In justice to Billy the Kid, it is necessary that the persons judging him put themselves in his position. He had not been trained in the finer arts of civilization, he had been reared on the prairies, and the only law that he knew was that dealt by his ready gun, in the use of which he had become an expert. He knew that Murphy was in the wrong, and he knew that the deputies of Sheriff Brady had killed his friend. He considered
JOHN CHISUM
55
the act a ruthless murder, and blamed the sheriff for the deed. The only retribution that he knew or wanted to know was tragic and sudden death to the persons who, he had concluded, were implicated in the killing.
John Chisum, Tunstall, and McSween were not fighting men, but fate had placed them at the head of one faction in this bloody conflict. McSween’s character has been detailed here¬ tofore. Tunstall was a quiet inoffensive Englishman. John Chisum was a shrewd, pushing business man, who did not have time to have trouble with anyone. What the three leading char¬ acters lacked in the power of defense, protection, or inclination to avenge their wrongs was made up by Billy the Kid. He literally shot himself to fame, and then shot himself to de¬ struction.
After the close of the Lincoln County War, John Chisum continued to live at South Springs ranch. His herds increased, and he grew wealthy beyond any dream that he had when lo¬ cating in New Mexico. It is estimated that at one time one hundred thousand head of cattle wore his brands. He turned over to Mrs. McSween several hundred head for money he owed her husband. She removed to Three Rivers, some fifty miles southwest of Lincoln. Here she prospered and was known as the Cattle Queen of New Mexico. She sold her ranch at Three Rivers to Albert B. Fall, afterward United States Senator from New Mexico and Secretary of the Interior in the President Harding Cabinet. The old South Springs ranch was for many years the most famous throughout the entire West. Here all persons, whether friends or strangers, were always welcome to come and go at will. The ranch was operated on the true west¬ ern plan. There any person came and remained as long as he desired, and was always welcome, with no price paid for such entertainment by anyone. The table at South Springs Ranch remained set at all times, ready for all comers.
56
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
John Chisum, in contrast to most western men, never carried either pistol or rifle on any occasion, except in early days when he was fighting Indians. During the entire Lincoln County war he never carried a weapon. To do so was not ac¬ cording to his disposition. John Chisum died in 1884, some several years after the close of the Lincoln County war. He died at Eureka Springs, Arkansas, where he had gone for his health, and was buried at Paris, Texas, the place of the begin¬ ning of his activities. His niece, Sallie Robert, formerly Sallie Chisum, was his housekeeper at South Springs Ranch. She was the daughter of his brother James Chisum, and died at Roswell, New Mexico, in 1934. From the arrangement and plans made by John Chisum, South Springs Ranch became one of the beauty spots of the West. After his death, it was purchased and is still owned by H. J. Hagerman, well known railroad builder and once governor of New Mexico. To the students of western history, however, the spirit of Uncle John Chisum still lingers around South Springs.
COL. O. W. WHEELER
57
Col. Oliver W. Wheeler, who in 1867 broke the Trail from the Red River to the Red Fork Ranch, a distance of almost three hundred miles.
58
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
CHAPTER Y.
COL. O. W. WHEELER
Many persons fairly familiar with western history have never heard of Col. O. W. Wheeler; others only know him, or know of him, as a successful cattleman and cattle dealer. All cattlemen in the days of the Old West were prominent and im¬ portant. If not, they were relegated to a position where they did not rank with that fraternity. The Chisholm Trail was a well broken thoroughfare, coming up from the South to the shipping points in the North, over which the herds of the cattle¬ men were driven. So far as these men were concerned, it made no difference whose herd broke the trail, nor did it make any difference as to the difficulties encountered in breaking the same. It was the usefulness of the trail, and that alone, which was considered by them.
The trail must have a name, and so it had been named the same as the portion which had been broken as a wagon trail, and which extended from Wichita to the Cimarron River. All of these cattlemen knew they traveled up the Chisholm Trail, but few of them knew why it was so named, and fewer knew who Chisholm really was. Cattlemen were too busy in those days to inquire as to who first drove a herd over the trail, or as to any other historical matters. History, at that time, was not in the course of study of these men. Only since it has been important from a historical point of view, in order to correctly record these facts for the information of future generations, have these matters been seriously considered. Due to this situ¬ ation, after the lapse of so many years, the unfortunate thing is, the difficulty encountered in procuring the correct informa¬ tion.
COL. O. W. WHEELER
59
This is particularly true in case of Col. O. W. Wheeler. He was known as one of the leading cattlemen on the frontier. He attended to his own business — had a plenty of it; bothered no one, and made no display of himself. Cattlemen, who were his contemporaries, knew that he had driven the first herd in the difficult task of breaking the cattle trail through the In¬ dian Territory from the Red River to the Cimarron. That, how¬ ever, made but little difference. His rating and standing as a cattleman was vastly more important, but time has reversed the relative importance of these matters. The only authentic writ¬ ten history produced at the time, or near enough to the time that it may be considered correct, states without question that Col. O. W. Wheeler guided the first herd across this wild and unconquered country, on the route of the Chisholm Trail from the Red River to the Cimarron.'
It is the purpose to record here the important facts that the writer has been able to learn connected with the life of the remarkable character whose name appears at the head of this chapter. Col. O. W. Wheeler was bora in the State of Con¬ necticut in about the year 1826. It is understood that his fam¬ ily were well-to-do farmers and stockmen in his native state. He was not only taught to handle stock on the home farms, but was sent to school and trained in the higher institutions of learning. He was given a fine education and well equipped for a successful business or professional career. The hand of Fate, however unforeseen, has a habit of playing surprising tricks on us “mortals here below.” In this case, as often happens, the subject of this sketch was turned aside from an apparently clear and unobstructed pathway, leading to a suc¬ cessful future, and ushered face to face with darkest despair, and eventually directed in a course which ultimately led to a greater success than the original would have brought.
■Historical Sketches of the Cattle Trade of the West and Southwest, by Jos. G. McCoy, the pioneer western cattle shipper, printed in 1874, page 261.
60
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
In 1850, Wheeler did not have the prefix of “Colonel” to his name; that was acquired years later by dangerous experi¬ ences on the western prairies. He was, however, a promising young man, ready to enter a successful career in the East. It was suddenly discovered, at this time, that he was a victim of the most dreaded and malignant malady known in the part of the country in which he lived. This was tuberculosis of the lungs, and was considered as sure a sentence of death as if he had stood upon the scaffold with the hangman’s noose about his neck. Instead of being crushed by this judgment and condition, it only imbued him with a spirit of bravery and fearlessness, which characterized his future carrer and brought him success upon the Western Plains. Here he was always known as a man devoid of fear under all circumstances. He was a man, not only small in stature, but frail and slender. Men who knew him stated without hesitation that in the frail frame of this man was housed more determination, perseverance, unwaver¬ ing fearlessness, and infallible business judgment than any other man they ever knew. His accomplishments are more remark¬ able on account of the disadvantages against which he was compelled to contend and under which he labored. The state of his health during most of his life materially handicapped him, as he never grew to be extra strong.
Just preceding this unfortunate circumstance in the life of young Wheeler, nuggets of gold had been dug up in Sutter’s mill-race on the Pacific coast, and other like discoveries had followed in a wide area in the State of California. This had electrified the entire world, turned the course of thousands of adventurers to the West, and started them across the plains. Also, thousands of other people with families joined the long caravans, the wagons of which were dragged slowly across the vast plains country, while the wondering Indians looked down on them from the hilltops Avitli amazement.
COL. O. W. WHEELER
61
Wheeler concluded he would not die without an effort to regain his health by change of climate, and, to overcome his affliction, he sought the gold diggings of California. On ac¬ count of his debilitated condition, lie feared the rigorous and extensive journey across the plains. For this reason he traveled by water and crossed the Isthmus of Panama. In the spring of 1851 he turned his back upon his childhood home, and with little hope of ever returning alive, took passage on a mail steamer for the Isthmus. The only means of crossing the Isth¬ mus, at that time, was by going by canoe up the Chagres River, and thence by pack mules to the harbor at Panama on the Pacific side. In crossing the Isthmus a form of tropical fever, known as the Panama fever, which was the curse of that country, seized upon him. This, with his usual perse¬ verance, he overcame, and finally landed in California after being thirty-two days on the voyage.
