Amarillo Sunday News-Globe (Amarillo, Tex.), Vol. 13, No. 33, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 14, 1938 Page: 73 of 264
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GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY EDITION,
AMARILLO SUNDAY NEWS AND GT.OBK, AMARILLO, TEXAS.
SECTION B PAGE SEVENTEEN
v.;
if
* * *
* * *
* * *
* # *
Ill-Fated Texan-Santa Fe Expedition Led to Annexation by U. S.
'Boosters' of 1841 Were
Trapped by High Plains
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article has been prepared
especially for (his edition from a chapter of a forthcoming hook hy
II. B. Carroll and A. B. Wright dealing with the Texan-Santa Fe
Expedition of 1841. Dr. Carroll is a native Texan who has made a
study of the Texan-Santa Fe Expedition for many years. Ilis studies
have carried him aeross Texas and New Mexico and into Old Mexico.
He has In his possession the only original trail diary of the expedi-
tion, which Is the basis of many of the statements made in this article.
The article reviews picturesque and significant topography which
, should he of interest to all residents of Potter County. It describes
the first recorded Indian fight in Western history in which the whites
made, effective use of repeating rifles. In conclusion the article tells
lis that the first legal name attached to the area of Potter County
was Santa Fe County, a lead that some local historian may well follow
and expand beyond its present limits.)
By H. B. CARROLL and A. R. WRIGHT
Almost 100 years ago when Texas was an infant re-
public which had just loosed itself from iho enforced
guardianship of Mexico, she gambled against her foster
parent for yet higher stakes and temporarily lost. Texas
had hoped to win from Mexico her claimed western boun-
dary as the Rio Grande from mouth to source, and to cut
in on the original Santa Fe Trail's monopoly of business
by establishing a similar route through Texas to Santa Fe.
The result of this wishful thinking on Texas' part was
the launching of the Texan-Santa Fe Expedition of 1841—
the most dramatic episode in Texas history between San
Jacinto and annexation.
Though the Immediate result ot
this expedition was disaster, the
final result was the ultimate annex-
ation of Texas to the United States,
and the Mexican War through
which were gained the rich lands
which today comprise California,
Arizona, New Mexico, and other
portions of the Southwest,. And the
adventurous party of Texan? who
were captured near San Miguel,
New Mex. for (heir pains—impris-
oned, some shot, others tortured, all
survivors prodded along the two-
thousand mile walk to Mexico City
and an uncertain fate—recall a tale
of one of the most brilliant con-
quest-fiascos in the history of Texas
—a tale which will be seen to come
in part within the environs of near-
environs of Potter and neighboring
counties.
The turning point of the expedi-
tion was readied at "Camp Resolu-
tion'' on tlie Quitaque River a few
mer hants, servants, wagon drivers,
commissioners, and adventurers had
swung away from Brushy Creek on
their northward course, the 21
wagons loaded with merchandise,
flanked hy advance and rear guard,
tilting back and forth on the sea
grass like big white bubbles. Their
spirits soared, and their hopes
soared even higher.
The way to a crossing of the
Brazos below the Cross Timbers had
previously been scouted and im-
perfectly mapped by members of
their party. But the distance and
I the nature of the land beyond
toward Santa Fe was unknown.
The Little River had been crossed
at about one mile below the junc-
tion of the I,ampasas and Iwn
rivers. A way had been picked
over the divide land leading to a
crossing of the Brazos, as planned,
miles southeast of the present Quit- I t'Zyf'T
• que, Texas. There, on the secon- i TlrabPrs of what is now nort,'pasN
riary plain at the cap-rock base of
the primary plain or Llano Esta-
cado, the party split and went their
separate ways to capture.
ern Parker County. Kendall wrote
of the Cross Timbers: 'The belt . . .
appears to be a natural hedge di-
viding the woodlands of the settled
portions of the United States from
! the open prairies which have ever i
It. was a hot late-August day in been the home and hunting ground
1841, and some three hundred starv- of the red man." In these Cross
ing volunteers who had left Austin Timbers the well-organized band
stumbled down the banks of the floundered and was battered to bits
Quitaque, "the waters of which were by the hardships of hacking a
bubbling over a bed of golden sand." way through, by the fast dwindling
"Quintufue" they later called it, of the supplies, and by discontent
for that was what they understood j with the slow progress and the ex-
Mexican guides later secured, railed ; isting command. Thus in the
the stream. Trade routes and boun- j crass Timbers were also met cross- j
dane.s were forgotten by officers purposes.
and men, by commissioneis and Brevet Brig. Gen. Hugh MrI,eod,
vank and file a!ike. They could frPS|1 from the classrooms of West
think no farther than as to the
Sept. r/~
Major feWs
party is
Ldpi </ red
t'y Mexican
' Soldiers
Ma jot Howard
hirei Mexican
guides in
b'txk afte
u t/fon pftriy
Major Hoii/ara's Advance
fnwa ni
\ @ '
XT'-o^car,
v-, ""-.j:.
