It seems that the fabled Yellow Rose of Texas may have actually existed and the story has some truth to it. At least according to Kent Biffle of the Dallas Morning News that is. For those not familiar with the story of the Yellow Rose, she was a “Mulatta girl” by the name of Emily who kept Santa Anna occupied in his tent when the Texans attacked at the battle of San Jacinto in April 1836. Biffle cites an unpublished and forgotten essay titled “Texas In 1842” written by an English travel writer by the name of William Bollaert. Bollaert who wrote, “The Battle of San jacinto was probably lost to the Mexicans, owning to the influence of a Mulatta Girl (Emily) belonging to Col. Morgan who was closeted in the tent with General Santa Anna, at the time the cry was made ‘the ememy, they come!’ and detained Santa Anna so long that order could not be restored readily again.” Gj
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January 5, 1947. El Paso Times. “Captain John R. Hughes, whose life as a Texas Ranger in the gun-toting days sounds like a movie scenario and earned him the title of “Border Boss” was found dead today at the age of 92 Tuesday night in Austin, Texas, a bullet through the roof of his mouth. Justice of the Peace Mace Thurman of Austin ruled in his inquest that the death was a suicide”.
“The body of the famous veteran of early day law enforcement was found in a garage at rear of his Austin home. A United Press dispatch said that Hughes ended his life with a .45 caliber Colt revolver, the type the Rangers packed in the pioneer days of the Southwest”.
“Hughes had been in poor health for some time, but last week he made a brief appearance in the House and the Senate where resolutions were adapted lauding his career. Hughes was well known through out west Texas and southern New Mexico for his work with the Rangers along the border. He was a tall, handsome man, a deadly shot and an excellent horseman”.
“In 1896, he was sent by the Texas governor to El Paso to stop the famous boxing match between Bob Fitzsimmons and Pete Maher. He seceded temporarily, but the fighters and their band took a train to Judge Roy Bean’s headquarters at Langtry, Texas, across the border where the fight was staged.”
Hughes could only watch the fight through his binoculars from Texas. The El Paso Times said it was the only time he failed to get his man. Captain John Hughes was the last of the old ranger captains before the desent of the force and its leadeship into the years of politics and corruption at the beginning of the new 20th century. John Hughes truely deserves to be well remembered. Gj
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Hello Mr Justice,
I am writing to you as a shot in the dark. I was told a story by and uncle years ago regarding my grandfather(Jose Valdez) and how he and his brother(Mercedes Valdez) were reunited after many years. They were separated after their mother's death and did not have knowledge of each other until they met as adults. Anyway, here is the story as I remember it.
My grandfather lived on a ranch on the border of TX/MEX in Chihuaha(probably in the Pilares area where my mom was born). There had been several cattle killed by a mountain lion so my grandfather, uncles and several other men set out to track and kill this lion. In the process, the lion was cornered inside a hole and the solution to get to him was that my grandfather would go in with a pistol to try and kill the lion. At about the halfway point one of the other men found another opening to the whole above where the original entrance was and preceded to drop a rock down the hole. This caused the lion to try and exit through the first hole running directly in the direction of my grandfather. As my grandfather stated to me, he had only one option and that was to lay as flat as possible and fired the pistol a couple of times as the lion passed over him. The shots proved to be on target, killing the lion.
Somehow, this story reached a man who wrote short stories of the West and published them in a little publication popular in those days. This particular publication was in circulation in Hawaii and read by my grandfather's brother. He did some research to verify that this was his brother. Mercedes had left Mexico and became fairly wealthy over the years. This whole thing lead him back to Mexico to see his brother(must have been late 50's). Mercedes brought my grandfather and his family to the U.S.(Van Horn) where he purchased a couple of lots and a house for my grandfather. Our family still owns this property with both my grandparents having passed away. My grandfather and his brother corresponded for years through letters that I would translate and write for my grandfather. The last letter we received was to let us know that Mercedes had passed away. Don't know if he left anything to my grandfather since we never heard from his family again.
Anyway, the whole reason I am contacting you is, that I have wanted to find this story or publication that brought the two brothers together. So any help you could provide would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Efrain Gonzales
Efrain,
I think you might be talking about True West or Old West Magazine. The University of Texas in Austin has a complete collection of these magazines.
See http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/00 ... 0055.html. Also, the Haley Memorial Library in Midland has many of these magazines, see http://www.haleylibrary.com/. I believe the Haley has a index of articles which should be most helpful. Good luck! Gj
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According to the Associated Press, some 200 miles of steel vehicle barriers resembling those built by the Nazis on the beaches of Normandy during World War II are being constructed in Arizona’s Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Park. The steel barriers are designed to block roads used by drug smugglers driving vehicles across the border. There are already some 80 miles of vehicle barriers currently in use along the U. S.-Mexican border.
Closer to home in Texas, the Border Patrol has informed Texas Parks and Wildlife that wildlife refuges in Starr, Hidalgo and Cameron counties will soon have approximately 82 miles of border fences because they are located on lands owned by the federal government. These areas include the Sabal Palm Audubon Center and the Santa Anna Wildlife Refuge. No studies of the impact on wildlife have been performed and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service was only given a few days to respond to the plans.
