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Mrs/ C/k. Cohea
Amarillo 4-exas
Pioneer ',omen, 73xperiences
Vordage2
'arch 7, 1958
4ntervi-w with ',el. J.
kotter County
:Aetrict 16
200
1
nritt, 309 Jeckeon,larch 2, 1938.
4"rs. J. Britt, who in June, 1938, will have been in the een-
is
hnndle 49 years ive the deughter of pioneer 'ennessee parents. in
the weeded regions of iddle Tennessee she wntched the cleering of
the slil for cultivetion, the retting down of trees, the removal of
the stumps, and the hauling away of the tiilAs debris. In her eingulerly
mature childish mini she wondered if the -e were not fertile acres
wniting somewhere for someone to come end teke them where this bnek-
br king henrt-eic'tering toil *meld be unnecessnry. Still, pioneer
life held its glamour for her end he sighed for a frontier of her own
to conquer, little 4re-ring at the tire thet she would pioneer the
last frontier of her country, the :e rhandle pisine.
4th he ns rents ehe cene to/lustin, where she spent -rayon six
yeas before coring as a if to the high pleine of liorthreet Texas.
'hen Pre. nritt arrive in Amarillo at midnight one het numrer
night, he Tess net by bee husband, who wss bonrdine in the young cow
town -while he plied hip trede of tineer ie the town end over the
entire selnhandle.
she neet morning 1-r. nritt took his wife and their
email son,
harry, now a solid ene reenected citizen of Amarillo, their new
home on a section of land about two or three miles eoutheeet of town,
south of the present site of lent) cemetery.
lare. nritt entere dthe eine lurber end corrugnted tin-roefed
shacc of one roem 32 fet by 14, withthe nostalgic misgivings of the
housewife aceustored to firer things, but she gave no sign. This was
her bore, her husbend ene he son were with her. That circerstance
ceentei for more than fine furniture -'rd painted wells.
vith the instinct of the born housewife to rake e bore in mansion
or shack, she set aboet ereaneing her household. Ihere were not
enoegh cernees in which to put the few erticles of furniture that
she had oxes which hai containe(1 five -gallon tins of gasoline were
Britt 2
camouflaged as titchen cabinet, ihelve, tables', and What.in'A. The
simple tins table was OW surrounded with pretty hangings to hide
stowaways, articles not n*,71ded and put rainy from unsightly prominence.
Sleeping and erAing, everything was done in the one room. That she
soon changed all that. 'ialing her hnsbandla Offfig wagon eheet, 'Are.
Britt dObled the vast canvas and tacked the material to the ceiling
and one side wall of the room, leaving the othr side free to be used
as a doorway. kith an ingrain car -)et on the living room floor and
criA, ireah draperies at the windows, the nare walls began to look
lixe home.
When her husband came nome from his work that evening, Mrs._ Britt
stood with tired, Get fi ned1Mhappy cheeks against the .background
of a miraculously transpinnted home and saw the look of ponder and
tri
pride that came over his face as he BMW the difference a few deft
touches of a woman's hand, his woman, his. wife. The wagon sheet fell
into pia o just then and shut out the envious world as he gave her
a great bear -like, rppreciativel home -hungry, heart...hungry hug.
tree. Britt, who brought the first geraniums to the plains country,
placed the potted plants in tins of assorted shapes mnd sizes upon a
wooden frame cons 'rooted by her son, Harry. the ohe4rful flowers
brightened still further the lit!Je home and the life within its
walls.
But only for that first Runner did she have to raise her
little family in the drealully hot tin -roofed building, for soon
a half -dugout reared its head proudly beside the prairie shack. Several
:*a roles folmitiow14#41 gave a greater freedom and enjoyment of home duties
and home pleasures.
T1 Behind that pioneer home lies and interesting story, which can be
read in the files of the TOXAV land office and the court records in
cJ Amine. 'Then k, nritt applied for a land patent after filing
SaLA
on the section of land occupied by the little home, he Ire informed that
another man had filedA on the same section. Ahe land office refused to
issue a patent to the land until the two claimants had settled the
Britt 3
question of priority between thonselVes.
Also other contestant for thR homestead was a man from Claude.
Britt consulted his lawyer and the letter reminded him that posession
was still nine points of the law. Accordingly r. 3ritt gathered up
lumber and some tin for roofing and went out to the site end started
building a one*roasi shack to substantiate his claim. A• had scarcely
begun when be sow a etrenge sight which evolved into a wagon, n
surrey, some lumber and his rival coming across the plains with
the same th-ught in vitlw.
gift"1"
Ar. BrittA the new comer pleasantly. There was no animosity
between them. whet nie,ht a terrifio rainstorm came up. .44 Britt, in
the comparative comfort of his new home, which be bRd coMpleted suf-
fioently for sheiteri beAdalked over to the other claimant and
invited him to share the refuga,w01.4h-b4m. flth no othe- thought
than that of common hospital-ty, be male his guest welcome and comfort*
able.