(is) I % *
- or) -<
V
inscosa
\
SOLUTION
Hertford.
"SAN MICtUEL J
Texans are S
" pr!soncr/ X
before ion<j I
/neurit to \
Mexico City /
Ovn, M<-LC0d'!>
Wcigau party
"guided" from
I he Qtlit&'pLC
to rupture,
Octo/icr £.
Vb.v
- -'White
Mas mere of
Lt. Hull's party
by l\ i OW/7. <
August 10
happed Ay tji<
rsc.irpmcrt
(tnr Cjprod
r
CROSS TIMBERS
... .I-
THE TEXAN-SANTA. EE
* EXPEDITION *
* ° " " -J
MO I f.
Town', shown
here by 1 t"
were pot in
eiAvtence in
18'il.
ne 17, 1811
| Beyiinlxy "f
t.ic Eipcditia-' J
CAMP ON ~
THE, BRUSHY
Austin
1 O -4- 1.
quickest way down the bank to the
pure cool water.
Though they had not traveled
far from a "fresh water lake cover-
ed with waterfowl" the way had
hern tortuous to hunger-weakened
men. The large lake from which
they had journeyed northward,
which we have recently positively
identified as the lake at Whiteflat,
Tex., had quivered in the semi-des-
ert like a jewel dropped into a bowl
of land by their thirst-mad fancy.
It had been real water, fresh and
deep, but it could not allay hunger.
They had buffeted and twisted
about through narrow ways in the
eroded Ynesquite-dotted land along
a creek bed which led them to the
North Pease. They did not stop
there, for there nothing lived. The
only ripples in the river were wind
ripples in the dry sand. Pressing
on northward over choppy rolls and
passes, at last they had come to
the waters bubbling over the golden
sand.
As they had continued their jour-
Point, apparently did not understand
frontier tactics. Maj. George Thorn- j
as Howard, his aide-de-camp, did. j
A seasoned Ranger from whom I
the border, the backwoods, and j
prairie held no secrets, the men
looked to him to 'get them out of \
the woods." At a council meeting
near the present Bridgeport.. Tex.,
General McLeod was asked by his i
officers to resign. He refused to j
do so and in reply set up a more |
rigorous discipline. Major Howard. ;
second in command, tendered his
resignation. I
The expedition finally emerged
from the Cross Timbers at a point
two miles southwest of the present
Bowie. Tex. A wide curve north-
westward was made to the present
Wichita Falls and to a crossing of
the Wichita River. The party then
swung southwestward and crossed
thn "Narrows" east of the present
Benjamin (where Carlos deserted)
and went west to Smelter Creek,
and from Ihere followed a straight
northwestward course to the pres-
ent Quitaque. Much time was lost
await, the return of the scouting i
party sent out to attempt to find
a pass through the bad lands.
Everything was made ready for !
departure when a soldier dashed in
from the north panting that a
large body of Indians was attack-
ing one of the scouting parties and
driving them directly toward camp. ;
Quickly, without panic (possibly be- !
cause they were too weak to feel 1
even fear) the wagons were drawn
into a square, horses and cattle
inside, and the men took their
stations to resist an attack. Fifty
white-faced men swung into their
saddles and streaked through the
dry gulleys toward the scene of
the fight.
The attack was already over. And
the horse party was too late. on
the hard dry ground mercilessly |
clear in the sunlight lay the strip- j
peri, scalped, and horibly mutilated j
bodies of five Texan scouts. Lieu-
tenant Hull, a young Englishman
and only son of Maj.-Gen. Trevor !
Hull, was pierced by no lance and j
arrow wounds. The heart of an- I
peacefully on the twisted faces of i
the men who had died in anguish.