Reuters is reporting that U.S. Border Patrol Chief David Augilar said Wednesday that he expects the United States will have "operational control" of the U.S.-Mexican border by 2013. According to Augilar, there are presently plans to put up 370 miles of fence along the border. In addition, by the end of next year, the number of Border Patrol agents will increase from 13,500 to 18,300. Gj
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According to U.S. Border Patrol chief David Agular, a new high tech virtual wall will soon be operating along the U.S. Mexican border. The pricey new system manufactured by the Boeing Company will be composed of hundreds of interconnected 98 foot tall mobile towers that contain ground sensing radar, cameras, lights, data access points and radio communications equipment. The system of towers is known as SBI or the Secure Border Initiative and is designed to detect persons attempting to illegally enter the United States. Agular has said that the system is so effective that it will, “detect and classify more than 95 per cent of illegal entries within with the virtual wall”. On the Arizona border some 28 miles of the SBI system is scheduled to be in operation by the end of May. According to the Associated Press, SBIs should be in operation in New Mexico and parts of Texas within a year.
The SBI system will replace aging Viet Nam era ground sensor equipment that could be easily set off by livestock. The SBI system will transmit images and data to Border Patrol agents’ laptop computers hopefully eliminating troublesome false alarms. See http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/200 ... 4b_pr.html for a photo of one of the new towers. Gj
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Juan Bonilla Flores, the last living survivor of the Porvenir massacre, died at his home in Odessa, Texas Sunday, March 25th. 2007. Born June 25, 1905, Mr. Flores lived to the age of 101 years. The son of Longino and Juanita Flores, Juan grew up along the Texas-Mexican border in the Big Bend feeling equally at home in western Presidio County as well as in Chihuahua.
In 1913, Juan’s father, Longino, worked as foreman of a project to extend and widen an irrigation ditch from the Rio Grande to the Porvenir Ranch community. The prospect of farming and ginning cotton watered by the Rio Grande brought hopes of better times to the tiny remote village of Porvenir. Hawkeye Townsend constructed a cotton gin built from the timbers of the Rio Grande Northern Railroad at Porvenir. Harry Warren taught school in Porvenir. Longino Flores worked as a sharecropper and built a home for his family at Porvenir.
Porvenir is located on the Rio Grande, a short distance upriver from Pilares, Chihuahua in northwest Presidio County, Texas. Ironically, though the town’s name means future in Spanish, Porvenir offered no future to the some 140 Mexicans living there in 1918. They scratched out a subsistence living by farming and raising goats and cattle. Many of them came to Porvenir from Chihuahua to escape a bloody decade long civil war as Pancho Villa and his adversaries made death a common occurrence.
When he was 12 years old in January 1918, Juan Flores witnessed the execution- murder of his father and fourteen other Porvenir men and boys at the hands of Texas Rangers, troopers of the U. S. Eighth Cavalry and rancher vigilantes. It was a horror young Juan carried with him the rest of his life. He had terrible nightmares most of his life sometimes awaking his family with his screams in the night. For many years, Juan never told anyone about he had witnessed at Porvenir. Then, at the age of 95, Juan finally told his family about the massacre he had witnessed more than eighty years previous.
In 2000, Rhode Island documentary producer Gode Davis traveled to Texas with a production crew to at last film Juan telling his story of Porvenir and the massacre. Davis is producing a film titled, “American Lynching: A Strange And Bitter Fruit.” For more information on Gode Davis and “American Lynching”: http://www.newenglandfilm.com/news/arch ... davis.htm.
The American Lynching wesite is: http://www.americanlynching.com/main.html.
At this time, I had the great privilege of meeting Juan Flores and his family who graciously allowed me to sit in on the filming in Odessa at their home. The living room of Flores home in west Odessa was quickly transformed into a cramped, make shift television studio filled with television camera, sound and lighting equipment not to mention people. Quite a number of the Flores family members, many from out of town, attended and we all crowded together to hear and document what Juan Flores had to say.
The old gentleman came into the room and took a seat under the lights wearing a fine new cowboy hat dressed in his best. He spoke only in Spanish to the hushed listeners with a clear voice. He told of being led out of Porvenir in the middle of the night with his father and the others. According to Juan, Evans Means chose the place of execution. It was a logical site for a firing squad. It is located south of Porvenir and has a rocky hill forming a deadly trap from which no one could escape. None did. It is not the place Joyce Means has claimed as the murder site for years.
As Mr. Flores told the story, he kept his composure much better than his listeners. When he finished there was literally not a dry eye in the place including mine. He said he hoped that by telling the story his nightmares would go away. Hopefully he was able to spend his last years without being tormented any more.
After completing the taping in Odessa, we a traveled to Porvenir. Mr. Flores showed us where the village once stood and down the road the spot where the men were shot. All during the filming, a small Border Patrol flew what seemed to be endless circles over us. We had obviously set off their border sensors. Gode had previously called the Border Patrol in Marfa to notify them that we would be filming in Porvenir but only got a warning in response to not film any Border Patrol activities or our cameras and tapes would be confiscated. They also said we would be arrested if found driving on the river road at night and not to cross the river and return.
At the location of the killings, Mr. Flores sat in a lawn chair watching as everyone gave the place a though looking over. At the place, we found numerous spent casings, some on the surface. There were 1914 dated 30.06 casings but one find really stood out. It was a U. S. Army 1916 12 gauge brass cased trench gun case. This is not something a bird hunter use. It was designed by the U. S. Army to kill men, developed to clear trenches in World War I. The brass case was used to assure it would fire in the muddy trenches. Each round contained 00 buck shot and is also known as a riot gun.
