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Museum Memories Submitted by Lucille
Glasgow
Another interesting account of early Clay County
history has surfaced in the archives room. "Back in 1875-77, the
south part of Clay County, like all other frontier counties,
was very sparsely settled. Bluegrove was the only settlement
north before reaching Cambridge and Henrietta. It was a scattered
community and there was no other settlement south between the
communities now known as Shannon and Jacksboro. Some of the early
settlers were drifters who stopped for a short time, built cabins
of native logs, daubed with mud, and moved on a few months later.
But many stayed and became builders of communities.The following is an account of life in the southern most part of Clay County from 1875 to 1893, written by Mr. J. E. Gates, born in 1871, son of T. B. Gates and brother of James T. Gates. "This was the era before the wire fence came into use as all the country was unfenced and was known as open range, so the settlers were few and far between, and neighbors were scarce. One did not see them except on rare occasions. Naturally the wives and children had a rather lonely existence, as they had little outside social contact of any kind. "About the only thing to break the monotony would be an occasional lone cow hand riding past, sometimes stopping for a drink of water, a meal, or if he should be far from headquarters, he might wish to spend the night. In this case he always received a hearty welcome because he and his kind were always courteous gentlemen. "Sometimes, but not often, the family might see a freight wagon headed toward or from Fort Worth, as this was the nearest railroad and market. Coming from Fort Worth they were loaded with supplies for a distant western point; returning they were usually loaded with buffalo hides for the Fort Worth market. These wagons were pulled by ox teams, consisting of from one to three yoke of oxen, depending on the weight of the load. Frequently there would be a trail wagon chained to the rear of the first wagon. "The drivers of these ox wagons, known as bull whackers, were in a class by themselves, for they developed peculiar characteristics not common to other people. There were long stretches of miles when they saw nothing more exciting than their own yoke of oxen as they plodded and strained at their loads along the dim wagon trails. Those trails were never repaired and were full of sand beds and mud holes with very few bridges of any kind across the streams. And the bridges were built of rough poles cut from nearby timber and were unsafe for heavy loads. "But as they plodded along their way they usually saw plenty of wild game or an occasional bunch of Texas longhorn cattle, which were as wild as game. "These drivers developed and perfected a very colorful vocabulary. While it would probably not be considered in altogether good form, measured by our present standards, whatever it lacked in culture, was amply atoned for in forcefulness and profanity, for anyone who heard a member of this gentry spiel one of his masterpieces, as he sometimes did when coaxing his team to pull the load through a deep mud hole, would pause and wonder that such eloquence could fall from human lips. At any rate, these boys developed a technique for which there was no worthwhile substitute. These men were rough, but good and kind-hearted, and always ready to help anyone through a tight place. They always saw that their teams got plenty of feed and water. Their Winchesters and six shooters were just as much a part of their equipment as was their clothing, and their courage went unchallenged. I have given them space because they were necessarily a part of the West at that time. "During the time the U.S. soldiers were stationed at Old Fort Richardson just across Lost Creek from Jacksboro, the booming of the cannon at each sunrise and each sunset could be heard across the county line and far into Clay County when the atmospheric conditions were right. Just seeing the old military telegraph line reaching from Fort Richardson in Jack County across Clay County and on to Fort Sill sometimes reminded the people that there was an outside world. This line came through by way of Buffalo Springs where there was a small fort or government house of some kind. "In the years 1874-75, just prior to this period, roving bands of Comanche Indians made foraging expeditions into Jack County, and of course this was followed in 1876 by other reports and scares. I remember at one time during this period that war parties of Indians were reported to be only 12 miles from our home. These reports were later proven to be false as we were never at any time molested by the Indians. However, one time my father and I met a small detachment of soldiers with two captive Indians whom they had followed farther west and captured and were returning them to Fort Richardson. I do not believe these had at this time committed any serious offense, but I rather think that bringing them in had a good moral effect on other members of war parties who might have been planning to raid any of the settlements. All these happenings and reports naturally caused a good deal of nervousness