• * •
Lying with the men were two
of their pitifully bony horses lanced '
through. The other three mounts
had been taken as booty. It was ;
evident that though the men had
desperately tried to reach camp j
before the attack, when they were
overtaken their defense had been
\alliant. It was afterward learned
from a Taos trader among the |
Indians that 12 Indians had been !
killed and a number wounded be-
fore the five Texans were so j
severely wounded that they could i
no longer fight. An insight, into j
how brave had been their struggle
is given in an account by Kendall:
"The broken stock of one of Colt's
rifles was still retained in the
grasp of a stout man, named Ma by,
plainly telling us that, he had fought
to the last, and that after discharg-
ing the piece he had still continued
the combat." Even more signifi-
cantly. this excerpt furnishes the
first known written account of the
riall's account, are the first actual
accounts in writing of the use of
the Colt rifle in Western Indian
warfare. Surely some public-spir-
ited West Texas organization ought
to interest itself in erecting a mark-
er at this significant spot which
may easily be located about mid-
way between the present towns of
Quitaque and Turkey and almost
adjacent, to the highway
As soon as the mutilated bodies
of their companions were buried
the expedition returned toward the
original camp on the Quitaque,
south of the present town of that
name. The horses and cattle, half-
maddened by thirst and fat.igue,
were led to water as soon as the
sorrowful party had drunk their
fill and cooled themselves from
the intolerable heat.
Gravely a council was called. The
slaying of their comrades had shown
the party the desperate necessity
of crossing the barrier. They could
not turn back. Too much was at
stake. The wagons could not go
forward. There was only one de-
[ wall, but for that day to no avail.
At nightfall they camped in a
I "hollow of the prairie near the
| edge of the ravine." During the
j night a thunderstorm raged. "The
: lightning appeared to be playing
I about in the chasm far below us.
; bringing out in wild relief its bold
and craggy sides. Deafening peals
of thunder seemed rising from the
i bowels of the earth, and then mut-
tered away in the distanre. rejoicing,
as it were, at their escape from con-
: finement.,"
The next day as there seemed no
way to circumvent the canyon the
horses were forced over the brink.
A buffalo trail was found leading
up the other side. After repeated
heart breaking trials and failures
the entire party finally succeeded
in clambering up the steep side.
Before them lay the 'lone and
dreary prairie," Not, a tree, not a
bush in sight. Hunger besieged
them. What had at first been a
purged feeling and a heightening of
sensitivities had passed into a wild
craving for food. Knowing that
ney they had been in sight of an in crossing the wide sand, "shin-
escarpment, to the west which look-
ed like the side of a mountain
range. Though it loomed sullen
and forbidding, three peaks spilling
from its base raised high hopes.
Mysterious in the half-light and
six-miles distance they might pos-
sibly be the Three Crows of which
Carlos, a. Mexican guide, had spoken
nery" belt, and breaks of the South
Pease, and in a slow proceeding
across the Middle and North Pease
to the Quitaque which they mis-
took for the Prairie Dorr Town Fork
of Red River.
Now. on the Quitaque, some ac-
tion was necessary. What was the
barrier and its three peaks? The
repeatedly. If they were "los Ires i only way to discover was to push
pajaros," then the Red River and
the expedition's goal. Santa Fe,
would be but a. few daj's distant.
• * *
The-last time they had seen Car-
los he had insisted that "Los Te-
Janos" were "acerca del Rio Colo-
rado," near Red River. But as lie
had spoken he had looked at the
sullen men fearfully. Carlos knew
that he was lost,. He realized that
for days he had been directing the
•Tpedition on the wrong course. He
had honestly believed himself <o
be near the Red River (the head-
waters of the Canadian) in north-
on or investigate. Since the es-
carpment seemed to end to the
north the entire command pro-
ceeded slowly northward over dry
gulleys dotted with mesquite. A
party of about 30 men galloped
forward on horseback. In the
distance they could be seen sud-
denly reigning in their horses and
turning aside. Why, the main body
could not. conjecture. But the
horsemen had stopped in wonder and
alarm. The secondary plain along
which they rode suddenly plunged
down into endless miles of choas
presenting an even more impassable
eastern New Mexico, for the course barrier than the distant escarp-
of the rivers and the lay of the j ment of the Llano Estacado. They
land had been so similar, at least were trapped on a secondary plain
to the eyes of one who had not j with no way to climb the cap-rock
been on the Red River for five \ears
since his last, trapping season there.