Some accounts of the Porvenir massacre mention how mutilated the corpses were. One writer attributed the terrible wounds to the fact that the rangers used “dum dum” bullets or bullets that had been cut off at the end to make the front of the projectile flat and do more damage. Perhaps these severe wounds came from the use of trench guns by the cavalry troopers that night.
Although Corporal Robert F. Keil, an Eighth Cavalry trooper present the night of the Porvenir massacre states that the cavalry took no part in the massacre, this is disputed by Juan Flores. And the presence of U. S. Army ammunition the place where the Porvenir men were shot supports what Juan Flores said. Flores clearly implicates the participation of the U. S. Army in the killings a fact the Bob Keil spent most of his life trying to cover up.
It is certainly my hope and I am sure many others that one-day the Juan Flores story will be fully told. May he rest in peace and the Porvenir massacre not be forgotten. Gj
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Whatever happened to the town of Chisos, Texas, and the quicksilver mine? My grandfather used to work there about 1914-1920 or so. Are there any book on the area.
Thanks
George R Brown
George,
The Chisos Mining Company Camp was located at Terlingua in Brewster County. See http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/onl ... hnt13.html for a brief histoy. You will probably want to read Kenneth Baxter Ragsdale's fine book, "Quicksilver: Terlingua and the Chisos Mining Company" published by Texas A & M University Press. Terlingua is no longer a ghost town today being a poplular tourist attraction. Check out http://www.terlinguatx.com/. Gj
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I can’t tell you how many times I have driven by the Burro Lady in the Big Bend over the years. You would see here everywhere in the Big Bend along side the road with her burro and big hat. Sometimes she would be camped out but mostly always seemed to be on the move. I even remember seeing her along I-10 in El Paso once. She used to go upriver from Candelaria camping along the way in some very remote out of the way places. I never knew her name until today when I read that the Burro Lady is no more. Her name is Judy Ann Magers and she was 65 years old. The Border Patrol found Magers' body not far from Sierra Blanca Friday appairently not long after she had died. For more on the Burro Lady see: http://www.marfatx.com/uploadedfiles/burrolady2107.html
Gj
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In January 1918 a heavily armed group of Texas Rangers, ranchmen and members a troop of U.S. Cavalry descended upon the tiny community of Porvenir, Texas on the Mexican border in western Presidio County. After rounding up the inhabitants of the village and searching their homes, the vigilantes selected fifteen Mexican boys and men ranging in age from 16 to 72 years and marched them off into the darkness. A short distance from Porvenir, the prisoners were lined up against a rock bluff and shot to death. In January 1919, the Porvenir massacre came under the scrutiny of the Texas House and Senate Investigation of the State Ranger Force. The following is a sworn statement taken from Rosenda Mega describing the massacre.
According to the transcript, Rosenda Mega was 47 years old and an American citizen born in Fort Davis, Texas. “That he was at Candelaria, Texas, on January 25, 1918, where he heard that on the 24th of said month, had been perpetrated on the El Porvenir Ranch, by a party of armed men, composed of about 40 individuals, consisting of American soldiers, Rangers, and Texas ranchmen, at about one o’clock on the morning of January 24th, who proceeded to take from their homes, all the inhabitants of Porvenir, and after they had been gotten together, about 30 in number, they were taken about on-fourth mile below said ranch without any explanation of the cause, and without asking anything, and after arriving there, they were told they could return to their homes, with the exception of Eutemio Gonzales, Roman Nieves, and Manual Fierro, who they took away as prisoners and held them two days in the mountains, making terrible threats, but allowing them at last to return to Porvenir, Tesas where on the last day of the assault, the first named two were killed, and where Manual Fierro was saved, because he was not in Porvenir on January 28th.”
“He (Mega) was then asked under his oath, according to law what he knew about the assault and people killed at Povenir. He went to Porvenir where the families of the victims told him that about one or two o’clock AM of that day, an armed group assaulted them on the 24th and they also made another assault about one or two A.M. on January 28th, in the number of about 40 men, the same being soldiers, Rangers, and Texas ranchmen. That as soon as the ranch was surrounded, the rangers proceeded to take the inhabitants from their houses, and from that number selected 15 and took them about one-quarter mile from said ranch, and then in a very cowardly manner, and without examining any of them, shot them. On January 29th, permission was obtained from the military commander at Candelaria, Texas, and also from Colonel Eduardo Porcallo of Porvenir, Mexico, to pass the dead bodies of the victums to the Mexican side for burial, which was done in the company of the friends and families of the victims.”
"The bodies were found about one-quarter mile below Porvenir, Texas on the ground in a parallel line and had wounds in bodies, and also a shot in the head of each one, the bullets passing through the heads of many of them (sic). Their bodies were examined, and that in life, the names were as follows: Manuel Morales, Antonio Casteneda, Pedro Herrera, Biviano Herrera, Sibriano Herrera, Ramon Nieves, Longinio Flores, Tiburcio Jaquez, Alberto Garcia, Macadonio Huerta, Ambrocia Hernanez, Sieapio, Jiminez, Juan Jiminez, Pedro Jiminez, and Eutemio Gonzales. Longinio Flores, one of those killed was my father-in-law, and in whom I had great faith, and with whom I have traded for many years. Being asked if he knew where the inhabitants of Porvenir had participated in the assault upon the Brite Ranch, and hand not been in connivance with any of the bandits that had operated on the frontier, and that they were people living by their hones and work, as can be testified to by and American school teacher Enrique N. (Harry Warren), and another American citizen by the name of John Bill (John Bailey), who resides near Porvenir, Texas and that all having in their homes necessary gain for their families, also their work and domestic animals, and that some of the had been a long time in the United States, and had about one section of land sown with wheat. Being all that he could say, this declarations was terminated by the Judge and witnesses assisting, signing same, but not by this witness, as he could not write.”