Later, when the ease to try title to the Land came up in court,
Ar. Brit -'s lawyer, interrogating the second claimant, asked, Did
you stay all night on the land that first night in your home or in
the ho se of Ur. Britt?*
The honest contender for the homestead rights had to answer
that be had tater shelter in the home of his rival. That point
cinohed the case for 4611. Britt. The homestead was declared his.
#444teOlvthe plains south of the section upon which the Britt
home stood, many thousanls of cattle from south Texas remained for
meets while they were undRr quarantine, forbidden to progress farther
until they were disease free. Cow chips, dried to a crisp in the
strong sunshine of the Panhandle, was sometime gathered to be use
on sumner days to mate ft hot, quick fire. Airs. Britt enlied the
strange fuel very appropriately, "surface coal*, however, she used
coal and gasoline for her -stoves for the most part. many early settlers
wercglmd to have herds bed lown* 44 or stay near their homes
Britt
to harvest a sup.21y of this *prairie hay*. mefore the railroads came)
bringing coal conveniently near, fuel was scarce on the plains.
Buffalo chips and cow chips were °heap and easily obtainable.
'Zometimes trail herds were held for weeks at a time near the
Britt homestead. mT8. Britt had accost° to learn the generous and
considerate nature of the cowboys who tende the cattle. bhe found
that they were not the dreadful creatures of whom she had heard so
many tales "beck there" in Tennessee, *het they were gentlemanly, (sourteous, and respectful of womanhood. 4irequently they would come up
to the house with a quarter of beef which they had kiLied. mrs..kritt
hes many kindly memories; of those *ftights Who anise riding",
kre. Britt, unlike many of the firrt pioneer women, had near
neighnors from the very firet eome living from one to two and three
miles awRy. One of these neighbors, a very sweet women from lova,
could not seam to overcome her nostalgia for the trees and greeter
vegetetion *back home. dhe compleined to her neighbor, )re. Brit,
that he. young son had no tree under "'Molt to play. However, she
became reconcile to the plains in time and learned to love them, as
does everyone who comes And stays for any length of time.
ei4hbors in those (Ivo were "closer* than they are today, in
spite of the long distancle between neighbor and neighbor At Chriotmas
and other holiday periods they all gathered at the home of one or the
other of ft group, lie relatives in other places and times. And
they had great fun and pleasu-e together. Imatrlhey had good things
to ant, also. Those persons who have the mistaken ideal that the
A001.
pioneers of the plains set ecant tables would at th e
mention of juicy buffslo eteaks, antelope meat cooked as only a plains
housewife or range cook could prepare it, wild turkey, done to a turn,
broiled quail or plover, and prairie chicken, which their predeeeseors
enjoyed. Vegetables were supplied from gardens or from tins. Usnyens
and river breaks provided wild grapes and plums and a few wild currants
Britt
for jellies, conserves, and pies, No, those days were not ail hard-
ships, far from it. Mrs. Britt *arose with other pioneer MOMAM that
those years were the ha-) lest and beet of her life.
Ode of the greatest pleasures enjoyed by friedde and neighbors
tiiiVe together was an occasional ontirg trip to the 'kale Duro Can-
yon, during Which they would remain for several days or weeks, reveling
in the beadity of the scenery gathering fruit, and indulging in the
usual pleasures of the camp. Ars. Britt, who recalls that fifty years
have wrought great changes in the erratiJ course of the *alo Duro gorge,
stood amazed at the picturesque panorama which spread into the distance
on her first sight of the canyon.
.A.t vat on this initial visit to the Palo Duro Canyon that re.
Britt upon seeing the peculiar natural formation now known as the
"Devil's Kitchen", exclaimed, "Why, that must be the Devil's "itchen:a
Another member of the pert'', pointing to a stray
piese of cloth, shouted laughingly, "And here is a part of his wife's
dress".
To kr*. Britt s knowledge, the canyon
feature had not been named before this time. Aver afterward it was
poken of as the Devil's Kitchen.
kra. Britt lived on the homestead near the outskirtr of Amarillo
during the early days when the citizens were moving from Old Town
She recalls one of the devices used by the promoters of the new townsite
of Amarillo to get the people to settle on their land. Passenger
trains coming into Amarillo on the Aznver tracks passed a siding near
the new site. To induce travelers who were prospective settlers to
stop in the new location, some one was prompted to announce "Amarillo"
at the siding pausellhus many unsuspecting persons got off at that
point thinking they were in tne real town. 'his scheme also brought
guests to the Amarillo Hotel on the Sanborn acreage.