But when on the 15th of August
he discovered the Brazos River
near the present town of Benja-
min. Tex., Carlos knew that he
was hopelessly los-t. There was no
such river in his Red River country.
Terrified at the significance of
what he had doiie. and knowing
that the Texans' inborn distrust, of
anv Mexican would not let them be-
lieve that his intentions had been
honest, Carlos stole away. The
Santa Fe pioneers were stranded.
George Wilkins Kendall, editor of
the New Orleans Picayune who was
accompanying the expedition wrote,
"V.'e pushed on without rudder or
compass, the melancholy truth vis-
ible on almost every face that we
were lost among the wilderness
prairies of the West."
Over two months had passed since
adventurers from all over the Unit-
ed Stairs and parts of Europe had
answered Texas' call for volunteers
to meat on the Brushy at the camp
near Austin. On June 17, Presi-
dent Mirabeau B. Lamar, second
president of the new Republic of
Texas, had reviewed I hem. confi-
dent that at last the expedition of
which he had dreamed and for
which he had worked so tirelessly
was soon lo he a reality.
The 6ix companies of militia, (lie
nor to descend the plains and go
around the barrier to the great
primary plain, the Llano Estacado
stretching endlessly to their left.
Unless . . .
The only other alternative was
to find a natural way or "puerta"
around the three peaks near the
base of 1 lie barrier. They looked
silently into the convulsed bad
lands of eroded red clay soil stip-
pled with scrub cedar, which we
now know to be the breaks of
Little Red Creek, north of Quita-
que. Tlie sun poured into the
abyss illuminating its bright crazy
patterns. It was as if the Texans
were standing on the first step of
j giant stairway looking over it.s
side, 'llie second step, the Great
Plains, was held aloft by the rocky
base, a filagree of rase, purple and
somber green smoothed by distance
to deceptively delicate tiers of
beauty.
There was nothing to do but
turn back. Camp was made tn
the dry bed of a small creek skirt-
ed by cottonwood and hackberrv
trees. The starving men stripped
the limbs and greedily ate the
berries, lying down to a night of
fitful dreams.
• * •
In the morning it was decided
tn fall back on the Quitaque where
at, lenst there was water, and to
ri
f
counties. It was observed that "the j
rains of centuries falling upon the j
immense prairie had here found a i
reservoir, and their working upon
the different veins of earth and
stone had formed these strange and
fanciful shapes."
♦ •
For five or six hours tin horse
party wandered among the deep-:
shadowed canyon's formation- etch-
( ' by time and highlighted by the
lucid, golden September sun. Ken- ]
dall's description written 97 years
ago has yet to be surpassed for
imagery and accuracy: "In some
places perfect walls, formed of red-
dish clay, were seen standing . . .
The veins of which these walls
were composed were of even thick-
ness, very hard, and ran perpen-
dicularly: and when the softer sand
which had surrounded them was
washed away, the veins . till re-
mained standing upright, in some
places a hundred feet high, and
three or four hundred in length
Columns too. were iher' and such
was their appearance of architec-
tural order, and so much of chaste
grandeur was there about them
that we were last in wonder and
admiration. Sometimes the breast-
works, as of old forts, would be
plainly visible; then, again. tl<r
frowning turrets of some castle of
olden time. Cumbrous pillars of
some mightly pile, such as is dedi-
cated to religion or royalty, were
scattered about; regularity was
strangely mingled with disorder and
ruin, and nf.ture had done if. al
. . . Imagination carried us back to
Thebes, to Palmyra, and to ancient,
Athens, and we could not help
thinking that we were now among
their ruins."
This crossing place of Tule Can-
yon is the exact spot where the
present Silverton-Wayside highway
crosses the canvon. Here is a spot
which may be reached w-ithin ap-
proximately two hours drive from
Amarillo. but one which has been
almost, entirely overlooked for its
possibilities. The present writers
have found nothing in the main
Palo Duro to compare with this
it its scenic beauty and picture,sque-
ness. Here is a spot assuredly more
inspiring than Colorado's vaunted
"Garden of the Gods" and had i!
occurred ir some dozen states other
than Texas it must have long ago
been dignified by it.s being listed
as a National Monument.