For more on the Porvenir massacre, see Chapter 8 in my “Little Known History Of The Texas Big Bend”. Order online: http://www.rimrockpress.com/
Gj
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The Harry Ransom Center located on the University of Texas Austin campus is celebrating its first fifty years of existence this year. The Ransom Center is a remarkable facility filled with countless thousands of historical treasures ranging from one of five Gutenberg Bibles in the world to the first photograph ever made. The center has an amazing archive including probably the finest nineteenth and twentieth century collection of Texas photographs anywhere. This includes the Big Bend photos made by the “Matthew Brady” of the Big Bend, W. D. Smithers. The Smithers Collection contains nearly 3,000 photographs made by Smithers and other photographers from original negatives and glass plates. Other notable holdings include a first edition of “Leaves Of Grass” signed by Walt Whitman and Scarlett O’Hara’s “Gone With The Wind” movie dress. The center is said to be one of the world’s most significant collections of arts and letters and it truly is. For more about the Ransom Center see: http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/
Gj
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Eleven years after Neeley’s fine study of Quanah Parker comes Jack K. Selden’s “Return: The Parker Story”. Published by Clacton Press, this 311 page hardcover book, ISBN-13:978-0-9659898-2-4, details the story of the Parker family, the kidnapping of Quanah’s mother, Cynthia Ann Parker, and her tragic life and death. Although I don’t know him personally, Jack was a fellow contributing writer for the new “Handbook Of Texas” published by the Texas State Historical Association and has written for several Texas newspapers and magazines. He also has appeared on the History Channel. Selden’s expertise in writing history is plainly demonstrated in the Parker story. When I read the Neeley book, I thought it to be the definitive work on Quanah but thanks to Seldon’s excellent effort, I know now that both books need to be read to fully grasp the whole story of Quanah Parker, his mother’s family and their prominent place in Texas history. Seldon’s telling of the Parkers reads like a who’s who of Texas past including Stephen F. Austin, Sul Ross, Sam Houston and his friend Issac Parker. Seldon clearly demonstrates James Parker’s unrelenting determination to find Cynthia Ann and free her that inspired John Wayne’s classic character in the film, “The Searchers”. Read this book and you will want to again see the movie. In addition, Seldon who married into the Parker family, details the long rift and reunion between the Quanah’s Oklahoma family and the Texas Parkers. This is a book who anyone interested in Texas history should not overlook. “Return: The Parker Story is available from Clacton Press at www.clactonpress.com. Gj
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SALAZAR AND OROZCO WILL RESIST ATTACK BY REBELS
“PRESIDIO, TEXAS (Via United States Army Telephone to Marfa) Special Wire to the El Paso Times, December 9, 1913, 12 Midnight. It is generally believed here that the federals expect and attack here and are preparing to resist.”
“If they have any artillery, none of it has been brought to Ojinaga unless it came in since dark. There is great activity here tonight and judging from campfires stretching many miles to the northward and westward, troops are being rushed into position as fast as they come up from the rear and some are being sent out from Ojinaga.”
“The commanders of the American forces, while maintaining a rigid guard, profess not to be alarmed by the latest developments. Nothing can be heard across the river direct as all passes are refused by guards posted by General Salazar and General Orozco.”
REFUGEES ARE STREAMING IN
“PRESIDIO, TEXAS (Via United States Army Telephone to Marfa) Special Wire to the El Paso Times, December 9, 1913, 10 p.m. In order to be able to cope with any emergency that might possible arise because of the presence of so many troops and disorganized and disheartened civilians across the river, another troop of cavalry was ordered from Marfa tonight to reinforce the Presidio garrison.”
“Thus far, there has been no disorder, the few refugees who have crossed being too tired and too intent on getting to places of safety and comfort to be anything but grateful for the attentions that are being showered upon them after they reach the American side of the river.”
“Up to this hour, fewer than 100 civilian refugees have reached Presidio among them to two sons of General Jose Ynez Salazar who will leave in the morning for Marfa to take the train for El Paso.”
“Susana Perez and her children who live in El Paso and who were visiting in Chihuahua when General Villa captured Juarez, cutting off escape to the border by rail and who came overland with the refugee caravan were permitted to cross tonight and they too will leave in the morning for their El Paso home.”
“General Luis Terrazas and his family arrived in Ojinaga this afternoon. They are well and in good physical condition despite their long and perilous journey, having traveled by automobile and being supplied with heavy clothing. They will be permitted to cross to Presidio some time tomorrow. Directly following them into Ojinaga were the Creels, Lujans, Cultrys and other ‘royal’ families of Chihuahua. They all traveled in one party, guarded in front and rear by a specially delegated guard of regular federal troops. They expected to be permitted to cross the river as soon as they arrived, but for some reason, only known by the powers that be, they are being held in Ojinaga overnight.”
