Amarillo Sunday News-Globe (Amarillo, Tex.), Vol. 13, No. 33, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 14, 1938 Page: 87 of 264
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GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY EDITION. 1038.
AMARILLO SUNDAY NKWP AND r,|,QBE. AMARILLO. TEXAS.
SECTION B—FAOE 1 HIHI >-ONE
'Uncle Jeff Thompson Rides Again in Memory
By ALMA MrOOWEN THOMPSON
The dying embers of our camfire
flared momentarily as a little night
wind scurried up the draw. That
last glow faintly illuminated the
faces of a tow-headed youth and a
gray-haired, gray-mustached little
man who sat beside the fire. That
ged little man, shy for all his years,
was "Uncle Jeff" tT. J.), one of the
•even Thompson brothers who have
figured in the development of the
Panhandle country since the "Seven-
ties " An eighth brother was a resi-
dent. of Archer County many years.
"Uncle Jeff" had expressed the
desire to go out to City Lake to see if
he could locate the site of the old
"dugout" he had shared with other
with us, too. We was headin' fer
'Dobe Walls.'
"Did you know, son, that 'Dobe
Walls has changed its site three
times? Most people around here
don't know that. Dobe Walls was
in existence before Civil War days.
It was near the Canadian River
then, and it was the trading camp
of Colonel Bent, for whom Bent
Creek was named. Later it was a
fort for buffalo hunters—in fact.it
was headquarters for all the white
men in these parts at that time.
"Well," the old cowpuncher re-
sumed, "after many days we reach-
ed Dobe Walls, but we found no
gold. I believe them miners was just
tellin' Pa that. But anyhow, that's
how come us there. Gue.ss Billy and
■ ■
MR. AND MRS. GEORGE W. THOMPSON
cowpunchers in the days when Ama- j me would have gone back with the
rtllo's townsite was only hare prairie wagon, but, the da" before we aimed
across which buffalo and cattle trails to start Bill (W. H > Moore, mana-
lerl. ! ger of the LX Ranch, came along
Because of a late start, dusk had anri hlrPfi and Billy and Barber
fallen before we could find any . anr' Allen for his outfit Rarber and
remnants of ruins. Consequently, we Allen as conk.- Bill' and me as
had to he content with merely ascer- | herders. So then and there I started
taining the general location of that j out a cowhand.
old camp which had vanished years "Although some of the hands did
ago. carrying with it many an un- j not like the manager, we were a
told storv. But, the old man's eyes '
brought
every word
that
Did you?"
were alight with memories which
time cannot efface, and sight, of the
old "stomping ground" had loosened
the usually quiet tongue of the
veteran cowpuncher, and the lanky
youth w'as a willing listener.
The moon has just risen over the
eastern prairie, the high wind fanned
the campfire. embers and
to our ears distinctly
that was said.
"You've been here a long time,
haven't you, Uncle Jeff?"
"Yes, son," Uncle Jeff replied.
"You were quite a cowpuncher,
weren't you, Uncle Jeff?' The old
man said nothing as he stared into
the dying embers. ''I heard
you killed a buffalo once
the boy persisted.
"TJh huh."
"Was it a grown buffalo? Was it
a bull? Tell me about it! How
old were you? Somebody told me
you were just a boy!"
Dryly, but, with a hint of humor,
the old man replied, "It, was grown
and it was a. bull, and I was just
about, your age, son."
"Oh. boy!" sighed the youngster.
He was satisfied now; he knew he'd
get his yarn.
"It, was in the winter of '81,"
Uncle Jeff began. "Three of us
boys was on a trip south to gather up
some strays when we saw a herd of
about 80 buffaloes. I don't know
which one of its was the most exc it-
ed Gene Wat kins must have been,
for he rode right. Into the middle of
the herd shootin' right and left. Ab
Owens wa. so eager to get his buf-
falo that he run his horse down
before he had a chance to get a shot
at, one. I finally got mine, but, it
took nine shots to do it. I had
heard hunters tell how they got
their buffaloes, and even in my ex-
citement I remembered they said
to pick out one. animal and try to
cut, him out of the herd, to stay
with him. and finally you'd get him.
