North Texas Star: Chasing Our Tales

North Texas Star
July 2013
C.C. Slaughter - CATTLE KING OF TEXAS
Chasing Our Tales H THE MARLOWS
Outdoors Along the Brazos
July 2013 NORTH TEXAS STAR STORYTELLER & RAMBLER Page 2
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North Texas Star
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OUTDOORS ALONG THE BRAZOS
By Don Price
6
CHASING OUR TALES
By Sue Seibert
12
HOWARD
By Mel Rhodes
8
By Jim Dillard
C.C. SLAUGHTER:
CATTLE KING OF TEXAS
16
By Mel Rhodes
THE MARLOWS
HOWARD
C.C. SLAUGHTER:
CATTLE KING OF TEXAS
Trailing CaTTle
Outdoors Along the Brazos
By Don Price
W
.C. Cochran, a young drover, yearned to make history on a
long drive, so he came prepared with a short lead pencil and
small notebook, both of which he carried in his shirt pocket;
he wrote things down as they happened on the cattle trail.
His daddy, W.W. Cochran, owned a ranch five miles north of present-
day Strawn, one of the first ranches in the county.
The boy trailed cattle along with his father from 1864-1885, starting
when he was but 12 years old; his longest trip was a drive from the ranch
to Montana territory, a trip lasting nine months and 20 days.
We readers can thank this young boy for stopping on the trail long
enough to use the short lead pencil and a notebook, to record things as
they happened.
After the Civil War ended, arguably there was nothing that would equal
the trailing of cattle, the romantic saga of the long drive. With word-of-
mouth advertising, history buffs will come to a natural amphitheater to
see this drama, possibly six million patrons from the Metroplex alone.
Nothing stirs the soul of a Texan as much as seeing longhorns and cow-
boys on a long drive, told in an entertaining way. And Palo Pinto County
was the cradle of the Texas Cattle Industry. Loving and Goodnight
werent strangers here; they knew Keechi Valley blindfolded, every bend
in the creek, and the strongest grass around Loving Valley.
Some scholars have agreed that the only indigenous literary genre in
America is the saga of the Western Frontierpartly folklore of course
those romantic stories pertaining to the Old West. Remember Lonesome
Dove? Of course, you do!
But Oliver Lovings bones are resting in a cemetery north of the Parker
County courthouse today. So this partnership really happened, although
there will be some folklore to spice this romantic story, the Goodnight-
Loving Trail. It really happened.
This narrative by W.C. Cochran is flowing with the vernacular of the
Old West, an idiomatic language pleasing to the readers ear, with the
cadence of poetry.
Its surprising when you think about its starting here in Palo Pinto, the
hardships and danger. Every dawn on the trail brought a challenge; it
really wasnt that long ago.
The significance of this manuscript was not fully realized until recently,
just a few pages written with a stubby lead pencil and notebook carried
by this 12-year-old boy, while trailing cattle to Old Mexico:
THE FOLLOWING NOTES ARE FROM THE YOUNG BOY
In the fall of 1864 Captain Dillahunty of the Frontier Guard of Palo
Pinto County detailed my father, Colonel W.W. Cochran, of the south side
of the county [five miles north of present-day Strawn] and Captain
McAdams of the north side of the county [near present-day McAdams
Peak] to take two herds of beef steers to Old Mexico to be sold; and the
proceeds to be invested in sugar, coffee, flour, tobacco, clothing and such
other things as could not be bought at home at this time.
Continuted on page 4
THE MARLOWS
Continuted from page 3
These two herds were made up in this manner: every man putting in steers
according to the size of his family.
As well as I remember we had put in as part of the herd one-hundred-and-
twenty old mountain boomer steers and I think Captain McAdams had put the
same number in his herd. I never knew why these steers were driven in two
herds as the country was full of Indians. On this trip we only had one horse to
a man.
To make this trip Captain Dillahunty detailed the following men to go with
my father: Enoch Fiveash, Benton Gordon and Jim Martin. My father took me
with him. I was only twelve years old at the time.
Captain McAdams has with him two men by the name of Long and Jesse
Veal. These men were supposed to be the best men Captain Dillahunty had in
his company. I want to state here that Jesse Veal was killed [eight years later]
by Indians on Eagle Creek in Palo Pinto County while out turkey hunting.
Captain McAdams [for whom the tallest peak in the county is named, near
present-day Possum Kingdom] got off three or four days ahead of us.
We went by Comanche and where Brownwood now stands, from there we
went to San Saba. Here we overtook Captain McAdams. We kept close
together from there on.
We crossed the Llano River and went on to old Camp Verde. Here I saw
my first camels. We stopped our herds and took time about to see the camels.
I do not remember how many camels were in the herd, something like seven-
ty-five or one hundred.
The government had them for the purpose of following Indians across the
plains as they could go without water longer than horses; but they were a fail-
ure. Their cushion feet are made to travel over desert and they could not stand
the rooks [sic] and rough country. Therefore they were afterwards sold and
shipped to California.
From Camp Verde we went to Uvalde, there we went north of Fort Clark to
the mountains so the soldiers could not find us. The Rio Grande was guarded
by soldiers to keep anything from being smuggled into Old Mexico. The govt
did not care what you brought out.
Captain Baylor was in command at Fort Clark. My father and Captain
McAdams knew him well. They went to Fort Clark and explained to him their
business.
Captain Baylor told them that if they would get to the river and across by
sunup, they would not be taking much chance of being caught, so we left
camp about one in the morning.
We got to the river before sunup and had to swim as it was up. We got
everything across except Captain McAdams wagon. The soldiers captured it
and took it to Eagle Pass. We sold our steers to a Mexican freighter for oxen.
We got $10.00 per head for our steers. We stayed in Piedras Negras three or
four days buying our supplies.
McAdams went to Eagle Pass to see Captain Baylor [about the wagon]
who joked with him a while, then told him to get his wagon and try to get
home without being scalped by the Indians; so we started home, a long trip in
an ox wagon.
Strange to say, we made the trip all through Indian Country without mishap
until we got to Sipe Springs. The Indians stole our horses and we had to walk
home about forty miles.
We took our supplies to Wiley Johnsons house about three miles north of
Strawn, where our neighbors and their wives came and drew their part.
The women made coffee and the men filled their cob pipes with real tobac-
co, the first they had had since the war [started]. They had been using parched
wheat for coffee and sumac leaves for tobacco.
That night Mr. Johnson gave an old-fashioned dance. They all said they
were ready for another four years [of] war. W.H. Cowden and Mrs. I.M. Bell
are the only ones living that I know anything about that were there.
References: #1. By the Palo Pinto County Historical Commission Painted
Post Past, a 150 Year History of Palo Pinto County, Texas, 1857-2007
Sesquicentennial Editor, Mel Rhodes; The Donning Co., Virginia Beach, VA.
