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siRangemaore
Ruby Mosley
ssen Angelo, Texas.
ItABGX-LORE
Page one
"I have always Galled Fort Worth my home, as it's
my birth -place and was my business center for many
years," says W. L. Newman of San Angelo, Texas.
"We moved to Jack County when I was four years
or age, however, this does not keep me from remembei-
ing how we dreaded those redskins. My mother would
hang quilts and blankets over the windows of our little
one room log cabin to hide our light so that the Indians
might not locate our destination when they were out de-
predating.
"Our nearest and dearest neighbors were old Mary
and Britt Johnson (negroes). I have visited and eaten
many times with this old couple* Mary was a good cook
and Britt a good provider so we got along just fine.
"One day the Indian8 came and captured old Mary
and kept her several months before she was returned.
Page two
Old Britt made some kind of trade with the Indiana and
got her back but no one ever knew what this trade was.
"Britt had a very pretty whits horse that he kept
tied to the corner of his house when he was not riding
or driving him. Be often remarked that no Indian Should
ever ride his horse.
"Old negro Britt was a freighter, curried supplies
from Fort Worth to Fort Griffin where the ranchers could
get their supplies. One time he and six more negro*s
were coming from Fort Worth with a fourmegon train and
pulled down on salt Creek in Young County to spend the
night. The next morning they got up early, pulled out
about sunrise, and they heard the Indians coming. They
pulled their train in a cirele and were completely suri•
rounded by about 200 wild redskins, shouting, shooting
and giving their war cry. The fight began-. five negroes
were killed in the wagons, one negro boy escaped and old
Britt was on the back axle under his wagon, pouring lead.
One hundred and forty-four empty shot gun *hells Were
found under Britt's wagon and his gun barrel was bent.
All evidence showed that his shells ran out and a hand-to-
hand battle was staged. The escaped negro boy ran and
walked into Jacksonboro barefooted to get help. my father
and a brother of lies Lowe, the present County Sheriff of
Tom Green County, were in the bunch that went out. They
found old Britt's body mutilated, his eyes were punched
Page throe
out, body split open and the internal organs had been
removed and replaced by meal; his ears were cut off and
his scalp taken.
"The white horse that Britt was so crazy about
was killed with shots from' his gun. It was believed
that Britt would not take chances on escaping and he
killed his horse to make his statement hold true, that
no Indian should ever ride his white horse.
"I have gone to Britt's grave with old Mary many
times to share her sorrow, Just after his death, the
Indians came in twin and massacred the Cameron family
that lived on a little creek. They were all seven
buried in the same grave near 'the oreek and this has
been known as Cameron Crook, since that time.
"Masseereing the seven members of the Cameron
family was not enough; that very day they went on down
the creek about one mile where they killed Mr. and Mrs.
Pete Lynn end took their soaps. Mr. and Mrs. Lynn had
two children, a boy 4, and a girl 2, that escaped death
as they happened to be playing away from the house in
some tell grass. My father end other rangers found this
tragedy about two days afterward and the baby girl was
nursing the dead mother's breast. The little boy was
looking his parents over, wondering what it was all a-
bout.
"The rangers carried the two children to their
'grandfather Lynn's home where they lived afterward.
Page four
When the boy was about 17 years of age 1 carried him
to his parents' grave, and related the story of their
death as best 1 could. Uy tether had told me so much
about the pitiful sight I would never forget the de-
tails, Old Uncle billie Kutch and Mr. Manning organiz»
ad a memorial association and erected tombstones for
the unfortunate citizens' graves. I have visited them
many times and right to -day could go point them out,
than tell how each met his doom.
"I worked for the Loving Cattle Company about six-.
teen years. Oliver Loving was the first and only Swore-
tory, until death, for the Cattle Raisers' Association.
This organization was formed under a big oak tree at
Graham, Texas. Colonel C. C. Slaughter, Burk Burnett,
and Oliver Loving were among the charter members. The
famous old oak tree has always been cherished by the
older cattle men, because of whet the organization has.
meant to the cowman,
"I'm a cowman that has never suffered the hard-
ships of going up the trail; I could have gone many
times but stayed on the range, by ohoice.
"We always carried our cattle to Henrietta up in
Clay County. It was the largest cattle shipping point
in the United Oates at that time; we were only 90 miles
from there and it was to our advantage to ship by rail.
Sometimes we would oarry a thousand or more cattle to
Page the
Henrietta, then have to wait a week or more for our
turn to load on the train.
*Stampedes were numerous an the ground was strange.
Any little unusual commotion, as a pole cat, rabbit,
thunder, or such like, would give them a start. Our
boos always expeeted us to stay with our cattle regard-
less at the number in charge.
"This rodeo business they have now-. never go to
such tommy-rot. I used to see better ones every morning
then these boys stage here, annually. We would have
fourteen or fifteen horses a -rearing, pitching, and
snorting, all at once when we got ready to go out on the
range. Believe me we sure would have to pull leather to
stay on. we ;plover had to make our horses pitch.
"When I worked for the Loving Cattle Company I
rode a little horse by the name of "Mack'. I had train-
ed that little horse from a colt to be a fine cutter. I
'rods him about four years, when a darned old cattle buyer
came in and bought a bunch of cattle and had ma a-euttint
'em out. I thought to myself I was ad.doint a pretty job
of it; I always did when I was on Mack. The old cattle
buyer rode over to me and asked about the horse. I said,
'He ain't for sale.' Well that guy went on to Mr. Lov-
ing about it and bought him. Was I mad? I had a notion
of quitin', but had another that beat that one, so I
stayed. The fellow paid three times as much for him as
Page six
he would an ordinary horse, but I hated to let hi:. go.
That taught me a lesson, I never took much interest in
the other fellow's horse.
"I began to ride old Long and that devil pitched
every time I got on him for four years. He threw me
and I never rode him sgein. We decided to make a work
horse out of him but he got to pitehin' one day and
fell deed. I guess he must have broke a blood vessel,
but I never let that worry me.
"We were not rough on the new cowboys, but I
really caught every thing when I went in. I wee just
a kid and those other fellows were much older, They
kind of slowed down vihen they put me on a bed horse and
I rode him. If they see there's any stuff in you, they
like you end all that hazinp stops.
"We always had our fun when en Englishmen or some
guy from the East that knew nothing, came in for that
wild stuff."
Range -lore
Ruby Mosley
San Angelo, Texas.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mr. V. L. Newman, San Angelo, Texas, interviewed,
February lb, 1938.