I did that, and I got mine.
"I was ridin' Chico, my favorite
horse, and had my forty-four, a
little Winchester, but I was so ex-
it ted that my aim wasn't any too
steady. Them was my first buf-
faloes. and I was just a boy. When
that bull fell I let out a yell like
a Comanche Indian!"
"What were Gene and Ab doing
all this time?"
"Gene was still hemmed In by
the herd, ridin' like hell, andbrand-
Ishin' his empty six-shooter. That
was funny, for Gene was one of the
best shots in the whole outfit. Jist
too anxious, I reckon—wanted to
get a half dozen, maybe—and got
none. Ab's horse had got sort o'
rested and he rode up in time to
help me skin my buffalo,"
"Do you still have the hide?"
"No, son, some polecat stole It
from headquarters the next sum-
mer while I was on a round-up on
the Pecos. I tanned that hide and
T treasured It like a gold mine. By
.Itjnminy, I'd whip that rat this day
if I ever find out who done it!"
"I should think so! But didn't
you ever kill another buffalo?"
"No, that, was my first and last,
but we did find, as we rode back to
camp that day, a buffalo calf that
had given out and got left behind
when the herd stampeded. I roped
and branded him and turned him
Joo^e. I've often wondered If anv-
horiv ever killed my calf. Buffalo
was scarce In these parts them
riavs."
0 0 0
"Was that your first trip to this
country. Uncle Jeff?"
"No, It was on my second trip. T
had come with my father and
brother, Bhlv (the late W. S.) in
187!). My father was looking for
a gold mine."
"A gold mine! In this country!"
The bov laughed.
"That's what T said-'n gold
mine1' 1'nclc George Baker and a
Mr. Allen, old minrrs, said there
wi.< gold here, so Ps got a wagsn
ready and we started nut."
I was just 17, and we was llvin' In
Wise County then.
"The tales that Baker and Allen
told Sounded mighty convincing, so
Pa leclded to go prospecting. He
let. Brother Billy and me come
1 along Milton Finch camc along
peaceble bunch of 'punchers, so
there was nothing especially excit-
T. J. THOMPSON
Ing happened, but it, was fhe life I !
wanted. However, Billy had other ;
ideas of what was best for me, so j
he took me home to send me to |
school—dear old Billy—the cleanest, j
the best man that ever rode the cow 1
trails of the Plains!
"My next trip out here was In
1881. We started the latter part of
March and arrived here April 1 at
I.X headquarters—"
• • •
"Where and when did you say
you were born, Uncle Jeff?"
"It was in Leavenworth, Kans.
June 24. 1882. When I was a small
boy we came to Texas, first to Gray-
son County, then to Wise, and there
we settled on the edge of civiliza-
tion. In fact, a few years after we
moved there, the Indians made their
last raid. They massacred the Huff
family—scalping even the women
and children. That happened Just
ten miles from where we lived.
"As I was say in", we reached L X
headquarters, and my work was
pretty much the same as it hfld '
been before. I hadn't hern here long 1
before Bill Moore was replaced by
John Hollycott, as manager. Holly- i
cott was a big Scotchman that ,
everybody liked.
"One thing occurred that summer
on the Fourth of July that put the
whole camp In the dumps for days.
One of our boys drowned in Grape-
vine Creek that runs into the Blue
from the north. We buried him at
L X headquarters.
0*0
"That winter I spent, in camp in
the dugout here near the lake. Our
dugout was cut into the north side
of the canyon wall. We had two
dugouts, the kitchen and the bunk
house. The kitchen was quite large,
for we lived in it mostly—what time
we was off our horses. This camp
was used as headquarters for scout-
ing bunches. The whole outfit was
called a floating outfit. Three men
stayed at camp and rode line, the
rest, of the bovs scouted. Scouting
is riding far out, in search of strays.
A scouting outfit consisted of a
wagon and a cook and four riders
with three horses each. Part of the
y ar they had nine horses each and
kept a horse rustler—some people
call them horse wrangler—to care
for them. Often these scouting out-
fits covered a hundred miles, Jim
McClarlty wa.? boss of our floating
outfit, and there was Bill Chadburn
Ab Owens, Charlie Pat.ton, Frank
Cook, Gene Watkins, and myself.