When he arrived in California, it was only two years after gold had been discovered there, and the excitement that pervaded the country can well be imagined. This thrill per¬ meated the very atmosphere of the country to which this in¬ valid had been suddenly transplanted. This condition seemed to improve his health from the very beginning, and he soon went to work in the mines. However, his strength not being sufficient to engage in this sort of labor, he was compelled to give it up. He then went to Sacramento and took a position in a mercantile business. He was very much adapted to deal¬ ing in livestock and trading; taking up this vocation he pur¬ chased a limited number of horses and cattle, and went out into the mountains and desert to meet and trade with, or sell to, incoming emigrants, whose stock was worn out by the long journey across the plains and desert. In this, he not only made considerable money, but from the nature of the life and busi¬ ness in which he was engaged, his general health became much
62
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
improved. The ravages of the disease from which he had suf¬ fered, however, left its marks upon him, and he always pre¬ sented an emaciated appearance. Had it not been for his fear¬ less and fiery disposition, which overcame it, he would have been considered an insignificant looking individual.
He thereafter entered into greater enterprises. He success¬ fully followed the business of freighting to the mining camps. He bought a mercantile establishment and sold it at a profit; he speculated in a large bunch of sheep with great gain; he went south to Los Angeles, bought cattle and drove them north, and still made money. While in southern California he pur¬ chased an extensive and well equipped cattle ranch, which within a year he sold at great profit, keeping a portion of the cattle. Wheeler had now become an experienced and confirmed cattleman. He drove his herds northward and established a meat market in San Francisco, which consumed forty head of cattle daily.
After ten years’ absence, Wheeler returned to his native Connecticut, apparently a well man. On this trip he crossed the plains for the first time. His experience in the mountains and on the trail had, however, taught him well the ways of the Indians, and he soon became an expert in dealing with them. On his return to the West, he bought a herd of horses and prepared to drive them over the trail to California. This was in 1861, and most of the Western Indians were on the war path, roving the plains at will, killing every person possible, and waylaying every caravan they could find. It was necessary, in order to cross the plains at that time, to assemble a large aggregation of wagons and men for mutual protection. This was done, when there were gathered together Wheeler’s large herd of horses, with his men and outfit, and several hundred wagons of emigrants with over one thousand head of their loose stock. The number of persons constituting this caravan
COL. O. W. WHEELER
63
has not been preserved, but there must have been from six to eight hundred. Wheeler was elected commandant of this ex¬ tensive organization, and was designated as “Colonel,” a desig¬ nation by which he was known the remaining portion of his life. This was, perhaps, the largest number of persons who ever crossed the plains in one body.
Led by this intrepid little frontiersman, the caravan moved out on its long and tedious journey. The Indians swarmed around them, and many times threatened to overpower them. For days and weeks their wagons, teams, and herds moved slowly but steadly forward. From the way this outfit was handled, the Indians well knew that some experienced hand was guiding it, and also they knew full well the penalty of any rash act on their part. It is said that in this entire trip there was not lost an animal or man because of the Indians. They arrived in California in due time, well and happy. Wheeler sold his horses at a big profit. He then returned to the cattle business, which was now to claim him for the balance of his life. lie bought cattle in southern California, drove them north, and sold them in the mining camps at a profit. Wheeler had come to California to the gold mines, but he now made more money than the gold diggers, and procured it without taking it from the ground. He drove his stock as far north as Nevada, following this business until the spring of 1867.
In 1866, there was an extensive drought in southern Cali¬ fornia, and it was necessary to sell all the cattle in that pro¬ ducing portion of the State. The result was that, in the spring of 1867, cattle could not be had in southern California, which was the main source of the supply in the West. Wheeler knew that the State of Texas was overflowing with cattle, and there was no market for them, so he conceived the idea of driving a large herd from that State across the plains to California. In
64
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
this enterprise, he associated himself with two reliable and enterprising men, a Mr. Wilson and a Mr. Hicks.
Early in the spring of 1867, these three men crossed the plains by the southern route, going by the way of El Paso, Texas, and arrived at San Antonio in that State in due time. Because of his experience on the plains and being a natural leader, Colonel Wheeler was the acknowledged head of this enterprise. Let us here observe the magnitude of the under¬ taking that lay ahead of this party. Not a herd had crossed the Indian Territory up to this time, except the herds of 1866, which had gone to the northeast and met disaster. The trail to Abilene, Kansas, the route he was compelled to follow, was not only unknown, but no definite route existed, and it was unexplored by white men ; the bands of soldiers who had ven¬ tured out onto and attempted to cross it had been led by experi¬ enced guides. The task of exploring this route and driving a large bunch of cattle across it seemed impossible to accomplish successfully; the Government was trying hard, but with little success, to subdue the wild Indian tribes of the plains.
It was the plan of Col. Wheeler to drive his herd direct across the Indian Territory to Abilene, Kansas, which was just being established on the new Kansas Pacific Railway, and then west across the plains, over the route he had followed be¬ fore, to California. The hazard of the undertaking was doubled several times by the uncertainty of the conditions that were to be encountered in the progress of the undertaking, and by the extent of the unforeseen difficulties that they would encounter. They prepared to meet and overcome all these, whether they were plains Indians or other formal enemies.
These parties procured twenty-four hundred head of as fine cattle as could be bought in Texas. They also bought over one hundred head of unexcelled cow-liorses, and hired fifty-four of the best cowboys who could be found in Texas. These men
COL. O. W. WHEELER
65
were not only qualified as cowboys, but as Indian fighters as well. This outfit was furnished with the best saddles, and as complete an equipment as could be procured. Each man was armed with a new Henry Rifle,2 the last word, at that time, in Indian fighting guns. These weapons in the hands of experi¬ enced users were very effective in Indian fighting. They also carried a number of needle guns or buffalo guns for long range. Each man had swung at his belt from one to two of the latest model, large caliber Colt revolving “six-shooters.” They were a formidable array. Conclios 3 glistened on the head stalls of their bridles, their long leather tapaderas trailed down from their stirrups, their large Spanish spurs dragged the ground and jingled a merry tune as they walked or rode. New stiff chaparajos* * adorned the legs of every rider. Their wiry mus¬ tangs jumped and snorted at every move of the rider. On the right side, looped by a string to the saddle horn, hung the ever present lasso ( reata ), made of good rawhide. From the left side, with the loop on the handle around the saddle horn, hung the cowboy’s quirt, less than three feet long, but the only whip he ever used. Thus equipped this bunch of cowboys trailed out twenty-four hundred head of long-horned southern cattle from
*The Henry Rifles, used at this time, were first made in 1866. They were manu¬ factured by New Haven Arms Company. They were lever action repeating rifles, working on the same plan of the 1873 Winchester Rifles. They were of .44 caliber, rim fire, and shot sixteen times. For short range they were the most effective re¬ peating rifle made before the 1873 model .44 center fire Winchesters.
s Conchos were a bright glistening metal disk usually the size of an inch or two inches in diameter, fastened onto the head stall of a bridle. They were doubtless so named from the Spanish Concha, meaning shell. They were evidently originally made from shells.
* Chaparajos is the name given to the leather coverings for the legs worn by cowboys. They buckled at the top around the waist, and protected the legs in brush, rain, or from cold. The name so given to them is of Mexican derivation, perhaps being a combination of the Spanish word chapa, meaning a metal cover for adorn- men or a rough cover, and the word rajar, a coarse cloth or material. It may be taken from the Mexican word chaparro, meaning brush, as they protected the eg of the riders from the brush. The derivation of this word is doubtful. It is a welt established word on the frontier, but it is claimed that it is not derived from the Spanish, but belongs to the Mexican entirely. It is pronounced chap-a-ra-hos. in present usages in English the abbreviated form of the word is used, and these cover¬ ings are simply called “chaps.” In early days they were largely known as leggms.
66
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
their native pastures, which they would never see again. Jos. G. McCoy in his book, to which reference has heretofore been made, and which comprises the principal written history of these early drives, written within a few years afterward, on page 261 states :
“No more complete outfit or better herd of stock ever left Texas. This herd was the first to pass through the Indian Na¬ tion and break the trail over which the drive of 1867 came.”
This outfit left San Antonio in the early summer of 1867. They crossed the Colorado Eiver at Austin, and the Eed Eiver near where the drives of the preceding year had passed on their disastrous journeys, but soon left these old trails and bore to the west of the same, breaking a trail across the unknown coun¬ try. The storms gathered, the lightning flashed, the thunder roared, the rains poured, and the cattle stampeded, but they were gathered again and trailed to the northward. It proved to be the wettest and most disagreeable season to drive cattle that was known during the life of the trail. The outfit swam strange rivers, creeks that were swollen into large streams, and traversed flooded lands, but ever kept their course to the north¬ ward. It is generally known that in driving in this sort of weather, cattle do not do well. The grass is washy and soft, and the cattle do not take on fat. Such was the case with this herd.