Britt
mrs. Britt was living in Amarille 'ten severed hundred head of
mild cattle„ohipped in on the Fort Worth and Denver broke through the
ioe on Amarillo Lake near the tracks and drowned 7e0ause they were
unable to save themselves due to their weakened condition and the
coating of ice. Their owners salvaged only tne hides, which were
taken from the dead animals by kindly neigheors•
At the time Amarillo we the largest cattle 'hipping point in the
world. Whoesands of catqe were held on the prairie wept of the
town awaiting shipment from the stockyards located on the site of the
present zinc -smelter of tee American defining Company.
mrs. Britt remeMbere riding an the firet paesengertroins on
the old P31011 Valley line to ‘;snyon, and points southwest Ihe passenger
eN
trains were frieghts with travelevs ridihe in the caboose.
tele was
delighted to beb-permittee to ride in the tower, or lookout or tne
caboose, which she had heretofore thought of as the throne room of the
impressive *conduotor" nf the train.
btae also reoalis a humorous story about the rniiroad which was
long in coming to Canyon. A mr. Connor, pioneer rancher or the region,
was most hopeful of the railrJad s coming. Avery morning he would
°limb the elope upon whioh his ranch house stood and look toward the
northern horizon, folks said to see if the train's smoke were visible,
"Connor e trAin make cisme to be a common jest. Anything chimerical
was likaned to "Connor's train smoke".
When Jars, itt first came to the plains she was met by the silit
of a vast sea of mewing grass, high and lush mesquite. 4.0ramas to
A
have bfr7n a later comer to the plains grass range. She recalls
no weeds4eof lovers on tee open plains vhcm she first came into
the region. eede followed the plough. She often heard the expression
by early setter, 'If we could only rmte a weed grow".
ourrowe were ploughed, Mrs. Britt recalls, about each section
of land to prevent the destruetion by fire of the precious range 0
rt.
41ritt
The prairie fire OAS the gr-fatest drerfd of the early settler on the
plains. A disaotrous fire could destroy in a few minItee the paatureage
for the wintering of herds and farm stock. Akre. Britt has a theory
that the stunted wild plum thickets hovering together in cnn7on and
aver brents are a result of former great prairie fires.
re. Britt was living on the ouvOkirts oi Avarillo at the time
of she Indian scare of 1891, Her husband, returning late tram towns told
her of the wild farmers over the plains ,.lonoerning an Andian attack.
ookingly, she told him, m A suppose it they had really come, you
would have 1 ft us here to be scalped.. However, Mr. Britt had ae%.
certained the falsity of the report, which wits spread as itt practical
joke, so it was said. But many men and women hurried t r central point
in Amarillo for momron proteotioal aa e!,16 the inhebitente of both
rural and urban distri te all over the plains region at the sine.
Ara. 'Britt ramembee* DT. eartwright, *hose willo still reuiden in
Amarillo, as one of the first doctors in the town, Dr. McGee was
anotner physioian practioing in Amarillo in the early days. His daughter
is now te -Aling in WORM Tech at Luobock.
Ure. Britt, with others, gathered the impression that a certain
man who donated land for ifs* St. Anthony's Hosptal and another
building at the oppsite side of town, did ao with the ultimaty connection
of those two points by a street, which later became known as eolk
ATT.. 7ritt knew the four girls who were the first graduate* of
an Amarillo school ula Trigg, now ire. Twitohell; Mary Brookes;
IJaisy Sartin, now Mrs. Tam curry. Among early tenche-s in the
town school were profesors Witherspoon, Woodson, and Ramsey, who
was the rirst teacher to grade the school. A man named Twitchell
was the firs% to establish n college in Amarillo. Harry hritt oftended
this college and one established by J. MI. Hamlin, MT. srftnks, end Jar,
A)ryney.
et(
Freighting at the time was done by set"lere on the eouth plains
Irom Amarillo, preferably, as it was nearer and the ttitil„Vettifi,
travel better, or Colorado City, elthous'h no regular road eisted be»
tveen thesttovne and the plaine•
4rass in those first days grew so high that a pony staked
with an orlinary rope ootad not graze off all the grass in the
circle enclosed by his right's pasturing.
rrr. nritt, an 4o many othsr old-timers recalls tne harder
'inters and deeper snows whidm it* litt4g4, typified the plains
veatner in those early years in the nhandle.