"That was a mighty fine time for
me in spite of all the hardships. We
had a good cook, old Bill Chad-
burn, and the dugouts were comfort-
able. for we had good fireplaces with
plenty of wood. There used to be
lots of trees along the creek, but I
see they are cone now. Wp had a
good fiddler in the bunch. Ab Owens,
and many times we danced -just us
boys.
"Tt, came my time now to go out
on a scouting trip. In my rentuda I
had Chico, my brown horse, and
little bay Rabe
"I'll bet, she was a dandy." the boy
Interjected. "Babe sounds like a
good one!"
"She! She!"' exploded the old
man, "Who ever heard of a cowman
having a mare in his string?" |
"Huh?"
"Well, nobody but a sheepherder
would have rode a mare, A cowman
knew better."
The narrator picked up his tale
where he had left off, "Ab Owens
and Wods Coffee went with my ;
| bunch. Tfiere was others but I for- !
get their names. I remember one
I time when Ab and Woods and me i
j was sent to'drv camp'— that's where
i you go out to find strays and expect
to get. back sooner or later the same
day—usually later. And you do
without fond until you do get back. <
Only we got so far out and the night
was so dark we didn't even make tt, I
back, sr.d we got terribly hungry. So
we killed a calf and roasted it. In
«'! my seventy-five years I have
never tasted no food as good as
that!
"On the way back next day, Ab
and me saw an antelope and old
Ab shot him with his Winchester
forty-five from a distance of 500
yards. We got off our horses and j
stepped the distance. That Ab was
a crack shot when he wasn't excit-
ed. Ab was a fine roper, too. always
could outrope the rest of us."
"What about prairie fires. Uncle ;
Jeff? Weren't, they dangerous?"
"That, they was, my boy, out lucky
for us, we didn't have them often.
But when one did come we had to
fight for our lives and for our herds.
Once there was a prairie fire that
started about a hundred miles south
of here—down near where Muleshoe
■ is, and It burned clear to the river.
: The wind was high and the prairie
grass burned like oiled kindling. We
j had to burn off a stretch for our
wagons and horses at Palo Duro and
get our camp and animals into the
burned place before the head flames
reached us. Then the heat and
smoke nearly got us.
• • •
"Did all you cowboys tote guns?"
the youth wanted to know.
"Naw, not nearly all the time -
only when we was going on a long
trip and might need one for killing
game. Oh, some of the toughs car-
ried em sometimes just to be smart,
but very seldom did any of us carry
guns.
"Did you ever hear of a 'pool out-
fit?' queried the old man, and with-
out waiting for a reply he continued.
"a pool outfit was a big outfit made
up of men from many ranches, and
its purpose was to go to far off
range lands to round up all the get jealous?"
It was still earl.' when we opened eyes And she was shore enough
camp, and before we had finished purtv. At. lea^t, Gene seemed to
supper, two Mexicans rode up and think so and so did a Mexican ^
said that they'd get up a dance If grandee who stalked up to her while morni,._ . u,lr,„v,
our outfit would pay the musicians, she was dancing with Gene and .e * " '' ' '
their way.
"When we
reached camp again
I Hats flew Into the air as each cow-i out a yard of gibberish that we , of us boys rode armed with the
bov let out a whoop- even the cook ' couldn't understand. But we could j sheiIff and his deputy and their
dij R jjg : guess its meaning, for she flashed i pitsoner, until Uiey were well on
"We had fhe dance! Lots of girls her black eyes at the intruder, gave
there, but they were all Mexicans," i ?en* devastating sm le, and Jeav.