After leaving Tule Canyon, for
many days the Texas horsemen
rode over the high, dr- plain won- !
dering if it were interminable Head-
ing northwestward they passed close
to the present, town of Canyon,
Tex., and slightly west of Amarillo,
crossed the Canadian about Tas-
cosa, and on to northern San Miguel
Cotir.'v in New Mexico. As they
traveled acrass the plains they were
conscious of the sky—immensely
high, wide and arching, curving
down on the distant horizon and
seeming to their tired minds to
elamp shut, trapping them in the
j hot and dry waste of changeless-
nes* where they were buffeted
about by ceaseless winds.
In the second week of Septem-
ber after traveling among the moun-
tains of San Miguel County west
and southwest, on emerging through
; a pass through which flowed the
Canadian River the party encount-
ered some Mexican traders. After
much haggling they were hired to
return with Mafias, Mexican servant
of Major "Toward, to Camp Reso-
lution and to guide the wagon party
to the settlements of New Mexico.
At last near their goal five men
rushed ahead on horseback toward
San Miguel to make arrangements !
for the reception of the horse party
and the wagons that were to follow.
Being met with evident hostility,
rather than the traditional Mexican
hospitality, a servant wa.s dispatch-
ed to the main bodv of horsemen
with a w arning. But it was too j
late for the five to escape. They
were captured near Anton Chico,
and were soon joined bv the main
party of horsemen who had also
fallen into the hands of the Mexi-
cans through the treachery of one
of their own number. Thus the
advance partv from Camp Resolu-
tion became captives awaiting an
uncertain fate.
Back in Camp Resolution the
wacron party waited, frequently
shifting the camp site up the Quita-
que for better water and stronger
positions. Once the Indians were
encountered, but thev refused to :
fight. But four days later they re-
turned stampeding the cattle, oxen,
and horses Though the oxen were
retaken the Kiowa- succeeded in
making off with 81 horses which
were never recovered, and in killing
Ramon, a Mexican, in his futile
attempts to stop the stampede.
Major Btugiss, paymaster of the
Texan army, died of consumption
from exposure in the cheerless Sep-
tember drizzles. The next day,
September 12, fifteen Indians at-
tacked three men who were forag-
ing for food lies i camp, killing one
and wounding two. This telling
note was entered into Gallagher's
diary: "Much discontent; the men
wish to burn everything and return
home I never suffered so much
in mind in my life."
On September 17 Mati;j and his
three guide finding the party en-
camped on the Quitaque at its
junction with languish Creek,
changed Gallagher s entry to "This
is' the happiest Dav of my Life."
Six wagon were emptied and
aba do d and ' • party set out,
thankful to leave behind the scene
of so much misery But their de-
parture wa saddened as they also
hac to leave behind Mercer, one
party of three wounded by
of t
food
abo1
TT
t.e
Indians wt
. to start,"
1 ascent to
orded by Gai
ibrr 20, mils'
m west, of tt
itaque, about,
ere the pre?
nati
ral
Pa:
rom
)rt r
Creek 12 or 15 m
ford, Texas Tra
valley of t.he Tie
followed it to itf
carvadra, where tl
to establish he
present western boundary of Texas
was crossed jus* epst of the present
Hollene, New M, a, . nnd the next
day at sunset the wage. " and men
in s
■'■'arch of
d as
we were
Llano
E-aeado,
icr as
on iSep-
a ve b<
*en made
>resent
; town of
> mile-;
south of
hiph
way now
ich P
;rta"
within a
ryjileS
and one
?outs ]
had failed
dc r,v"
t through
nrton and
r n-«1, ],
* Canyon
ra Blanea
of Herp-
>n up : he
ra Bla
inr-a, they
head.
past Es-
> XIT
was later
ri quart
er*. The
plunged off the Lla
Canvon. From Y
point of capture
northwest, south
Mountain and to
rado" iRed Lake)
no down Apache
ere on to the
the travel wa,-
of Tucumcari
"La gun a Colo-
about five miles
southwest of the present Montova,
New Mex . where the wagon party,
last, remnant of the expedition, fell
into Mexican hands.
• • •
Prodded on to San Miguel there
they "were imprisoned with th«=ir
friends of th< hor-r party to learn
that it was Captain Lewis of the
artillery, who had proceeded with
the advance detachment, who
was responsible for their capture.
Lewis had turned traitor hoping
to save his own skin. So reduced in
body and spirit had both parties
bpen that they did not have the
strength to resist their captors. "Sur-
i render was inevitable."
