Lucille Glasgow writes a column for the Clay Co. Leader and the editor prints it every week or so as he has space. I had 8 installments of these clippings by Mr. Menn. They are isolated facts rather than a story. In 1959 the Clay County Leader ran a series of articles about Clay County and Henrietta by Mr. Alfred E. Menn. Mr. Menn, a native Texan born in Austin, wrote historical articles for the Dallas Morning News. While doing research for his book, Let's Go to Texas and for newspaper articles, he began finding the story, item by item, of Henrietta and Clay County. He obtained his material from old Land Office records and old newspaper files at the University of Texas. Back in 1877, beautiful buffalo robes were being manufactured in Henrietta. About 1400 buffalo robes were manufactured during one spring alone. One firm in Henrietta had handled about 4000 buffalo hides. --------The unusual news from Clay County, in 1877, was that not one bar room was located in the entire county. Cider drink was popular, however....... During this season about 16,000 beef cattle were going to be sent to market from Clay County..... A desperado named Hughes, who had been the terror of Clay County, was finally arrested. ---------Crops were flourishing in 1877 and would exceed those raised in 1876, when it was reported an estimated 60,000 bushels of wheat, 105,000 bushels of oats and about 150,000 bushels of corn were harvested. Not much cotton was planted in 1877, did not exceed a thousand bales. ---- -----A gentleman was lecturing to audiences in the East about Texas. He told prospective settlers what to expect: Thirty-five or so miles away from a railroad, you can buy land at cheap rates. Texas does not want absolutely poor people. There are too many poor people there now. Any man who drinks should not go to Texas. Whisky will not do there. Bullets are plentiful for all but the sober. If a man stays sober, Texas is as safe a place as Philadelphia. The kind of men to go to Texas are the sober, hard working, handy ones, with a little capital. No man should go to Texas until he has counted the cost. ----------And horse thieves were reported to have been busy during this era. As many as fifteen horses had been missing from this county within several weeks. It was believed that an organized gang of horse thieves were the cause of it all. ----------The County Judge of Limestone County was in Clay County for the purpose of negotiating the sale of that county's land located in Clay. Even during the glorious 4th of July celebration it was boasted that not one drop of liquor was in evidence. Local option saw to that. -----A fire in Cambridge destroyed the store of the Winter Brothers and the Post Office. Only the books and papers were saved. The loss amounted to $2,300. - Wild horses were reported to have been plentiful but few persons cared to catch them. A good corn crop was expected to be harvested. It was hoped that a free school would soon be established in Henrietta.......... A military post was to be established at Henrietta as the Federal Government could spare the troops. Because the Indians needed to be watched, even in 1877, it was reported that it was too far 'a reach' from Fort Richardson at Jacksboro to Fort Sill, up in the Indian Territory........ A buffalo bull walked boldly down the streets in Henrietta. He didn't live very long, however. Back in 1877, Cambridge was referred to as a thriving country village. Located on an elevated site, people in Cambridge could see the farm and ranch houses for miles around. (Did that mean there were no mesquites here then?) At this time, in 1877, Cambridge consisted of fifty to sixty houses, five stores, two hotels, a doctor's office, a lawyer's office, a livery stable, a 'picture gallery,' a gun shop, a saddle and harness shop, a blacksmith and wagon shop, a shoe shop, two meat markets, a brickyard, and a lumberyard, carpenter shops, and a large grist and sawmill. William Tate had fenced up forty acres adjoining Cambridge. He had planted nearly all the acreage in corn. And a Dr. Eldridge had also enclosed a 100-acre field near Cambridge. He also had a fine orchard. A.J. Van Epps also had a fine farm. A Dr. Sitton of Tarrant County decided to buy some land near Cambridge and plant a vineyard. Alex. Metzger reported that farming done in his neighborhood, a