"Were they'pretty Uncle Jeff?" 'nit him, rianced overMo me with a
• pretty pout, 'Leetle American, wee]
you pleeze dance weeth me? Me
doan like 7,e Jealous peeg of a
Pedro!' 'Leetle Americano!' Oh,
Loid!
around. The prisoner was uneasy, and finally got the wild critters
too; he lay on a pallet a' the far rounded up.
end of the dugout, but he didn't
a
with
"After we had finished with tha
Chisum range, we came on toward
home, gathering up the few strays
we found along the way. X guesa all
together we didn't find more than
a hundred head until we got back
to the Canadian. TTiere we found
many. It takes a long time to make
"They were all pretty that night!"
grinned the old man, "And I nev-
er knew one of them to refuse to
dance. They couldn't talk English,
and we couldn't talk Mexican, They
just lined up on benches around the
wall, and when we saw one we liked
the looks of, we just, walked over t/>
"While we was In camp there at
Ft. Sumner that night, the sheriff
her and held out our hands—and ' and his deputy from Tascosa joined two days for his bum-; to get ready
she always got right up." j us. They were hunting for a Mexi-
"Didn't any of the Mexican men can who had murdered a white man
' on a ranch near Tascosa. Next day
eve!., thing was In readiness, so we a trip like that, and round up cat-
rambled ori toward Roswell. There tie too, but we got back in time for
wasn't much at Roswell than—just a the spring round-up. It was while
store, a noiei, a blacksmith shop, I was on this trip that that skunlt
and about twenty white people stole my buffalo hide."
I here was Mexicans, of course. We "Was you ever at Tascosa. young
went on down to old man John feller?" Uncle Jeff asked his list-
Chisum s ranch about five mile-! ener "Tascosa used to be quite a
from Roswell where e had to wait town,"
"Tascosa? I've seen Boot, Hill
Graveyard, Did you know any of
those boys? Were you ther*
then?"
"Yes, I was there then, and I
knew some of the bovs—them that
was killed—and the killers,"
"You did!"
"Yes, and that was bad. But,
then, killings was nothing new at
Tascosa in them times. Often when
morning dawned it revealed that
some man usually a Mexican had
been killed In the dark of the night.
to join us.
"John Chisum had an outfit of his
own -wagon and ail. John - broth-
er, Jim, was wagon boss. They join-
ed us and both outfits went on 30
or 40 miles down the Pecos where
we began working. We worked ail
the territory for ten miles out on
each side the river.
"We didn't find \<>r :nanv strays,
and tl " ones we did find was mostly
Chisum's natural!'. We hadn't ex-
pected to find man' of ours that far
off. Wed take a bunch in as we
found them, and leave hem near
camp with herders who stood guard
night and day. If we was close to
Chisum s ranch we took the cattle
there and put them in his big 'dobe
corral. We branded the calves as we
found them
"Chisum had sold his beef steers
and was rounding >m up to deliver.
Why. he had .nmr big steers in them
sand hills fif'een years old and as
wild as mountain goats. Many of
them we never could get. But he
went ba',ater with a larger force
"I was in Tascosa one evening in
'84. I believe it. was, and I went, into
a saloon with Gene Watkins. Gene
had been drinking too much and T
was trying to get him to go home.
I know there would be trouble, for
Gene was drunk, and rvene was
serine red Tascosa was full of
Mexicans in fact, most of the in-
habitant."; wac Mexicans. Gene *
father had been killed by a Mexican
somewhere in Texas \ears before,
(Continued On Page 32)
THOMPSON FAMILY GROUP. Bottom row, loft to rigrht: W. S. (Billy), born in
Kentucky, came to Panhandle in 1879, wagon boas for LX Ranch, long time resi-
dent of Amarillo, died at Memphis, June lOSfi; fi. M. (George), born in Kansas,
worked on LX in 1884, lives at Memphis; Mrs. Ann Elizabeth (mother), born in
Kentucky, lived in Texas from 1871 until her death at Memphis in 1925, resident
of Amarillo several years; B. F. (Ren), born in Kentucky, lived in Archor ' ounty
many years, moved to California where he lived until his death in 1930; T. J.