and apprehension among the settlers. "So in the summer of 1876, in response to the appeal of the people for some protection, the government sent an official of some kind among the pioneers asking every able bodied man to join what became known as the Minute Company organized for protection of each man’s family. Membership in the organization was strictly voluntary and in no way compulsory, but on becoming a member each man was oath bound to respond to any call for assistance at any time or at any place on one minute’s notice. I think it was from this that the company derived its name. Very well do I remember when my father, Thomas B. Gates, joined this organization, for he was given a gun together with 100 rounds of ammunition. This gun was known as a needle gun and to my childish mind at that time it was a very vicious looking shooting iron. "But as there were no further Indian troubles, as far as I know, none of these men were ever called to defend any part of the country. At any rate, about one year later, an official came through and collected all arms given to the Minute Company. "While this writer has lived in Clay County practically all his life, it was so near the Jack County line that at times he does not feel sure as to whether his feet were on the right side or the wrong side of the Clay County line. I mention this with reference to seeing the captive Indians as well as mention of the Minute Men; these are both recollections of Jack County. Although my father lived at this time not more than one-half mile from the county line, the happenings in either county were so closely related and interwoven that it becomes almost impossible to write any of my recollections without barging across the county line, for this invisible line at that time meant very little to a community where everyone had friends and neighbors on either side of it. "Prominent among the early cow men and cowboys in this section and period were: Sanford Wilson; Nub White; William McElroy; Newt Jones; Ben Cobb; R. S. Hilburn; Sandy McGraw; Sim Melugin; W. B. Sheffy; Sam Sherwood; Mr. Woodward; R. C. Brumley; George Brumley; Wig Brumley; Bob Brumley; S. B. Harbison; Charley Burch; Elbert Hicks and many more."A few more prominent old timers were: Hiram Burch; William Hammer; M. E. Ivie: Jeff Penn; Bob Haney; Wallace Haney; Tom Haney; J. F. Williams; Mr. Keetle and several sons; Ben Canterbury; the Whitingtons; the Whites; E. L. Collie; Ash Moore; Cart Renfro; the Slaughter family; and Jimmie Eiland, father of A. D. Eiland. Now, for fear some of my old friends of Shannon and surrounding communities may wonder why I have failed to mention their names, I repeat that I am writing only of the period from 1876 to 1883. "Old Stampede Springs was a great watering place for cattle before the country was fenced in. The old springs are located about one-half mile east of the little town of Shannon and about equal distance from Jack County line and barely in Clay County."It was here in 1879 that T. B. Gates, father of the writer and grandfather of Claude, Rex, Lola, Winnie and Floyd Gates, established and operated a small store. It was the first of its kind in all the south part of the county with the exception of a few businesses that were established at Newport and one located at Buffalo Springs some two years earlier. "My father’s store was a popular gathering place especially when his two weeks old copy of the Kansas City Times arrived as he was one of the very few newspaper subscribers in that locality at that time. The old timers of these settlements made every effort to give their children some kind of an education. The houses of learning were constructed of both logs and lumber and consisted of one room only. The length of the school term was usually two or three months in mid-winter. Some of these early day teachers I remember were Ben Canterbury, Stark Whitington, and Steve Fugate."And to these I think it altogether proper and fitting that I should include the name of Mrs. T. B. Gates, mother of the writer, who in 1882 taught one term. This was after the death of my father in 1881. "To the memory of these men I offer grateful tribute, for it was largely through their patient and untiring efforts that this writer was enabled partly to master his three R’s. Notwithstanding the fact that they sometimes inflicted punishment by forcing me to stand up on top of an empty nail keg which always stood conveniently and conspicuously in one corner of the room near one end of the wall black board. This was a very choice location, as it provided an unobstructed view for the other pupils, who always derived a great deal of enjoyment from these little entertainments. But for some unexplainable reason, the chief actor in this little drama did not appreciate the fun caused, I suppose by different points of view, for circumstances alter cases. But the sweetest morsel of revenge for the offender came when the member of the audience who enjoyed the show to the fullest became the chief actor for the next entertainment, but on this occasion his mirthful ardor was subdued to the extent that it was impossible for him to appreciate the fun. "The spiritual interest and religious life of this community