Document text
Rene -'lore
Nellie 13, Cox
San Angelo* Texas,
RANG33010RE
Poge one
Urbo, Cicero Russell, of San Angelo,, Texas, re-
lates the following story or pioneer days:
"My father, John Burleson, come from Alabemalo
the an Sete Country There he aocumulated a small
bunch of cattle and then for soma reason, he went to
Williamson County. There he married my mother, Naty
Williams.'
"Grandfather Williams'hed been killed by the
Indiana before the Civil War. no and a man by the
name of Freeman had started a herd of cattle to New
Mexico. After arming all their men and mounting them
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on good horses it left grandfather and Freemen unarmed
and grandfather riding a mule. After they got the
cattle strung out and driving well on the trail, grand-
father and Freemen started back home intending to get
other horses and guns. On the lay hone in the late
afternoon Freeman got off his horse to go down to a
spring for a drink of water. The Indians evidently
surrounded him. Grandfather tried to go to his aid
but both were hacked to pieces by tomahawks, These
Indians were trailing the herd of cattle Lut when they
tried to stampede the herds the cowboys drove them off.
"Ly mother used to tell that when she was a small
child ecch child had to pick the seed from cotton every
ni7ht. The task set for them was that there should be
enouE,h seee to fill the ohild's shoes. This made enough
cotton for grandmother to card, in and weave the next
day. Indians would prowl around at night. They would
whistle through a creek by the chimney and would shake
the door. all the children would be just as quiet,
hnrdly breathe and grandmother would have the fire
covered and the Indians would go easy.
"4:mother's brother had a paint pony which they
kept 16 a log crib and then chained to a stout log so
it wouldn't be so easy for the Indians to get him. Grand-
mother would often give the Indians corn bread and they
liked it.
"I can remember seeing my grandnother standing by
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the wagon wheel crying when father and mother started
moving to Brown County. Grandfather, Tim Burleson,
had been living in Brown County for several years, I
think, e lived in a new log house on Jim ':ed Creek.
For e lona time we didn't have a door, just a blanket
hung over the opening. Father was away much of the
time. Lute one afternoon mother saw a big black bear
walking down to the creek near the house. The dogs
barked but didn't ro after it. 'Jaen the old bear got
throwt drinking, he came back up the trail and stood
straicht up, oaring the dogs, than he went back to the
creek and bathed. It was nearly night and mother
thought that bear would surely °one and crawl in under
that blanket. There were some kind of boards or logs
across the inside of the roof where the sides of the
house joined the roof, end she put the children up there
and climbed up herself and stayed there all night. Mother
laughs yet when the tells how she made father build a log
door and she fastened it with a crowbar.
"Mother told of another time in Brown County that
grendfather, his brother, a man named losley, and !ether
were: ',7orking cattle away from home.
A e•-•
.1 et -1 Me
around the house in the brush and called like coyotes
and owls. There didn't seem to be many of them but
this time mother got ready. She took an old musket,
put in everything like bolts she ooula find and tamp-
ed them down. she sat waiting all night but the Indians
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didn't show up. The next day however, they surrounded
father and the other men and in the fight, father re-
ceived two sliFtt wounds. The Indiana got the horses
but long years after, father was paid for them. te
called it "entering Indian claim" when we sent in the
number of horses stolen. Father took that gun mother
had loaded, tied it up in the forks of a tree, with a
lonE wiry to the trigger. when he pulled the wire,
the whole gun exploded. He said that would surely
have killed something.
"Another time at night mother heard an unusual
noise outside. It sounded to her like it mipht be
Indians eLarpening their knives or rubting them to-
gether. ilie kept up for e long time, then everything
was quiet. The next morning, there were two deer
(bucks) with their horns locked together in the small
clear space in front of the house.
y family moved to this country in 1876. We
Lived just below the town of ben Ficklin, we ran a
dairy for awhile. During the ben Ficklin flood, father
rescued a boy, Lain Gill. Cliff was about eight or
nine yvala old, i think. He lived with um until he
married.
'1Nhile we had the dairy, a man by the none of
Taylor worked for us. he had been taken by the Indians
when he was a baby about two years old and had lived
with the Indians until he was nine or ten. He never
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wanted to live with his people, always said that the
Indians had been mod to him, that tIley lived happier
than the whites and even as a grown man his one idea
was to live with the Indians again.
"Frank Norfleetec father used to have a place
north of father's. Frank was elmoet a younr, Lien then.
Anyhow, he used to co to parties vdth us.
"Ulm Yetchum has eaten at our table many times.
He wasn't as bad as he was said to be. i tell you
everything in this country stole cattle. Itmen my
father has stolen nice heifer calves sad nobody, even
the big cattle men, ate their own cattle. C,hen they
wanted beef, they found a fat beef animal belonging
to somebody else."
141381,44ore
Nellie B, Cox
ban Angelo, Texas
LIBLIOGRAPKY
Lars. Uieero Russell, an Angelo, Texas, interviewed,
February 2, 1,938.