Fort Sam Houston Fire Department

I have been trying to date this photo, which belonged to my grandfather, so I searched the newspaper archives and found a few articles that seem to be from the correct time period.  If anyone has any personal knowledge regarding the fire fighters at Fort Sam Houston during this time period, please leave me a comment. (Click the photo for a larger image.)

FIRE TROOPS UNITED

Blaze Fighters in Fort Sam Houston Vicinity Now One Unit.

The fire fighting organizations of all army stations located in the vicinity of Fort Sam Houston have been consolidated and Fire Chief Hogan of Camp Travis placed in control of training and operation, according to a general order issued by Maj. Gen. John L. Hines, commanding general of the Eighth Corps area, Friday. Fire departments affected by the order are Fort Sam Houston, Camp Travis, Eighth Corps Area Depot No. 2 and the remount depot.

The consolidation was made in the interests of economy and efficiency, and after October 15 the four units will operate as one fire department insofar as fire prevention and fire fighting is concerned.

None of the personnel or equipment of the various units is to be transferred without the approval of the corps area headquarters however, the order states.

The area which the newly consolidated fire department will have to cover is scattered, extending several miles from the central station at Camp Travis. Up to the present time the department has operated very efficiently, as no destructive fires have ever occurred, with the exception of one warehouse.

The fire department is manned exclusively with soldier firemen, with Chief Hogan, former city fireman, as chief. In addition to keeping a close watch in order to prevent fires, the department keeps the men constantly in training.

San Antonio Light (San Antonio, Texas) Oct 14, 1921

This photo goes with the one above. I haven’t been able to identify any of the men named here. Here is a list of the names, as best as I can make them out:

WOOD, STUP??? or STY???, MORSE, and KING or KINGS

MILLER, MUIJARD, BOONE, DONNELLY, COOK, LEE and GANDY / GANLY or GUNDY / GUNLY

FIRE CLOTHES RECEIVED

New Equipment Here For Camp Travis Fire Department.

Fire-fighting clothes have been received by the three stations comprising the Fire Department at Camp Travis and Fort Sam Houston. they are of canvas lined with fleeced wool and interlined with material that is water proof. There are pants and coat and each fireman will have a suit handy to his cot on retiring at night. The pants are built sailor fashion, designed for speed in donning them rather than for style, and to keep the water off in rainy weather or should the fireman get mixed up with the stream from the hose.

There are three fire houses in the military reservation in charge of Fire Chief Hogan; No. 1 is equipped with an Ahrens Fox Pumper, No. 2 has a Brockway Hosewagon and No. 3 has a 10 valve White pumper.

Most of the buildings in Camp Travis are of frame but an automatic general fire alarm system that extends throughout the entire camp and through Fort Sam Houston coupled with the fact that the fire-fighting apparatus is of the most modern known, makes the risk an extremely light one.

San Antonio Express (San Antonio, Texas) Nov 8, 1922

This photo in the newspaper looks like it could have been taken about the same time, if not the same day, but none of the names listed on my photo above are listed in the article below, so I can’t be sure.  (Click for larger image.)

Headquarters of the Fort Sam Houston Fire Department, showing part of the officers and men of Wagon Company No. 4, who guard Uncle Sam's huge investment in the Staff Post and Cantonment Garrison. The department on paper is carried as a wagon company. It's chauffeurs rate as horse shoers and other ratings are similar to those in any wagon company. Lieut. Joseph L. Hogan, chief of the Fort Sam Houston Fire Department, a former member of the San Antonio city fire department. Chief Hogan is responsible for the department as far as actual fire fighting is concerned. Lieut. T.J. Weed, fire marshal at Fort Sam Houston, including Camp Stanley. Lieutenant Weed, with Chief Hogan, drew the plan whereby Wagon Company No. 4 was changed bodily into the crack fire-fighting organization it has become. In addition to being fire marshal and responsible for maintenance of discipline in the department Lieutenant Weed is adjutant of the Second Division Trains and holds temporary command of one or two other organizations pending assignment of other officers to them.

PROBABLY the most unique fire fighting organization in the world and certainly in the United States Army is Wagon Company No. 4, which was converted bodily into a crack fire department, but still functions on the organization rolls of the Second Division as a wagon company.

“We must have a well organized fire company,” went out the word from division headquarters.

Lieut. T.J. Weed, Quartermaster Corps, adjutant of the Second Division trains, was given the problem to work out in conjunction with Joseph L. Hogan, then captain in the San Antonio city department, and later chief of the Camp Travis and later of the Fort Sam Houston consolidated departments.

Under the plan arranged by the two Wagon Company No. 4 was converted into the fire company and the former rank of the men involved still stood on organization rolls. But there really is this difference, the sergeant wagon masters really are station chiefs, the corporals, or assistant wagon masters now serve as company clerks, mess sergeants, etc. The chauffeurs of the fire trucks are carried on the company pay rolls as horseshoers.

The personnel of the wagon company today shows many changes from its original roster. The pick of the entire Second Division was given its commander and the result was the gathering of a splendid body of men. Capt. E.A. Fischer first was placed in command, later being succeeded by Capt. Wilbur Elliott, who in turn was succeeded as fire marshal and commander of the company by Lieutenant Weed, who now holds that position in addition to other duties.

Three Assistants on Job.

Fire Chief Hogan is assisted by three other civilians, all of whom are former San Antonio city fire department members and thoroughly conversant with the duties of a fireman and how men should be trained to make first-class firemen of them. They are First Assistant Chief Ed Hogan, a brother of the chief, Second Assistant Chief E. Kirsch, and Third Assistant Chief J.E. Dowdy.

In the enlisted force of the fire department there are three sergeants, three corporals and 84 enlisted men. In order that the men should be satisfied with their new duties and the possible hazards they might be called upon to take in the department, they have been given various specialist ratings which carry with them a slight increase in pay.

Wagon Company No. 4 is one organization which holds no drills, as a whole, and never assembles as a whole. While it maintains company headquarters and a mess, where the men eat, and draw their pay, these are the only two things which bring the men assigned to the various stations to company headquarters. At meal times one piece of apparatus drives up and its crew alights, with the exception of one man, who stands by the apparatus while the others eat hurriedly. After the last man had eaten the truck returns to the house, relieving the other piece which then carries its crew to the mess hall. In this way the firehouses never are left unguarded.

Fire drills of all sorts are given at regular intervals, including hose drills, catching plugs, ladder drills. Occasionally a salvaged building in isolated occasion will be set off, alarm turned in and the firemen will receive the actual practice of combatting flames.

Behind the highly organized fire company stands splendid equipment, including seven pieces of motor apparatus ranging from the Dodge car used by Chief Hogan to a large Ahrens-Fox pumper. These vehicles are supplemented by approximately 40 hand hose reels throughout the cantonment garrison and army post. Altogether the department has about 20,000 feet of standard hose.

Men Always in Watch Towers.

High towers are features of the fire fighting equipment at the  cantonment garrison and at no time is the vigilance of the watchers relaxed. Like the foresters who watch over the great Government preserves, these servants of the Government constantly scan the horizon for smoke or flames. Not along does the responsibility of guarding the cantonment with its millions of dollars worth of fixed property, but the knowledge that within the buildings are many additional millions worth of fine equipment and that much of the housing construction is of flimsy wooden type, adds gravity to the firemen’s duty.

The fire fighters do not confine their activities to Fort Sam Houston as included in the consolidation. Fires anywhere in the vicinity of the cantonment garrison also are considered as imposing duty upon the firemen. They have sent equipment to farm houses beyond the camp limits and successfully combatted flames. Frequently, when the alarm is near the post, they aid the city department with which a reciprocal understanding is maintained. Runs are made as far as Government Hill, at times.

Included in the department are three stations in the cantonment garrison, one at the staff post and one at Camp Stanley.