“The main refugee party is beginning to arrive in Ojinaga by hundreds and animated by a hope that they will be permitted to cross the river as soon as they arrive, it is probable that they will continue to stream into the little Mexican town all night rather that spend another in the open in the desert. Including the soldiers, it is estimated that 4,000 or 5,000 are crowded into the adobe huts and jacals of the little Mexican town giving it the largest population it has ever seen or will ever have again.”
PICTURE IS PITIFUL
“The people composing it are from every walk in life, are of all ages, all conditions, and in the main makeup a picture that is pitiful in the extreme. Owning to the confusion, it is almost impossible to get details of the long trek. All are suffering more or less. In the main, they tell the same tale, one of hardship and mental distress. When asked why they left their more or less comfortable homes in Chihuahua, they all say that they were led to believe that when the city fell into the hands of General Villa’s soldiers, it would be looted and burned and those who had remained while it was a federal strong hold would be executed or at least imprisoned and otherwise made to pay heavily for their devotion to their homes.”
WOMEN AND CHILDREN WALK
“Women and children who have all their lives been used to comfort, many of them to luxury, have walked the entire distance from Chihuahua to Ojinaga, many of them reaching that point barefoot and in rags, having hardships which they never dreamed of in their happier days.”
MANY DIE ON JOURNEY
“Many deaths occurred while the journey was being made, but as no one was delegated to keep a list of those who perished, no accurate estimate has been made or probably ever will be made of the total number of victims of the order to evacuate the state capitol. From those already encamped it is learned that the total number of deaths will probably reach 75 but that is a mere guess.”
FACING A FAMINE
“Refugees will have to be kept on the move if they are not to suffer from famine, even after the port is opened to them on Wednesday morning. Presidio is filled to overflowing now and the chances to get something to eat or a bed to sleep on are absolutely nil. Twenty-five men arrived from Marfa Tuesday. They forgot to bring their blankets with them and had to sit up all night Tuesday night around campfires, in the open, not being able to find a bed, a blanket or a roof to spread it under in either town.”
IMMIGRATION MEN OPEN “OFFICE”
“The immigration men and others connected with the United States government who will assist in getting the crowd of refuges across the river have build an ‘office’ on the banks of the river in the form of a corral, into which all refugees will be herded as fast as they reach the American side, while they are waiting to be questioned and indexed before being given permission to pass on into the interior. The office equipment consists of a desk made of a dry goods box turned upside down and soap boxes for chairs.”
The El Paso Times correspondent who wrote this article is unknown. This may have been written either by Luther Barnard or Bertram B. Caddle. Both of these fine journalists were staff correspondents who worked for the El Paso Times in those years writing many of their stories about the Mexican Revolution from the Big Bend. Gj
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On Tuesday, January 9, 2007, 05:52 PM, John Smith wrote:
"From where was the marker moved? Looking at the aerial maps it appears that the road was moved when it was paved effectively placing the marker on the other side of FM 170. The USGS shows the marker correctly (presuming the green square next to the cemetery)near the road on the east side of FM 170."
John,
Until about six months ago, the marker was located on the west side of F.M. 170. Presently, the marker is on the east side of the highway not far from the cemetery. It should be said that the original location of the marker is located on private property and was only placed at a spot thought, in the 1930's, to be the approximate location of the Julimes mission. Since the mission remained in operation only for a very short time before the priests fled for their lives, the precise location of the mission may never be known. Gj
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Here is an email that just came in from Lupe Rodriguez:
"Per the query below a Contreras gang was stealing silver from the Shafter mine. According to an article originally published in Old West magazine Vol. 34 (Summer 1998): 10-14, it was the Antonio Carrasco gang. Which is correct?"
Lupe,
I checked in my copy of "Border Boss: Captain John R. Hughes-Texas Ranger" by Jack Martin and on page 108, Martin states that it was indeed Antonio Carrasco his bunch and not the "Conteras gang" as KW stated in his question below. Thanks for your keen observation. Gj
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I received the following email raising the question of whether the Texas Rangers were created “for the sole purpose” of annihilating the Comanche Indians.
Bubba (sir_onion<at>yahoo.com)
Thursday, December 28, 2006, 09:46 PM
A review on Amazon quoted below...
"Quanah Parker was the last and probably the finest example of a Commanche (sic) warrior. Although they never numbered more than 3,000 to 5,000 warriors, the Commanche (sic) stood astride the southern gateway to the west and single handedly stopped the southwestern expansion of America for 100 years. The reason Lewis and Clark were sent north to find a route to the west coast around them. So hated by the Texans that the Texas Rangers were created with the sole purpose of annihilating them."
“You really think the Texas Rangers were created because of them? That's a stretch isn't it?”
