Document text
*31
SILLY 440SINs011
Oebinal, Tomes.
liar
Range Lore and Cowboy
Reminissenees of
telr4y ways _
"There were !Ivo boys and four girls in our family. My t thor was
killed by the Indians up SO Chalk huff on the Sums River. Me wane to this
country shortly after the Tares, Wellys, Devoe ,orte, Kinchelles, Ye:slays and
others settled in the **oyes. Chris Kelly moved my father out from Kaufman
County.
*My rather wIttIOdi JR the MO River south ef Vie present site Or con Can.
Ifhile we were living there, Old Man Tom Lackey hod e- lone bottle with Indians
who semi,to his oleos. Their troll shows* bleed end that there were three
Indians. He got She settlers together nest morning who were Old tilaapsaa,
saw Norynars, slims Webster and my tether,. hasty Robinson. There was s steep
mountain to be *limbed end when they reached the tab of it. they were but and
sired. m, father wee in the.leint and saw it e gleams that they were in
trip, 1134111 Indians beget& to ')00 up tram everywhere. Raising his rifle he fired
quiskly and told mr. Leskey to do the same, but Mr: Leakey hits trouble with
his rren end couldn't moll the hemmer down as he pulled his pistol when hit was
right at an Indian.
*finally his pistol refused to fire and thinking he was out of loads,
N\
N\ jammed from the cliff, catching at bushes and rooks for hundred feet end he
44• finally sought in seder tree. This small sapling wouldn't hold -his *sight
eo he rolled on over the ledge. The Indians thought ha wee deed and two of
tS them wont down better path to soap him but he seised up with the pistol and
;iengel Billy ''?obInson
Peg* X
23X
and bec.-n ouralrpc them end. tha Witte .en u, n ttm cliff hePrd -1y, tether
told te isn't deed yet, Ii ten t 19 *inviting the-Indians:0 They at
to r. 1.ee'key end :eire hit:: enter end )ullet tfin prrowa out of him. There wore
nne avtmel. he woe married Opt* to the sottlfament end_ recovered fron his
wounds in wpout tilt weeks.
"Then before vs lett the cv!nyon my. i)rotner Hnnry wee ',A./led hy th;!;. Indiena.
e old 1 hpd t' -en n :Attie hcr:lemede Wef;op oone $11)ve h-que 'lest the
field to haul ul dome wood. Two Lndiend heti hidl:ien in the corner or the field
end Vley „NT -loud out to greb us es we cane elon and we sterted running. They
tiled nry end strirted on nftr ne ut I kept in the leed. inth0r ,nd
stuters r n itt; in the 1 11 .ey -nd sea the Indien e':lout to Cetch Qe. They
1lTebbed P send fired pt the Aldien just ee I ot to the fenoe end he stollled,
soot throu-_h the tn 4n1 to the huse.
Chris roily end ew,le -ire en were trellirw the inf4lens id -let had stolen
'7hrist fine rPcn htmae end they 0-94I ecross :enry's hody right soon otter he
ere lee withIn Inerter of a mile of the house.
wed to lirt "nom Atlow Uvalde sp,:e ye •r we rot to the oenyon
then we o' d t Bluff PAI,Afft Uvelde 'rev, ly f ter wee killed.
were living on the river and a fami:iy had came in there end ennead
4elow u.. 'lie Indiens know 9y f‘A'ler d they had wey.1.40 him this dey end
villed hi. Mu doubt the:I hrd fe-red him e low tine far y tusk the pains
e t0 tee, his boots ud coe on down the velley with it t* were
1 his hoe m. belr ide0 web to br ng it to rioter to let her know they had
finally 47ot 41M.
--hen they ot,to our ;Atee on the newts, ,oth-r Wen lot at the
he hrd tmeh ;%et elle one or th7 yuneoict ehildron down to visit 11,e nethbors
Ivre er:lhea nolo* uu end rl,:te-r. These Ntonle he4 cone In there frim
lifornis end iI:e Lhc uohes valley. They hi severel chlieren.