A modern telegraph fire alarm system is a feature of the equipment of the Fort Sam Houston department. There are direct alarm lines from the camp laundry and camp exchange, both of which are very large and valuable buildings with highly valuable contents. The big warehouses and the hospitals are equipped with automatic alarms which are set off in headquarters station when the temperature of the buildings reaches a certain degree of heat.

All fire alarms are answered by the military police, to patrol the grounds around the threatened building, and by a surgeon with an ambulance, equipped with first aid appliances.

Recreation Rooms Provided.

It would be dull indeed for the firemen were their daily life to consist altogether of duty. Lieutenant Weed therefore had arranged with the assistance of Chief Hogan, for the installation of recreation rooms at each of the fire stations. The equipment will included pool table, game boards, literature of various kinds. A recreation room also will be installed at company headquarters for the tower guards, fire alarm operators and others stationed there.

Both the military and civilian heads of the department are natives of San Antonio.

Lieutenant Weed is a San Antonian. With the exception of a few years during which he has been in the public service, in the army and other branches of the Government, he has spent practically all his life in this city. With the Government he served in construction work on the Panama Canal and in the consular service in Mexico.
Upon the entry of the United States into the World War, Lieutenant Weed was serving in the office of Gen. H.L. Rogers, then Colonel Rogers who later served as Quartermaster General of the Army, but who at that time was serving as Quartermaster of the Old Southern Department. When General Rogers was ordered overseas Lieutenant Weed accompanied him, remaining there for over two years, when he was ordered back to the United States for duty in the office of the Quartermaster General of the Army. He remained there for two years, until ordered to the Second Division.

While overseas Lieutenant Weed rose from the grade of sergeant to that of captain, serving in the latter grade as chief of the administrative division office of the Chief Quartermaster, A.E.F. In Washington he occupied a similar position, and was assigned the additional duty of preparing a history of Quartermaster Operations in Europe, which was completed prior to his transfer here.

Hogan Native of San Antonio.

Chief Hogan is a native of San Antonio, having been born and reared in this city. He spent a number of years in the fire department in San Antonio, where he was promoted successively until he became a station captain. When war was declared he immediately enlisted and later commissioned. Under the fire marshal, Chief Hogan is technically responsible for the efficient operation of the Fort Sam Houston department, while the fire marshal enforces military discipline.

Men on duty with the fire department follow: First Lieut. T.J. Weed, fire marshal; Joseph L. Hogan, fire chief; Ed. J. Hogan, assistant fire chief; J.E. Dowdy, third assistant fire chief.

Station No. 1: First Sgt. W.J. Bailey; P.F.C. Ernt Estes, 1st chauf; P.F.C. Gus J. Clay, 2nd chauf.; P.F.C. Otto E. Karth, 3rd chauf.; P.F.C. Sidney F. Pedigo, P.F.C. Frank D. West, P.F.C. Charles Smith, Pvt. Jesse Baggett, Pvt. Robert E. Hapkins, Pvt. James O. Hill, Pvt. Andrew Karpik, Pvt. Mark H. Earle, Pvt. John Lamont.

Station No. 2: Sergt. Robert Payne, P.F.C. Flint D. Bingham, P.F.C. Charles E. Youngblood, Pvt. George A. Brown, P.F.C. Mark W. Parker, Pvt. Orville G. May, Pvt. George White, Pvt. Herman G. Miller, Pvt. Arthur Fielding, Pvt. William F. Cumming.

Station No. 3: Sergt. Michael T. Mason, P.F.C. Arthur Foley, P.F.C. Luther Waddell, P.F.C. Leonard Deuctcon, Pvt. James J. Gotely, Pvt. Herbert C. Landrum, Pvt. Robert L. Sarran, Pvt. Courney Barker, Pvt. Marion Anderson.

Station No. 4: Tech. Sergt. Tony Huege (attached); Sergt. W.Z. Zapadnik (attached); P.F.C. Eddie Eddyhouse; P.F.C. Carl Hanmann, P.F.C. Carl L. Storey, Pvt. Robert E. Hunt, Pvt. Jack P. Stout, Pvt. Nicholas J. Sassano.

Fire inspector, Chester A. Carter.

San Antonio Express (San Antonio, Texas) Jan 28, 1923

This article pretty much repeats  a lot of what is in the above article in regards to fire equipment etc.

CAMP TRAVIS FIRE CHIEF TURNS DOWN SAN ANTONIO JOB

Joseph L. Hogan Prefers to Direct Army Firemen to Handling City’s Department.

Being chief of Fort Sam Houston’s fire department appeals more to Joseph L. Hogan than does heading the department of San Antonio.

Persistent rumors that Chief Hogan had been tendered the position of head of the city’s fire department, made vacant by the resignation Tuesday of Chief A.J. Goetz, was confirmed Wednesday afternoon, at least to the extent that Chief Hogan admitted that he had been approached tentatively on the subject and had refused to consider a change of positions.

“It would not be proper to say that I had been offered the position,” said Chief Hogan. “However, it is true that I have been approached not alone by one but by several persons to confer with me to ascertain whether, if it were offered me I would take the position of chief of the San Antonio department. It appeared plain to me that if I wanted the position I could get it, but I have refused even to consider leaving the Fort Sam Houston department.

“I may appear strange to some people that I take this attitude, but my reasons are easy to see. In the first place the position I now hold is based on merit alone. I feel fairly sure that so long as I am able to furnish an efficient fire-fighting organization at Fort Sam Houston I can hold it. There is not a great difference in salary, while free medical attention, and other services which I receive in the position as army chief practically make up the difference.

Political Angle Displeases.

“On the other hand, if I go into the city fire department there is first of all to be considered the fact that it is a political appointment and politics is capricious. I might hold that position just as long as I hold this at the fort, but the political angle spoils it from my point of view.”

Chief Hogan announced that he was a strong supporter of J.G. Sarran, now assistant chief and acting chief of the department for appointment.

Chief Hogan was connected with the San Antonio fire department for a period of nine years, joining about the same time as former Chief Goetz until working up from call man to truck captain. While in that position Hogan quit the fire department to become a lieutenant in the army during the war with Germany.

Hogan Has Five Stations.

When it was decided to have a real fire department at Fort Sam Houston, Hogan was chosen chief on his merit and was given charge of training the men of Wagon Company No. 4 was a department. He is responsible for the efficiency of the fire department, while Lieut. T.J. Weed, fire marshal, oversees maintenance of ?_____.

Under the chief at Fort Sam Houston are four fire stations in the Fort Sam Houston area and one at Camp Stanley. In addition to a personnel of non-commissioned officers and privates chosen on a basis of personal merit from various organizations in the garrison, the chief brought with him to the fort’s department three other civilians, all former members of the San Antonio department and thoroughly conversant with how to best drill the men under them as fire-fighters. In addition to the four civilians there are three sergeants, three corporals and 84 enlisted men in the department. Equipment includes seven pieces of apparatus, all motorized, ranging from a Dodge car used by Chief Hogan to a large Fox-Ahrens pumper. Supplementing these are approximately 40 hand reels in all parts of the post and 20,000 feet of standard fire hose.

Under Chief Hogan the efficiency of the fire department is kept at top notch by constant watchfulness and drills.

San Antonio Express (San Antonio, Texas) Apr 26, 1923

William O. Otis Goes Wacko Near Waco

Waco, Texas (Image from http://www.wacomuseums.com)

HORRIFIED HIS PUPILS.

Professor William O. Otis Cuts His Throat With a Jackknife — Insanity.

WACO, Tex., February 15. — Professor William O. Otis, teacher of the county public free school at Greenwood, nine miles west of Waco, near the Bosque river, cut his throat this morning in the schoolroom in the presence of his pupils, using a jackknife which he borrowed from one of the little boys for the purpose.

School time had not been called, and the children were just gathering when the horrifying deed occurred. They fled in all directions, screaming as then went, and the near neighbors rushed in and disarmed the frantic man.

Replying to inquiries of the men, Professor Otis said to one: “I am tired of living and want to die.” To another he said: “I was afraid I would starve to death.”