Colonel Wheeler knew many of the obstacles that he might encounter, as well as the advantages. One of these was the dis¬ position of the wild plains Indians to the westward, and, for that reason, he kept his course to the east of a direct line. He passed about fourteen miles east of the present City of El Eeno ; headed to the northwest, striking Kingfisher Creek near the present City of Kingfisher, and then followed that creek north¬ ward on the east side of the same to its mouth, where it empties into the Cimarron Eiver. This point is about one and one-half
COL. O. W. WHEELER
67
miles below the crossing of that river by the railway and Gov¬ ernment Highway 81. It is a strange fact, but nevertheless true, that this point always remained the crossing of the Chis¬ holm Cattle Trail until the same was forever closed. After crossing the river at this point Wheeler went up the same on the north side for about one and one-half miles, where he struck the Old Chisholm Traders’ Trail, which had been laid out by Jesse Chisholm in 1865. Thus was broken the great cattle trail from San Antonio to the known trail on the north side of the Indian Territory. The only purpose of Wheeler was to find the most direct route to his objective, which at that time was a point in the vicinity of the newly established town of Abilene, Kansas. From there he would travel westward across the plains, as he had done before.
Another herd of cattle crossed the Red River, driving north, at about the same time the Wheeler herd crossed. This herd belonged to a man by the name of Thomson, which, if it took the same course as the Wheeler outfit, followed him. It was not driven by its owner all the way to Abilene, but was sold in the Indian Territory to some eastern speculators, who took it on to Abilene. The route taken by the Wheeler drive passed a short distance to the east of the established Chisholm cattle trail of years to come, over which the millions of cattle traveled to the northern markets.
After reaching the established Chisholm Trail, the Wheeler outfit continued northward on the same. The rains continued to pour, the rivers and creeks rose in proportion, but this herd trailed on north over the finest land and the finest range that could be found. It crossed the Kansas and Indian Territory line just south of the present City of Caldwell, and went north to Abilene. The season had not only been disagreeable and hard on the drivers, but the Asiatic cholera had broken out all over the western and plains country, persons on all sides were
68
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
falling victims to this dreaded ailment, and dying in great numbers. To make matters worse, the plains Indians were still on the war path, were killing every helpless traveler and settler possible, were stealing and running away stock on every occasion, and creating consternation in general on the trails crossing the plains country.
Wilson and Hicks did not have the daring spirit of Wheeler, and, when they reached Abilene, after taking all the existing conditions into consideration, refused to continue on their journey westward. Wheeler begged, and then abused them, but it was all to no avail. They were more afraid of the cholera and the Indians than they were of his abuse, and they refused to continue. Wheeler was so disgusted with the situation that he declared he would never again enter into partnership with anyone, and this declaration he never violated. Their cattle were held on grass for some time, and then shipped to market with fair profit.
Wheeler had learned that the cattle business in the cen¬ tral west held more promise for the future than it did in his home State of California, and he cast his lot with the plains cattle business from that time on. When his partners would not continue their journey with the herd across the plains, Wheeler wanted to winter the cattle in Kansas, but his part¬ ners would not agree to that, and when they were shipped Wheeler bought another bunch of fifteen hundred head on his own account, wintered them in Kansas, and drove them to Quincy, Illinois, the next season, where he placed them on pasture, together with many more that he bought at a low price on account of the fear of the Spansh fever. When the scare subsided he had a large herd of domesticated fat cattle, which he sold for a small fortune. He then went to Texas and bought a herd of five thousand head, which he drove to Nevada.
COL. O. \V. WHEELER
69
While this herd was traveling northward he bought and shipped six thousand more head to Chicago.
Wheeler’s judgment in cattle ventures was so unerring that it appeared his observation could penetrate the future. When the market was good Wheeler’s cattle came in by the thousands. Then he would cease shipping and stand as an idle observer, while others would lose without fail. He would then come for¬ ward and make money with each venture. In 1870 Wheeler drove from Texas and disposed of twelve thousand head of cattle. In 1871 he brought up the trail seven thousand head. In his drives he learned, the same as all other trail drivers did, that it was best to drive in smaller herds than was done at first. About twenty-five hundred head was the most convenient number to include in one drive. In 1872, Wheeler sold at one time five thousand head of cattle for $125,000.00, but in 1873 he foresaw the break that was coming, and did not drive or buy. But few cattlemen were so lucky in avoiding the catas¬ trophe of 1873.
Wheeler continued his operations at Newton, Wichita, and other points. He was in Kansas City in 1874. Here we lose track of him, and, from this time on, we have been unable to learn of any of his dealings or his life. Whether he fought out his battle on the Pacific Coast, further west, or where he went, no one seems to know. We do not know where his remains rest. In any event, he left a record for wise dealing and unerring judgment in the cattle industry in the plains country. The greatest achievement of his life will ever go down in history as his trip across the unmarked and uncharted country, when he rode at the head of his herd and broke the trail from the Red River to the Cimarron across the Indian Territory.
Whether this cattle trail should be named the Chisholm Trail, in honor of the great and unassuming plainsman who traveled it from the Arkansas River in Kansas to the Cim-
70
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
arron in Oklahoma, or whether it be named for the fiery little warrior who drove the first herd over it from the Red River to Abilene, Kansas, we are not to say. The trail has been named, not by us, but by the men who first traveled it, and that name has been perpetuated by the stern-faced, sun-tanned drovers, and picturesque and hardy cowboys who rode the same for two decades after Col. Wheeler first trailed his herd over and broke the trail. We concur in the act of these men, and long may the memory of this old highway and the deeds of the men who rode it live in history, story, and song through gen¬ erations yet unborn.
In describing this trail during the years of its use, when millions of southern cattle traveled up the same, we desire to tell you in the words of a man who spent many years of his life on it, an old friend of the writer, Charles A. Siringo. We quote from his book “Reata and Spurs” on page 26 :
“On reaching the City of Austin, on the Colorado River, two hundred miles from its mouth, at the town of Matagordo, we struck the Chisholm Trail proper. From here north to the line of Kansas, a distance of about seven hundred miles, it was one continuous roadway, several hundred yards wide, tramped hard and solid by the millions of hoofs which had gone over it. It started in at a ford three miles below the City. All smaller trails from the different Gulf coast districts merged into this great and only Chisholm Trail.”
While Siringo fixed the south terminus of the Chisholm Trail at the ford near Austin, where the trails from all points south converged, the main branch extended southwest from Austin to San Antonio, and it is generally considered that the Chisholm Trail extended from San Antonio to Abilene. In any event, few of the men are still living who trailed the herds over the same in the days oi its activities, and their numbers are growing less each year.
CHARLES GOODNIGHT
71
Charles Goodnight, the father of the cattle industry in the Panhandle.
72
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
CHAPTER VI.
CHARLES GOODNIGHT
Charles Goodnight never traveled the Chisholm Trail, did not know Jesse Chisholm, or for whom the trail was named. He did know that it was not named for his friend John Chisum. It has been necessary, in order to eliminate the con¬ fusion as to the naming of the trail, to give a short history of the life of John Chisum. This is well, however, as all persons should know more than they do about this historical character. The same is true as to Charles Goodnight, except that it is nec¬ essary to connect him with the Chisholm Trail for an entirely different reason. While Charles Goodnight knew nothing about the Chisholm Trail, yet the course of his life and the part he played in the West had more to do in changing the route and stimulating later activities on the trail, during a portion of the period of its life, than that of any other man.
Charles Goodnight never operated in the cattle business east of his first established ranch in Palo Pinto County, Texas. This ranch was about forty miles west of Fort Worth, and be¬ tween the cities of Weatherford and Mineral Wells, Texas. He is properly designated as the father of the cattle industry in the Panhandle of Texas. He not only established the cattle industry in that portion of the State, but up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1929, when he was 93 years of age, he was the acknowledged leader of that business in all western Texas. He kept pace with all improvements and developments in it, sought out the best breeds of cattle adapted to the coun¬ try, and the best methods of handling them.