Yes, Sir Onion, I think it very much stretching the truth to say the Texas Rangers were created with the sole purpose of annihilating the Comanche. See page 20 of “The Texas Rangers: A Century Of Frontier Defense” by Walter Prescott Webb. According to Webb who references “The Life of Stephen F. Austin” by Eugene C. Barker, Austin employed ten men to serve as Rangers in 1823. During this time and in 1824, the Tonkawas, Karankawas, Wacos and Tawakonis were causing Austin and his colonists the most trouble. Webb and the Handbook of Texas (see the Texas Rangers article by Ben H. Procter in the Handbook) both say that Austin had little trouble with the Comanche during this time. Austin himself and two companions had been captured by a band of Comanche near the Nueces River in 1821 only to be treated well and released along with most of their property. Texas lawmakers did not make use of the term Texas Rangers until 1835 when they created a force of men who served in the Texas Revolution. This group of Texas Rangers did not participate in much fighting and served more as escorts to settlers fleeing the Mexican army. It was not until the Council House Fight in March 1840 at San Antonio that any that any significant fighting between the Texas Rangers and the Comanche took place. This was the beginning of the real bloodshed between the Texas Rangers and the Comanche that lasted until the end of the Red River War when Chief Quanah Parker surrendered at Fort Sill in 1875. Gj
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I just finished reading with great enjoyment “The Last Comanche Chief: The Life And Times Of Quanah Parker” by Bill Neeley. This 276-page book, ISBN 0-471-16076-8, is well written and Neeley’s first class research using an abundance of primary source documents makes it a fine study of the great chief. Here the reader will find the wonderful story of this remarkable leader of the Comanche told in fascinating detail from the 1836 raid on Parker’s Fort until the death of Quanah Parker in 1911.
We learn of the days when Quanah, as a fierce young warrior, rode the Comanche war trail to Mexico and of his participation in the battle of Adobe Walls until the final conflict between the Comanche and the U.S. Army during the Red River War in the Texas Panhandle. Then a new Quanah emerges, a gifted visionary leader and politician determined to take his people out of the Stone Age and into the modern world of the Industrial Revolution. Certainly Quanah Parker had his detractors ranging from those Comanche who felt he had sold them out to the white man as well as the moralists who attacked Quanah for his use of peyote and many wives. In telling the story, the author offers a great many contemporary viewpoints to explain the reasoning and wisdom of Quanah so that he can be better understood by us living in today’s world. This is a fine book that really deserves to be read by anyone interested in Texas history. Gj
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In the 1960’s a group of artifact hunters explored a cave located a few miles from Chinati Peak in western Presidio County and made a remarkable discovery. Using flashlights, the men climbed through the cave entrance into a large rock shelter filled with ancient Native American artifacts. On the floor of the cave lay a considerable amount of very old camp refuge and bedding material along with quite a number of metates, sandals, baskets, and netting that had been woven from sotol and ocotilla fibre. Also, various projectile points including two still connected to shafts were found. Some were atlatl points giving a hint of the antiquity of the discovery. Digging through the scattered refuge of small corncobs, squash rinds, cactus seeds, pinion nuts, and mesquite beans, they unearthed stone knives and hide scrapers. The interior of the cave appeared to have been occupied by humans for a long period of time. The sooty, heavily blackened ceiling of the cavern indicated the existence of countless campfires along with large number of burned hearthstones on the floor inside and near the entrance the cave.
Excited by their discovery, the men set up a screen and began sifting through the dusty debris. Some forty feet from the front of the cave came their greatest find. In a heap of rubbage they discovered an extremely old, remarkably well preserved human skeleton. It apparently was the corpse of an adult male curled in a fetal position.
The finely preserved mummified corpse had rested for untold centuries in the dry atmosphere of the cave. It was clad simply in a loincloth made of antelope skin that had been chewed to soften the material. Its arms were contorted giving the appearance of grasping its throat with its right hand. The contorted position might have been a final death agony although Rex Owens, one of the pothunters present when the discovery was made, observed that the mummy might have fallen from a crevice higher in the cave at some point thereby moving the limbs.
Almost half a century after its discovery, surprisingly little is known about the Chinati mummy. The mummy and many of the artifacts found with it were on display at the West of the Pecos Museum in Pecos, Texas until just a few years ago. Since the mummy had been removed from the cave along with the artifacts found at the site, no archaeologist could be found who was willing to study or even consider this remarkable find. Even the age of the mummy will never be know since no Radio Carbon 14 dating was never performed.
The presence of atlatl points and sandals seem to indicate that the mummy may have lived in the time of Christ or before. Sadly, since the discovery, many of the artifacts found with the mummy have been lost or sold for considerable profit and scattered among various individual collections. The Chinati mummy may have been a Big Bend Basket Maker, and might possibly have been the best existing example of this long lost culture. The final stages of the Big Bend Basket Maker era lasted between 300 A. D. and 900 A. D. But unfortunately, the mummy leaves more questions than answers. Today, the mummy is no longer at the museum and is forever lost to any sort of study or research. Another priceless bit of our Texas past has been lost forever. Gj
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Any successful novelist worth his salt understands the value of first hand experience in writing. Who wants to read a historical novel or any novel without the ring of truth? There are many exceptions. Science fiction writers must rely entirely on their creative minds to produce a saleable work. Stephen Crane formed a timeless classic about the Civil War without having to without having to fight in the Great Rebellion. But he obviously talked to Civil War soldiers to learn about what it was like to be in combat. Historical fiction in print and in movies, no doubt, does much more to inspire young minds and teach the value of history than some dry, boring history text. But, to be effective some sort of research must be done by the writer who starts out with no life experience to draw upon.
Years ago when I first came to the Big Bend, I had grand but naive dreams of writing the great novel. But I soon discovered I could never manufacture anything between my ears better than the real and fascinating story of the far west Texas. So I set out to write history and resolved to make it readable, accurate and interesting to everyone. I had the fortunate experience of first learning to write in a newsroom noisy with the clack of typewriters. I studied journalism, not mass communications, and learned to tell the story always including, as best I could, the who, what, when, where, why and how. I learned the method of writing for readers who had no advanced degrees or even much formal education.