He was tried in the county court this afternoon, adjudged insane, and as soon as possible he will be forwarded, if he lives.

Professor Otis is 50 years of age an a Marylander by birth and has been in Waco over twenty years. He was the first United States revenue officer to come to Waco after the close of the civil war.

He established in Waco what he called Otis’ Produce warehouse and received, sold and scrupulously paid over to owners every cent of the purchase money received, charging no commissions. This sort of business soon closed, because it broke the liberal-hearted gentleman who established the remarkable enterprise and gave him a character of eccentricity. He next returned to his profession, that of teaching, and for some months served as principal of a school of some prominence in the southeastern portion of Texas.

William Otis - 1880 Census - Austin, Travis Co., Texas

He returned to McLennan county a year ago and commenced teaching at or near Crawford. Three weeks ago he made a contract with the trustees for the Greenwood school and faithfully instructed his pupils until this morning, when the tragic incident related above terminated perhaps forever his career as an educator.

Professor William O. Otis is a gifted man. He is a poet and has contributed to the first magazine literature of his age, and he once delivered a lecture in acceptable Latin before a convention of preachers in Baltimore.

To a reporter of THE NEWS he said: “I am going to kill myself certain, and next time I will use a razor.”

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) Feb 16, 1889

It seems the author of the above article went out of his way to tell what a wonderful person Mr. Otis was, and maybe it was true. The only record I could find for him was the 1880 census record that states he was from Texas. Of course, the accuracy of it depends on who provided the information.

This is the only other William O. Otis, or even William Otis I could find who was in Texas, that could have been him. I didn’t find any from Maryland. I just wonder if, in the post-civil war time period, it would have been more advantageous to be a “Marylander” rather than an ex-confederate soldier.

Name: William O. Otis
Side: Confederate
Regiment State/Origin: Texas
Regiment Name: 22 Texas Cavalry
Regiment Name Expanded: 22nd Regiment, Texas Cavalry (1st Indian-Texas Regiment)
Company: D
Rank In: Private
Rank Out Expanded: Ordnance Sergeant
Film Number: M227 roll 28

This Child For A Horse

Image from http://www.historycooperative.org

WHITE CHILDREN AMONG THE INDIANS.

The St. Louis Republican states on the authority of a gentleman personally cognizant of the fact, that the Osage Indians have among them about twenty white children, whome they purchased from the Comanches, by whom they were stolen from their parents in Texas and New Mexico.

The same paper says in addition:

Our informant states that such of them as have been seen by the whites are said to be sprightly and intelligent children, of both sexes, but generally have been taken so young as to have lost all recollection of their parents, homes, or of the place from whence they were taken.

The Osages will only sell them for horses or goods. Occasionally they bring one into the settlement to barter off. A few days since a gentleman of Newton county purchased, for a hrose, a pretty girl, about eleven years old. — A few days before our informant left, another Osage brought in a boy, about eight or nine years old, which he, however, did not succeed in selling.

The Sandusky Clarion (Sandusky, Ohio) Jul 11, 1845

Poetry in Advertising

Image from http://www.danleysart.com

 

Hark! hark! ’tis SOZODONT I cry
Haste youths, and maidens, come and buy.
Come and a secret I’ll unfold,
At small expense to young and old.
A charm that will on both bestow
A ruby lip, and teeth like snow.

The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) Jun 25, 1884

*****

Hie, lads and lassies hie away
Nor brook a single hour’s delay,
If you would carry in your mouth
White teeth, and odors of the south.
Haste, haste, and buy a single font
Of the unrivalled SOZODONT.

The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) Aug 13, 1882

 

This is the poem, which is hard to read on the above image:

Yes, barber, what you say is true,
I need a number one shampoo,
And came in, as I always do,
Because I can rely on you
To choose pure Ivory Soap, in lieu
Of soaps ol divers form and hue
From use of which such ills ensue.

Well, sir, we barbers suffer too,
From humbug articles, and rue
That we have tried before we knew
Poor toilet frauds to which are due
More scalp-diseases than a few.
I know we are the safer who
Use Ivory Soap for a shampoo.

Carroll Sentinel (Carroll, Iowa) Oct 3, 1893

 

The Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) Jun 11, 1890

 

Image from http://www.westdeertownship.com

The Georgia Buggy Co. 39 S. Broad St., 34-36 S. Forsyth St.

In the dead hour of night,
While sleeping with all your might,
The Genii made a sweeping flight,
And took the street cars out of sight.

In this hour of dire distress
The public their indignation express;
You to the courts go for redress
And get a forty-eight hour request.

To our friends we kindly advise,
Let the street cars go in demise,
Buy a vehicle, which is wise,
And show the boss your despise;

If not street cars by the door,
You have carpets on your floor;
To and from work you can go
In a fine vehicle bought low
At the only Georgia Buggy Co.

LAST WEEK the buyers kept us busy from start to finish. Mighty bad weather though for imitators to be left out in the cold. The Georgia Buggy Co.

The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) Mar 8,  1896

Image from http://www.mainememory.net

 

MEA CULPA!

How sweet to love,
But Oh! how bitter,
To love a gal,
And then not git her!
And know the only
Reason why
Is because you didn’t
The furniture buy
Of Stowers.

203 West Commerce street.

San Antonio Light (San Antonio, Texas) Jul 25, 1897

Image from http://tompoland.net

This one is my favorite:

Machine Poetry.

Dear friends, we are modest, decidedly so,
But sometimes our pen at random will go;
And we now feel inclined to let the thing run,
And write a short notice abounding with fun.

Our neighbors, good fellows, who are all on the track,
Cry “Hurrah for the West!” and never look back;
And not wishing to linger or fall in the rear,
We crave for a moment your poetic ear.

Our scribbling we think resembles the kind
Once written by Homer, the man that was blind;
But only like his in regard to the eyes;
Not at all Homer-like viewed otherwise.

He wrote with gravity, candor and sense;
We write for the purpose of getting the pence;
And if we succeed, and obtain our desire,
We’ll throw down our pen, make our bow, and retire.

The facts of the case we are willing to tell;
We have a few things we are anxious to sell;
And we take this queer way of letting you know
That you don’t save the coppers if by us you go.

Of Superfine Flour we have “piles” upon “piles,”
To supply all our friends for a circuit of miles;
We sell on commission for a profit quite small,
Believe what we say, and give us a call.

Of Sugar we have not a very small “heap,”
Which we are selling quite fast, for we’re selling it cheap.
One dollar will buy eight pounds of the sweet;
And now the dear children may have cookies to eat.

Of Coffee and Spices we have a supply,
That are fine for the palate and nice to the eye;
Ground or unground, roasted or not,
Cinnamon fragrant, and Black Pepper hot.

If Fremont‘s elected, and for it we hope,
For the disappointed ones we’ve plenty of Soap
To cleanse their long faces and banish their tears,
And keep them contented for at least eight years.

Saleratus and Soda, and Teas you may find;
Cream Tartar in packages just to your mind;
Caps,Percussion, by the box, the thousand or more,
You can have whenever you visit our Store.

In the Furniture line we make no pretensions,
But we have some chairs of ample dimensions,
Which are faithfully made and painted nice,
And are offered for sale at a very low price.

Nails, Sash, and Glass we have always on hand,
For those who are building in this glorious land.
Six cents for the Sash, for the Glass four and a half,
And Nails at a price that will make you all laugh.

Do you want Gunpowder, and a little cold Lead,
To finish old Bruin with a ball in his head?
Come along with your shot gun, revolver, and rifle,
And we’ll fill up your horns and ask but a trifle.

We have Salt by the barrel, and Syrup so nice
That if you trade with us once we know you will twice.
Dried Apples we sell to those who like pies,
And Cheese that would dazzle an epicure’s eyes.

Of Nicknacks and Notions, such as Baskets and Matches,
Warm Coats and thick Pants for those who hate patches,
With Mittens and Gloves, and Cotton and Thread,
We have a few left, and a Comb for the head.