Awnge Lore
Hilly hob/neon
Peg. h
232
"rhpn uother heerd the Pwful reeket up at our h usla she left us and
rustled hp there thinkinh7 of the children. hne of my oldest sisters ren out
witho little sister by At oh hand and George, my oldest brother, called from
the hhuhe th mother es she one running, 'Whet shell we do?' lother saw
that the plass was full of Indians end George w -s already wounded in the arm.
She celled book, 'Fight till we die!' and she -nicked Up rooks as she ehme,
The Indienh were enezmd and wouldn't even shoot her as she OMMA toward them
trying to kill them with rooks. They he plundered the h uhe apt destroyed
ell they cold by now end -iother was. with George tryinr to fihht them off.
The whpien end children below the cp:ap ren and hid but the Indians fearing some
of the renehmert would ride ur, left. hown the rood, they found Ay little sister
hi inh with the other little neighhor girl whp was red heeded. They ePught
the little red headed hirl and jerked her up on one of the. horses and hoalped
her alive vs they rode elong while _the othhr Indians were laneinh her. Then
they ulunh her to the ground and said in rnhlish, 'Damn you)dieV As wounded
es she wns, she answered bark, Darin YOU,I wont die!'
hit W0111 ahout dark when all the ronohmen were gathering and help had
thet
gotten there,,the dogs at our house berm Working and omitting up. Then we
heard the voioe of that wounded, bloody, bhby girl, who hhd dragged herhelf to
the gte. hhe said to the dohs, 'DoOt.you hnow ma?'
hhe thought the Indians had wrried her off and of course the -ken rere
ghtherin to follow them, ;hen she got there she was the most torrible lookinh
sihht. hut she recovered and -;rtv, to be a younh lady and married.
.11
then tte Indians left our hhuse that day they left my father's boot and
or aourse my :other knot he was killed. he was an experienced Indian fighter
nnd the InUlans ndmired him as well as fe!-red him.
"My :hother went it!ok to the 7abinel Canyon to the old Kelly Tames lost side
of the -1hbinal iver, They athhed there nbo,t h year then they went to the
Usnpe 1,ore
011.410
Hilly Aobinson
Page 4
23a
roster ranoh wOluh was our old place
Yrom there we emle iptak to Ovnlde rad
-1 remerqber es well as if it was
n the frio, and we at.yed P year or two.
lived n a11.L150 COPIA of the Leona River.
yesterdey when Chris Kelly took hie big
herd of onttle to California. I was Just a school kid. Ilayed with his boys
all the tLwie end hed gamily n fight with them too.' .11e'd fight epsh other or fight
for one Another. :e were living there et Uvelde when Chris Kelly left his femil)!
there and you kaow those plezns over there ulied to be full qf oArs and Jacks
end rift boys used to go up to olon pnd opteh jecfr. 7hey were just loose
(Or burros) that come off the range. one niglt ;Airy ul1inm and I *Aught
and rode along nud we gut to orwd1ng the old fellow too irmeh end he Net
his heed down Pad stoppod gold we we t on.
jocks
jai*
n4t
wen remember the soldiers shooting up 'the town of nights too. You
-now Uveldo used to be n bad town. tort• used to aome in there end 1
remember we ipd, at one tie, ,:Ale of th,- worst men the", ever Ives in Texas
1-!enry Yount;. His own friends killed him in jil. He tmol- Alled- 'sherry, his
friend. it was R drunken brewl end Yung was bodly .wounded too. Pete Bowles Pn4
'(Aarren Allen went over to the Jail to see who oriole kill Lt first Pnd verren
Allen ern hilt fIrst end killed hin.
