Document text
t1angc-lore
tiellie L. eox
oii
HANGt-L0Ri
vege one.
r. Tom k,orgen, or "Uncle Tom," as he
is familiarly (felled, hes served many years
as a Texas Banger on the Mexican border.
He was reared in ell the treditimas of the
ranger service, for his father end his unele
served as rangers in the earliest days of.
the orgenigetion, to protect the Texas frontier
from Indian depredations. Mr. Morgan tolls:
"My father came to Taxes in 1849, and to the western part
of the state in 1856. Mother's family came a year later and
father and mother were married in 1860, being the second couple
to be married in what is now Coleman County. ',other used to tell
that t'v Indians at first were not feared, They come on moon-
light nirhts and stole the horses but did not kill until they
realized they were beinr run out of Voir own country, then they
b-lan ta kill, burn ana pillage. These Inaions would stand on
Pare two
the mountains enG watch where a settler hobbled out his horses
then when the moon cane up, they ceme and stole the horses.
.any times the settlers, for the benefit of any watching
Indians, would turn tlx horses out in front of the house, then
at dark, move them to another grazing place end thus outwit the
thievine savages. 4other told that nem times when father was
away, afi. had !etched throug; the creeks of her log house as
the Inelans prowled around, taking anything and everything but
especially the horses.
"My father's home was on Jim jed Creek and about 40 Miles
away at the mouth of the Conch°, lived their nearest neighbor,
Blob Coffey. Rich was a fine fellow and always joking. larly
one morning, hioh walked out to drive in the milk cows. Three
Indians spied him and began ohasinp him. Rich was a big fellow
but ran his best to resell the house, Ulm wife stood in the door,
wringing her hands and calling, 'MIN Rich, run:, Coffey reach-
ed the door, fell headlong into the house and when he rot up he
scAid, 'vire, you don't think I throwed off in that race, do you?'
Ly father, uncle end other members of that early ranger
orrenization were commissioned to protect the frontier tut when
the war (Civil) started General °Cord took them all to serve
in the army. They got as far as llouston and teen went no farther
but said they were going baok, that they were rangers under orders
from the state of Texas, that their duty was on the frontier pro-
tecting the settlers and back they came abd never served as soldi-
ers in the conflict.
ilme three
"one incidant I remember my father telling of the deye when
he was serving an ranger was this: They were making their way
hom for Christmas Lut a big snow and other unfortunete
otroum-
atenoca delayed them, end late Christmas 2..ve found them near
benta Anna Mountains. '16.11, boys,' said the eaptein, 'looks
like we won't make it in home, but we can have turkey for Christ-
mas dinner,' so he sent my father end my uncle over on Cow Creek
to shoot some wild turkeys. is they walked along in the duck,
my father's quick ear caught a slight orunch in the snow behind
him. Turninr, he saw an Indian a step behind him with a lonr,
murderous knife upraised, reedy to plung(2 it into my -father's
took. Father, not having time to ret his pun, turned in his
tracks and grappled with the Indian* They fell to the ground
and after e terrific struggle, faVer killed the Indian with
the knife that had been intended for him.
"For many years I worked oa ranches, being for e long
time wagon boss on the U ranch. I have been up the trail many
times. ay brother and I drove the last big herd that was sent
out. 1/4,c) took 1800 big steers to what is now Ochiltree County
but then it was 'No Man's Land,' a strip of land that at that
Unit was claimed by both Texas and Indian Territory. re took
that herd in 1694.
"hen I was serving on the ranger force on the border in
1918 there occurred this incident .t Glenn 6prings in Brewster
County. Now, it is just a supposition that these were Pancho
Villa's outlaws and not ;',"exioen Federals who came over into the
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little town in Brewster County and shot up the town. There
were some Amerieen soldiers stationed there and they fought
back. There are holes in the walls of those adobe buildings
yet that were made by the bullets. The -;exioans killed two
Americans, I think, but anyhow they took two white mail and a
negro as captives, and also one of the trucks belonring to the
soldiers. hen they rot 80rOCG the river, beck into :.exico,
the outlaws separated, part going on horsebecl, up one draw, but
the Lexicon captain and lieutenant (the other _exicans called
them by these titles) were in the stolen truck with the two
Americans and the negro. After they got he truck about a mile
up the road, the truck stalled, apparently. The American driVing
the truck called to the other boy and the negro in the book 'You'll
have to get out and push.' They did and the oar started but after
a short distance they stalled again and try as they would, the
white boy and the negro could not start it. The i.exican captain
ordered the lieutenant out to push. All their combined efforts
couldn't start that stalled truck, so the driver said 'Captain,
you'll just have to get out and help.' bhen they all rot out to
push, the Americana grabbed the ,Amioans'euns, covered them end
marched them back across the river to 'Sanderson where the
cans were put in jail. Vot a shot was fired for the bunch who
had pone up the other draw would have heard, but they went on
knowing nothing of what had happened. 1 do not know what dis-
position was made of the L:exicans who were put in jail. L)ame
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disapproved of the whole proceedings, saying that the -exioans
had been brought bock by farce but they never seemed to think
hor the mericans had been forced to r.c. into Antico.