#2 Palo Pinto County History, History Book Chairman John R. Winters;
Third Printing 2004.
Chasing Our Tales
By Sue Seibert
C
hasing Our Tales - John Tarletons Body and the Lockhart
Family, as told to Judy Kay Lockhart by her Uncle Johnny
Here is the back story. John Tarleton, founder of Tarleton State
University in Stephenville, Texas, was born in White Mountain, VT., about
November of 1808. He was orphaned at an early age, and after living until
he was 13 with an aunt, he left home, finally stopping in Knoxville,
Tennessee, where he taught school, among other things. About 1860 he
went west to Arkansas where he redeemed bounty warrants for land from
veterans of the War of 1812 which
he had purchased.
Tarleton also purchased 10,000
acres in Texas and moved there. He
stopped in Waco where he married
Mary Louisa Johnson, a wealthy
widow. After their divorce, around
1880, he decided to move to his land
in Erath and Palo Pinto counties, so
he walked there, carrying an umbrel-
la and a suitcase, his money secreted
on his body. At that time he was
about 72.
He settled in Santo and established
a cattle ranch. In 1895 his talks
with Stephenville attorney, J.C.
George, resulted in Tarletons will
including an endowment for a col-
lege in Stephenville, and in 1898,
three years after his death, property
for Stephenville College was pur-
chased, a college that had been in
operation since 1893. It was
renamed John Tarleton College in 1917 and became part of the Texas A&M
system.
Here is Judy Kay Lockharts tale of John Tarletons burials.
This quote from a Tarleton State University webpage gives the back-
ground for the story I am about to relate. Originally buried in Patillo, John
Tarletons body was removed from its first resting place in April 1926 and
taken to the college campus, where it remained for two years. In April,
1928, an expanding campus required that Tarletons body be moved again.
The subsequent construction of an auditorium made it necessary to move
the body to its final resting place at the southwest edge of the campus in a
triangular park. A granite marker in the parks center is inscribed simply
John Tarleton.
My Great-Uncle Johnny Lockhart was born in Stephenville, Texas, and
was able to attend John Tarleton Agricultural College due to a work schol-
arship. One of his jobs on campus included driving the dump truck part-
time. After college he moved to Clifton, Texas, where he was a highly
respected agriculture teacher at the high school for his entire career and was
so active in that community that he was given a parade in his honor upon
his retirement.
Uncle Johnny spent the last ten years of his life in a nursing home in
Clifton. I had known Uncle Johnny all of my life and heard many stories
about him from my father, Kenneth Lockhart, but this story came directly
from Uncle Johnny to me. I do not recall the exact year, but I think it was
around 1982.
Our family went to Mexia, Texas, to a family Thanksgiving dinner, and
on the way, we stopped by Clifton and picked up my Uncle Johnny who
was at least 85 years old. This is a paraphrased version of what he told us
that Thanksgiving Day.
Uncle Johnny's father's name was John Thomas Lockhart. He came to
Texas when he was a very young man after having served in The Civil War
as a teenager. One of our Lockhart rela-
tives retains the medals he received from
fighting in that war.
In Erath County John T. Lockhart was
a successful businessman and the third
mayor of Stephenville. His business was
that of a dray service which is analogous
to today's Fedex or UPS. He hauled
materials by horse and wagon for a liv-
ing.
The family home was a fine one on
Jones Street, but the Depression hit the
family as it did others. According to
Uncle Johnny, his father, John T.
Lockhart, was hired to move John
Tarleton's body from its first resting place
to the campus. In 1928, as stated above,
the body was moved again to the current
site in the triangle at the corner of Lillian
and Washington Streets.
There are two unusual parts to this
story that the general public does not
know, and I only know them because I
heard them from the only living man who could tell them.
First, is just as his father had moved Tarleton's body the first time with
his horses and wagon, Uncle Johnny moved the body, but this it was by
dump truck. Uncle Johnny and another Tarleton student and employee were
asked to carry the coffin in the back of the truck at midnight. The officials
supervising the move did not want the general public to come out of curios-
ity when they exhumed the coffin, so they moved it secretly.
I was fascinated and shocked when he gave us the following informa-
tion. Uncle Johnny said that he and the other boy were sent off alone with
the coffin toward Tarletons new resting place a few blocks away. They
both discussed how curious they were about what it looked like inside the
coffin, and finally they decided they must open it to sneak a peek. When
they lifted the lid of the coffin and looked inside, there was nothing in
there. Nothing at all. No bones, no skull, nothing!
Later when he went home, Uncle Johnny told his father about their dis-
covery, and he got an answer to the mystery of the empty coffin. John T.,
the drayman, said there had been a cholera outbreak at the time John
Tarleton's coffin was exhumed the first time, so they had to sprinkle lime all
over the body before it could be transferred to another town. The lime obvi-
ously did its job and completely disintegrated the body.
My uncle was an honest and upstanding man so I never doubted his tale.
I related this story to Tarleton's President Trogdon, and he was fascinated
John T and Teenie
by it. A few years later, Dr. Trogdon sent me a manila envelope with the
following words: Judy, this is a horseshoe found in the time capsule we
dug up today at the Home Economics building. I'm giving it to you because
I thought it might have belonged to your great-grandfa-
ther.
History is cool, huh?
After I wrote the above story, I decided to do a
google search on John Tarleton's Body. Who knows
the truth? I related the story as Uncle Johnny told me.
After all, he was there. He had the primary informa-
tion, and he passed it along to me. The local historian
Richard King has a slightly different version, but who
knows, neither Uncle Johnny or any of the other partic-
ipants are still around to give us more details.
Before going on, I want to state that I believe Judy
Kay Lockharts version to be the true version of the
events, as her uncle was a first-hand witness to what
took place. I do believe that other stories did not
include narratives from direct witnesses, as her does.
That being said, I found the following story written
by Frank Chamberlain:
After his death in 1895, John Tarletons body has
found little peace. His remains have been interred in
three different locations in two different counties since
his demise. It seems almost ironic that a man who is
known to have resided in at least six places across
America (and most likely, several more) would find as little permanence in
death as he found in life.
Tarleton was originally buried in the Pisque cemetery in the town of
Patillo in northern Erath County. Some researchers have asserted that his
burial in this location violated the wishes of the deceased. An acquaintance
recalled that Tarleton once stated his desire to be laid to rest on his own
property. However, he did not leave specific instructions in his will regard-
ing his entombment, except to be buried in a decent and Christian like
manner suitable to my circumstances and conditions in life. Therefore, the
body was interred in a cemetery near his property on the border of Erath
and Palo Pinto Counties (King 13, 16).
The second phase of Tarletons post-mortem travels was initiated barely
a year after he was originally buried. J. C. George, Tarletons former attor-
ney, began a movement to transfer the
corpse to the newly established college in
Stephenville. In 1898, Georges plans
reached fruition as the founder was moved
to the campus. The process involved trans-
ferring the casket into an iron-lined box for
the journey. The four men hired to carry
out the task recounted that the body could
be viewed via a window on the casket.