K-4sorge iinumer wasn't a bPd :ort but he wt's me or the hrevefit men t ever
sew. He just wasn't afreia of anythin. I spw Am in Kansas in a saloon one
time stRualng Rt the bPr and !le sow n Negro_pome.i! ,'ith P ove-lipe het oa
rad the Nero drtlik a schooner of neer end li4ite(t a eignr. He was so insolent
it was too ‘101h for Goorol, so he oalked up end hit him on the burr of the *Pr
end the hot flew una swig Pad the Ileac, the other.
went u) the trail twos to oolge City,Keneas. It took us seventy-six
dnys to TWA(1) the tri. '2e went out from Uvalde un the Again Yrio end hit Aiint
Creek, -outh %len° end an Angelo. e stayed ell ni,:ht on Ad Man Adam vilconl
pine.. This was 111 herd for 10. mass, Pne our host; ;;ot lost up on Point rree
041
Zlienge Lore Hilly hobinson
Psge 5
252
and whon we Oid rind nu' selves 1 tell Ju thre w -isn't a man in the outfit
'that wasn't -7i d.
"1 UPI, seven head of cattle slnk in t.ie quick !and in the ,Witte !aver.
Ihm;i HA:opned to drink- and kept treading the water and sand end cuing down
till there wits nothAig left but the Aoints of their horns stioklng oqt.
And I re!%erlber John evlso taking is horse out in the middle of the stream to
drink and when he.sto peel down to drink he sterted sinking. I cone cleric end
hit A. rset with ay zuirt and out he went.
"WO -nly trrveled six or seven :Ales R doy on tim trail on account of
the drogs. it's e fenny thine; when you 6et to Kansas the Cr would
be your lend cattle. And Ailk: 1/0 sure hod nienty to drink .very thing
sure rlot rPt on t -e trnil little you'd think so. You woulon't know rutIr
own saddle hree oy the time you !f:cit to KR112146i.
"on that trib we tv,ii nine cow -hands and a cook. And we hod been' end
bacon and bacon and OeLns. No ootatoes. Hever hod sen a otnt or knew
whet it was. We had rice Putt dri *ivies. Ilut we wonted :Ael!,t, we were
uced to test. e had :Abet about twice or three tilies excent some &Intel( -e.
eat. AnteloF)e meet isn't newt. a ood eH venison..
e carried one extrn suit of clothes with us but 1 rcvler.lUer one fellow
who ntiver Wfr,.ed 1116 undersh1rt till e ot to tanscis. e ex'rie rrL overcont
for tt.rt y4ou Alre i,Jurt-t e -d tnot wee it nil r,ent our legrins
roe.
"1 re ember P good wo'4.en iier 01142-V at Fort Clark who wea-cPliee. fIshe
Ross. By -tiny, she rode horses oil tills and she rode -fter hfer own
-took, 71o, she wosn't a bit -xetty but she sure crAdd r;.de. They called Pn'
the cow,oy girl ^116 fry:a ens juo'• tiiPt, I didn't kow luch et ut her but
know one olways r,,dea fien-14ittenlgraynon' end notLtne, ever .-ot sway
rrJrn -r.
"Of course, I sew dirls in rAieos end one of tq best riders was
Aange :,orn Billy HobinsoR
7,age
W2
Mclonerin 1,r1 from Oklahoma. her f!.ther wPm a r(wuler old cy.sdingin Pnd a
eiort but they were fin m riders.
"g)en 1 quit the c,mboy lifell Tent to riv,r: in Uvalde for Old Vert Burkett
in qis store nnd while I was livine there I /let Ass Alice Svilth who was the
dr.u.-nter of the ewitor of the Uvalde newsnener sailed the Mesperinn.1 it
wes tht, second newsTorler t be eateblitv,md there and we later ()Riled OA,
Lender tewa. &lice nud I Tierried in _e82 and we lived in Ovate seven yen's.
'he wpm /31 imitnuine ixunette, coal -bleak heir end eyes end a fine misloien. 441
were all metlio:liAs nhd quit nenciw aud ,loined the church. glen my_wifets
he-ltfi br,Jke, )'!eh 1 twenty-six in er orohastra there. s never.;ied any
children but wAr W1I1 vlwn,s (OM' to the youn6 folks. he died in 15020.
-`ZO-