strip of county east of East Fork four miles long and three wide, had good crops growing. Metzger reported that his one acre of red clover was as good as any ever grown in Michigan. T. B. Goforth lived in the Beaver Creek Settlement in 1877. A Clay County man reported in 1877 that: While on a buffalo hunt, about 130 miles west of Clay County, I was bitten while asleep in my buffalo dug-out by the original hydrophobia cat. The following day I took passage with a Mr. Wallace, who was on his way to Fort Belknap, with the intention of going to Denton County to have the mad-stone applied to the wound, supposing that to be the nearest point where one of those mysterious, wonder-working stones could be found. On reaching Belknap and feeling anxious to have the stone applied before the ninth day, I bought a horse. Then learning from one of the parties there that one of the stones could be obtained in Weatherford, I started for that place. Meeting with some difficulty in finding the exact whereabouts of the stone and seven days having passed since I was bitten, and I was beginning to suffer from fever, it was time to find the stone. It was not until the eighth day that I had succeeded in having the stone applied. It stuck, as it is termed, thirty- three times, bringing immediate relief from suffering. I wish to add that E.S. Lee, who owned the stone, would not apply it until I gave him my horse, for which I had paid $70 at Fort Belknap. In my return I walked from Weatherford to Jacksboro, then on to Henrietta. So went the story of Charles Jones. The extremely cold weather in 1877 killed forty per cent of the sheep belonging to the Stine Brothers. Consequently, they had lost about 300 sheep. (We don't hear much about sheep being raised in early Clay Co., but Ed Bitz of Dean recently gave us a photo of a herd of sheep on the Dale Ranch.) Back in 1877, for a change, it was reported that Clay County was as peaceful as any county in Texas. Because of street laws which prevented a person from giving away booze or malt liquors, intemperance had practically ceased. It was reported that new buildings were being erected all over Clay County. Twenty-five new settlers had located at Large (Lodge?) Creek within a few months. An unsigned letter from Secret Springs reports that: John Groener had 125 acres, 40 acres of which is planted in wheat. The balance is planted in barley, corn and cotton. C. Christoff was cultivating fifty acres. W.P. Judy had 75 acres of corn and 25 acres in cotton. The Yeager Brothers are improving a farm. They bought 450 head of sheep from Missouri. John Sanzenbacher is raising cattle and hogs. He is improving a farm by plowing, fencing and digging wells. John Terry has 80 acres in grain and a fine flock of sheep. Everyone has some cattle. Corn looks fine. Wheat is rather backward looking. (End of Secret Springs letter) A Mr. Barry, who had just returned from the Panhandle reported that he had seen a herd of buffaloes containing at least 50,000 head. At this time, in 1877, the citizens were able to buy venison in Henrietta at five cents per pound. During the spring of 1877, it was reported that work had commenced on a brick office building, on Clay Street in Henrietta, which made it the first brick building in Clay Co. J.T. Craig had the honor of laying the first brick in Clay County on May 1, 1877. This was quite an historic event, you can be sure. At this time, in 1877, Clay County had within its borders 230,256 acres of school lands. The bulk of this land was now on sale to prospective settlers. In addition to this, the state had, in Clay County, 43,520 acres of alternate railroad sections, then still unoccupied or applied for. Those lands were sold by the state at $1.50 per acre in blocks of 160 acres. They were sold to actual settlers on ten years' time, with ten per cent interest. Farmers from all over Clay County were reporting excellent prospects for crops of all kinds. One prediction in 1877 reported: The discovery of coal in sufficient quantity would make Clay County the most prosperous county in Northwest Texas. It would induce capital, immigrants and railroads to consider Clay County as a good investment. While out on a hunting trip, a Mr. Hickey treed and killed a large panther. Back in 1877, the town of Henrietta contained the following firms: a half dozen stores, two