Prior to the year 1880, the railways had extended into eastern and central Texas, and thus reached and handled a
CHARLES GOODNIGHT
73
large portion of the cattle that would have otherwise traveled up the Chisholm Trail. From this portion of the State of Texas, prior to the advent of their railways, Dodge City, Kan¬ sas, had been the principal shipping point after 1875. The Chis¬ holm Trail, from the then terminus of the railroad at Wichita to the southern line of Kansas, had been closed by the settlements. The cattle which came up to Dodge City took what was known in those days as the Western Cattle Trail or Texas Cattle Trail. This was the name given this trail on the maps at that time. This trail started northwest of San Antonio, and entered the Indian Territory approximately sixty miles west of the Chis¬ holm Trail, in what is now Tillman County, at a point north of the present City of Vernon, Texas.
The settlements south of Wichita closed the Chisholm Trail to the Indian Territory line in about 1876. The railway was built into Dodge City in 1872. It immediately became the greatest headquarters in all the West for buffalo hunters. Dodge City is located fifty miles north of the then Indian Territory line, and directly west of Wichita, Kansas, but from the fact that it is about one hundred and sixty miles west of Wichita, the settlements south of Dodge City did not interfere with the trail between it and the Indian Territory until sev¬ eral years afterward, when the settlers pushing westward had reduced the plains to homes and farms that far west. Dodge City designated itself during this time as the “Cowboy Capital.” It lived up to its name until the farmers closed the trail south of it to the Indian Territory line in the early eighties.
In 1880 the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway built south to Caldwell, Kansas, and the Indian Territory line. The Chisholm Trail came to life once more, and millions of cloven hoofs each year traveled over it again. In 1880 the “Cowboy Capital” was moved to Caldwell, and remained there until it was lost by the extension of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pa-
74
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
cific Railway in 1889. The foregoing conditions have been detailed at length, and, if the reader will bear them in mind, it will readily be seen the effect that the efforts and results obtained by Charles Goodnight had on the Chisholm Trail, even though he never personally used the trail.
Charles Goodnight in the early days of the cattle industry in the West was a powerful, energetic, intelligent, resourceful, and fearless young man, about thirty years of age. Taking all of these attributes into consideration, there was nothing left to constitute all the requirements for success. He was a native of Illinois, born in 1836. When he was nine years of age his family moved to Texas, settling at Milam. Here he lived until he was nineteen years of age, at which time he went further west into Palo Pinto' County. Raising and handling cattle was the principal industry in the State of Texas at that time. While this country is spotted, yet, to take it as a whole, it is a good cattle country. There is a sufficient supply of grass, and the hills, the mesquite and blackjack thickets furnish an abun¬ dance of protection for stock in all kinds of weather. Young Goodnight eventually engaged in the cattle business, and threw all his energy and efforts into the same. In order to procure the initial capital to install himself and gradually get into the cattle business he first freighted by ox team, hauling sup¬ plies from San Antonio and Houston to the settlements and ranches in Palo Pinto and other counties to the northwest. The starting at any time is difficult for a young man without means, but Goodnight kept increasing his holdings until he established himself well in the cattle and ranching business.
1Palo Pinto is Spanish, and being literally translated means spotted post or tree. The meaning of pctlo, which literally means post or tree, has been varied and corrupted considerably, and is often used to mean place or location, as in Palo Alto, which means high place or high point or tree. The land in Palo Pinto County, Texas is very spotted, as all know who have visited that part of the State of Texas. This name was perhaps given to the county on account of this spotted condition of the land, or from some trees growing thereon.
CHARLES GOODNIGHT
76
One of the principal qualifications required of the settlers in the portion of Texas where Charles Goodnight was located at that time was to be a reputable Indian fighter. In this busi¬ ness Goodnight also qualified and grew to be an expert. Dur¬ ing the Civil War he enlisted and served in the ranks of the Texas Rangers. His duties during this period of four years was to hold back the hostile Indians on the plains, and pre¬ vent their excursions and depredations on the frontiers of Texas.
After the close of the Civil War, Goodnight returned to his neglected ranch and cattle interest in Palo Pinto County. He found himself and partner, who was associated in the busi¬ ness with him, possessed of a vast number of cattle, estimated by him at 7,000 head. Under the conditions, as they existed there at that time, these cattle were a liability instead of an asset. Their numbers were increasing, there was no available market for them, nor Avas there any prospect for a market in the future. The nearest point, considered by Goodnight, to reach a market for any of his herd was in the settlements of New Mexico. There Avere so many other herds nearer the mar¬ kets to the southeast, east, and northeast that it was impossible to think of competing Avith them. In order to reach New Mex¬ ico, he would be compelled to go north over the Staked Plains, or to the west across the desert to the Pecos River, and up that river. The route to the north, even in the country bordering on the Staked Plains,2 sAvarmed Avith all the different bands
2 The Staked Plains is the English designation and meaning of the Spanish name originally given to these plains. The Spanish name is and was “ Llano Estacado.” The plains were so named from the fact that a trail which was afterward used as a stage route was laid out across the same near the route followed by Charles Good¬ night and the Goodnight trail. This route was laid out in 1846 by General Pope, was used as the southern route to California, and ran west to El Paso, Texas. After this route was traveled, in order to keep the right course across the desert, when the wind blew the dust and sand over the trail, stakes were set to mark the route. Thus it was called Staked Plains, or in the Spanish “Llano Estacado.” These plains comprise a large scope of usually sandy, arid, country extending across the western part of Texas. It is also stated, that this name originated with the early Spanish explorers, but if so, it must have been applied for the same reason as stated.
76
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
of the wild Plains Indians, including the murderous Apaches. No civilized thing could exist among these hordes of blood¬ thirsty, scalp-hunting savages. On the other hand, in the route to the west to the Pecos, there lay between him and that river almost one hundred miles of scorching desert. Not one drop of water was to be found in this one hundred miles. This desert portion of the trail is actually ninety-six miles long.
Goodnight selected the desert route rather than the north¬ ern and Indians. He was the first man to drive a herd of cattle over it, or to demonstrate that such a thing could be done. This was ever afterward known as the “Goodnight Trail.” It extended from Concho County, Texas, to Fort Sum¬ ner, New Mexico. In solving this problem for the disposition of the cattle in this portion of Texas, Goodnight exhibited the characteristics for ingenuity and boldness, which ever made him a leader and famous on the frontier. There was a Gov¬ ernment post at Fort Sumner, in eastern New Mexico. Thou¬ sands of Indians received the supplies furnished them by the Government at this point. Colorado was settling. Many per¬ sons had been induced to go to this Territory in search of gold and adventure. Extensive settlements had grown up at Den¬ ver, Colorado City, Pueblo, and other points. The Indians and settlements needed beef, and Texas had it to spare.
No person before Charles Goodnight had ever dared to dream of driving a herd of cattle across the desert country from the Concho to the Pecos, but Goodnight not only dreamed it, but mustered his men and herd to travel over it. He deter¬ mined that the route he would take should strike the Pecos at the “Horse Head Crossing”’ on the same. When the season
3 The Horse Head Crossing of the Pecos River was located on the route laid out on the trail by General Pope in 1846. This trail crossed the Pecos River at the Horse Head Crossing. The origin of the name or the reason for so naming it is uncertain. It is claimed by some, that it was so named on account of the bends in the river resembling a horse’s head. This is hardly justified, for the reason that no bend exists in the river at this point, and the banks are so steep and of such a nature that it
CHARLES GOODNIGHT
77
was far enough advanced that his cattle were in good condi¬ tion to take to the trail, and stand the strain of this trip over the desert, he started out on his famous drive in the spring of 1866. His outfit consisted of such equipment as was necessary in making a trip of this kind. The cattle were in the first place selected so that the strongest and ones better suited for the hardships of the journey were procured. The best of horses, strong and well trained, were chosen. Above all, the men were selected, not only for their capability in handling the herds and enduring the hardships of the trip, but for their efficiency as Indian fighters.
They were well armed, most of them were ex-Confederate soldiers, well-trained in the use of their weapons, and were not afraid. For thret days this aggregation of ox teams draw¬ ing the wagons, these thousands of crowding, bawling, and finally moaning, staggering, long-horned cattle, a large horse remuda, together with dozens of lank, fearless, and hardy cow¬ boys, steadily took their course to the westward across these sandy waterless plains. They stopped only for an hour or so at a time, and this at long intervals. They traveled over the burning sands day and night. Many of these hardy cattle dropped in their tracks and were left behind. The rest moved on slower and slower, moaning as they traveled along.