So how does one experience the past before putting it to paper? Most of the topics I take on are about people, places and events that long ago faded away. Native Americans left us no written records. Only today, their descendents are telling us their real story. Archaeologists fill in a bit of the story with their invaluable but plodding science. The end of prehistory in this part of the world came when Cabeza de Vaca published his remarkable narrative in the 1500s. Other Spaniards later also told us about the Indians they encountered. Likely, the Jumano Indians, as the conquistadores’ chroniclers named them, would have understood or recognized little about these stories. Later, William Henry Chase Whiting recorded an important bit of our west Texas past when he had the foresight to recognize the value of writing about his groundbreaking journey in his excellent journal.
The historian is bound by the written word with all of its troubles. Yes history is many times anecdotal. But that does not mean the story cannot be told accurately or in words only the very learned can understand and enjoy. Mark Twain formed the modern genera of writing what, in our time, is enduring history with "Roughing It". He learned his method by writing for a newspaper. But today the historian, to do quality research and writing must have first hand experience about which he or her writes. This experience comes from the land and the people living today and, of course, the primary source documents left from those who went before. Writers of history must make use of primary sources, as much as possible, and not simply rehash what others looking back have penned.
Big Bend historiography has seen much good work done by local historians and writers. J. E. Gregg, Alice Jack Shipman, Carlysle Graham Raht, Barry Scobee, Clifford Casey and Clayton Williams learned well the history from the land and the people. Later, Mildred Bloys Nored, Lucy Miller Jacobsen, Cecilia Thompson and Enrique Madrid also contributed their valuable local viewpoints. More recently, Lonn Taylor, Glenn Willeford, Jerry Raun need be included in this list. There are others. Our Big Bend folklorists including Virginia Madison, Halley Stillwell, Elton Miles and Blair Pittman have added their talents to the telling of our past from the oral tradition.
Although they did not spent much time in the Big Bend, Ronnie C. Tyler, William H. and Shirley A. Leckie, and Robert Wooster did fine research and writing in their efforts. Those who have only visited this part of the world only occasionally have written a fair amount of our more modern Big Bend history with considerable and lasting influence. When the lauded historian Walter Prescott Webb came to Marfa at some point in the 1920’s for a short stay to do a little Big Bend first hand research, he was fascinated by the stories told him by the Texas Rangers he idolized. As a result, Webb’s writings have greatly influenced our historiography. A prime example of this is Webb’s telling of the Porvenir massacre. To Webb, the massacre was not a massacre at all, but rather a gunfight between brave Rangers defending themselves and Mexican badmen. Bill Smithers did much the same thing helping to further carve in stone the Ranger and U.S. Army view of the bloody border raids and reprisals on the Rio Grande during the Mexican Revolution. Their dated books are still in print and can be easily found in Big Bend bookstores.
Webb was the father of the Handbook Of Texas. Certainly, I would be the last to be overly critical of this fine effort by the Texas State Historical Association. That said, however, there are some factual errors about the Big Bend even in the latest online edition. The common problem is usually that many of the Handbook articles were written by those who had seen, first hand, little or nothing of the places and people they wrote about. An example is the Handbook article on Pilares, Texas. There is no such place as Pilares, Texas although it may have been called that by some years ago. Porvenir, Texas lies just across the Rio Grande from Pilares, Chihuahua and the two places continue to be confused even today. This error bled into Bob Keil’s book and goes on even in the maps published in the book. The Keil account is highly colored by his attempt the whitewash the actions of the U. S. military on the border 1910-1920. No editorial comment is made anywhere about this in the book. Keil’s one-sided but at the same time important telling of the story is now in print and his influence will live on. Gj
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In the 1980’s, I had the great privilege of working as a staff writer for the Handbook Of Texas published by the Texas State Historical Association. This massive encyclopedia of Texas history is anything but a handbook. The print edition contains more than 23,000 articles on the people, places and events of Texas past in seven huge volumes. Fortunately, this vast wealth of information is available free online at http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/. Here you will find first class historical research county-by-county and place-by-place on just about any Texas topic. It is a goldmine of information for teachers, students, writers and anyone interested in Texas history. More than 3,000 folks from every discipline and background contributed to the research and writing.
Like anything written by us humans, history is subject to mistakes, errors, viewpoints and individual agendas. Certainly, the Handbook is not flawless. But the research and writing was done with great care and careful editing. Footnotes were required on every paragraph and the research was meticulously reviewed. There are errors but at the same time, the online edition has a link for corrections and corrections are continuously made.