was kept alive largely through the efforts of two visiting preachers, Rev. Dick Miller of the Methodist, and Rev. M. A. Epps of the Baptist Church. The former at that time was a young man. Later he became one of the famous preachers of the state. He was one whom everyone loved and all homes were open to him regardless of creed or sect and everyone appreciated his visits. The same can truthfully be said of Rev. Epps, who was a very lovable old gentleman. These men sometimes preached in the little school house or if the weather was fair, under a brush arbor. "For several years including this period, the country seemed to undergo no great change. But in the year 1882 the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad made its advent into Clay County and on into Henrietta. At that time the country began to go under fence, as the barbed wire was beginning to come into use. This meant the breaking up of the free and open range and marked the end of an epoch as well. "After the country was all fenced, certain men and certain elements, who were opposed to the fencing of the country, organized themselves into secret bands for the purpose of destroying these fences. At night they worked along the fence lines. Each was furnished with a good heavy pair of pliers, known at that time as wire cutters, and thus supplied they were able in a very short time to destroy several miles of fence. Their work was very thorough, cutting all the wires on both sides and close up to each post. Naturally, the next day when the owners of these pastures saw their wrecked fence, they boiled with rage. But several months went by and there was no let up in these depredations. In the meantime feeling was running high. So one dark night, when the cutters were destroying the east line of a big pasture belonging to the Red River Cattle Co., suddenly a rain of bullets poured into their ranks and one of the cutters was killed and there was supposition that others were wounded. It was generally credited that the company hands had been laying for the wire cutters. But this tragedy broke up their organization and brought to an end its unlawful acts. This took place about one mile north of where the town of Prospect was later located. "Prior to the year 1883 we had no nearby post-office. True we did not receive much mail of any kind, but what few pieces were sent us had to be addressed to some distant post-office. When some of the community made a trip to some distant post-office he called for mail for all the neighbors and delivered to different homes on his return. On account of this isolation it can very easily be understood why we had little news of the outside world and why we were not well posted on world events and general news of the day. "Finally, after receiving many urgent petitions, the Post-office Dept. at Washington sent out an inspector to make a survey of our needs. He happened to be a fair minded man and sent in a favorable report. The request was granted and we had our first post-office. M. E. (Grandpa) Ivie, whose untiring efforts, more than any other one man, should be given the honor of securing this desperately needed service. Myrtle was the name given to this post-office and was located two miles north of the place where Shannon was located several years later. Mrs. M. E. Ivie was the first postmistress and the post-office was in her home. She served faithfully and creditably up to the time this office was closed. "It was the late Al Snearly who secured the first star route contract to carry the mail to this point from Henrietta. Later the line was extended to Graham in Young County, serving Myrtle, Antelope and Gertrude on the way. This overland route from Henrietta to Graham was about 70 miles long and served the places along its lines until the railroads began to build into the country, thus ending its usefulness, so it was discontinued. "In passing it is only fair to say that this chronicler first saw the light of day in the year 1871, and he is trying to record facts, some of which happened in 1876 and none later than 1883. In recording the foregoing I have tried to be fair to other communities of the south part of the county. With special references to Newport and Buffalo Springs origin, I am in some doubt, as my knowledge is little and memory vague concerning the early days of this place. In this writing I mentioned the years of their beginning, according to my best recollection. If I have made any mistakes in this, I shall be only too glad to acknowledge the mistake when called to my attention. "Now if you will pardon my reference to my family name, I wish to say that in the passing of the late James T. Gates, the writer’s brother, who on account of his public and official life, enjoyed a much wider acquaintance than I, this left me the sole surviving member of the original family. Our brother, William Claude Gates, born 1877 at Stampede Springs, died in 1899. "The days of long ago with all the hardships, with all the inconveniences, with all the vicissitudes, and with all their loneliness, passed; we would not return to them if we could, yet they were days of happiness." Clay County Main Page |
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