They remarked that the founders face
remained in excellent condition consider-
ing the length of time Tarleton had been
deceased (Guthrie 12, King 17).
Tarleton was re-interred on the grounds
of the original Campus Hall which sat in
present-day Heritage Park. A fifteen-foot
granite obelisk was erected at some point
over the next decade to mark the grave. The actual date that the marker was
acquired is not clear, but a 1902 picture of the first Founders Day celebra-
tion features the monument. This large tombstone was largely devoid of
text; instead it was inscribed simply with the words
John Tarleton. Incidentally, Mr. George was so
impressed by the majesty of his clients monument
that he made arrangements to be buried beneath an
identical marker (although he sold it to a local fami-
ly prior to his departure from Stephenville) (Guthrie
12, 18-19).
Tarletons grave remained at this location even
after the Campus Hall was demolished. In 1928,
plans were made to build a new auditorium on the
site. Thus, the body had to be exhumed once again.
This second removal did not proceed as smoothly as
the first (Guthrie 12).
According to one report, Tarletons coffin fell
apart as it was raised, spilling the remains back into
the hole. Since the removal was being done at night
(to avoid attracting a crowd), a replacement coffin
could not be found. Therefore, an onlooker went
home and retrieved a shoebox-sized receptacle. The
remnants of John Tarleton were scooped into this
box for the reburial. In a slightly different version of
the story, the participants realized that the coffin was
too rotten to be moved. They sent for the aforemen-
tioned container and shoveled in as much of the now
exposed remains as possible. On an odd side note, a rumor had circulated
during the proceeding days that claimed the grave was empty. However, the
subsequent turn of events proved this report to be rather erroneous. In either
case, these proceedings represent a rather undignified twist in the journey of
Tarletons body (Guthrie 13, King 19).
John Tarleton was re-interred in Tarleton Park, a small triangular island
of land at the intersection of Washington and Lillian Streets. The large
tombstone was also transferred to this location. In 1976, a campaign was
initiated to secure a Texas State Historical Marker for the site. Due to the
numerous uncertainties concerning Tarletons personal background (such as
date and place of birth), the plaque was not received until 1986. Both the
monument and historical marker can still be seen at John Tarletons current
(and presumably final) resting place (Guthrie 12, King 19).
The above was written by
Christopher Gutherie in John
Tarleton and his Legacy, 1999, and
C. Richard King in The John
Tarleton Story, 1998.
While both men were on the facul-
ty of Tarleton State University, nei-
ther are locals, and hearing a narra-
tive from a local who had first-hand
knowledge of this, in my opinion, far
out weights the hearsay from outsid-
ers. I, therefore, totally believe Judy
Lockharts version of the events of
John Tarletons second and third buri-
als.
Lockhart Draymen
John Tarleton
(This is Part 1 in a series of articles on the life of Christopher Columbus
Slaughter, oldest son of George Web Slaughter, who settled in Palo Pinto
County with his father in 1856 and began his long career to become one of
the most successful and wealthiest cattlemen Texas has ever known.)
P
alo Pinto County has long been renowned as the proving grounds for
many famous cattlemen who honed their trade and skills here in the
hardscrabble hills and valleys of the West Cross Timbers. During the
early days of the county, a few hardy and determined men and their families
came to eek out a living and staked their future
around cattle, land and the prospect for wealth.
Many met disappointment and failure as Indians,
rustlers, drought and the ever fickle market price for
beef sent them packing back to less hostile country.
A few persisted, stayed and put down roots.
The familial names of Loving, Goodnight,
Cowden, Stuart, Harris, Hittson, McAdams,
Belding, Slaughter, Conway, and Couger are synon-
ymous with the building of the cattle industry that
began in Palo Pinto County and spread across the
frontier of Texas and beyond. But it was C. C.
Slaughter who would stand out from the rest and
become one of Americas most famous ranchers
with land holdings at one time of more than a mil-
lion acres and 40,000 head of cattle. His 65 year
career as a Texas cattleman took him to the pinnacle
of the cattle industry and advanced the art and sci-
ence of raising livestock on the rangelands of Texas.
When Christopher Columbus Slaughter was born
on Feb. 11, 1837, his young parents George Web
and Sarah (Mason) Slaughter named him
Christopher Columbus in commemoration of their
wedding date on Oct. 12, 1836, which coincided
with Columbus arrival in the Americas in 1492. He
was born in Sabine County, Texas, where he grew
up working with his father on their small farm
where they raised a small herd of cattle as a second-
ary income. Young C. C. (or Lum as he was
known in the family) developed a keen interest in
cattle, learning to brand and castrate them and
developed an appreciation for the open range. At the age of 12 he helped his
father and uncle drive 92 head of cattle to their new ranch in Freestone
County 175 miles to the west. The trip required moving the herd across the
Angelina, Neches, and Trinity rivers which gave him the opportunity to learn
important skills in driving cattle he would use in later life.
C. C. moved with the family, which by that time included three brothers,
George, Peter and John, to the new Freestone County ranch during 1852
where they began a cattle ranching operation. Each year the family would
drive small herds to Shreveport for shipment to New Orleans. C.C. was
often hired by drovers coming from the west to help them get their cattle
across rivers. He completed his education at Larissa College, a Presbyterian
boarding school in Cherokee County, in 1854.
C.C. then set out on a three-month trading venture. He borrowed his
fathers wagon and traveled to Palestine where he purchased a load of pine
lumber and hauled it to Dallas County where it was in great demand. He
then traveled to Collin County near McKinney and purchased a load of
wheat which he ground at a grist mill into flour using his own team. From
there he traveled back to his home in Freestone County for a visit before
traveling on south another 100 miles to Magnolia where he sold all the flour.
He had traveled by wagon 400 miles and netted a profit of $520. With that
money he purchased his uncles interest in his fathers cattle herd. He and
his father began a cattle ranching partnership that would last for more than
20 years.
With more and more settlers moving into Freestone County, C. C. con-
vinced his father they should look for new ranchland far-
ther west in the upper Brazos River region or along other
western streams where better quality of cattle were being
raised on the lush rangelands there. During the summer of
1855 they spent two months looking for new range, travel-
ing up the Brazos from Fort Graham (present Hill County)
to Fort Belknap (present Young County) and on to the
Colorado River. Since hostile Comanche and Kiowa
Indians were more of a threat in that region, they decided
to settle along the Brazos River in Palo Pinto County. Fort
Belknap, located some 30 miles to the northwest, offered
some protection from Indian raids and a lucrative market
for their cattle could be had there and at the nearby Brazos
and Clear Fork Indian reservations.
