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Range -lore
Ruby Mosley
San Angelo, Texas.
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RANGE -LORE
Mr. M. Dickson and Mrs.
Sarah Foreman Dickson, came to
Texas in 1836. Mr. Dickson
fought in the Civil and Mexican
Wars. The couple finally settl-
ed at Kerrville, Texas, where Mt.
John Dickson was born. In 1882
the Dickson family moved to San
Angelo and this has been their home
ever since.
"We had some mighty tough times," says Mr. J. H.
Dickson.
"When I was a little boy 9 years of age we lived
near Weatherford, Texas. An old man and two boys who
lived near old Fort Belknap carried a bunch of horses
to East Texas to sell. The boys rode horses and drove
the bunch while the old man went on in the little chuck
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wagon. They made the trip there and sold all but about
six horses that they started back with. When they came
back through Weatherford the old man bought a new trunk
and filled it with new clothes for his wife and three
children; as he left the store he told Mt. Broady, the
store keeper, that he would put the remainder of the
money in a belt around his waist as thenights were light
and one can never tell what might happen. The three
traveled on to Salt Creek Prairie and sure enough the
Indians came and got their scalps and six horses., Some
settlers of that section found the dead men, put some
horses to the chuck wagon and carried them to Weatherford
to try to identify them. Mr. Broady recognized them at
first sight, then looked for the money in the man's belt
but it was not there. Sidon Bly looked in an old boot in
the hind end of the wagon first, he pulled out dirty socks,
then the bills, last the gold and silver, several hundred
dollars that he had sold thebbraes for. I was at Sidon
Bly's elbow when he pulled the money out of the boot. The
wife and children were brought down for the funeral, and
the money was turned over to them.
"When I was a kid 14 years old I worked for am, an
old forty-niner out of California. BA was an old wolf and
buffalo hunter. We went several hundred miles on these
trips and had some dreadful times dodging arrows and gett-
ing food and water.
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"Sixteen of us left Fort Griffin in December, 1872.
We went by the way of three ox wagons. Jim Reed hired
one wagon from Uncle John Parrish. He would not hire
the wagon to him unless he took us with him. He doubt-
ed my ability with a gun until Uncle John said, 'I'll
give you my wagon, team, guns, and all, if this 14 year
old boy can't out shoot anything you have in your gang.'
At this I was hired.
"Well we got on our way and old Jim Reed gave the
order. He said, 'Boys we are going out and camp, ,and
poison wolves that herd the buffalo. There will be
great
There
Camp,
big rascals, old blue loafers and white loafers.'
were no roads; we traveled by compass.
"We came to a creek that made a fine place to
about half of the bunch pitched camp here and the
others went several hundred yards past. We found seven
buffaloes that were down; the wolves had eaten parts of
each and one was still alive. We took his heart, cut
it up and put poison all over it and the remains of the
other buffaloes. The next morning when we got up we
had 46 dead wolves. Old Reed came over from their camp
bragging about his outfit killing 41 wolves but when we
told him about our luck he shut up.
"About a thousand old loafers would surround the
buffaloes and keep them going around and around for a
day or so until the buffaloes broke to run for rest,
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food or water, then the wolves would devour the younger
"We skinned the dead wolves and went on our way.
The fa:MA:mire went the less water holes we found. We
saw a fire and went to it but when we got there the
Indians had gone. We camped about three hundred yards
from the Indians' camp fire and killed wild turkeys
and a deer. We ate supper without water. The next
morning we woke up with a five inch blanket of snow on
us. Boy, we were glad because with the snow melting
we had water for our oxens, which we caught in large
vessels.
'We went on our way and came to the south prong
of the Wichita River and set up camp for three days.
Brother and I went out to look for wolves and found some
that had been poisoned. We began to skin them. I heard
a noise, looked up and said, 'Jesus Christ, yonder comes
Indians.' We made it to a cliff as fast as we could. I
pulled off my hat, looked up over the cliff and saw the
Indians examining the wolves' remains. The old fellows
at the camp shot their guns and built fires to attract
our attention to the camps, as they thought we were lost
or killed by Indians. They had had a little skirmish
with the same Indians that we had seen. Uncle John was
glad to see brother and I come up a -grinning.
"Well, our supplies fell short. We only had about
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two biscuits a -piece left. Jim Reed and old Rice start-
ed to Fort Griffin for supplies when they came to an
Indian camp of five tepees. Sixteen Indians faced them
and shot an arrow at Reed's head, but missed. Reed
Spoke to them in Spanish and they yelled, 'Go to hell.'
Reed and Rice started off as fast as they could go, with
five Indians following. They stopped their wagon and
the Indians circled around and around, giving the war
cry. Of course Reed shot and killed one of them. Reed
said, 'I hated to kill the ignorant devil but had too.'
We had an awful time while Reed and Rice were gone after
our supplies. We fought and hungered for five long
weeks; we had no bread and we would boil the buffalo's
heart and slice it for bread.