Finally they passed through Castle Mountain Gap Canyon for about four miles, and when they emerged, the river some ten or more miles away could be seen. The cattle went wild, the horses took fresh life, and the drivers forgot that they
is not probable that the river has changed its course. It has also been claimed, that the surveying party which laid out the trail lost their horses there, but such would not account for the naming it as stated. The most reasonable solution of the matter, and the one that the author adopts, is that it was a custom on the plains, as all old plainsmen know, to mark water holes, fords, springs, and any location that was difficult to find, by placing a buffalo head or other marker on high ground or in a conspicuous place, where it would be seen when nearing the place sought. In this case a skull or horse’s head was set up to mark the proximity to the crossing. Persons giving directions to others traveling over the route would direct them in ac.cordance with the marker set up.
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
had had no sleep, except in the saddle, for three days. To more clearly understand this trip, and the feeling on reaching the Pecos, it is best to quote a short description of the same in the words of Charles Goodnight himself, as follows :
“In my first drive across the 96 mile desert, I lost 300 head of cattle. We were three days and nights in crossing and during that time we had no sleep or rest, as we had to keep the cattle moving constantly, in order to get them to water before they died of thrist. I rode the same horse for three days and nights, and what sleep I got was on his back. When the cattle reached the water they had no sense at all. They stampeded into the stream, swam right across it, and then doubled back before they stopped to drink. During this trip the steers got as gentle as dogs.”
The Pecos River for miles above and below the Horse Head Crossing has steep banks, and it was only at places where there were depressions along the banks or paths going down to the water that the cattle could get down, and for that rea¬ son they would spread out for miles up and down the river. From the Horse Head Crossing of the Pecos, the herd wound its way up the river for hundreds of miles to Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Here Goodnight sold his entire herd of cattle on the hoof at eight cents per pound. In the route he had taken he had driven his herd over six hundred miles, but the returns were sufficient to prove the correctness of his judgment.
The following year, 1867, this same trail was followed by Charles Goodnight, John Chisum, and Oliver Loving. Cliisum concluded, that if it was profitable to drive the cattle across, and there was such a demand for them, it would pay to raise them in New Mexico. Therefore he located and established his famous ranch in that year at Bosque Grande, south of Fort Sumner. During the succeeding years Goodnight and Loving were in partnership in their drives across this same route. They were also associated with John Chisum.
CHARLES GOODNIGHT
79
Several years later on one of their drives, as they neared this crossing of the Pecos, Loving rode ahead to reach the river and provide for reception of the herd. He was ambushed and wounded by the Indians, who were hidden near the river. One of Loving’s companions rushed back and told Goodnight, who was back with the herd, what had happened. Goodnight made diligent search for his partner, but failed to find him, and they gave up the search, supposing the Indians had killed him. He had, however, survived and hidden, and was found badly wound¬ ed and almost starved five days later by some Mexicans. They took him to Fort Sumner, where Goodnight found him on his arrival. Loving, however, contracted blood poison from his wound, and died a few days later . All the early drivers on the Goodnight trail had much trouble with the Indians, and lost many men and cattle on this account.
In his original cattle enterprise in Palo Pinto County, Goodnight had been in partnership with a man by the name of Sheek. Goodnight and Loving had realized §80,000.00 on their cattle driving enterprise. On his return to Texas in 1870 Goodnight turned over one-half of this sum, or §40,000.00, to Loving’s widow. He divided the remaining portion with Sheek, leaving him only the sum of §20,000.00. This, however, was not all of his worldly possessions at that time. He had previous¬ ly invested in a ranch in Colorado, which held more promise for the future than his investments in Texas.
Goodnight was at this time thirty-four years of age, strong and ambitious. He sold out his interests in Texas, and cast his lot in Colorado. Before he left for his future home he was married to Miss Mary Ann Dyer. In the selection of a wife, he used the same business judgment he had in his other affairs of life. This wife was his companion, associate, adviser, and home maker for fifty-six years, until death separated them. Much of the time she rode a Spanish mustang, the same as
80
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
the cowboys, into the cow camps and on the roundups, by the side of her husband. Charles A. Siringo in his “Reata and Spurs” says of Mrs. Goodnight :
“When spring came, I was called in from the plains, and put in charge of a roundup crew, consisting of a cook and twelve riders. Our first roundup was on the Goodnight range, at the mouth of Mulberry Creek. Here we had the pleasure of a genuine cattle queen’s presence. Mrs. Goodnight, a noble little woman, a dyed-in-the-wool Texan, attended these round¬ ups with her husband.”
Mrs. Goodnight was perhaps as well known throughout all the western country for her loyalty and fidelity to the cattle industry as her husband. She belonged to a family of ranchers who prospered. Her brothers as well as her husband were among the progressive cattlemen who helped to advance that industry in the Panhandle country.
When Charles Goodnight removed to Colorado, he sought to enter into a line of business which would be less strenuous, dangerous, and exacting, than the life he had been living up to that time. He therefore entered into the banking business, but kept his ranch in Colorado, and operated the same in con¬ nection with his other business. The fate of the banking busi¬ ness within a few years after 1873 is National history. This fate, as we all know, was not due to a lack of management, foresight, or business acumen on the part of the operators, but was one of those unforeseen rocks that lie beneath the un¬ charted waters of the financial world, that will wreck any ship regardless of the qualifications of the pilot or master. In this wreck Goodnight lost all he had invested in the bank, and lost his ranch. When he adjusted his affairs, all he had left was 1600 head of cattle, but while Fate had apparently played him a mean trick, the future proved that it was to his ad¬ vantage. Had it not been for this disaster, Goodnight would
CHARLES GOODNIGHT
82
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
simply have been a western banker, and would not have been known as the father of the cattle industry in the great empire of the Panhandle country, and would not have made the for¬ tune which he gathered from this business.
In addition to the several hundred cattle which he had left from the wreck, Goodnight had other assets in his physical vitality and mental ability to undertake anything. He also had a wife ready to share any adversity with him, and had three brothers-in-law, all of whom were well versed in the cattle busi¬ ness, and rugged pioneers like himself. Charles Goodnight knew Texas, from the black soil of the central portion of the State west to the Rio Grande. He had long traveled over the Staked Plains and the country bordering on the same. He re¬ called the broad plains of the Panhandle country, even when it was covered with scalp-seeking redskins. He recalled the beau¬ tiful range country of the Palo Duro Canyon4 on the headwaters of the Red River, known as the Paloduro. The State of Texas had issued land scrip and sold the same. This entitled the holder to select and take the number of acres of land belonging to the State of Texas specified in each certificate. This had been issued and sold, many years prior to 1870, in order to induce settlers to take up land in Texas and improve the State. Holders of this scrip had taken up most of the land on the Paloduro. Owing to conditions this land could be bought for a very small amount. The draw backs which caused the land to be cheap also faced the persons buying. These were the con¬ ditions which the settler was compelled to meet : The Cheyenne
4 The Palo Duro or Paloduro Canyon is a large plain surrounded almost all the way round the same by a high bank, and is almost a natural enclosure. It is located southwest of Amarillo, Texas, in Deaf Smith County, perhaps thirty miles from Amarillo. It is on what is known as the Paloduro Creek, which is on the head waters of the Red River. The word is Spanish. The meaning of the words in Spanish are as follows: Palo translated literally means post or tree. Duro is an adjective, and means firm, hard, rough, or durable. In Spanish it means hard wood, but the name is applied to a bush growing in the Panhandle country, for which the Canyon and Creek are named. This enclosure in this canyon has been referred to as being the finest grazing land in the United States. This name is sometimes spelled “Paladora.”
CHARLES GOODNIGHT
83
Indians to the north had been placed upon their reservation and quieted; the Comanches of the plains had been quieted and moved upon their reservation with the Kiowas; but the wild Apaches still roamed the wide expanse of the open country for hundreds of miles around, and they continuel to harass and make life hazardous in all this country until the close of the year 1877. The buffalo still roamed at will over the Panhandle country, and these natives of the prairies cropped the curly mesquite and buffalo grass from hundreds of miles on one of the finest grazing countries in the world.