And now, kind friend, we propose to retreat
From the stomach and back and come down to the feet;
Just after our measure, our metre, and time,
And give you some sense along with the rhyme.

When Mother Eve in Paradise was staying,
And ‘midst those shady walks and sparkling fountains playing,
‘Tis said that she revolted, (what a shame!)
Then took fig leaves, made aprons of the same,
Ingeniously attempting thus to cover
Herself and guilty man half over.

Banished from Eden’s calm and blest retreat,
She wandered forth with unprotected feet;
To scorching sand her pedals were exposed,
And, grov’ling in the dust, spread out her ten fair toes.
A flaming sword hung o’er those scenes of sacred mirth;
Barefoot and sad she trod the sin-cursed earth.

How long her children wailed and wanted Shoes,
Is no recorded by our homely muse.
One fact is clear: No longer need they weep,
For Boots and Shoes, nice, strong, and cheap,
To suit the foot and please the eye,
We have to sell just when they please to buy.

We keep on a corner where two roads meet,
And when your faces there we greet,
With treatment kind and prudent pay,
We’ll send you smiling on your way.

JAMES & NUDD.
Richland Center, November 3, 1856.

Richland County Observer (Richland, Wisconsin) Nov 18, 1856

*****

CUBA AND CALIFORNIA

Let Stutchfield, Hoyt, and all the rest,
Boast of  their wares the very best,
But if you wish to make a trade,
Call at my shop, where ready made,
And made ‘pon honor, you’ll be sure
To find all kinds of Furniture
Bedsteads — the plan best e’er invented –
On which a man may rest contented.
On which bugs, white, black or yellow,
Fleas, dogs or snakes, ne’er bite a fellow
Its match you ne’er saw in your life,
It opens and shuts just like a knife.
My neighbor says, “If I had tools,
I’d make a few to gull the fools,”
But mine, when tried, you’ll surely find
Will suit a very different mind
Come, get a little wife, young man,
And a bedstead made on my new plan,
You’ll want some Chairs, a Table and Settee,
A Boston for the wife, a Crib for the baby.
My prices, too, so very low,
You’ll wonder why you waited so.
Bring your Lumber, or Cash in hand,
Opposite the Old Whyler Stand.

E.W. JACOBS

Norwalk, Oct. 10, 1849

Acrostic Advertising

 

Acrostic Advertising #2

 

The Globe (Atchison, Kansas) Jan 18, 1878

 

Image from http://www.bellehome.co.uk

Gresham’s Answer to Queen Lil
When I received your cablegram
I thought I sure would faint
For though I often used Parks’ Teas
‘Tis not for your complaint.
I feared that Mrs. G. would think
Wrong about our connection
Till on her dresser there I saw
Parks’ Tea for her complexion.

Sandusky Register (Sandusky, Ohio) Sep 13, 1894

Judge Roy Bean: The Law West of The Pecos

Image from http://www.legendsofamerica.com

Roy Bean was for ten years in the young days of Texas justice of the peace and coroner of the town of Vinegar Roon, being, as he expressed it, “the law of Texas west of the Pecos.”

He is still living in the town of Langtry, 300 miles west of San Antonio. No man know whence he came. The railroad builders found him away out there on the great desert plains, and when the gamblers and toughs and tenderfeet came along with the first trains and at once proceeded to run the country according to their own notions old Roy Bean declared himself a justice of the peace and boldly announced, “I am the law of Texas west of the Pecos.” It is highly probable that a few people who were in favor of law and order invited the strange character to assume the judicial position and that on account of his desperate courage and fearless judicial demeanor he afterward was appointed to fill the office of justice of the peace.

Early one morning it was reported in the town of Vinegar Roon that a man had fallen from a bridge near the place and that his dead body was lying on the ground close to the water. Roy Bean, as justice of the peace and exofficio coroner, at once summoned a jury. There was no testimony to be taken. The man was a stranger, and it was not easy to determine the cause of his death. He might have fallen from the bridge or he might have been murdered. The coroner searched the dead body, and when he found a pistol in one pocket and $50 in the other he turned to the jury and informed them that in this matter their services were of no value, since it would be necessary for the court to render a verdict without their aid. The court fined the dead man $50 for carrying a pistol and took possession of the money, since the fees of the coroner amounted to just $50, and the body was buried on the lonely prairie at the expense of the county.

Image from http://www.baronservices.us

Vinegar Roon was named after the most poisonous little reptile that infests the western plains, says the New York Press. It can sting a Gila monster to death in the twinkling of an eye and then turn about and chase a rattlesnake from his den. Chain lightning whisky is no antidote for the poison of the vinegar roon. Roy Bean named the place, and while acting justice of the peace he divided his time between the judicial bench and a roomy saloon and gambling house, where there was none to dispute his authority, for he was sole proprietor.

One fine day a gambler, while in an unusually hilarious mood, sent a pistol ball crashing through the brains of a Chinaman. When the citizens of Vinegar Roon had ceased to celebrate the exit of the Celestial and the funeral solemnities were an affair of the past, the killer was honored with a request to appear at the bar where liquids and justice were dispensed alternately.

The sage who was “the law of Texas west of the Pecos” had evidently devoted some spare moments to the study of his first murder case, for the judgment that was rendered and entered on the docket is certainly without a parallel.

“I have carefully examined the criminal statutes of Texas,” said Roy Bean, “and I find that there is plenty of law to punish one white man for another, but there is no law to punish a citizen of Texas for shooting a Chinaman. In fact, the Chinese are not mentioned in the statutes. The gentleman at the bar stands charged with having shot and killed a Chinaman by the name of Ah Foo. Mr. Ah Foo was unfortunate. He should have remained in his own country. Texas is the land of the free and the home of the brave. It is no place for Mr. Ah Foo or Mr. Ah Sin or Mrs. Ah Sin. Our wise legislators have failed to make laws for the protection of pigtails. Therefore the defendant is discharged, and the costs of this case are assessed against the deceased, Ah Foo, and in case the same cannot be collected in full by the sale of the goods and chattels of the said Ah Foo, or some other Chinaman, it is the order of this court that a copy of these proceedings be made and forwarded to the United States minister in China, and by these presents he is authorized to collect said costs from the emperor of China. The defendant is discharged.”

One day a man with an immense sombrero above his long, tangled hair and an arsenal at his belt appeared at Vinegar Roon, declaring that he had just stopped over to have a little recreation.

“I have been spending a few weeks in San Antonio,” he said, “and my shooting irons were getting rusty.”

After taking a few drinks at the bar he began to berate the mild and feeble qualities of the liquids offered for sale in the infant city.

“Give me a little tarantula juice with a real vinegar roon floating around in it!” shouted this Arizona terror.

“All right,” calmly replied the old behind the bar. “I think we can accommodate you, but you will have to wait a few moments.”

“Well, get up the beverage,” roared the terror, “and I’ll amuse myself during the delay by dropping a few bullets around promiscuously among the lamps and bottles and sich things.”

“As you please,” suavely replied the old man. “I like to see a stranger enjoy himself.”

The terror glanced at the polite barkeeper rather suspiciously, but he never once dreamed that he was talking to old Roy Bean.

Fairly chuckling with suppressed merriment, old Roy went out on the plains only a few steps from his saloon and after turning over two or three rocks he got a big tarantula and a monster vinegar roon. After mashing the heads of the poisonous reptiles he returned to the barroom, entering the door just as the terror with a wild Comanche yell began to rain lead among the bottle and glasses.

As the patrons of the house started through the doors and windows in confusion, old Roy shouted:

“Keep your seats, gentlemen. This infant cyclone will be of sort duration.”

The next instant the terror found himself standing on his head and his weapons were falling upon the floor. Mr. Bean held the amazed man in that position until an accomplished bartender had filled a large beer glass with pure alcohol, and then he reversed the terror as if he had been handling a toy.