George Slaughter bought 2,900 acres of land along a
sharp bend of the Brazos River four miles north of
Golconda (Palo Pinto), and the following year C. C. drove
the familys herd of 1,500 cattle to the new ranch. He
supervised the building of a log cabin and the following
year the whole family, which then included seven children,
arrived. With the two Indian reservations and Fort
Belknap on the Butterfield Overland Stage route nearby, a
ready market for beef grew. During 1857 the federal gov-
ernment purchased approximately 34 head of cattle per
week at $3.89 per pound from various contractors includ-
ing some supplied by the Slaughters.
Hostilities soon arose between frontier settlers and
Indians on the reservations who were accused of either
conducting raids or harboring Indian raiders from the
north. One of the most important incidents that would fan
the flames for an all out war occurred on the Slaughter
Ranch in Palo Pinto County on Dec. 27, 1858. A group of friendly Indians
camped at Indian Hole on Elm Creek just one mile west of the Slaughter
home was brutally attacked by a band of men from Erath County. The
Indians led by Choctaw Tom had permission to hunt off the Brazos
Reservation and were out on a hunting trip to kill game for their winter food
supply. Although he had left to return to the reservation with a wagon he
had purchased, the others continued their hunt. C. C. Slaughter heard the
gunfire and quickly made his way to the scene of the massacre where he
found seven of the sleeping Indians had been killed, including Choctaw
Toms wife.
Knowing the Indians that had escaped would soon bring a band of warriors
from the reservation to take revenge, C. C. saddled a horse and raced toward
the reservation.
About two-thirds of the way there he met a large band of Indians covered
in war paint ...and in the ugliest frame of mind. Personally knowing some
C.C. Slaughter - Cattle King of Texas
By Jim Dillard
C.C. Slaughter
of the Indians leaders, he was able to convince them the local people in
Golconda had nothing to do with the killings and succeeded in averting fur-
ther bloodshed. C. C. helped them bury their dead, but the guilty party was
never brought to justice. After more clashes between settlers and the reserva-
tion Indians, the Native Americans were eventually moved into Indian
Territory during 1859.
Indian raids did not diminish after removal of the reservation Indians but
increased in Jack, Young, Parker and Palo Pinto counties where loss of horses
and livestock continued during 1859. With the election of Sam Houston as
the new governor, he dispatched seven companies of Texas Rangers to the
northwest Texas frontier and in March 1860 authorized the organization of
minutemen companies of 15 men each in 23 counties. With the secession of
Texas from the union at the outbreak of the Civil War and the election of
Abraham Lincoln, federal troops were withdrawn from frontier forts through-
out the state, thus opening the floodgates for more Indian raids. But the
Slaughters persisted and by 1860 over 1,000 head of cattle wore the
Slaughter brand as C. C. and his father continued to grow their ranching
empire.
While G. W. Slaughter rode the country preaching the gospel, C. C. and his
three younger brothers tended the cattle. Tragically, in 1860 17 year old
George Slaughter was killed after becoming entangled in a rope tied to a run-
away mule. After spending more time defending his livestock from Indian
depredations than moving them to market, C. C. Slaughter joined 94 other
young settlers on Dec. 5, 1860, to form a volunteer Ranger company. After
assembling in eastern Young County 12 of the men, including C. C., joined a
punitive expedition by a state ranger company led by Lawrence Sullivan
Ross and 23 U. S. Army dragoons from Camp Cooper into Indian country to
the northwest. Charlie Goodnight served as a scout under Ross on the cam-
paign.
While traversing the rough breaks of the Little Wichita and Big Wichita
region, Rosss unit surprised a Comanche camp 14 miles west of present
Vernon, Texas, They immediately attacked the village and killed 12 of the
Indians. Although Slaughter and his group of rangers did not arrive on the
scene until minutes after the battle, he did witness the recapture of Cynthia
Ann Parker, who had been taken captive by Comanches at Fort Parker in East
Texas in 1836.
When C. C. returned home during January 1861 he discovered that Indians
had stolen 40 head of the ranches best horses. Family members had barri-
caded themselves in their homes during the raid and survived the attack.
Palo Pinto County Chief Justice R. W. Pollard issued a call for volunteers to
form a15 man Ranger company to patrol the county against further Indian
raids. On Jan. 19, 1861, C. C. Slaughter was chosen lieutenant of the unit
at the salary of $94 a month.
When official secession took place by the State of Texas in 1861, local
militia units gathered to force the removal of federal troops from the fron-
tier military forts. Slaughters unit along with several others traveled to
Camp Cooper where 250 regular troops were stationed to assist in that
action. On Feb. 21, 1861, Capt. S. D. Carpenter, commander of troops in
the area, withdrew his men to San Antonio rather than confront the militia
units. The federal troops were escorted by Slaughters unit by way of
Camp Colorado located near present Coleman, Texas. From there
Slaughter and his men located a fresh Indian trail and followed it but
found no Indians. They made their way back to Camp Cooper where their
term of service expired in April and they returned to their homes.
After returning home, C. C. and his father began enlarging their cattle
herds and marketed their stock through Oliver Loving and other neighbor-
ing cattlemen who were commissioned to provide beef to the Confederacy.
Many of the cattle were driven to distant markets at various points on the
Mississippi River to supply the war effort. C. C. developed other interests
when he began courting 17 year-old Cynthia Jowell, the daughter of his
Palo Pinto County neighbor, James A. Jowell. They were married on Dec.
5, 1861, during an elaborate wedding ceremony at the Jowell Ranch. The
following day the entire entourage traveled to the school building in Palo
Pinto where some 200 guests of the grooms family consumed ...a very
good dinner, according to J. H. Baker, the school teacher. C. C. and his
wife settled in a small long cabin on the family ranch where they set up
housekeeping.
On one occasion while C. C. was out herding cattle, a small party of
Comanches came to the house where his wife had secluded herself, pre-
tending to want food. When she opened the door and attempted to hand
them food, one Indian tried to force his way in but was met by the blast of
a shotgun. When C. C. returned home several hours later he bound a dead
Comanche lying on his doorstep and a very distraught wife inside. After
that incident, he moved his wife into the stockade at Palo Pinto for safety
until the end of the Civil War.
Indian raids continued into Palo Pinto County during 1862-1863. When
raids were eminent, the Slaughters, along with other settlers, forted up
for safety in the small stockade in Palo Pinto. In December 1863 a new
law was enacted for the enrollment of all persons residing in frontier coun-
ties that were eligible for military duty. Each frontier counties would form
companies of from 25-60 men each. On February 2, 1864, C. C. Slaughter
enlisted as a private in Company A of Young Countys First Frontier
Regiment led by Captain William Peveler. He would serve 10 days out of
every 40 on duty scouting for Indians in the Fort Belknap area and dealing
with deserters and Kansas Jayhawkers that had infiltrated the region during
the war.