Charles Goodnight with his usual foresight saw the day in the near future when these Indians and buffalo would be compelled to abndon this country, and saw the vast wealth that lay in the cattle business on the same as soon as the cattle could be established thereon. With this idea in mind he drifted his herd into the northern Panhandle5 country in the summer of 1877. He did not have the means at this time to enter into the cattle business to the extent that he desired, and in order to carry on the same on a larger scale he entered into a part¬ nership with a Scotchman by the name of Odair. They not only made arrangements to go south into the Palo Duro Canyon, but also to buy large tracts of land there, and to buy a large number of shorthorn bulls to turn with their cattle and im¬ prove the breed of their herds. These cattle were the ancestors of the herds that in future years wound their way over the country to the eastward and poured onto the Chisholm Trail, and into the shipping points at the end of the same. In carry¬ ing out their plan they bought large tracts of land over the
5 Panhandle refers to what is known as the Panhandle of Texas. It is used to designate that portion of the State of Texas which extends northward and which separates Oklahoma from New Mexico. It was so named by the early day plainsmen on account of its similarity to the handle of a frying pan when attached to the balance of the State of Texas. The strip of land on the north side of the same, connecting the State of Oklahoma with New Mexico, has also been designated as the Panhandle of Oklahoma, but the pan handle as used in this article refers to the Panhandle of Texas.
84
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
country, and spotted it so that large interests could not afford to come into the country and molest them in their locality, on account of the scattered condition of the remaining land.
Following out their plan, in the winter of 1877, or in the spring of 1878, Goodnight and his outfit moved south to the Palo Duro, and established his famous ranch of that name. He was also the first to introduce the Hereford cattle in the Panhandle. These cattle were the greatest improvement ever made on the herds of the plains. They are the last word in the breeds of cattle in the cattle industry, not only in the Pan¬ handle, but also in the entire State of Texas. These millions of cattle from the Panhandle, in future years, cut wide and dusty trails over their route eastward, passing near Mobeetie, Texas, and Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and joining the Chisholm Trail usually near the South Canadian River. This connection with the Chisholm Trail was made at several points. The life of the Chisholm Trail was revived, as the cowboys from the Pan¬ handle, accompanied with their horse remudas and chuck wagons, drove millions of cattle up the same to the railways at Caldwell, Hunnewell, and other markets on the Kansas border.
Goodnight rode the range and with the roundups, and pros¬ pered. He grew wealthy beyond his most exaggerated dreams. He saw the broad expanses of wilderness over which he had roamed subdued by the modern hand of Civilization ; he saw the steel rails of the railroads eventually laid almost to his door; he lived to see untold millions of dollars realized from oil pro¬ duced by modern methods on the very land over which he had ridden for years ; he saw tall stately buildings rise, and one of the modern cities of the world rear its head at Amarillo,6 Texas ; all at his very doorstep.
6 The word Amarillo is Spanish and means yellow. It is usually pronounced in English as spelled, but the Spanish pronunciation of the same is entirely different. In Spanish it is pronounced am-a-reo. The “LL” in Spanish words is one of the things very difficult for an English speaking person to correctly pronounce.
CHARLES GOODNIGHT
Goodnight has to his credit the preservation of a large herd of buffalo, and he also crossed the buffalo with native cattle. These, however, did not produce highly satisfactory animals. It has been said that the establishing of his buffalo herd was the idea of Mrs. Goodnight. She took some mother¬ less buffalo calves, which they had captured alive, and reared them. From this start grew the thriving and extensive herd of buffalo which were owned by Goodnight, and which were and are famous throughout the West.
Charles Goodnight was also the founder of the Goodnight College, located at the City of Goodnight, in Armstrong Coun¬ ty, Texas. The City of Goodnight is located about sixty miles southeast of Amarillo. He operated this school himself for several years, and then gave it to the City as a high school building. Goodnight and his wife moved to the little City of Goodnight in 1887. Here they lived quietly and contentedly until they were separated by the death of Mrs. Goodnight in 1926. During this time he looked after, in a general way, his extensive interests, carrying into effect his useful ideas to ad¬ vance the cattle industry, not alone in his community and State, but in the entire Nation. He is credited, and doubtless justly so, with originating the idea of a serum treatment, which con¬ sisted of inoculating domestic animals subject to the Texas or Spanish fever, and thus rendering them immune to that fatal disease. He originated this idea from the fact that he ob¬ served that a domestic calf which had suckled a mother suffer¬ ing from the disease never contracted or died from the same.
Mrs. Goodnight had lived the life of a pioneer western woman, which she enjoyed. She had lived with, shared all the hardships of the plains, ridden at the side of her husband, and been his companion. That he missed her, no one can doubt. He had lived, been reared, and moulded in the hard school of the frontier. This life had taught him to take the world as it
86
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
was dealt to him and never complain. The proud spirit of this old plainsman and benefactor of the West, however, gradually drooped after her death, and he finally succumbed. He died at Tuscon, Arizona in December, 1929, three years after the death of his wife, and at the age of ninety-three years. Thus one by one the pioneers of the plains, who have survived its hardships and dangers, go down before the never failing cycle of Time, and are laid to rest in the land that they helped to subdue and win to civilization.
JOSEPH G. McCOY
Joseph G. McCoy, founder of the cattle shipping industry at Abilene.
88
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
CHAPTER VII.
JOSEPH G. McCOY
The efforts of no one man brought about the establish¬ ment and development of the great Chisholm Trail which reached the magnitude and importance it held when at its zenith of usefulness. The efforts of some men associated with it were directed to the purpose of developing the trail. Such men were McCoy, Col. Wheeler, and dozens of their contemporaries. Both of the men named and Jesse Chisholm were interested in laying out and establishing portions of this long trail. Other men contributed largely to the development of the same, but did it on account of their activities and efforts in extending their business at other points. Such was the case with Charles Good¬ night. All of these persons and the many others contributing their part deserve credit and are entitled to have the results of their efforts recorded as a part of the history of this once great enterprise. Joseph G. McCoy did more than any other one man to establish the early drives over the Chisholm Trail route, did more to stimulate them after the trail was broken, and to establish Abilene as the terminus.
We have heretofore seen the result of the Civil War on the cattle conditions of Texas. It will be recalled that during the war the armies of both the North and the South consumed all the cattle in the eastern portion of the country, while the Federal Army held control of the Mississippi River and pre¬ vented the passage of any cattle from the west across the same, and thus bottled up the cattle of Texas, where they remained and increased to a superabundance. Joseph G. McCoy had pondered over this matter, and he also had seen the result of the attempted drives of cattle from Texas in the summer of
JOSEPH G. McCOY
89
1866, when approximately 260.000 head crossed Red River in an attempt to travel to the northeast to reach a market. He had considered the results of these drives, all of which were failures. This question entirely absorbed him, until he devoted himself exclusively to the cause of obtaining and establishing a northern market for these cattle.
The Kansas Pacific Railway extended west from the Mis¬ souri River onto the plains country reaching as far as Salina, Kansas, in the spring and summer of 1867. The fact of the in¬ tention, on the part of this company, to build a road at this time had been well known since the fall of the preceding year, throughout the United States, and especially in Texas. The people of Texas were not only interested, but many cattle deal¬ ers of the north were watching this development, in order to engage in the business of buying and driving cattle north from Texas. It was a certainty that a great market would be estab¬ lished at some point on the railway, where connection was made with these drives, but the designation of this point, the establishment of the market, and a safe and orderly method of handling the cattle when they reached their destination was due to only one man, and that was Joseph G. McCoy.
Joseph G. McCoy was a native of Springfield, Illinois. He and his two brothers were there engaged in the cattle business together on a large scale. Joseph was the youngest of the three. Their business extended over a large part of the State of Illi¬ nois. In the fall of 1866 Joseph G. McCoy was about thirty years of age, and was well experienced in the buying, selling, and handling of cattle. As soon as the Kansas Pacific Rail¬ way Company had its line of road well on its way to the west, young McCoy began to formulate his plans for the establish¬ ment of the market for these southern cattle. He went to the offices of the railway company in St. Louis, Missouri, and laid before them his plan for the building of pens, yards, and
90
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
JOSEPH G. McCOY
91
equipment in general for the handling of these herds of cattle at some appropriate location along their line. He failed to interest the officers of the company, and they declared his plans visionary. He then traveled over the route of this rail¬ way and inspected the different points along the line. Junction City was an established station on this railway, and he at¬ tempted to interest the citizens of that town in his enterprise, but failed to do so. He finally agreed and contracted with the railway company to arrange and build the necessary equipment himself, and the company agreed they would pay him one dollar for each car of cattle loaded from these pens.
McCoy selected Abilene, Kansas, as the most logical point for the building of the pens and making connection with the northern drives. No better point could have been chosen. Abi¬ lene was almost on a due line north of the point where the herds would leave the Indian Territory, a very suitable coun¬ try as to the lay of the land existed around the point selected, and there were no settlements to the south of this point to inter¬ fere with the driving of the cattle to reach the loading pens. There was really nothing but a station at Abilene, but that made no difference; they could build the town, but they could not make the physical conditions around the same. Abilene was located about twenty-four miles northeast of Salina, and about twenty-seven miles southwest of Junction City.