“Now, look here, stranger,” said Mr. Bean, in tender but deceptive tones, “you have been finding fault with the quality of my whisky and you have seen proper, to satisfy your fastidious taste, to order a peculiar drink which I have taken the trouble to prepare for you.”

The terror turned his white face toward the bar, and when he saw a tarantula and a vinegar roon floating about in a tumbler of alcohol he uttered a groan of distress and his knees began to tremble.

“There is the peculiar drink and trimmings that you ordered, young man, and my name is Roy Bean,” said the old man, as he pushed the trembling terror toward the bar.

The amazed and thoroughly alarmed stranger found voice enough to beg for mercy.

“Drink every drop of it or I will break your neck,” said Judge Bean.

The poor devil gulped down the awful mixture and with a scream of terror sprang out into the street. He “hit the earth a-running,” and he never slackened his speed until the town of Vinegar Roon was far behind him. It is supposed that the man’s stomach instantly rejected the fearful poison, for he lied to tell of his experience in Vinegar Ron, though he said there was not gold enough in the world to hire him to revisit the place.

Newark Daily Advocate (Newark, Ohio) Oct 6, 1900

Image from http://blog.nj.com/njv_shenemans_sketchpad

STATE PRESS.

What the Newspapers Throughout Texas Are Talking About.

The Uvalde News says:

Last Monday Harry Webb, one of the Southern Pacific barge men, to amuse himself brought crackers to feed Judge Bean’s immense bear. The animal would come to the end of the chain, receive a cracker and turn a somersault, to Mr. Webb’s infinite amusement. Judge Bean finally remonstrated, telling the man to go out and “monkey with the donkeys,” as they wouldn’t hurt him. Mr. Webb bought another dollar’s worth of crackers and fed the long-eared animals for a time, but protested there was no fun in that and returned to Bruin, who, no doubt, was feeling injured. Finally a cracker was dropped and Webb stooped over to pick it up. The bear thought he intended taking it away from him and reached over with his mighty paw, caught the man back of the head, and pulled him into the ring. He tore the man’s scalp off, from neck to crown, as cleanly as an Indian could have done it, and was proceeding to further deeds of destruction when Judge Bean, attracted by the victim’s frantic yell, uttered a war whoop and landed directly on the bear’s back. The animal knew his master and cowed instantly.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) Jul 27, 1891

A Judge Arrested for Smuggling

SAN ANTONIO, Tex., Aug. 24. — Judge Roy Bean, of Langley, has been arrested for smuggling. It is alleged that he has been concerned in running horses from Mexico into the United States. He is one of the most celebrated characters of the frontier, and has been justice of the peace for many years. He has been accustomed to enforce his ruling with the six-shooter. Once when justice of the peace in Bexar county he sentenced a man to death by hanging for horse stealing, and the criminal would have hanged if not for the intervention of the officers from San Antonio. Bean is 60 years old and wealthy.

Mitchell Daily Republican (Mitchell, South Dakota) Aug 24, 1891

Image from http://www.leverguns.com

JUSTICE OUT WEST

Judge Roy Bean Disposes Of a Big Docket.

Langtry, Tex., May 19. — Judge Roy Bean, chief justice of the district of Vinegaroon and the hero of many a thrilling border experience in court and camp, has recently been entertaining Judge Falvey of El Paso, whom he enlightened as to the practical and effective methods of dealing out justice in his jurisdiction. Judge Bean had no long before had as a guest Hon. H.C. Carter of San Antonio, to whom Del Rio lays claim because he embarked upon his professional career there and was at one time county attorney, making a splendid record as a successful and able lawyer.

When Judge Falvey came down from El Paso, Judge Bean met him not far from the seat of justice at Vinegaroon, escorted him to town and invited him to occupy a seat on the bench with him as he was about to open court. Judge Falvey accepted the invitation with expressions of pleasure, and court was opened in due and solemn form.

The first case called was one in which a man had made an affidavit charging another with shooting at him with a pistol, the bullet missing affiant’s head barely an inch. Judge Bean remarked that he had seen the two men drinking together during the morning with every indication of good will toward each other and asked:

“You are friends, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” replied the man who had made the affidavit.

“Then I fine you $50 each,” firmly announced the judge.

“But, my dear judge,” interrupted Judge Falvey, “this man is charged with a penitentiary offense.”

“That’s all right,” responded the court.

“All we can do with these fellows here is to fine them. IF I was to send them up to Fort Stockton it would require a journey of 200 miles by rail and 60 miles more by land and it would bankrupt the county to feed them. The fine assessed by this court will stand.”

The next case was that of a man brought in by Sergt. Lindsey, charged with having “rolled” another.  Judge Bean, thinking perhaps Judge Falvey would not understand the expression “rolled” called on the sergeant for an explanation. The sergeant gave it, saying that the term “rolled” meant that a man caught asleep or too drunk to take care of himself has his money and valuables taken out of his pockets or off his person. It was the border term for theft from the person. The prisoner in this case, he said, had taken two $20 bills and some silver from his victim’s pockets and the bills were produced and laid on the judge’s table as incriminating evidence.

Judge Bean demanded of the prisoner to tell what he had done with the silver and the latter replied that he had spent it on the guard.

“Then,” said the cort, “I fine you both $10 a piece and if I catch you around here within two hours I will feed you on bread and water and chain you to a stake.”

“This man is also guilty of a penitentiary offense, judge,” said Judge Falvey, who had listened closely to the proceedings.

“I can’t help that,” returned the chief justice, “that is all the way this court can be run.”

While Judge Falvey was sitting with Judge Bean he saw some 15 or 20 cases disposed of in like manner and when he told the people there, referring to his visit at Vinegaroon,

“Gentlemen, you have the right man in the right place.”

It is said that in reading closely Judge Bean’s famous decisions is to be attributed in a large degree the success achieved by Attorney Carter in his profession and by the way, it is said, note of these decisions has ever been reversed. Though, possibly that is due to the fact that the dispenser of justice at Vinegaroon never allows appeals from the decisions of his court.

Judge Falvey asked Judge Bean if the report was true that he allowed no appeals and the answer given by Judge Bean was that no appeals were granted because all the contractors in that vicinity were transients; all their personal effects and chattels were mortgaged and they could not give a solvent bond as required by law when appeal is taken.

When the evening’s session was over, Judge Bean escorted his guest to Eagle Nest, a string band leading the way and enlivening the journey with soft music. That night the judge gave a dinner at his saloon at Eagle Nest in honor of his visitor and things were made pleasant all around.

THE SAN ANTONIO DAILY EXPRESS (San Antonio, Texas) May 21, 1899

Image from http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth38466/

TEXAS LANDMARK FAST CRUMBLING

Once Proud Seat of “Law West of Pecos” is Now Crumbling Ruins.

WHERE JUDGE BEAN PRESIDED

Town’s Name, Eagle’s Nest, Vanishes From Map and Only Memory Remains of the Judge and His Rulings.

San Antonio, Tex. — With its foundation posts wobbling like old men’s legs, its floors showing ugly gaping holes, its porch roof shorn of the last lingering board, scraggy bits of what was once white paint hanging to the outer walls, and its door banging to a single rusty hinge — at Langtry, Tex., once known as Eagle’s Nest — what remains of one of Texas’ most famous old landmarks is succumbing to wind and rain.

It is the once proud seat of the “Law West of the Pecos” — the old home and saloon and throne where, not so many years ago, Judge Roy Bean lived and reigned supreme as dispenser of justice and red eye liquor, and dared the world to interfere with his game.

But since Judge Bean went away there had been a great change. Perhaps it is just as well that he “cashed in” — as he himself probably would express it — before the days when nowhere in the whole of Texas can the traveler find a drop to drink.

In the “Good Old Days.”

Many humorous and many semi-tragic stories regarding Judge Bean have been handed down by friends and relatives, many of whom are living in or adjacent to San Antonio today. It was in a day when enforcers of the law were few and far between, and when the men with the quickest trigger finger and the steadiest nerve were monarchs of a large portion of what they surveyed.