But even after lone impris-on-
• ment in San Miguel and the march
j *o Mexico City where some were
! thrown into chains and forced to
work, in the streets and others were
i locked in a leper's prison, many
Texans survived to escape or to be
freed one by one by the slow-grind-
ing mill of Mexican politics. There
1 are living in Texas todav descend-
ants of these restless valiant souls.
They remember countless tales of
Texas' most brilliant conquest from
which rose benefi's far greater than,
those which they sought to grasp
and last: for th^ Texan Santa Fe
Expedition is listed by all au-
thorities as onp of the causes of
the Mexican War, one result of
which was the acquisition of the
Spanish American Southwest-
There is little doubt that the
Texan Santa, Fe Fxpedinon was a
powerful factor In deciding the final
western boundary of Texas in 1850.
As a footnote to the controversies
leading to the Compromise Mea-
sures of 1850 and the final settle-
ment of Texas's western boundary
and of particular importance in a
publication detailing the history of
Totter County, we may note that
the first lecral organization of the
land now included within Potter
County was in 1843 and that the
first official state designation given
t-he area was Santa Fe County. The
stated county boundaries were again
reorganized in 1R4D a may be seen
from H. P. N. Gammers "The Laws
of Texas." TTT, 462ff, the name re-
maining Santa Fe County. Thus
w^ may add to the history of Potter
County the assured fact that the
first legal nam* given it bv the
State of Texas was Santa Fe
Count v.
A Plains Hunter
« ivc.
ST'; W* f W- V '
. It was as if the Texans were standing on the first stop of a piant stairway looking over its side.'
other was cut out. "Some were
cut and carved from head to foot,
some their brains scattered over
the ground on which they fought.
Infuriated by the ghastly sight
the Texans rid not pause to look
longer but swung into pursuit fling-
ing out a shout that shattered the
deep silence of the plains. Hie
Indians who outnumbered them by
at least ISO warriors reigned up
their horses on a roll of the prairie
ready to swoop down on their pur-
suers, But the aspect of the out-
raged Texans must have been too
terrif; ing. Before they were wiili-
i'.i gun shot of the Texans, the
Kiowas, for such the Indians proved
to be, wheeled and fled, the bodies
of their dead wagging grotesquely
on the extra horses trained to
carry the vanquished from the
field.
After repeated futile attempts to
come within shooting range of the
kiowas the Texaas gave up the
chase. In grim silence they re-
turned (o gaze at the broken bodies
of their friends. The morning sun
was splHing iU pure while light
into the dry gulleys, nd Irontcally
use of Colt rifles in western Indian
warfare.
George W. Orover in his diary
also adds to this historic incident
by his account. "They were sur-
rounded. fz. having good arms some
patent sixteen shot rifles and pistols
(particularly Maybe whose head was
mashed evidently by the butt, of
his own gun fc left, where it stuck,
broken off at the breech) played
destruction to the tune of death's
door whilst a shot remained amongst
them—Poor fellows!"
Major Howard and Capt. John S.
Sutton of Company A, also Colt
enthusiasts, likewise bear testimony
to the early use of the Colt on the
frontier. Together in 1R50 they
wrote to Colt: "They are the only
weapons which enabled the ex-
perienced frontiersman to defeat
the mounted Indian in his own
peculiar mode of warfare . . . We
state, and with entire assurance of
the fact, that, your six shooter Is
the arm which has rendered the
name of Texas Ranger a check and
terror to the bands of frontier In-
dians." However, the entries in
Grover'a diary of 1841, and in Ken-
i eision to be made. A horse party
| must find a way to the settlements
I >nd send back a guide for the wagon
party. Here the breech between
Geneirf, Mcleod and Major Howard
widened. And here at Camp Reso-
lution the expedition parted ways.
; General Mei.eod should stay with
the wagons; Major Howard should
| go with the horse party.
• ♦ •
As the sun set the advance di-
j vision of 100 men including of-
ficers, privates, merchants, travel-
ers, and servants rode toward and
around the three peaks and into
the broken headers of the cap-
rock. The following morning they
mounted its craggy sides and at
last on the level of the Llano F.s-
taeado looked back over the ironi-
cally tranquil beauty of the second-
ary plain below them.