hotels, two blacksmith shops, three saloons (notwithstanding local option), several law offices and about fifty residences. The town contained a good school house. Good water was obtained at a depth of eighteen to twenty feet. Well-known cattlemen maintained five residences in Henrietta. Fruits of all kinds yielded abundant crops here. People became interested in a legal decision as to the right of jurisdiction over the counties of Collinsworth, Donley, Gray, Wheeler, Roberts, Hemphill, Lipscomb, Hall, Childress, Archer, Ochiltree, Wichita, Baylor, Wilbarger, Knox, Hardeman, and Greer Counties. The contest had been to determine the supremacy of Clay or Montague Counties over all this district. Judge Carroll had decided in favor of Clay County. At this time in 1877, there were 138.600 head of cattle under the judicial authority of Clay County valued at $1,000,000. A Mr. Bartlett, living near the Red River in Clay County, had killed 278 head of deer, all within a radius of ten miles of his residence. He had also killed countless antelope and other small game. It is said that cattlemen often saw droves of wild horses. A wild buffalo tried to invade the streets of Henrietta in 1877. After it was killed, a Mr. Helvey kept its hide. In 1878 the indebtedness of Clay County was $11,000. Good wood was being sold at $2.25 per cord. On account of the muddy roads hide wagons were coming in at a slow rate. At this time, during the spring of 1878, the people in this part of Texas were just a bit afraid. And for a good reason. Old Fort Richardson, in nearby Jack County, had been abandoned. Clay County is said to have more than doubled its population within a few years. It must have been quite cold in Henrietta during January, 1878, because a lone but orderly ox walked into a local office on a Saturday morning, warmed itself and then marched out again into the street. This incident caused quite a bit of merriment among the people of Henrietta. If a citizen or settler wanted to send a telegram from Henrietta to far-away San Francisco, it cost $2.50 for ten words. One local firm was waiting for the arrival of 1,000 buffalo hides from the frontier range. Immigrants were showing much interest in Clay County in 1878. Cambridge was still jealous of Henrietta being the county seat. At this time, a newspaper, titled the Henrietta Journal, was being published. Butter sold at 35 cents per pound. Corn was selling at $1.35 per bushel. Commissioners Rentz and Dawson went on an exciting buffalo hunt. The roads were in bad condition. The stage fare to Sherman was $12.00. Ike Stevens had sold his cattle to Stine and Flippin for $7,500. Wagon trains loaded with hides came from the West to Clay County in 1878. Considerable shifting around was being done in military circles along the frontier. Stockmen reported that the cattle were in fine condition. F. Goodin was going all the way to the Rio Grande to buy some cattle. Land Commissioner Groos of Austin, in answer to a question, stated that the geographical center of Clay County was on the Orange County school lands, or about 2 ½ miles southwest of Henrietta. The first and only Negro voter in Clay County in 1878 was polled for next session of court as a juror. Only four Negroes were living in Clay County that year. At this time land could be purchased in Clay County from $1.50 to $2.00 per acre. Immigrants were finding this an ideal place in which to settle. Henrietta, the county seat of Clay County, enjoyed the principal trade of the farmers in the county and of stockmen and hunters for a hundred miles west. Cambridge, located only three miles east of Henrietta, was in 1878 a growing rival. In fact, a heated and highly contested election was to take place on March 16, 1878, to determine which should be the permanent county seat. Sheriff Gee of Clay County, while serving some papers in the southwestern section of the county about 25 miles from Henrietta, had occasion to pass near the neck of some timber. While riding leisurely along, he saw three men coming from the edge of the woods. When within about 50 yards of Sheriff Gee, the men drew their revolvers and halted. Sheriff Gee at once dismounted and using his horse as a shield, took aim with his rifle and demanded they surrender. To shoot was the first impulse of Sheriff Gee but he decided they were too well armed