The site of his future operations being selected, McCoy sent for his two brothers to join him, and they all devoted themselves to the task of preparing the place for the reception of the herds. This was no small task. There would have been no trouble in building the pens and arranging the equipment for handling ordinary domestic cattle, but in making this equipment they must construct the same sufficiently strong to resist all the viciousness and strength of these wild frenzied cattle from the plains, which were as untamed and ferocious
92
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
as the buffalo reared on these prairies. This was not all they must do. There were several herds on their way trailing north from Texas, intending to reach the railway at some point, they knew not where.
The McCoys procured the services of experienced plains¬ men, hired them to go south into the Indian Territory and meet these herds, and direct them on to Abilene. This they did, and it was not long until the wild cattle from the plains of Texas were stampeding across the townsite of Abilene, and the cattle pens and loading shutes were in full operation. The drives of 1867 were, as before, an experiment, but, unlike the former ex¬ periments, they were a very great success, with the exception that the weather conditions were bad. None of the cattle reached Abilene until late in the season. Only 35,000 head of cattle were shipped from this point in the summer of 1867.
Although the season of 1867 had not been a desirable year for the handling of cattle on account of the excessive rainfall and the rankness of the grass, which caused the cattle to re¬ main thin, the McCoys were encouraged with their progress so far and the prospects for the future. They built a three story frame hotel building at Abilene; they enlarged their facilities for handling the drives of coming years, and sent representa¬ tives throughout the State of Texas, advertising the route, fa¬ cilities, and advantages of shipping from Abilene. They also inserted advertisement! to the same effect in the papers of Texas, and sent circulars throughout the State, containing the advertisements of the trail and market.
As a result of the efforts of these men, 75,000 head of cattle came up the Chisholm Trail from Texas in the season of 1868 ; during the season of 1869, 350,000 head of Texas cattle came to the northern shipping points over this trail; during the season of 1870, 300,000 head came up the same to market, and in the year 1871 the maximum of the drives was reached.
JOSEPH G. McCOY
93
During this season 600,000 head were driven up the Chisholm Trail. The trail at this time was a well broken thoroughfare, and the dangers of traveling the same, except those inherent in the business and from the elements, had disappeai'ed.
To show the precision and thoroughness of the methods adopted by the McCoys in preparing to handle the vast herds coming up from the south, and to arrange for the convenience of the drivers and dispatch of the business, the following will well illustrate: The original trail, in its course through Kan¬ sas, crossed the Arkansas River at Wichita. If a line be drawn direct from Caldwell, Kansas, the point where the trail left the Indian Territory, direct to Abilene, the destination, it will be seen that the direct line will run a few miles west of Wich¬ ita. This few miles they concluded made the drive that much longer. Accordingly, in the spring of 1868, a surveyor was em¬ ployed by the McCoys, and at their direction and expense a straight and direct route from Caldwell to Abilene was run. This was all done so that the trail would not only be direct, but well marked, and the route could be seen for a long dis¬ tance ahead.
Soon after the advent of the railway, the settlers began to crowd in immediately to the south of Abilene. The trouble then began. These settlers organized and prepared to make war on the cattle drivers and stop the herds from crossing their farms. This trouble would not only injure, but might prove disastrous to the cattle shipping business. In order to forestall this result, the McCoys contacted the leaders of this organization, and finally made satisfactory arrangements through them with the settlers whose farms were being crossed by the cattle drives. These settlers were to be paid, by the McCoys and the drovers, certain sums of money, and the cattle permitted to be driven to the shipping point over a certain strip of country extending from the open range.
94
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
In 1870 the two older brothers of the McCoys became dis¬ gusted at the lack of consideration and co-operation extended to them by the railway company in this shipping enterprise, and also on account of the failure of the railway company to pay to the McCoys large sums of money due them for the cars of cattle loaded, according to their contract. For this reason chey sold their interest, in the business they had built up, to Joseph G. McCoy, and the two older brothers, withdrawing from the partnership, left Abilene. The McCoys had enlarged their holdings and facilities until they were extensive and complete for the period and location. The business was con¬ tinued by Joseph G. McCoy, who had prospered until he had been buying considerable numbers of southern cattle for the purpose of wintering them on the plains of Kansas. This had been found to not only be possible, but very profitable. In the summer of 1870 young McCoy bought a large herd of these cattle, and procured range to winter them. To help finance this enterprise, he was expecting to use this considerable sum of money coming to him from the railway company.
In what is here related as to what had taken place in the dealings of the McCoys with this railway company and in those which followed, the writer is casting no reflection on this rail¬ way, but the same is solely chargeable to some of the officers of the road. This inefficiency, short-sightedness, and lack of business judgment were discovered in a few years, and a re¬ organization made, removing these officers, and this branch of the railway was placed in more efficient hands. This con¬ tract with the McCoys was not reduced to writing, and the railway may have had a sinister motive in not having this done. Among people of the West, in early times, especially among cattle dealers, men seldom reduced their agreements to writing, and the words of all men were considered as good as the best bonds. In these times, a man who was found wanting in this
JOSEPH G. McCOY
95
respect was soon stung out of the hive, considered as an out¬ cast and a criminal, and fit only to associate with horse thieves.
The railway had delayed these payments as long as it could, and finally in the fall of 1870, when McCoy needed this money to conclude his cattle enterprse, and made demand on the company for the same, it not only refused to pay, but repudiated the contract, and, above all, became insulting. This company also owed McCoy large sums of money which he had expended from his personal funds at their request and for their benefit in the East in resisting the passage of laws in Illinois and other states which would forbid the shipping of western cattle across their borders.
All other means having failed, McCoy was compelled to bring suit against the railway company. The case was filed in the District Court at Junction City, Kansas. Upon the trial, in 1871, judgment was rendered for McCoy in the full amount of his claim. The case was appealed by the railway company to the Supreme Court of Kansas, and was finally de¬ cided by that tribunal in 1872. The opinion was written by Judge Brewer, is entitled Kansas Pacific Bailway Company vs. Joseph G. McCoy, and is reported in Kansas Reports, Volume 8 at Page 538. By the terms of this decision the judgment of the lower court was affirmed and the railway company ordered to pay the full amount of the judgment.
The relief, however, had come too late. The blow had long since fallen on the head of the this luckless promoter. He had fostered and established at Abilene the greatest cattle market there was at that time in the w'orld. It had brought millions of cattle from their native plains in the South to Abilene, and had helped to open the great cattle thoroughfare extending for over eight hundred miles across hills, plains, and prairies. He fell a victim to the very power he had benefited. On account of the hard winter of 1870-1871 and the failure to get his money
96
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
from the railway company, McCoy was driven to desperation and financial ruin. His creditors closed in upon him and he lost a fortune. His interests and holdings were sold at a sacri¬ fice. He saw all that he had planned and built up in years of labor shattered on the rocks.
We might here note, that few men, who by their foresight, perseverance, and efforts have established large enterprises and rendered, produced, and bestowed the greatest and most lasting heritage upon mankind, have ever realized the benefits resulting from their labors and efforts. Many of them have only received abuse and condemnation from the persons bene¬ fited.
The season of 1871, however, ended the life of Abilene as the leading market for southern cattle. Some of the herds, in order to avoid the fast advancing settlements, shifted to Ellsworth and other shipping points to the west. Finally the settlements became too extensive to drive through, and with the season of 1871 the trail from the south was closed as far as Newton, Kansas. This was the history of all the cattle towns located any distance north in the State of Kansas. Abi¬ lene, Ellsworth, Great Bend, Newton, Wichita, and Dodge City all had their day, which still exists in the history of these towns. Caldwell, Hunnewell, Arkansas City, and Kiowa, all being on the State line between Kansas and the Indian Terri¬ tory, survived until the extension of the railways to the south ended their lives as shipping points.
The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company ex¬ tended its line to the westward and reached Newton, Kansas, in 1871, Dodge City in 1872, Wichita in 1872, and Caldwell in 1880. Each of these towns in turn became the principal ship¬ ping point for southern cattle, being at the terminus of the railway. In 1871, when the line extended to Newton, Joseph G. McCoy, in conjunction with other parties, established ship-
JOSEPH G. McCOY
97
ping pens and yards at that point. During the short time that it held the terminus of the railway, Newton made good its op¬ portunities. It is said that during this brief period it was the most high-rolling cow-town there ever was in the West. New¬ ton as a cattle shipping point was short-lived, as the railway built on twenty-six miles into Wichita the following year, 1872. Wichita reigned supreme as a shipping point for three or four years, when the settlements to the south closed the northern drives for it.