Bean was justice of the peace of precinct No. 6 and the ranking representative of the law for hundreds of miles north, south, east and west of him. Equipped with a copy of the statutes of Ohio of the vintage of 1885, a sense of fair play, and a strong conviction of what the law should be even though it were not so written down in the books, he put up his sign:

Judge Roy Bean,
Justice of the Peace,
Law West of the Pecos.

In addition to being chief magistrate over everything “West of the Pecos,” Judge Bean conducted a thirst-quenching emporium typical of the day. The saloon was in the hall of justice, and from behind the bar came the voice of authority backed by a brace of perfectly good six-shooters.

Judge Bean’s “Law.”

Two Mexican men and women walked into Judge Bean’s court one day and informed him that they wanted a change; that they wanted to swap helpmeets. The judge made diligent inquiries of each of the four, found all to be of the same mind, charged each of the men $15 and a dozen bottles of beer and called it done.

When a state official from Austin on a flying visit to “Eagle’s Nest” complained to Judge Bean that he was exceeding his authority, explaining that divorces should be passed up to a higher court, Bean alleged to have retorted:

“Why, say! Have I ever butted into your affairs? These people wanted to sway, they paid me for changin’ ‘em around, they’re livin’ together pu’fectly happy, an’ nobody ’round here has complained. You go on back to Austin an’ handle your courts like you want to, but this is out o’ your jurisdiction.”

THE IOWA CITY DAILY CITIZEN (Iowa City, Iowa) Dec 22, 1919

To J.W. Schofield, city salesman of A.B. Frank % Company, belongs the distinction of having served as clerk in “Judge” Roy Bean’s court when “Law west of the Pecos,” had application to all classed of cases, civil and criminal, and the “Judge” power to render judgment extending all the way from the imposition of a petty fine, to the pronunciation of the death penalty.

The honor is not to be lightly construed. Mr. Schofield is the only person known to have officiated in the dispensation of justice in the most unique court in the history of judicial procedure. It was in every sense a high honor, for Judge Roy Bean, as was becoming his unusual prerogative, alone and unaided administered the “law” of his court. But the case under consideration was one in which the defendant threatened an appeal in the event the case went against him. Under the circumstances Judge Bean thought best to comply with the wishes of the attorney for the defense and Mr. Schofield was appointed to act as clerk.

Business Rivalry Cause.

The case was the result of the rivalry which existed between Judge Bean’s saloon and that of J.P. Torres.

In the spring of 1893, Mr. Schofield visited Langtry in the capacity of drummer of one of the San Antonio houses. D. Hart, a prominent sheepman of West Texas was preparing at the time, to pay off 200 or more sheep shearers who had been engaged to shear the animals. In anticipation of reaping some of the benefits of this spurt of prosperity, Judge Bean had laid in an extra stock of beer and whiskey. His rival was no slow to follow his lead.

The Mexican shearers arrived, and went in droves to the “Jersey Lily,” Judge Bean’s saloon. Satisfaction spread over his face as he looked over at the almost empty place of his rival.

Stealing a March.

But Torres was not easily outwitted. He had a partner running a saloon with a dance hall in connection at Flanders, the point where the railroad gang engaged in the construction of the Pecos bridge was camped. Torres dispatched a messenger to him with instructions to bring the dancing girls at Flanders to Langtry, accompanied by the orchestra. The move was not known to Judge Bean, if it had been, an injunction restraining Torres from bringing the women and the music to his place would have been issued immediately.

Soon after the arrival of the dancers, strains of music issued from Torres’ place to the accompaniment of shifting feet. The crowd of Mexicans in Judge Bean’s saloon, one by one, raised their lips from the glasses, and in crowds departed to the scene of revelry.

Judge Bean scratched his head and called for his friend, Mr. Schofield.

Not in Accord With Law.

“Now look here, Schofield, it ain’t in keeping with justice that all this amount of beer I have imported for this occasion should go to waste,” he said. “It ain’t economy, and it ain’t accordin’ to the statutes of the State of Texas.”

“I’ll just pull Torres for conducting a disorderly house. There are more ways than one of doing business,” he said, while deputizing several cowpunchers to arrest Torres, and bring him before the honorable court of the law west of the Pecos.

Following the arrest of Torres, his place was closed down, and the shearers returned to the “Jersey Lily,” while the case of the State of Texas versus J.P. Torres, was duly docketed and called for trial.

Threatens Appeal.

Mr. Cunningham, inspector of customs, stationed at Langtry, appeared for the defendant, and demanded a jury. He also informed Judge Bean that in the even the case went against his client in the lower court an appeal would be taken. He was in turn informed that the decisions of Judge Bean’s court were conclusive and final and no such thing as a appeal had even been heard of. Mr. Cunningham insisted that the appeal would be taken, and Judge Bean called on Mr. Schofield for assistance.

In making the appointment, Judge Bean said, “I’ve got to have you for a clear, because there ain’t anyone around here can write.”

While Mr. Schofield agreed to serve as clerk, his intentions were to leave on the night train. Just as he was in the act of boarding the train, however, a ranger stepped up to him and asked if he had not been appointed to act as clerk. Mr. Schofield admitted that such was the case. Upon this the ranger then told him that he had better remain and perform his duties. Mr. Shofield agreed with the ranger when he caught sight of two bit six-shooters that looked like business.

The Trial.

In the morning the case was called for trial.

Mr. Cunningham, having a smattering of law, got the best of the argument, and put Judge Bean to rout on several legal points. Whenever the judge was unable to reply to the sallies of Mr. Cunningham, he would hold up the only law book he had, which was a statute of the state, and say:

“If what you say is the law, and is in the book, and ain’t a good law, then I’ll tear it out of the book.”

Mr. Schofield who was busily engaged in performing the usual duties of the clerk, in addition to taking and subscribing testimony, realized that the case was going against the judge. In the end the jury disagreed and it being impossible to secure another, the case was dropped for the time being.

A year later Judge Bean, on a visit to the city, met Mr. Schofiled, who naturally, was still greatly interested in the case.

Judge Bean Won.

“Well I finally got the best of Torres,” he told him.

“A jack-leg lawyer turned up in Langtry broke some time ago, and in discussing the case with him, I found out that Cunningham had no right to practice law. The lawyer told me if he did not have a license he had no right to defend Torres. After that things looked easy. I called on Torres and told him that I had him. The thing I sprung on him was, that I had discovered that Cunningham did not have a license to practice law, and therefore his action in defending him was illegal and contrary to the constitution of the state and the United States, and if he wanted to plead guilty, it would cost him $25, but if he did not, then I would try him again and stick him the limit. Torres came across and paid the $25.”

Judge Bean had at this time run afoul of the real law, by giving divorce degrees to two Mexican hombres in order that they might exchange wives. In discussing the case, Judge Bean gave expression to an axiom which he alone has ever been able to understand, “Law,” he said to Mr. Schofield, “is the true dispensation of justice.”

Hitting a Snag.

“The two Mexicans,” he explained, “appeared before me and secured a license to marry. I issued the license and married them. About four months later the same men came to me again and said they wanted to be divorced so that they could exchange wives. They said that in marrying they had married the wrong women, and had now concluded that their difficulties could be solved by being divorced and re-married. I granted the divorce, and swapped the wives around for them.

“It was not long after this that the county judge at Fort Stockton got wind of the proceedings and called on me at Langtry.

“He informed me I had exceeded my authority, and that he would be compelled to arrest me and take me to the jail at Fort Stockton. I finally succeeded in getting the judge to remain over night in Langtry, and knowing he was fond of playing poker, I sent out for some of my boys.

“The judge had about twenty dollars with him, which he soon lost. Of course, I supplied him with money from time to time, and when daylight came the judge owed me about $500.

“He called for his horse and rode away without mentioning anything more about the criminal proceedings against me for granting the divorce, and I did not remind him of the money he had borrowed from me. After he had gone, the boys came around and gave me back my money.”