(Jeff), born in Kansas, came to Panhandle in 1879, worked on LX five years, now a
resident of Childress; second row, R. L. (Rob), born in Texas, came to Amarillo
first time in 1900, has lived here permanently since 1921, when he accepted part-
nership in and became manager of Thomp son Wholesale Drug Corp., now Southwest-
ern Drug; Mrs. Addie Slaton, born in Texas, lived at Memphis many years, now a
resident of Washington, D. C.; E. A. (Allen), born in Kansas, came to Panhandle
in 1880 ; range boss for LX several years, e ntered business in Amarillo, lived here un-
til his death in April, 19.17; L. O. (01 lie) father of Col. Ernest 0. Thompson,
born in Kansas, came to the Panhandle in 1887, in business here until his death in
1932; L. M. (Lon), born in Texas, lived at Memphis many years, died in 193 1. L.
Til. and B. F. were the only members of the family who never lived in Amarillo.
We Congratulate You Wko Now Celebfete Your SOtVi
Anniversary. We Hsve Just Finished Our 3 5 + h f **r
in Business in Amarillo . . .
Gouldy Bros
strays that may have wandered off
Ihe various home ranges. I went
with one once from LX headquar-
ters north of here near the Cana-
dian River. We all met at, the LX,
because they were furnishing the
wagon, the wagon boss and and the
cook.
Bob Bassett. was wagon boss, and
John Bell—T.aughin .John,' we call-
ed him—was cook. Prom the LOT
ranch came Gene Watkins; from
TS was Jake Stoker and a man
named Pierce; Joe Horn from the
Cross I,; Charlie Gore from a ranch
up in Mexico: a fellow from the OX
Ranch upon the Cimmaron; and me.
Each man took about five horses,
his own bedding and saddle.
We left from the LX the last
week In March '82, went up the
Canadian to about where Tucumcari
now is, thence across to the Pecos,
and down the Pecos to Ft. Sumner.
We staved two nights at Ihe old fort.
"No . We just wanted to have a
good time, and, besides, everybody
had lo take off his gun while he
danced. Nobody got drunk. We
were a peaceable crowd. Old Gene
did nearly flare up once as he was
dancing with the puriiest senorita in
Ihe room -'Chicita,' they called her.
She was a born flirt, and had what
you youngsters call 'come hither'
■ they found the Mex at a sheep ranch
not, far from the fort. The sheriff
and his deputy feared fhe Mexicans
would attempt to free their prisoner,
so they brought him to our camp.
They put. him in a dugout that had
only one opening, the door, we tool;
turns about, two at a time, guarding
the doorway. We were a little tin-
eas'-. for there was lots of Mexicans
Wholesale and Retail
GRAIN — HAY — SALT —
HARDWARE
PURINA CHOWS
FEED
IN THE CHECKERBOARD BAGS I
Now in Our New Location at
500 TYLER STREET (
pk
one
6213
Corner \
5 K )
Amarillo
ft I ft X I 1 I I I I I
WE PIONEERED-
Oldest SAND and GRAVEL Business
IN THE PANHANDLE
First To Bring the Modern Washing
and Screening Process
TO THE PANHANDLE
TEXAS
SAND and GRAVEL CO.
R. P. EASTLAND, Manager
92 Harrison Amarillo, Texas
AMERICAN AUTO
WRECKING CO.
Largest Stock of
NEW AND USED AUTO PARTS
IN THE PANHANDLE
20 I No, Fillmore
AMERICAN PIPE
and JUNK CORP.
Wholesale and Rotail Dealers
IN SCRAP MATERIAL AND USED PIPE
9 10 West 4th Ave.
• Established 1924 •
Organized at the time Neon Signs were first being placed in genera! use, we have
grown in Amarillo and district, building up one of the largest sign businesses in th
Panhandle-Plains area. Our customers have been our biggest boosters. We thank
them for our growth.
1924
wm
NOW
1934
• Reliable'
' Dependable'
Bonded Sign Erector*
Outdoor Advertising
When it's
All Kinds of Lettering
Painted Display
NEON call
NEON
% ~w SIGN CO.
For Belter Sign Effects
B y C o rn fret c n t I 1 )i i o n \\T o r k m e n
% fl
813 EAST N. 7TH AVE
AMARILLO
PHONE 9730
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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/m1/87/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hutchinson County Library, Borger Branch.