Since many area settlers had abandoned their cattle herds during the war,
the Slaughters were able to increase their holdings. When the Civil War
ended in 1865 C. C. found himself long on cattle and short on good cash
since Confederacy money had no value. With lawlessness prevailing
throughout the region and Indian raids continuing, the cattle market dried
up. Since it was apparent that military rule and carpetbaggers would soon
take control of the region, C. C. and several friends decided that they
should once again find new rangelands, perhaps in Mexico, to escape
Indians and hated Yankees.
The men set out from Palo Pinto County and headed southwest search-
ing for new ranch lands, eventually traveling as far as the Devils River
near where it empties into the Rio Grande. It was there an accident
occurred as the men were riding single file through the rugged brush coun-
try. A gun one of the men was carrying became entangled in a tree and dis-
charged, the bullet striking C. C. Slaughter in the right shoulder with the
ball lodging against his breastbone. His friends pulled a silk stocking
through the wound to stop the bleeding. For four weeks
Slaughter lay in camp until his wound healed suffi-
ciently to permit travel. His friends carried him on
a litter to the nearest medical help at Camp
Hudson, located 21 miles north of present
Comstock in Val Verde County.
Slaughter and the men finally returned to
Palo Pinto County in February 1866 where he
would remain an invalid for almost a year. As he
helplessly watched his cattle herds dwindle from white
thieves and Indian, he tried to sell his entire holdings for
$10,000; but no one could afford the price. It was fortu-
itous he did not leave and abandon his dreams as cattle
prices and new markets would soon rebounded and bring
new life to those few who survived those hard times in
frontier Palo Pinto County. (to be continued)
(References: C. C. Slaughter: Rancher,
Banker, Baptist, by David J. Murrah; Painted
Pole: The Beldings and Their Ranches in Palo
Pinto County Pioneer Days to Computer
Age, by Barbara Belding Gibson; Handbook
of Texas Online and other Internet sources)
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STORIES & SNIPPETS
Friday
September 7, 1917
A Fishing Party
It was a jolly bunch of pleasure-seekers that met at the
hospitable ranch home of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Hittson of
Dodson Prairie last Wednesday afternoon. After be-
ing highly entertained with Victrola music and
a watermelon feast, the party, well packed
in three large cars, proceeded to the river.
The cars were closely followed by a wagon
bountifully flled with the camping outft and
provision supplies.
The beautiful camping ground, previously selected
by Mr. Jack Hittson, was well shaded by the wide
spreading boughs of the large oak and
elm trees. Here the party was joined by Mr.
McFadden and family, who supplied fried fsh
for the frst meal in camp and entered heartily
into the merriment of the occasion.
The following three days were spent in hunting, fshing, swimming, boating
and joking. Every participant declared them the happiest three days of the sum-
mer. Not one thing that could add to the enjoyment of the trip was lacking. An
abundant supply of fsh was furnished for each meal.
Wednesday afternoon Dr. McCorkle of Gordon and his nephew, Mr. T.R. Webb,
a young army offcer from Leon Springs, visited the camp. The soldier boy highly
entertained the party by vividly telling of his camp life while in Camp Funston
and demonstrating some of his military achievements. Dr. McCorkle and Lieu-
tenant Webb heartily partook of the elegant fsh supper before leaving the camp.
Thursday morning a very queer young lady visited the camp. No one was able
to learn her name. She was quite an athlete and proved to be very interesting and
entertaining.
Unfortunately one of the number, Mr. Davis, apparently had a chill. His sympa-
thizers hastened him to bed and piled all the quilts and comforts on him, but still
he continued to shake and quake. ...
Thursday evening Mr. and Mrs. McFadden entertained the party in their beau-
tiful country home. Dancing and piano, violin and vocal music were the features
of the evening and were thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. ...
C
ross Plains is not the sort of place in which youd expect someone to
achieve worldwide fame, but thats exactly where Robert E. Howard
typed his way to success.
A popular pulp fiction writer of the early 20th century, Howard created
various characters, the best known being Conan the Barbarian.
According to various sources, Howard was an unhappy young man with
few friends. This analysis rings true, as Howard took his own life at age 30.
His short life began on Jan. 22, 1906, in Peaster, Parker County, Texas.
Actually, Dr. Isaac Mordecai Howard and his wife, Hester Jane, lived on Dark
Valley Creek in Palo Pinto County and moved temporarily to Peaster to
access better medical care.
The Howards moved often, ending up in Cross Plains in 1919 when Robert
was 12 or 13. He and his mother basically spent the rest of their lives in the
Cross Plains house.
The Cross Plains of the early 20th century, like many West Texas towns,
was a boom or bust town. Discovery of oil brought thousands from near
and far. But just as quickly as the towns population could swell with tran-
sient workers, it could decline. These early oil field workers followed the oil.
When a locations production waned, they packed up their tents and moved
on to the next discovery.
Howard is quoted as having said, Ill say one thing about an oil boom: it
will teach a kid that lifes a pretty rotten thing about as quick as anything I
can think of.
In the 1920s, the Cross Plains school went only through 10th grade; but in
order to enter college he had to complete the 11th grade. So Howard and his
mother moved to Brownwood for a year so he could finish high school.
Though in a letter to renowned fantasy writer H.P. Lovecraft, Howard said
he wrote his first story at the tender age of 9 or 10. It was while attending
school at Brownwood that he first experienced the exhilaration of being a
published writer. Two of his stories won cash prizes after being published in
the school paper.
Graduating Brownwood High School in 1923, Howard returned to Cross
Plains and worked at various odd jobs. He worked as a private secretary in a
law office, worked with a geologist, wrote oil field news for area newspapers,
worked as a public stenographer and in a drugstore.
His doctor father wanted him to attend college and perhaps to follow in
his footsteps but Howard had little use for formal schooling.
I generally did just enough work to keep from flunking the courses, and I
dont regret the loafing I did, he later wrote in a letter.
Despite his aversion to scholastic regimen, he attended Howard Payne
College between 1925 and 1927, earning a business certificate he would
never use.
While attending Howard Payne, Howard wrote stories for two school
papers. During this time he also sold his first story to Weird Tales, a popu-
lar pulp magazine.
Having tasted success, Howard resolved to become a writer and threw
himself into his writing, tapping out ghost stories, fight stories, historical
adventures and heroic fantasies.
Typing stories he sold for a penny a word, Howard worked into the night;
neighbors claimed the incessant noise of his typing and voicing of the words
he typed kept them awake.
by Mel Rhodes
Howard CP room
Corrections Corporation of America
John R. Lindsey State Jail
Jacksboro 940-567-2272
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But Howard was on a roll. In one-months time during the Great Depression
he reportedly made $500 three times what the local bank president made. In
1935, Howard bought a new Chevrolet with cash money. It is believed he was
the only one in Cross Plains who could do so.
But as the saying goes: Money cant buy happiness. Despite his success
Howard was an unhappy man.
He appears to have had a dread fear of growing old.