for battle. Not realizing that he was the sheriff, the men sought safety by retreating. They had thought he was merely a lone traveler. Sheriff Gee had been close enough to observe that the men were strangers in Clay County. Returning to Henrietta after completing his business trip, Sheriff Gee described the three men. It was decided they were Sam Bass and his gang. Sheriff Gee was congratulated on still being alive. A few months later, Bass was killed at Round Rock, near Austin. On a Wednesday, Jan. 8, 1879, what was said to be the coldest day of the season was recorded. The thermometer for two days had touched zero. Two enterprising men, Owens and Powell, filled an ice house with some of the ice which had formed. Some of it was five inches thick. Some sheep were dying from the effects of the cold. Henrietta had its 6th snow of the season. At this time in 1879, the Henrietta Journal was being published. Value of lands in Clay Co: $552,649; town lots, $41,571; carriages, wagons, etc., $19,494; horses and mules, $88, 053; cattle, $600,007; sheep, $13,117; goats, only $59; hogs, $4,873; and miscellaneous property at $51,565. The new Clay County courthouse was almost completed. (This would not have been the present one, which was built in 1884. LG) Immense beds of salt were discovered on the Elm Fork of the Big Wichita River (Trinity? Or is there an Elm Fork up around present-day Lake Kemp?), about 75 miles from Clay County. Two wagons loaded with some 5,000 pounds of this fine salt, arrived in Henrietta during the fall of 1879. Local citizens were able to purchase the salt at 1 ½ cents per pound. Clay and Wichita Counties were receiving their share of eager settlers. There were four tame buffaloes roaming around with Ikard's herd of cattle in Clay County in 1879. The buffaloes never pretended to leave the range. This occurred at a time when the buffaloes, especially over in the old Fort Griffin area, were being rapidly exterminated by hundreds of buffalo hunters who killed the shaggy-headed creatures for their hides. At this time, in 1881, the Henrietta Shield was being published. Rain continued to fall in a steady downpour for about 15 hours in the fall of 1881. Judge Plemons had some fine specimen of lignite in his office, which he had found in the southwestern section of Clay County. It was said to have been as good as any found in the Indian Nation. Other minerals were also being discovered from time to time. Shilo was the name of a new post office, which was located twelve miles west of Henrietta, on the line of the Henrietta and Archer City mail service. L.C. Mebarg reported that the farmers on Dry Fork raised some of the best corn and cotton in the county. Sheriff Craig had arrested a Negro soldier who had deserted his post at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The cattle king of this section of Texas in 1883 is said to have been W. R. Curtis, who was said to have been a millionaire. Henrietta in 1886 had a population of about 2,000 persons. This was twice as many people as were in entire Clay County about twenty years prior to this time. Henrietta was referred to in 1886 as the supply depot for Fort Sill and for the Comanche, Kiowa and Wichita Indian Agencies. Henrietta in 1886 had an annual business of $500,000. Stock raising had once been the main industry of Clay County, but by 1886valuable lands were being cultivated. Henrietta in 1886 had four neat churches and a very good schoolhouse; two newspapers were being published here in 1886; and one of the best flour mills, with a capacity of 100 barrels per day, was then located here. This mill, it is said, used most of the grain which was sold in Henrietta. It was reported that the county needed more good farmers. Back in 1899, when Sallie Harlan was 100, she predicted she would die. She did. Her lone cabin was located in a mountainous region of Texas. She lived one of the strangest lives in early Texas. She was the 'widow' of two Indians. Sallie's family came to the frontier country of Texas, the Indians discovered the cabin and they pretended for some time to be on friendly terms with Sallie's family. That was in 1818, when Sallie was in her late teens. Then old Iron Eyes and his roving band of redskins murdered the whole family but spared the life of lovely Sallie. She was then advised she would be burned