Document text
Re lore
Anni• MeAulay
Maveriok, Texas
R:1010.1411.E
rogg Coffey was born in Parker County, Texas, in 1963.
ale father, (Unole) Bien Coffey, spent a few months in
Funnels and Coleman Counties in 1862, moving with his taxi*
ly to a plea° near the mouth of .tim Creek and on 'We Colorodo
river in Runnels County in 1866. here were five families in
the settlement and they (milled it Picketviile, Sinoe that
time Nr. Fogg Coffey has wade 1.1e, home on or near the river
in Runnels end Cole%In Counties.
Mr. Coffey says: "my father raved to Runnels County
with his fszily in 1865. There were five femilles in the
settlant, and they moved. In won c drew, by oxen. They
built thdir li.ousos by 7cAitting posts LI the ground as close
together e& possible, trier they put fey, polcs ard brush
.2..
on top, and stretehed buffalo hides over all that. LT mother.
Miti it Lade a very comfortable .ehelter.
"I think we dreaded the Indians in the early day e more
then anything, te had to be on the watch conetzntly or they'd
take all ye had.
"A bunch of hedskine (Comanches, I think they were) visit-
ed our aettlement on June 1, 1871. We had just get ell the
cattle and horsec rounded up. There were 1,050 heed of eettle
and 54 saddle heroes. The men had left a few boys to guerd
the herds vhile they went to take another leek for siregglera,
end come to eat, Nobody suspected en attack for they'd seen
no :Wiens or signs or nothin'.
tirell, before the nen could eet in their saddles them
low down Indiana had drove off every ow and all the horses
except three or four. Two of our men were killed and my
brother John, then just a boy, wee wounded.
"The very next Christmas then Indians came back end drove
off 350 heed or cattle. There weren't :ore than tuenty men
la the neighborhood end they were acottere o course, so be,.
fore they could get toeether„ the uomanches were gone.
"my brother Lill end me had a little run-in with the
Indinne when I recast moreen eight or niLe years old.
father had sent us out to lo;Jk for mote horses neer our home.
N--; was afoot and saw the indions after the horses before they
saw us. 4e maaaged to catch two of the horses and beet gem
beck to the house. They took after tie, sad all the time they
war shooting at us wit t old flirt rock guns. These guns had
a little pan likt thinp full of powder and a pleae or one
side of it for the flint rook. The trigger rou141 hit the
flint and fire it and coteh the powder and explode it. We
wee some scared boys, but nobody took a little thing like
that too serious them days.
*When I was just a smell shaver I was sent with aiy
brother John to look for some stook one day. We had gotten
hold of csaell cap end bell pistol. Erother ;ohn re off
one vey end me another. Ee lot me keep he tins Lut told
me to be sure end not fire it unless I saw Indians. i gun
shot vas a signal for help, I didn't go far before I ran onto
o polecat Etna then I let loose shootias. It wasn't any time at
all Lefore my brother and everybody in hearing distance was
there on 'Lhe spot. They thought, of course, we had spotted
soa...e Indiana. ky father
sure gaVe ma a triMino down. It was
vorth it though, just to get to shoot that gun.
I remember another inciaant that happened wWon t was
boy that sure did tickle cc. Old Deo Gu('st had a.. hog randh
at Pert Chadbourne along in the early seventies. Ft came by
our house one dt..77 on hi a way to Fort Chadbourne, and I teased
my father mid my Ipother to let me go with him. They oonsented
andI ri-ped me up an old shot gun muzrler aild started off
feeling proud as a young cock.
rWhen we were in a few miles of the fort we looked around
-0.400
end sew e bond of Indians ecrinc not vore':, t half mile away,
The:- chesee us to the fort, shootinc rx,d yellin, for ell they
yee worth. Wien we rot there some or the folks asked dad if
they'Lshot et him. rtbse1, 'Yes, we heard tIle bullets
tuice, once then the passed us, end eosin when we passed
them.' If they had etteeked us a little further book, before
we got so near the forts they'd e soelped us sure.
";;y• father never went to the Civil :sr. Le joined, but
they kept him here on the froatior to help muard the settlers
aild flat he Indians.
"I never Ciei any long treil driving; I worked on the
rtngs alweys. I guess I wee t pretty reir brow rider, but
everybody was t7ori dole, re had to be g=od ri&rs. It wee
useless to try to live if you couldn't ride aLC shoot. I
rode, or troke, lots of wild horses when I yes e young fellow.
API
reLember sore Eangers cen:e to our house from Coletan
as lute as len or 176. They had carped the night before in
."Curio y Letchet Bend" about one-helf mile from our house. The
Indint had stolen their horses d left to:. efoot1 Ly father
thought that tas h jokc on the Derwers.
"The bi ,e t round -up I ever helped wes alonr, about
161a7, ;;e rounded up 40,000 bead of cattle es,d brought 'em
tocether over on Fuzzy ;jreek. he settle had drifta into
i;oncho, Colea36Xt ex,d °tiler counties. vta,_ 0ohnson was big boss
of t:Le round -up. (Akier bosses were: Iris ,Atzeerald, Bill
L4Aulety and itat Davison, it took several days to pither
tiioue Tnev We worked in three bunches. After we'd worked
(out end branded) tlien they weL turned loose ageln.
"There wns e mein by the ueme Of t-,eshon killeeia thet
outfit. 4A1 wet-, shot erd killed a boy who vvrked for him,
vi;lon he had vhipped, The toy Ozer his 11111 ond told hird to
apologize to him, end pa hita. Put t-t#I,lishon leurbed 'instead
end *el boy killed hin on the spot.
fether built n two—story rock boilOine on the line
of Concho LicA2 liun els counties and near the Colorado river
in 1V81. The house is still stundine, 1'nctically all my
,life, with thc excepiio4i of 6 few yesreg hes been spent in
tiut pert of te coulUry.
"I live at iki)sy nor, i neve iJoen in the sheep buciness
for meny years, i wt s tht. first wen la iAmt Texas to run
eep on open rark.;e.
"The sheep and cotr,en didn't raix in th,, early days.
QattlomeA tnoucht the seep business unalgalfied. There
were Leny differtmces auong in on that aeuourt and way
were divided s.:14: became 04C4109 who were once friends.
But it all worked out ior the best vlid no we have eorounitiee
end towns of whicL 'we °an justly be proud,"
Bi Fogg. Goffey• LeDay, Texas« Interviewed June 8
1.938,