When the railway built into Wichita, Joseph G. McCoy followed the shipping business there, operated pens, and bought and sold cattle at that point for a couple of years, and then removed to Kansas City, Missouri, where he continued to work with the commission companies and other lines of the cattle business. In 1874 he wrote and published his book entitled, “Historic Sketches of the Cattle Trade of the West and South¬ west.” This book gained in popularity as an authentic history, not only of the cattle business, but also of the history of the country in the primitive times when he operated. Its impor¬ tance increased with time, and for a while it was almost im¬ possible to buy one of the volumes. Many of them sold for fifty dollars each, and higher. In 1932 this book was reprinted by the Rare Book Shop of Washington, D. C. Volumes of it are now available at a reasonable price, and the reading of the same, by all persons interested in Western History, is rec¬ ommended.
In 1889, at the time of the opening for settlement of the Original Oklahoma Country, usually designated as Old Okla¬ homa, Joesph G. McCoy settled at Reno City, a town immedi¬ ately north and west across the North Canadian River from the present City of El Reno. This town has entirely disap¬ peared. McCoy soon moved with the rest of the settlers of Reno City to El Reno. His ability was soon recognized in this
98
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
new land, and in the first election held in this country, which was in the fall of 1890, he was the Democratic nominee for delegate to Congress from the Territory of Oklahoma in the fifty-second Congress. He was, however, defeated by David A. Harvey, the Republican nominee. He subsequently returned to Kansas City, Missouri, where he continued to carry on in the work to which his life was devoted, the cattle business.
He died in Kansas City October 19, 1915. While his great¬ est efforts and devotions have been lost sight of in the turmoil and strife of the world, his book remains as the paramount monument of his life. His efforts were devoted to and spent in his endeavor to further the cattle industry of the West and Southwest, for which he worked and wrote. Whatever the re¬ sults have been, we know that his endeavors, his labors, and his sacrifices for the cause for which he strove were great, and that he lived and died without realizing the proper and ade¬ quate returns therefrom. Such has been the fate of many men, but history should record and the world now appreciate these efforts in accordance with his labor and his sacrifices.
WILLIAM E. MALALEY
99
W. E. Malaley, taken while he resided at Hennessey, Oklahoma.
100
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
CHAPTEK VIII.
WILLIAM E. MALALEY
In dealing with the history of the Chisholm Trail, there are necessarily involved the names and a brief account of the lives and activities of the men connected with the trail, not only the establishment and laying out of the same, but also connected with and contributing to the life and usefulness of it. In this regard so many men participated in and devoted many years of their lives to the business which developed and supported the trail, that it is impossible to deal with all of them or even mention them. There has been included herein a brief history of only a few persons whose efforts were fore¬ most in matters connected with the establishing and develop¬ ing of the trail or business supporting the same.
It is equally not only important, but necessary, in order to give a complete history of the trail, to give some idea of the lives and works of a few persons who were materially con¬ nected with the country supporting the same at the time it was used, and these efforts and valuable services on the fron¬ tier, which should be remembered, would be lost to history if not preserved by some one. Among the foremost ranks of this latter class of persons was William E. Malaley.
When the last gun was fired over the last battle field of the Civil AVar, and its echoes had died away, a change immedi¬ ately came over the people of the entire Nation; a change which turned into a totally different course the energies, efforts, and aspirations of the entire populace of both the North and the South. For four years the struggles for supremacy in battle had been the great object of not only the soldiery, but of the people in general. Upon the close of the war all these labors
WILLIAM E. MALALEY
101
and exertions were lifted from the shoulders of the people, their minds were relieved from these worries, and they were given an opportunity to engage their labors and intellect in other fields. Therefore, they immediately looked about them to sur¬ vey the conditions and the world in general. The soldiers of both armies were released, and it became necessary for them to seek homes, either permanent or temporary, for themselves. Some returned for a time at least to their former abodes, and others sought new homes suited to them according to the changed conditions which existed.
On account of the younger and more active men of the country having been for so long engaged in the war, the prog¬ ress of the settlement of the frontier had been delayed and sadly neglected. Thus it is not unusual, but a natural result, that a vast number of young men who were released from both armies came to the frontier, and either took up homes or en¬ gaged in the cattle business. Many of the ex-soldiers from the North went south to Texas, and worked and rode side by side with the boys against whom they had fought only a few years before.
During the war the cattle of the Southwest had increased and run wild, and the owners of a large portion of the same were unknown. While these cattle had but little value at the time, in 1867, the Chisholm Trail was opened and communica¬ tion established between the Southwest and the East and North¬ east. Cattle immediately became valuable, and the business flourished beyond conception. These were the days when the man with the branding iron and rope, who knew how to use them, flourished. The maverick1 belonged to some person, and
1 To all persons in the West and Southwest the word “maverick’ is significant, is or has been a household word, and it is unnecessary to define the same, but to others, it has no meaning without explanation. A maverick is an unbranded animal, generally referring to the cattle class. Tradition has it, that the word originated as follows: In the Gulf coast country in Texas, in the days long before the Civil War, there lived a cattleman by the name of Maverick, who either because of his humane
102
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL
that person was the one who placed a brand upon it. These cattle could not be misappropriated, because no one knew who the owners were. The energies of some of these active young men, who were transplanted in the West, were exertd and their talents used for the advancement of the country and the sub¬ jugation of the frontier to law and order, resulting in un¬ limited good, while the efforts of other active minded ones were devoted to pillage and plunder; and to harassing, annoy¬ ing, and preying upon law-abiding citizens. The result of the energies of this latter class was to retard and hold back civili¬ zation.
Into this maelstrom of humanity, came William E. Mala- ley, a young soldier, fresh from the Federal Army. The po¬ sition that he occupied among this mass of people scattered over the Western Plains evidenced the confidence and trust that the Government placed in him. He carried a commission as United States Marshal, having special jurisdiction over the western Indian Territory and the Panhandle of Texas. He was at this time just coming into his prime of active young manhood. He was intelligent, cautious, shrewd, and, while unassuming, fearless; but his greatest attribute was that he was trustworthy and implicitly honest.
William E. Malaley was born at Randolph, Alabama, Janu¬ ary 1, 1850. His father was a typical son of the South, and a slaveholder, who conducted a mercantile establishment at Randolph. Young Malaley’s immediate family consisted of his father, mother, one sister, and himself. Just prior to the beginning of hostilities in the Civil War, the elder Malaley, his wife, and the daughter all died within a very short time, and the son William E. was left alone when a little over ten
ideas or for some other reason refused to mark his cattle by burning brands upon them, and let them run without marks or brands, and all of these cattle were desig¬ nated as “Mavericks,” as belonging to Maverick, and the name became generally known and applied to all unbranded cattle.
WILLIAM E. MALALEY 103
years of age. The orphaned son was taken in care by a brother of his father. This uncle and young Malaley could never get along, and disagreed from the start. The boy always con¬ tended that the uncle treated him in a brutal manner, beat, and abused him. If this is not a fact, it can hardly be understood why he could not live harmoniously with this lad, as William was always considered one of the most agreeable men. In any event a great prejudice grew up in the mind of this boy toward the uncle; a prejudice which lasted a lifetime so far as Wil¬ liam was concerned.
The result of the disagreement between the uncle and young Malaley was, that the boy before he was twelve years of age, and just at the time of the breaking out of the war, ran away from the home of his foster father. He took his course among strangers ; into an unknown country', an unknown world, and in doing so directed the same to the northward. His for¬ mer associates and boyhood friends had enlisted in the Con¬ federate Army, and it may be that the youth sought safety from his uncle beyond the lines of the Federal Army. In any event, his course was directed to the Northern Army, and as soon as he could reach its lines he sought to enlist. On ac¬ count of his age, he was barely twelve years old, they refused his offer, but he did obtain a position as a messenger boy. It is doubtful whether he was ever, on account of his youth, per¬ mitted to enlist and enroll. He remained with and served with the 11th Indiana Cavalry until they were mustered out at the close of the war.
When the war closed Malaley had no home to return to, and he accompanied his friend and associate, Lieut. Stover, to the latter’s home at Wabash, Indiana. He remained there