"Another time the Lexicon bandit leader and his men came
acrose the river and stole some horses end took them back across
the river with them. Captain bates, myself and four other sane,
ere, two citizens and tw,) or three soldiers were going aorote to
get the horses for we knew where the maxis= bandit and his bunch
were hanging out. We said to the sergeant (American soldier)
'Sergeant Scratch, oome go with us. You'll have some fun. We are
not going to fight'', Just going to bring beak those horses.' 'No,'
said Sergeant Serateh, 'I don't went to get courtomartisled' 'tut
two or three little soldiers did go along. There was only one
trail for e long way along the river on tLe other side end this
was called 'Smugglers' Trail.' We followed this trail until we
were nearly to the 'hangout' of the bandit, Pablo Dominpaes.
There we separated, some of the party, eoing up the hill and
coming in to the book of the shack and the renainder comine up
in front. The house was built of sotol, (A plant native to the
southwest- having a cabbage- like root often fed to stock and
tall, reedy stalks- Farther baokooross a small sag,
was a small adobe house.
"When we surrounded the sotol house, one of the rangers
salled,'Peblo„ come out.' 'No, senor,' he answered but a woman
did oome out and run across to the adobe: Ie didn't know but
what the house was full of bandits and we couldn't see inside
Pegs six
the shook but they could see us plainly in the early morning
light. All at once, though, those in front, die see the open-
ing of a gun barrel, pushed throwt the walls. vyhen the gun
fired, the ranger standing by me, fell, shot through the arm,
the bullet then passing into the center of his body and tearing
it open. I saw him fell and watched the pallor oome over his
face. Then, as if from a sipnal, we all began to pour bulleti
into that sotol shack. :Oven during those moments, I was notie-
ing the two little soldiers, sitting by the well of the adobe,
shooting and wondered why they didn't at least get around the
corner and shoot from there where they would have wide protec-
tion.
"There come s lull in the firing- we had stopped to re-
load- when out of the house ran Pablo. Ile was wounded end car-
ried hic rifle held close to his body pith ,is forearm, his
hand dangling. Just as he reached the sag near the adobe,
several bullets sped after him. One found its mark. Hs jump-
ed high in the air- fell.- and was still.
"We then searehed the houses, finding nothing but ammu-
nition in the sotol house. In the adobe were several women and
one old ,itucloan men, but there was evidence showing where the
other bandits had crawled out a little window and down the bank
to the hiding place of their horses.
"The women who had run out of the house where kablo had
been, kept smiling as we searched and that got ms, and I said
to the eeptain, 'I don't ace snything to be smiling about here'
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but et that tine she didn't know )ablo had been killed.
_"Le troucht up our horses, and 1 put my slain friend in the
saddle in front of me nnd started bock across the river, ;hen
we were reedy to ro; we told the exicans that lhey had better
come end get lotto end that was t;r first they knew thet he was
lyinft in that sap-. deed,
"After we crowed beck into Texas, we were, r (mess, near.-
ly a hundred miles from any communication and back here it was
reported Viet we were miscinp in -exico. Rhome L'hields.- bless
his eood, old heart- said, 'lays, we'll po down there 2td rot
thc,- if ve look all over mica.'
"Teo of my sons were already in service in the viorld
then and my wife had eigned t,,e pa ors for the other leo sons
to enter. an you twine her feelings we ehe heard the rem•
ports of our party being eaptured?
"we did not go over into Awl*" to fight, tut to try to
brine tack the property of our American *Mums who had suffer-
ed much from the ,exican outlaws and bandits.
"i have lived through meny stirring times, but as long as
my mother lived, we elvays went home at Christmas.
"My wife is a double rold :Aar Mother, me of our eons
died in actual service end Vie other one died soon after he got
back to us, but e -e end T are carrying on."
bongo -lore
1'43111e b. a=
Aingelo
abLIOGRAPHY
Tom Morgan, :Jan hnpe1o, Texas. InterViewed lay 1 1938.