at the stake or would she choose an Indian for a husband? She reluctantly chose the latter. A few months after her wedding, however, another tribe appeared on the scene. Gambling being one of their favorite pastimes, Sallie discovered to her horror that she had been 'won' by the Comanche brave named Red Deer. She obediently went to live with him, but she also decided to be the boss in the wigwam. She succeeded so well that the other red skins derisively referred to him as a 'squaw man.' One day Red Deer asked her to do a certain chore, they quarreled, Sallie picked up a tomahawk and brained Red Deer on the spot. Sallie knew she was doomed. Jumping astride a fleet-footed mustang, she raced in the direction of an American settlement. She suddenly realized she had left behind her three-year-old son. She brooded about this constantly and she was determined to save him from the savages. Sallie once accompanied soldiers out to the Indian country. Years later, they captured Sallie's brother-in-law, who told them that Sallie's son was still alive. Sallie disguised herself as a Comanche warrior and boldly rode to the village where her son lived. The son was now ten years old; he had been named White Eagle. Sallie took White Eagle out into the forest and told him who she was. He said he didn't believe her. Then the little scamp raced back to camp and aroused the warriors. The enraged Indians captured Sallie. The squaws took off her clothes and whipped her until the blood flowed. The old Indian chief suggested that her son pass judgment on her life. Little White Eagle and his mischievous playmates jabbed Sallie's body with arrows and spears. Then Sallie was tied on the back of a snorting mustang which was then turned loose. Sallie was able to free her hand. She finally met a party of Americans. She neither ate food nor drank water until she had sworn vengeance against all Indians. From then on, Sallie joined any frontier company or posse in search of Indians. She never sparred the life of an Indian; she finally acquired ninety-nine Indian scalps. The Comanches finally referred to her as the White Devil. Sallie had lived a strange life. She became one of Texas' least-known frontier characters. Now you know her full story, however. It is said that Big Foot Wallace, whose exploits are known to all good Texans, was on the side of the 'free range men' in the fence-cutting wars of the early 1880's. Big Foot Wallace once remembered: 'I helped drive the Indians out of Texas. It's me and them brave men who came here in them times and won the county for the white man.' 'Shall we give up to those who have came in here since we won the county. I say no, boys. Let no man fence away from you the freedom and privileges which me and other men won for you. Go forth to battle and such battles you shall surely win.' The Indians of Texas called the new fangled invention of barbed wire devil rope. The famous John W. (Bet-A-Million) Gates helped introduce the barbed wire to Texans. Its introduction soon created two definite types of men: the 'free range men' and the 'closed range men.' Before the people of Texas had time to realize how serious it had become, the barbed wire war created a dangerous era. People even began murdering each other. For a time the situation became so tense, that if a lone traveler at night became lost and went to a rural farmhouse to ask for directions, he was more than likely to see a rifle pointed at him through a window. Warning signs appeared on fence posts and rails: 'Quit fencing.' 'Take in your fence! Take it in or you will be killed!' In one instance, at least, a grave was dug near the intended victim's ranch house and was left open as a gruesome warning. The year 1883 was a banner one for the determined fence cutters. Riding two hundred strong, they threatened to burn down the prosperous county seat of a county in West Texas. The bravery of the local sheriff prevented bloodshed. Not that he out shot them all, but he quietly and firmly told them that it was better to talk it over and settle the dispute amicably. Down in Castroville, near historic San Antonio, there were thirty-four fence cutters in the local jail in 1884. Soon the frontier town was crowded with anti-fence and pro-fence mobs. In an instance like this, the Texas Rangers had to race to the rescue. Captain Joe Shelby