Death to the old is inevitable, he wrote in a letter to a friend, and yet
somehow I often feel that it is a greater tragedy than death to the young.
When a man dies young he misses much suffering, but the old have only
life as a possession and somehow to me the tearing of a pitiful remnant from
weak fingers is more tragic than the loot-
ing of a life in its full rich prime.
I dont want to live to be old. I want to
die when my time comes, quickly and sud-
denly, in the full tide of my strength and
health.
He also wrote, I am haunted by the
realization that my best days, mental and
physical, lie behind me.
To further complicate his situation,
Howard was at odds with the time in
which he lived. He thought of himself as a
misfit in a senseless and unfriendly
world.
I hardly think life in this age is worth
the effort of living, he wrote in a letter.
Howard often expressed the wish that
hed been born at least 30 years earlier so
he could have taken part in the taming of
the frontier.
Another facet of his complex psycholo-
gy involved his mother. Many believe
Howard had a neurotic interdependence
with his mother, who never enjoyed good
health. She sank into a coma June 8, 1936.
June 10th, Howard traveled to
Brownwood a distance of just under 35
miles where he purchased a cemetery lot
for three graves.
Upon returning to Cross Plains he con-
soled his father, adopting an almost cheer-
ful attitude, Dr. Howard would later
recall.
Howard also asked a medical doctor a
poignant question: whether anyone had
been known to live after suffering a gun-
shot wound to the brain. Unaware of
Howards intent, perhaps thinking he need-
ed the information for one of his stories,
the doctor told him such a wound would result in certain death.
On the 11th he asked the nurse attending his mother if she would ever
regain consciousness. The answer was, no.
With this knowledge Howard walked into his small, narrow room and typed
out this four-line couplet:
All fled, all done
So lift me on the pyre.
The feast is over
And the lamps expire.
He then exited the house and got into his car, which was parked at the
northwest corner of the house.
The hired cook saw him raise his hands as if in prayer. Then a shot rang out
and she saw Howard slumped over the steering wheel. Summoned by her
screams, Dr. Howard and a colleague the doctor whod told Howard such a
wound would result in death carried Howards limp body into the house.
The young writer who feared growing old had shot himself above the right
ear, the bullet exiting the left side of his head.
The weapon used was a .380 Colt automatic hed just borrowed from an
unknowing friend.
Perhaps he had to borrow a gun because his father had hidden his. Dr.
Howard later said hed seen his son make preparations for suicide on other
occasions when it appeared his mother might die. He knew to keep an eye on
his son, but thought he would not act until
his mother died.
Howard survived his wound for nearly
eight hours, dying around 4 p.m. Thursday,
June 11, 1936. His mother died the follow-
ing day, and mother and son were buried
June 14 in Greenleaf Cemetery in
Brownwood.
Oh, yes, just about everyone in town

knows who he was, said Era Lee Hanke
when I visited the house in which Robert
E. Howard lived and worked. Id found her
name and number on a brochure and
arranged a meeting at the house.
But he was not one of the most popular
people in town, she added. He apparent-
ly kept neighbors awake with his typing,
voicing the words as he went. Some of the
older folks wonder why all the fuss over
just a crazy kid.
Hanke, who has lived in Cross Plains 51
years, is part of Project Pride, the group
that purchased the Howard home in 1989.
Thanks to Project Pride and the Economic
Development Corp. of Cross Plains, the
house has been restored and is open to the
public as the Robert E. Howard Museum.
Some of the older folks who had been
in the house when the Howards had it
described what they remembered and we
tried to put it back like it was, Hanke con-
tinued. And some of the things that
Roberts father had given to neighbors we
got back and placed in the same place they
were in when the Howards were here.
Hanke and Tom and Arlene Stephenson told me of a wildfire that might
have consumed the house had not a neighbor hosed it down.
Thank God for the neighbor, was the general consensus.
The house where Robert E. Howard lived and wrote from 1919 to 1936
contains both pieces original to the house and period pieces collected to refur-
nish the house. And there are many pictures of Howard on the well-cared-for
walls.
Following are numbers to call if youre interested in visiting the museum:
(254)725-6562 (254)725-7478 (254)725-6498 (254)725-4993
CP Howard
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A
Place
in Time
JULY 1, 1956
Camp Wolters (Wolters Air Force Base)
reverts to Army control with the mission of
training helicopter pilots.
JULY 8, 1990
Palo Pinto County author and newspaper
woman Mary Whatley Clarke dies in Fort
Worth.
JULY 13, 1832
Jonathan Hamilton "Ham" Baker, who
opened the rst school in Palo Pinto, is
born in Virginia. He came to Texas in 1858.
Baker kept a detailed diary which has
proved an invaluable tool in local historical
inquiries.
JULY 17, 1858
First grand jury in Palo Pinto is selected.
Twenty men.
JULY 27, 1840
Ranald Slidell Mackenzie (Bad Hand) is
born in New York City. Mackenzie was
instrumental in ending the Indian Wars in
North Texas, at one point commanding
Fort Richardson in nearby Jacksboro.
JULY 1871
Kiowa Chiefs Satanta and Big Tree be-
come the rst Native Americans to be tried
for murder in a white court. The charges
were related to their leadership roles in
the infamous Warren Wagontrain Raid on
May 18, during which wagonmaster Henry
Warren and six teamsters were killed. The
chiefs were convicted and sentenced to
death, but the Texas governor commuted
the sentences to prison time.
H
ollywood screenwriter William H.
Wright picked up a copy of Life of
the Marlows in a Los Angeles book-
store around 1953. Thinking that it would pro-
vide the bones of a good Western, he paid
members of the Marlow family $1,000 each
for the rights to make it into a screenplay. But
when the movie was made 12 years later, the
films plot had been drastically changed.
If youre a baby boomer or a little older,
you probably saw the 1965 John Wayne movie
The Sons of Katie Elder. However, I bet you
didnt know the film was based, albeit loosely,
on the Marlow family episode played out in
and around Graham in nearby Young County,
Texas.
The Marlow brothers numbered five and
answered to the names George, Charley,
Alfred (Alf), Lewellyn (Epp or Ellie) and
Boone. I visited three of them Alfred,
Lewellyn and Boone who were six feet
under on a picturesque slope in Finis
Cemetery, where theyd been since 1889.
The Marlow brothers were considered bad
hombres by some and wronged innocents by
others. Federal records reveal that prior to
1886 the rambunctious brothers had been
indicted and sentenced in federal court for
numerous crimes.
But as this story goes, while being moved
from the Young County Federal Jail to
Weatherford for safe keeping, they were bush-
whacked by a mob and bloody battle and the
stuff of legends ensued.
The Fighting Marlows
The Marlow story, as former Young County
Historical Commission Chairman Dorman
Holub informed me, is indeed quite a story,
rich in all the elements of high drama. He said,
When I give tours of Young County and the
Marlow story, I have to talk fast to get the
entire story down in two to three hours.