Turning their backs reluctantly
on the .sight of the white wagon
tops of their party far below, they
journeyed across the plains until
thev encountered the brink of Quita-
que Canyon. The advance scouts
l ade repeated attempts to find to
the west it zigzag course down the
thev had not even the commonest
staple their pagination ran riot.
They found themselves wondering
how the buffalo grass—how every-
thing they saw would taste. Soon
they felt sensations as if they had
eaten these things. But not be-
ing physically satisfied their con-
slcousnewi lapsed into one dull pain
of hunger.
Anotiier niglit was spent in the
rain, but after a six mile north-
westward jaunt across the plains
their sufferings were forgotten in
wonder and admiration at an unex-
pected sight. Not until they were
at the very brink were the Texans
aware that the Great Plains were
rent with such a canyon. "Not a
tree or bush, no outline whatever,
marked its position or course, and
we were all lost In amazement as
one by one we left, the double-file
ranks and rode up the verge
of the yawning abyss."
Following a natural highway
beaten down by the tread of count-
less Indians, mustangs, and buf-
faloes the awe-struck Texans en-
tered what is known today as Tule
Canyon in Swisher and Brlscoc
By Al MA MeGOWEN THOMPSON
Hunting is not essentially the
:-poi t of young men but beyond
middle age its rigors force mas'
men to retire Not so with A. W
Gregg ->f Hereford, who foi moi
than fiO years has pursued his favor-
ite sport At 32 his love for fields
and streams burns brightly, and he
Is a worthy comrade, capable of ,
bagging his share of the game and
more, of much younger hunters.
This venerable gentleman. Grand-
pa Gregg to all who know him. at-
tributes his remarkable physical
strength to his life outdoors.
'Living close to nature," he says,
"is the best recipe in the world for
all-around fitness, physical, mental
and otherwise."
Strangely enough, this nonoge-
narian was sent west to British
Columbia by his family for his
health's sake. There, in an old sea
I captain's home beside the watets of
Puget Sound, he regained lt. in re-
markable degree, and there also he
acquired his love for hunting.
"On one of the occasions when
Captain Dodge came in from a voy-
age," he related, "he asked me to go
hunting with him. The country was
| alive with wild geese bv the tens of
I thousands, ducks by the millions,
and grouse in smaller quantities. I
; went And rame back nearly dead.
I But the hunting fever had got into
my veins."
I/ing before the hunting season
; was over, he wa.s taking t,hos° hills
and rugged peaks with little effort,
and bagging all the game he could
carry. He remembers his first deer
i hunt, and the seven fine bucks the
, party took.
"However " he added, "the big-
gest wild goose T ever killed was
the handsome Canadian honker I
I got Just last winter right here on
one of the lak^ <^f the Plains of
Texas where, incidentally, we came
in quite a few tiroes with the hag
limit. There s no sweeter music
to mv ears than the plaintive honk
of wild geese and the whirring of
their wings, though in order to hear
that, music it usually means getting
IV at 4 o'clock in the morning, or
earlier, driving 10 to 40 miles to the
lakes, digging the pit. crawling in
and waiting for the geese to come
over often in weather around zero."
"Do vou ever expect to give up
goose hunting?" he was asked.
"Yes, I expeef to give it up." he
said ever twinkling "When I get
a pair of wings of my own."
Grandpa Gregg went to California,
"just missed being a forty-niner by
a few years." and was a miner be-
fore he returned to his home in
Fort Wayne, Inri.. to engage in farm-
ing Before he left there for Texas
h had one of the best-improved
farms in the state.
Hi? iv< m 1 pride and diversion is
Gregg Park, directly in front of hia
home, which he tends with his own
j hand. Visitors from California and
| the East have remarked on its
Ue"uty and the care which is lavish-
j ed upon it.
60 Miles on Bivins Land
Lee Bivins, cattleman and land
broker, was said to have had. et
the time of his death, among the
most extensive land holdings in the
world. He owned over half a mil-
lion acres of land in the western
part of the United States. He had
| over a million acres of leased land.
The story is related that it was
possible for a person to ride from a
' point north of the Presbyterian
i Chiloren s Home to Channing a rils-
j ance of over fio mile, without ever
leaving Bivins' land.
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Amarillo Sunday News-Globe (Amarillo, Tex.), Vol. 13, No. 33, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 14, 1938, newspaper, August 14, 1938; Amarillo, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth299921/m1/73/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hutchinson County Library, Borger Branch.