and five Texas Rangers arrived in due time. Soon all was quiet and peaceful. Senator A.W. Terrell thundered, 'If a man from inborn meanness has clipped the wires, or destroyed the fence of another, it is not for him to become the executioner of the law in Texas, and I would put him in the penitentiary!' Then one day Texans awoke to find that a law had been passed in 1884. It was now a felony to be caught in the act of cutting a barbed wire fence. Gradually peace and sanity returned to the growing population of Texas. Following is a list of original land owners of Clay County, probably never published before by Mr. Alfred E. Menn. Reuben R. Brown, James Bradshaw, heirs of James M. Hardaway, John Delesanner, William Wallace, heirs of Jorn Barracas, E. O. LeGrand, Thomas T. martin, R. Trevino, John Trussel, William R. Gaston, Aaron Burns, C. F. Acres, John Garner, Mary Lassiter, Joseph Floyd, Alex McGowan, Mrs. F. A. Grogan, B. B. Grogan, Juan Armendaris, Mrs. A. C. Hensey. J.W. Herrin, Thomas Warren, O.E. Welch, J.G. Smith, L.F. Lea, C. Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, H.M. and M.M. Dunn, Hardin Burgess, J.R. Newcomb, E. A. McCracken, William F. Young, James W. Ringgold, Charles Q. Haley, Thomas Dean, James O. Butler, James G. Hays, John S. Roberts, James Clark, West Richardson, William B. Richards, Don Braman, heirs of Elizabeth A. Farris, E. T. Mitchell, Sidney Jones, Charles E. Rentz, D. J. Utley, A. C. Hunter, C. Waller, W. G. Dodson, Sol L. Johnson, E. T. Mitchell, Benjamin Kellogg, B. Gates, Peter L. Ash, H.B. Harvey. R.H. Worley, A.L. Downing, Albert Jones, William Jackson, S. J. Kerr, J.M. Hammonds, J.H. Phillips, John Downing Sr., John W. Massie, Jane Duncan, E. Story, W.G. Eustis, Mark Haley, Kenneth McKenzie, heirs of William C. McKinstry, Robert Crossman, Francisco Longardio, Thomas Parker, Hezekiah Frost, Sam L. Hughes, T.A. Plemons, heirs of J.A. Bozeman, heirs of John L. Chambers, M. B. Crain, Lyman F. Rounds, William Glass, W. A. Smith, Thomas Cook, Almeron Dickinson, Edward Hoskins, J. Levins, Joseph Evans. A.S. Mercer, J.T. Wyont, H.L. Poe, C.F. Baeumlein, G.F. Bridgeman, J.C. Stewart, M.B. Skerritt, Lewis Ledstrand, Wilson W. Crail, W.W. Carroll, Mial Scurlock, William Walker, Edward Brooks, Andrew Graham, A.P. Belcher, John J. Burke, C.W. Easley, John Rogers. D. Kane Sr., F. Deadrick, M. Corbett, William Spavin, Edwin Morehouse, William George, J.M. White, H.M. Casper, Blake Powers, W.W. Howeth, Martin A. Joy, Thomas Morehead, Ygnacio Sanches, Juan Armendaris, O.A. Blake, L.La Bare. William W. Yearly, Charleton Thompson, Juan de la Garza, A. Gallatin, John K. Parker, R.J. Brown, G.P. Meade, J.A. Smith, P.G. Maguire, M.B. Atkinson, William H. Scott, F.J. Bellows, B.F. Bradford, Alonzo Kean, James H. Larrabee, M.B. Meade Jr., Dugald McFarlane. John H. Fisher, Joseph Gamble, Patrick Gilliland, Texas Immigration and Land Company, John Robbins, Thomas Robbins, G. Killion, James H. Milroy, Raymond Daley, Jesse M.C. Paxton, G. Gardiner, H. Tucker, Theo F. Johnson, E. Dean. Heirs of Willis A. Farris, Issac Ticknor, Henry Dixon, John J. Hand, Hiram Williams, Z.N. Morrell, Juan N. Seguin, Thomas Baston, E. Ezell, John Turner, Samuel M. Herron, J.L. Harvey, George Maybee, A. Aarons, William H. Dorsey, H.D. Baynham, James McCarty, James Cooke, John T. Collinsworth, G. W.S. Tipps, George E. Lawrence, John G. Hadnot and C. Rooney. A. Britten, J.J. Lyons, James C. Brown, Aquilla Brinkley, Richard G. Watson, H. A. Baker, R.Y. Martin, William Hill. Mund Gross, Levi H. Sparks, Tarlton F. Bates, M.B. Skerritt, James R. Perkins, William Williams, Raymond Sunigas, Thomas Doherty, Stephen Hardughty, T.B. Hartnett, John F. Crawford, Thomas J. Killett, John B. Reding, Samuel C. Beldon, John Preston. Jerre Malone, T.H. Gorman, George W. Butts, G.F. Cullers, S.J. Heindel, Samuel Anderson, M.M. Paris, G. H. Haggam, Ambrose Crain, Thomas Tanner, W.W. Howeth, S.S. Reynolds, Mariano Carabajal, E. F. Ward, J.R. Hartzell, W.C. Donley, James H. King. John May, Edward Hall, Louis Landart, Joseph Weeks, S. Denson, A.H. Pogue, heirs of William Wells, J.M.W. Hall, A. Bass, Wylie Morse, Peter C. Harness, heirs of George Wagoner, Zachariah L. Stringer, E. Humphreys, William B. Adair, Swan and Stine, B.S. Hinchee, D. Nuner, Miguel D. Eslava, Ramon Trevino, and heirs of Jane Rutledge.