“Texas certainly lost a unique character by the death of Roy Bean, some three or four years ago, ” said Mr. Schofield.

THE SAN ANTONIO LIGHT (San Antonio, Texas) Nov 26, 1911

Famed Pecos Judge Shocked S.A.
By RAY WARD

For 20 years before he became law west of the Pecos, the famed Judge Roy Bean shocked San Antonio with sensational scandals and gave his name to part of the south side.

South of Concepcion park along Flores, where the colorful adventurer played Robin Hood to his friends and reveled in comic glory, became known as Beanville.

His escapades kept the courts busy but his legal footwork was so expert he was never convicted on any charge brought again him. Finally, a harried friend paid him to leave town and stay away.

QUICK FORTUNE

The portly man with a heavy black beard came to San Antonio during the Civil was and made a quick fortune running the union blockade by smuggling cotton to Mexico.

Deciding German and American society was too formal for him, Bean donned a sombrero and moved to the west side in 1866, squatting in a shack on San Pedro creek.

After a run of bad luck his creditors attached his hauling equipment and the sheriff prepared to sell it. Feeling the pinch in his pocketbook from lack of wagons, Bean simply stole his equipment back and the case was closed without further action.

REFUSED TO PAY

Bean’s unwilling landlord then ordered him to pay back rent for the shack or move out. Bean refused and went to court again. After months of legal stalling, the owner gave in and compromised by moving Bean’s belongings to another house, giving him a jug of whisky and paying him $3000 for inconveniences.

Bean then moved to S. Flores and the area took the name of Beanville. Pundits called it Dogtown because of the extreme poverty of the residents and because all the curs on the south side were starving to death.

The temporarily wealthy Bean next created a society sensation by marrying Virginia Chavez, a descendant of on of San Antonio’s original Canary island families. He settled down to a quiet married life for a few months, but was soon back in court.

ACCUSED BY WIFE

In 1867 his wife charged him with assault. She said he came home drunk, took a flaming stick from the fire, chased her out of bed and burned her backside severely.

The case rocked society and Bean got a change of venue to Boerne. At the trial he demanded his wife show the jury her scars, and when she refused the judge dismissed the case.

Bean next turned woodsman. He was hired to keep poachers off a lumber mill’s property, but made more money selling to a competitor on the side.

When the deception was uncovered, he became a dairy farmer. He bought a herd of milk cows on approval, but because of a drouth they starved to death.

BUSINESSES BROKE

Butchering was his next vocation. Bean hired boys to steal stray horses and cows and peddled the meat from door to door. He opened a saloon on the side and went broke in both enterprises.

His last venture was a return to freighting, but he killed a man in a duel in Mexico and closed shop again.

A posse of deputy marshals camped in Beanville in 1875 and convinced the 56-year-old man he should seek his fortune in the wide open west. He lacked the money to go, but a neighbor, who wanted  to be rid of him, bought his worthless business just to get him to leave.

TOO MUCH LAW

As a parting gesture he made a southsiders promise to keep the name of Beanville and departed from San Antonio saying:

“They say there’s no law west of the Pecos. Well, there’s too much law around San Antonio.”

He settled at a railroad construction camp called Vinegarroon and opened a tavern which he advertised widely in south Texas. In 1882 he was made a justice of the peace and began his climb into legend as a judge, a sportsman and platonic friend of Lily Langtry.

SAN ANTONIO LIGHT (San Antonio, Texas) Oct 24, 1954

THE STORY OF JUDGE ROY BEAN

Law West of the Pecos

By EVERETT LLOYD (excerpt from chapter two)

Contrary to general belief, Roy Bean was not personally acquainted with the celebrated English actress, Lillie Langtry, and she did not visit the town supposed to have been named in her honor until after Bean’s death. That he had a long-distance admiration for her, and even wrote to her and received a reply, we know from the statements of the famous beauty in her autobiography.

The most plausible explanation of Bean’s admiration for Lillie Langtry is that at the time she was a world celebrity; her picture and stories of her triumphs and love affairs were in every newspaper; and the station of Langtry having already been named, it is more than probably that Bean in a spirit of levity and partly as a hoax, informed her that he had named his town in her honor, and it was natural that she should feel flattered. A few years later when the opportunity came during one of her American tours, the citizens of Langtry being aware of Bean’s fancied or pretended acquaintance with the great actress, and having heard him read her reply to his letter, invited her to pay the town a visit on her way to California and she accepted.

Amarillo Daily News (Amarillo, Texas) Aug 1, 1940

Image from http://media.photobucket.com/image/%252522Judge%20Roy%20Bean%252522/telerion/sanders-hot-springs-hunters.jpg

Famous people in the photo above include Judge Roy Bean, Wyatt Earp, Butch Cassidy and Teddy Roosevelt.

The Murder of E. Junius Foster, Editor of the Sherman Patriot: 22 Years Later; Still No Justice

Great Hanging at Gainesville

Image from Footnote.com

For background information on the incident that motivated E. Junius Foster to celebrate the death of Col. William C. Young, scroll down and read The Great  Hanging at Gainesville.

In 1863 the Rev. Newton Chance of Texas killed an editor in Sherman, and moved to Mississippi. At that time he was a lawyer, but afterwards he entered the ministry. Recently he returned to Texas, and while on a visit to Sherman was arrested for the murder committed 22 years ago.

Daily Kennebec Journal (Augusta, Maine) Oct 10, 1885

A Murder Trial at Sherman.
[SPECIAL TO THE NEWS.]

SHERMAN, December 1. — THe case of the State of Texas vs. Newton Chance, charged with the murder of E. Junius Foster, in this city, twenty-three years ago, was taken up in the District Court this afternoon and after some considerable time a jury was inpaneled.

S.F. Young, of San Antonio, was the first witness placed on the stand, and the substance of his testimony, was that on the night of the 10th of October, 1863, Newton Chance and James Young went with E. Junius Foster to the residence of Jas. Chiles on North Travis street, and that in a short time he heard Foster call out that he believed they intended to murder him. In a few minutes he heard the report of a gun and then saw three men ride off. He identified the defendant as the man who fired the shot that killed.

J.H. Cummins, of Pottsboro, in this county was next placed on the stand, and testified that about dusk, on the 10th day of October, 1863, he was walking up North Travis street, when he heard what he thought to be gunshots in quick succession. He hurried to the scene, and found E. Junius Foster in a dying condition from gunshot wounds in his side. He told him (Cummins) that Newton Chance was the man who did it.

Judge C.C. Binkley was next placed on the stand. He testified to having helped carry Foster to the office of the Sherman Patriot, which he (Foster) was at that time editing. He was district judge at the time. Cox and Young were tried for implication and found not guilty.

Several other witnesses were examined, and the case is still slowly dragging along, and the evidence will not be completed before tomorrow.

A strange coincidence in this trial is that the indictment was filed on December 1, 1865 — just twenty years ago.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) Dec 2, 1885

The Sherman Murder Trial
[SPECIAL TO THE NEWS.]

SHERMAN, December 3 — In the case of the State of Texas vs. Newton Chance, charged with the murder of E. Junius Foster, the testimony for the defense culminated in the introduction of Jim Young on the stand. It will be remembered that Young is one of the three indicted on the 1st day of December, 1865. He was the first of the three tried, and in this case Young was a witness for the defense. The entire audience were thrown into a state of excitement when the witness Young to-day testified that he himself did the killing, and that Cox and Chance had nothing to do with it.

The self acknowledged slayer gave as his reasons for so doing that E. Junius Foster, who was editing a Republican paper in this city in 1863, said that the killing of his (Young’s) father was the best thing that ever happened for northern Texas.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) Dec 3, 1885

Newton Chance Acquitted.
[SPECIAL TO THE NEWS.]

SHERMAN, December 3. — The principal theme of conversation, on the streets this afternoon, has been the verdict in the case of the commonwealth vs. Newton Chance, charged with the murder of E. Junius Foster, on North Davis street, in this city, on October 10, 1863.