According to the 1892 book Life of the
Marlows, by William Rathmell, the legendary
saga began at Fort Sill, Okla., when an Indian
accused George Marlow of stealing his pony.
The five Marlow brothers had moved some 40
miles from Western Oklahoma to the Fort Sill
area.
George warned his accuser to back off,
denied his pony was purloined and consented
to mediation by a post officer. The officer
reportedly listened to the Indians claim, then
Georges, finally saying, Well, if you let these
Indians take your horse its your own fault.
You may go now.
Thank you, sir, George answered, adding,
if they get my horse, you may rest assured
that Ill be keeping the flies off them while
they are doing it.
George mounted his pony and galloped out
of Fort Sill onto the surrounding prairie head-
ed home, clods of torn earth flying behind
him. Turning in the saddle he saw five mount-
ed Indians in hot pursuit. After a 35-mile race
which reportedly took one and three-quarters
hours, he beat his pursuers to the Marlow
ranch house. His brothers rode out to chase his
pursuers off.
Though, according to George Marlow, the
post officer had decided in his favor, an arrest
warrant was issued for all the Marlow broth-
ers.(1) The warrant, issued by the Northwest
Federal District Court at Graham, Texas,
resulted in four of the brothers being arrested
in August 1888 by U.S. Deputy Marshal E.W.
Johnson and in their being transported to
Graham.(2) Ironically, George was not among
the arrested, as he was not with his brothers at
the time.
Ultimately, the brothers were accused of
stealing not one but 130 horses from an
Indian. Some sources say the Marlows were
gypsy-like and had more than once been
involved in cattle rustling and horse thievery.
The Marlows depicted themselves as the vic-
tims of Johnsons bid for fame and financial
gain. Life of the Marlows, a clearly biased
book on the episode, attributes the following
words, or at least sentiment, to Johnson: If I
go up to the Indian country and arrest these
five brothers I will make myself popular with
the cattlemen, and the $50 apiece for their
arrest and ten cents mileage on each bringing
them down will net quite a neat little sum
besides ....
George relocated the family to an area east
of Graham and tried to arrange bail for his
jailed siblings only to be thrown into a cell
himself. Eventually, however, all the brothers
made bail.
According to the Marlows, Johnson and oth-
ers were determined to see them tried and con-
victed and to that end began cultivating the
general opinion that the brothers were wanton
criminals bad men.(3)
Boone Marlow had killed a man, according
to the Marlows in self-defense, in Wilbarger
County years before.(4) A warrant was issued
for Boone, and Young County Sheriff Marion
Wallace and a deputy named Thomas Collier
attempted to execute the warrant. On Dec. 17,
1888, they rode out to the cabin where Boone
and brothers Charley and Lewellyn were hav-
ing dinner with their mother. When the smoke
cleared, Wallace lay wounded, shot through
the kidneys with a bullet from Boones
Winchester. A summoned doctor transported
the downed sheriff by hack to Graham where a
week later Christmas Day, 1888 he died of
his wounds.
Boone claimed hed shot Wallace by acci-
dent, thinking he was Collier, who upon enter-
ing the cabin had fired at him first. But the
brothers were once again arrested, this time on
a much more serious charge.(5) Boone was not
among those arrested, however, as he had bolt-
ed after the bloody confrontation. He fled the
country, but learning of a huge reward on his
head reportedly returned to the Young County
farm to live for a while in a large haystack in
which he hollowed out a room.
In January of 1889, a mob tried unsuccess-
fully to forcibly extract the brothers from jail
to lynch them. The United States marshal at
Dallas learned of the attempt and wired his
by Mel Rhodes
The Marlows
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deputy, Johnson, to transport the prisoners 60 miles to Weatherford in
Parker County, then to Dallas.(6)
The Marlows later said that during the mobs attempt to pull them from
jail, the new sheriff, Collier, and a constable rode off under the pretense
of serving a warrant. According to the Marlows, the guards were among
the mob in disguise.(7) Other sources say the mob overcame the guards.
Whichever the case, the tenacious Marlows fought off their assailants
unaided by the law.
Charley, Alfred, George and Lewellyn Marlow were informed on
Saturday, Jan. 19, that they and
two other prisoners would that
night be taken by hack to a safer
jail at Weatherford. A number of
masked men, too, were told of the
dark-of-night transfer and made
plans to intercept the hack. When
the transport party arrived at Dry
Creek 2 miles out of Graham, the
mob sprung its trap.
Here, according to the Marlow
account, a heated battle broke out.
Exiting the hack, the Marlow boys
began wrestling six-guns and rifles
from guards in a second hack.
When the firing finally ceased, two
Marlows, Alfred and Lewellyn,
were dead, one manacled to
Charley, the other to George.
Finding a pocketknife on one of
the fallen mob members, Charley
cut [disjointed] his dead brothers
feet to free himself and George. It
was reported that 13 men, killed
and wounded, were lying along the
road.
Having sawed themselves free,
George and Charley, both wound-
ed, made for the farm. After informing their mother and other family
members of the horrible confrontation that claimed two of the brothers
lives, they set about fortifying the house against the inevitable onslaught.
The Marlows said the mob members whod survived the Dry Creek rout
had spurred their ponies into a dead run for Graham. Upon arrival they
propagated the lie that Boone Marlow, the only free Marlow at the time,
had led a gang down out of Indian Territory to free his brothers. Guards
had been killed. Law abiding men lay dead. The citizens of Graham and
the surrounding area were outraged and demanded vengeance.
Extermination of the Marlows! they are said to have bellowed.
When the posse of 100-plus men arrived at the cabin, George Marlow
told Sheriff Collier that he and his brother would surrender only to
Marshal Cabell of Dallas or his chief deputy, Captain Morton. Rifle muz-
zles bristled from holes in the cabin wall.
In the end, a respected man and member of the posse, Marion Lasater,
convinced many of the mob enough blood had been shed for one night
and the effort lost steam. Others, too, spoke up for the besieged brothers.
Apparently unwilling to attack the fortified position alone, Collier and
those still wanting to force the issue camped nearby until Morton could
arrive and escort the prisoners to Dallas. The Marlows won the standoff.
Morton and his deputies arrived on Tuesday morning. He collected his
prisoners and left town. Suspecting another ambush, a few miles outside
Graham he left the Weatherford road and headed south towards Palo Pinto
in neighboring Palo Pinto County.
They passed though Palo Pinto and on Wednesday, just before noon,
made Gordon in the southern part of the county. There the party caught a
train for Dallas, arriving Wednesday night.
In March, Boone Marlow, who
had escaped into Indian
Territory, was brought back to
Graham dead by three men
claiming to have killed him
while attempting to capture him
for the $1,500 reward on his
head. The family laid him to rest
beside Alfred and Lewellyn in
Finis Cemetery.