"About fifty Walla -Walla Indians came down from
Washington State and captured nerve Ledbetter and kept
him about eighteen months. The whites up around Fort
Sill traded horses to the Indians for him.
"Frank Zones was an old buffalo hunter as tough
as a boot and smart as a whip. I worked for him in 1876-
77-78. The Comanche Indians captured him and kept him
several years. He learned to shoot the bow and arrow
and to speak their language, then he was their interpre-
ter. They traded him to the Kiawas and he spoke their
language and did their trading. He lived with Indians
twenty-one years and finally he got to be a trusty. The
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government took possession of him at Fort Sill when the
Indians were placed on reservation. BA helped the govern,.
nest to manage them and interpreted for the government.
"Jasper Helen was stolen in Jack County by the
Indians and they kept him eleven years; then the Indians
came down to Fort McKavett to make a raid on horses and
men as well. The Indians bedded down to. sleep a while
before they did their dirt. Jasper slipped out. This
was the first time he had been in a settlement since he
was captured. Frank Zones happened to be the interpreter
at Fort MoKavett at this time. Early that moraine Frank
was holding the calves off while the cows were being
milked. The woman that was milking looked up and screamed,
'Indians are here!' Jasper said,. 410 white man,' Frank
began to talk to him in the Indian language and to their
amazement both had been captives.
"I worked with both of those old buys about two
years and we had lots of fun. They would frame up on me
as both could speak Indian. I remember one time when
Frank paid WOO for a knife I got it and made belief
that he had lost it. Old Jasper told him in Indian lang-
uage that I had his knife and he looked over at me and
said, 'John give me my knife!' Of course we had a big
laugh at that.
"In 1869 Captain i4irren owned a big freight outfit.
They hauled for the government. One day they were well
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loaded and coming through Young County
Prairie, when old Big Tree and Satanka'
included Frank Jones, made a run in on
on Salt Creek
s tribes, which
the wagon train,.
burned all the wagons and killed nine men. Satanka
and Big Tree were captured and were put in a wagon to
be taken to prison. They had hand cuffs on and Big
Tree out two fingers off to free himself, then picked
up a gun to shoot the driver, when the guard saw him
and shot first. Old Chief Satanka was carried to.
Florida Island and served twenty-five years then was
returned to Fort Sill to be released. There were about
fifty squaws and bucks in their bunch.
"The Indians stole Cynthia Ann Parker when she was
a little girl. They kept her for years and years and
she learned the Indian language, customs and habits, and
liked them very much, as she knew no others. Cynthia
Ann Parker had two boys and one girl, Quahanna, by the
Indians. Frank Jones traded three horses to the Indians
for Cynthia Ann and the baby girl. I saw her in Hender-
son County at Mr. O'Quinn's saw mill. She made four at-
tempts to get away and go back to the Indians. One time
she took her baby girl and was gone tour days before we
got her buck. She said, 'My happiest days was when I
was with my Indian family.'
"In the spring of l855, my father, W. e Dickson
was a home guard at Kerrville. Old Bill Bowen was a
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home guard in Atascosa County. The Indians Caine, to
steal whatever they could get away with. They got two
women, a boy, and many horses. Bill Bowen and his men
set out after the Indians. They traveled by the way
of Kerrville, got my dud C. M. Dickson) and his gang,
with strong determination to get the women and boy.
They followed them all the way to the Big Hubbard Creek,
in Shackelford County. Bill said, 'They have seen us,
and are out-ridin' us. 2...s our horses are about done,
we will circle through and cut in on Big BUbbard.' This
creek was widened by a slue of water which grew china
trees, sunflowers and tall weeds. Just as they had got-
ten their horses well hidden, they saw the Indians com-
ing over the hill right in front of them on the other
side of the creek. The two women and the boy had been
stripped of their clothes and tied to the wild stolen
horses. Their feet were tied under the horses' bellies
and their hands up around the horses neck and to the
mane. They had ridden thirty-six hours in this position
with the wild horses running at full speed through the
wild country. AS they got to Big Hubbard the horses
made a dash for water, as neither horse nor man had had
a drink of water nor a bite to eat on the way. The
'Indians roped out the horses that carried the woman and
the boy and tied them to u tree. They killed a steer
and ate the raw meat, cut hunks out and threw near
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enough to the captives for them to smell. There were
17 Indiuns and about 300 horses in the Indians' bunch.
Pupa and Bill had fourteen men in their gang. 1;hile
the Indians were ganged around their feast, papa and
Bill's gang bean firing. They killed and got four-
teen scalps of the Indians then went over, released
the women and boy, and divided clothes with them. They
made up a fire and roasted some of the meat that the
Indians left and ate and watered up. In a few hours
the women were able to start homeward. They were given
the best horses and saddles. Wien they cot back is far
as Mason County they borrowed a hack and carried the
women and boy home. Papa M. Dickson) and old Bill
Bowenst names went down in history for this act."
Range -lore
Ruby Mosley
San Angelo, Texas.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I. H. Dickson, San Angelo, Texas, Interviewed
January 5, 1938.