Recently the Handbook and the art of history came under fire in public by a prominent archaeologist who continues to belittle us lowly historians because he apparently feels scientific method should somehow be applied to the telling of the past. The magnificent one seems to take Napoleon’s statement that “history is but a fable agreed upon” literally and not tongue in cheek. No one questions the huge value of using all disciplines in the research and writing of history. But history, thank goodness, is an art and not a science. Archaeology is mostly written for academics. Good history is written for everyone so we, at least, have the opportunity to learn something from the mistakes of the past. Gj
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Clacton Press in Palestine, Texas has just published an appealing new book about Comanche Chief Quanna Parker’s mother. “Return: The Parker Story” by Jack Selden, is 328 pages and looks to be a fine contribution to Texas history by telling the story of Cynthia Ann Parker in detail for the first time. In 1836, Cynthia Ann Parker was taken captive by a band of Comanche Indians. She became the wife of Peta Nocona, a Comanche warrior and mother of the famous chief, Quanna Parker. John Wayne dramatized her story in the classic western movie “The Searchers”. The Dallas Morning News has said that Mr. Selden, himself a member of the Parker family, is a diligent researcher who corrects, “a lot of the erroneous baggage” about the tale. I am looking forward to reviewing this book. “Return: The Parker Story” is available from Clacton Press at www.clactonpress.com or by calling 903-729-1606. Gj
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“A people who do not hold in reverence the splendid achievements of their ancestors will not of themselves accomplish anything to be remembered of posterity. We must keep an eye on the shrines of yesterday if we would rock aright the cradles of tomorrow.”
Texas Governor Pat Morris Neff penned this piece of wisdom. Neff became governor in 1920 following a brilliant career in law. He is best remembered for establishing Texas Tech and Texas Parks and Wildlife. Later in his life, he became president of Baylor University. Thanks to the Haley Memorial Library in Midland for bringing this to my attention. Gj
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Old maps are such an invaluable historic resource. They offer a way for us to look back in time and see Texas past through the eyes of those who lived in those days. The folks at the Texas General Land Office in Austin work hard to restore and preserve thousands of old maps and make fine reproductions available to the public. Their archive is simply fascinating and their offerings are available online. Take a minute to check out http://www.glo.state.tx.us/archives/mapscol.html
What Texas history buff would not proudly want to hang “The Great Military Map Of Texas” on the walls of their home or office? See it at http://www.glo.state.tx.us/archives/sav ... nmap4.html Gj
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In the 1930’s the Texas Historical Commission placed a granite historical marker at the abandoned Presidio County community of Ochoa. Ochoa is located about ten miles north of Presidio, Texas on F. M. 170. Historians have long postulated that this could be the approximate location of a Spanish mission known as San Francisco de los Julimes. Established in the seventeenth century, the mission was situated at a place the Spaniard Lieutenant General Juan Domínguez de Mendoza called La Navidad en las Cruces. Although the mission remained in operation for only a short time, some say less than a year, it is a place of considerable historical interest. Spanish records seem to indicate that the famed Mendoza expedition made its way downriver from Paso del Norte on the western side of Rio Grande before crossing the river into present day Texas about 1682 at a place then called Senora del Rosario. There is some historical evidence that Mendoza forded the river in the vicinity of today’s Ruidosa, Texas.
After being bypassed by more modern road construction, the Ochoa marker sat forgotten for years hidden in the brush a few hundred feet west of the pavement. Recently, thanks to the efforts of several people including the Armendariz family and my friend Tom Mangrem, the marker was moved to the roadside where the public can now know of its existence. It should be noted that the location of the marker is not supported by any archaeological evidence that I know of. Perhaps, one day, the good folks at the Center For Big Bend Archaeological Studies will see fit to investigate the Ochoa site to see if it truly is Mendoza’s La Navidad en las Cruces. For more information about Ochoa scroll down in the blog to OCHOA: FIRST SPANISH MISSION EAST OF THE RIO GRANDE? Also, Chapter 1 of my book "Little Known History of the Texas Big Bend: Documented Chronicles From Cabeza De Vaca To The Era Of Pancho Villa" addresses the topic more fully. Gj
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James Edward Hinds of Ruidosa, Texas left this world quite suddenly for adventures beyond on Wednesday, November 8, 2006. James was born January 29, 1941 to Edward Granison Hinds and Lucille Holcomb Hinds in Brownwood, Texas.
His life was a culmination of adventures that most people only dream of. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps at the age of 17 and experienced life in Hawaii before statehood. He then joined the U.S. Army and found himself in the Mojave Desert doing maneuvers in the tracks left by Patton’s training. He fell in love with the desert landscape and always dreamed of living in Texas in the high desert.
James then decided the Corps might once again need him during the Viet Nam war. He reenlisted in 1966 and was called “Pappy” as he was the oldest member of his platoon. During this enlistment he once found himself at the Vatican for Christmas Mass.
He left the Marine Corps and found himself aboard a shrimping vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. He eventually opened a motorcycle shop in Austin, Texas called R and J cycles.
James later began working as a welder for the Fusion Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
He leaves behind his wife Janet Hinds of Ruidosa, daughter Sheila Hinds of Austin, daughter Robin Hinds, her husband Bobby Hollis and grandson Bailey James Hollis of Pflugerville, TX, and son Jeremy McIntosh and friend Crystal Sutherland of Austin, TX.
Other survivors include his sisters Lois Allgood, husband Roy of Taylor, TX and Iris Hinds of Pflugerville, Texas and niece Karen Berryman and daughters Katherine Pala and Elizabeth Pala.
James was laid to rest near the house he loved so much on Thursday, November 9th. surrounded by his family and friends who meant so much to him. He is greatly missed by those who loved him including his cat “Hello Bob” and dogs Lillie, Gretchen and Otto.
Thanks Janet for the above. We all miss James very much. Gj
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If you are like me and enjoy keeping up with news in Texas from local newspapers check out: http://www.newsbystate.com/texas.htm. Gj
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