Aftermath
Charley and George lived to
old age, having been acquitted
of the various charges against
them. They bore witness against
conspirators, who were convict-
ed and sentenced to 10 years.
On appeal, the U.S. Supreme
Court reversed the lower courts
findings, and in 1893 the con-
spirators were set free.
Judge A.P. McCormicks ver-
dict included the following
words: This is the first time in
the annals of history where
unarmed prisoners, shackled
together, ever repelled a mob.
Such cool courage that preferred to fight against such odds and die, if at
all, in glorious battle rather than die ignominiously by a frenzied mob,
deserves to be commemorated in song and story.(8)
Ultimately, both Charley and George left the state in search of new
lives, serving for a time as deputy sheriffs in Colorado.
Charley died Jan. 19, 1941, on the 52nd anniversary of the melee on
Dry Creek in Young County. He passed away at the home of his son near
Los Angeles, Calif. He was 83.
George, 90, died July 5, 1945, at Grand Junction, Colo., where he lived
with a daughter. The brother with whom the whole sorted affair began
was last to die.
Sources:
Life of the Marlows: A True Story of Frontier Life of Early Days.
Handbook of Texas Online.
Dorman Holub, Chairman, Young County Historical Commission.
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9 4 0 . 3 2 5 . 4 4 6 5
Marlow Chamber of Commerce.
Wallace family records.
Price family records.
E.W. Johnson family records.
Young County inquest records.
Northwest Federal District Court Records.
Publishers note:
Life of the Marlows was first published in 1892, just a few years after
the story had played out. It was authored by William Rathmell, who basi-
cally told the story surviving Marlow brothers Charley and George related
to him. It is clearly biased in favor of the Marlows, who, apparently,
according to Rathmells daughter-in-law (Of Record and Reminiscence,
77), employed Rathmell to write a history of their doings. The final
words of this tome are Long live the Marlow Brothers.
As you might have gathered, the Marlow tale is quite involved, if not
convoluted, and this story is by no means an exhaustive treatment of it.
Rather it is a running sketch intended to relate the basics of the events
that became the legend. Special thanks to Dorman Holub for the follow-
ing notes which balance the tale out a bit.
Notes:
1) Arrest warrants were only issued once there had been an indictment
from the Federal Grand Jury. An indictment for the arrest was issued as
stated. A federal jury consisted of 12 men and the indictment shows 15
witnesses.
2) The indictment reads that George Marlow was being indicted for
theft of Indian ponies in Indian Territory, the witnesses being a few white
men and several Comanche Indians, according to the original indictment.
Chief Quanah Parker was one of the Indian witnesses. Of course, when
the Marlow brothers had their original book written they did not have the
convenience of having the original indictments at their disposal. Along
with that indictment were warrants for the five Marlow brothers.
3) Let me assure you, Johnson and others did not have to cultivate
that opinion. Capt. Lee Hall, government distributor for the Kiowa and
Comanche Indians, stated that the Marlows were a bad bunch, heavily
armed, and would not surrender easily.
4) The self-defense claim was made by the Marlows. Fact is, Boone
Marlow, the youngest of the Marlows, killed the man and was indicted by
Wilbarger County Grand Jury for murder, first degree.
5) When Wallace and Collier arrived at the cabin, Charley Marlow
came to the door and told them to get off their horses and come in as it
was near dinner time. Wallace did not see Boone, so he approached the
house from the rear while Collier went to the front. Just as Wallace
stepped to the rear, he was shot through a crack in the wall. Collier heard
the shot, ran to the rear, and was shot as well. Charley Marlow called to
Collier to lay down his arms and assist him with the wounded sheriff.
Collier did as requested and they carried Wallace into the house. Charlie
put Alf on a horse and sent him to Graham after a doctor. Boone had
already rode away. When Alf arrived in Graham he was immediately
thrown into jail. The next day, Charley, George and Lewellyn were all
arrested and jailed. At this point, it seems that the brothers were mistreat-
ed and persecuted in an unreasonable manner.
6) And how did the U.S marshal at Dallas learn of the attempt? Federal
court records show that after the incident was reported to U.S. Deputy
Marshal Johnson and he had investigated the incident and talked with
Charley Marlow in jail, he then wired U.S. Marshal Cabell on the condi-
tion of affairs at Graham.
7) That was never proven in court. Just pure speculation of the Marlows
after the fact.
8) In my opinion, this quote is out of place unless you intend to tell the
story of Judge A.P. McCormicks involvement in the trial of the conspira-
cy charges. In the fall of 1889, all of the guards and about 50 percent of
the population of Young County were indicted by a federal grand jury and
two witnesses (the surviving Marlow brothers) on a charge of conspiracy
in a mob on Dry Creek and an attempt on the jail. Some were indicted on
both charges. Of course, remember, all of the mobsters were masked.
Some say it was simply a grudge of the Marlows against everyone. Judge
McCormick was a most unique judge in his own right ... but that is anoth-
er story.
Sidebar:
Sometime before writing this story I joined with several other motorcy-
clists on a ride to a small town just north of Duncan, Okla. The name of
the town? Marlow.
I knew something of the Marlow brothers story at the time of this trip
but had no idea they were in any way connected to the town of the same
name north of the Red River. In fact, I didnt know until I returned home
and a couple of weeks later began researching this story. What a coinci-
dence!
Founded in the mid-1880s, Marlow, which began as Marlow Grove and
today is a town of some 4, 500 people, is near the old Chisholm Trail just
east of the dividing line between what was once the Oklahoma Territory
and Indian Territory.
The town is named after Dr. Williamson Marlow, father of the five
brothers of this story.
According to Debbe Ridley of the Marlow Chamber of Commerce, the
Marlow story is very much a part of her community. Asked if Marlows
official stance is that the Marlows as Life of the Marlows asserts
were simply wronged innocents, she had this to say:
We feel they were probably used as a way to win favor with or please
big cattle barons; but, at the same time, we admit that they probably
werent innocents. They lived on the Chisholm Trail, and life was rough.
They were quite adventurous, and probably gathered up strays, etc., if you
know what I mean. Our emphasis on the story is that they never gave up
wouldnt be lynched. Since the early 1900s, our school team has been
the Marlow Outlaws not because were mean and rough, but because
you just never, never, never give up. You keep on fighting, which is
exactly what the Marlow brothers did.
An entire room of Marlows 5,000-square-foot museum is dedicated to
the brothers story. In it are the original tombstone, which the family
removed from Finis Cemetery some years ago, fearing weather-related
deterioration and/or vandalism; family pictures; newspapers; even the
contract for The Sons of Katie Elder.
There are also the ranch and hideout sites to visit, nearby Hell Creek
where Boone Marlow was poisoned and shot, and various markers and
monuments. Ridley said anyone interested in the story and wanting to
tour Marlow need only stop by the chamber.
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Oh, yes, just about everyone in town

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