The following verdict was handed in about noon:

“We, the jury, find the defendant, Newton Chance, not guilty, as charged in the indictment. W.E. STAPLES, Foreman.

There was quite a dense throng in the courtroom when the verdict was rendered, and quite an affecting scene took place, as the aged prisoner shook hands with everybody he came to, while tears rolled down his cheeks.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) Dec 4, 1885

Murder Will Out.
SHERMAN, Texas, Dec. 4.

Yesterday Newton Chance, an aged intenerate preacher, was on trial for the murder of E. Junius Foster, editor of a newspaper in 1863, when a man named James Young came forward voluntarily and confessed that he was the murderer. Chance was acquitted amid great rejoicing.

Reno Evening Gazette (Reno, Nevada) Dec 4, 1885

Town Marshall Isbell of Bells, Texas Shot – George Smith Hangs

Pacific Hotel - Bells, Texas

Image from: www.bellstexas.com

BADLY WOUNDED BY A ROBBER.
Town Marshall Isbell of Bells Shot — A Daring Thief.

BELLS, Tex. Jan. 15. — A man entered the saloon at the Pacific hotel here last night and with cocked revolver ordered the parties present to hand over their wealth. He secured W.D. Elliott’s watch.

Jim Isbell, the town marshal, who is also bartender, got out his pistol, when the robber fired, hitting Isbell on the right cheek bone, breaking the bone fearfully and knocking out the teeth on that side, the ball coming out on the back of the head. He is yet alive.

Mr. Keener, the lunch stand keeper at the same place, caught hold of the robber at this juncture, and in the scuffle secured his pistol, when the robber broke from him and ran, but was pursued by a negro. John Martin, who was in the saloon and whom the robber had forced to search the parties while he held his pistol on them. Martin pursued and overhauled him and held him until help arrived, when he was secured and brought back.

He gives his name as Smith, living in this county and has for the past six years. It is thought Mr. Isbell may recover, though he is fearfully wounded.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) Jan 16, 1891

GEORGE SMITH vs. STATE – Appeal from Grayson: Murder of the first degree.

The indictment contained two counts, one charging murder upon malice aforethought, and the other a murder committed in the perpetration of robbery. The court, after submitting the issue of a killing upon express malice, further charged as follows:

“You are also informed that if you believe from the evidence that defendant with malice aforethought and in the perpetration of robbery shot and killed James Isbell with a pistol, then he would be guilty of murder of the first degree, although you should believe that Isbell fired the first shot.” This charge presented the law of the case.

The evidence in the case was insufficient to raise the issue of insanity, but had it been otherwise, there was no error in instructing the jury that defendant must “clearly” prove he was insane. A new trial was asked on account of the newly discovered evidence of one Kempton, who was confined in jail with defendant several months before trial and who will swear that he had reason to believe from the acts of defendant that he was insane. Defendant certainly knew he was in jail with Kempton and he was chargeable with diligence. There was no error. Affirmed.
Opinion by Davidson, P.J.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) Apr 29, 1892

Capt. J.D. Woods*, attorney for George Smith, who is now in jail awaiting the sentence which will fix the day of his execution, visited his client’s cell at  the Houston street jail this morning. Capt. Woods remarked as he saluted the condemned man who was sitting on the farthest side of the cell:

“Well, Smith, the court of appeals have affirmed your case.”

“Yes, I have been expecting that for some time,” and after a pause during which he rather pleasantly smiled he added: “When will the day be set?”

“It will be several days before the mandate gets here and then after the sentence is passed upon you it will be at least thirty days until the day set by the court comes around,” responded the attorney.

“Oh, well, but I don’t see why they should be so long about it; but let’s see,” he added laughingly, as he counted away on his fingers, “that will throw it into warm weather which will be nicer.”

Capt. Woods volunteered the statemtn that he would endeavor not to have the execution come off the same day with Massey, and Smith responded:

“That hole out there isn’t hardly large enough to drop more than one through.”

He stated that he didn’t care to see a preacher and that he had a Bible, but would like to have some magazines to read. He said he had read so many novels he was sick of them.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) May 1, 1892

Touched By Religion.

SHERMAN, Tex., May 9. — George Smith, who is in a cell at the Houston street jail waiting for the day to be set for his execution for the murder of Town Marshal Isbell of Bell, and who has all along maintained indifference when approached upon spiritual matters, to-day courteously received Rev. J.A. Ivey, pastor of the Second Baptist church, who had quite a consultation with the condemned man.

After a fervent prayer, as the minister was preparing to leave, Smith asked him to come again, saying: “I believe you are really interested in me and did not come just out of curiosity, as so many have done.”

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) May 11, 1892

Death Sentence Passed on George Smith.
Massey’s whereabouts.

SHERMAN, Tex., May 20. — A young man named Dobins was taken to Denison from the northwestern portion of the county this morning and then turned over to a deputy sheriff, who brought him in and placed him in jail. He is charged with criminal assault.

To-day Sheriff McAfee entered the district courtroom and just behind him came a clanking of shackles and the thin form of George Smith, while in his read came Warden McKinney. The prisoner entered the dock, where Smith sat down and by his side, faithful to the very last, was his appointed counsel. The court said:

“Before proceeding in the case of the state of Texas against George Smith, I deem it well to speak of another case lately tried in this court. I refer to the case of the state of Texas against Sam Massey. Since his trial and within the last few days it has come to my knowledge that Sam desired to appeal his case. This is a privilege I would not refuse any prisoner, and I have ordered the sheriff to remove the prisoner beyond the jurisdiction of this county, and this he has already done.”

The courtroom was as still as the tomb, but faces that had looked stern at Smith now looked with compassion perhaps it was a comparison of the two crimes. Smith had killed an able-bodied man, but Massey most brutally assaulted, endeavored to murder a family and tried to burn the house with the occupants, every one of whom he had left in an insensible condition.

The court motioned for George Smith to stand up. He did so and every eye was upon a pale face nearly covered with a growth of dark whiskers. The court said:

“George Smith, some time since a grand jury of Grayson County, Tex., found a bill of indictment, charging you with the murder of John [should be James?] Isbell, in this county. You were given a trial before a petit jury and by them found guilty of murder in the first degree and the punishment assessed at death. A motion for a new trial was presented and after a hearing overruled. The case was appealed to the highest tribunal in Texas and by them affirmed. Is there any reason why the sentence of the court should not be passed upon you?”

The prisoner looked at the court squarely in the face and answered, “No, sir.”

“It is then my duty to remand you to the custody of the sheriff, to be by him held until Friday, the 8th of July, when within the hours prescribed by law you shall be hanged by the neck until dead.”

There was a clanking of chains, a rattling of shackles, and George Smith went back to jail to drag out the six weeks of life left to him.

It is understood that Massey is now in the Dallas county jail, where he was taken last Tuesday.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) May 22, 1892

Seeking to Save Smith –

SHERMAN, Tex., May 21. — A petition for the commutation of the sentence of George Smith to life imprisonment is still being circulated, but a counter petition protesting against any change from the verdict of the jury, signed by nearly everybody in Bells and vicinity, was presented to the governor as he passed through Bells a few days since. It is also stated that the governor was shown the room in which the killing took place. His excellency, of course, said neither yea or nay…

George Smith, who is to hang July 8 is still cheerful.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) May 23, 1892

HIS LAST NIGHT.
George Smith Departs To-Day –

SHERMAN, Tex., July 7. — George Smith entered upon his last night on earth with all the calm exterior that he has evinced since the very beginning. He has talked but little of himself. He has selected a dark blue suit. The trap will be sprung at 2:30 to-morrow evening.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) Jul 8, 1892

“THAT IS PRETTY TIGHT.”
SUCH WERE GEORGE SMITH’S WORDS AS THE TRAP FELL.

Grayson County’s First Legal Execution in Thirteen Years — He Killed a City Marshal.

SHERMAN, Tex., July 8. — It has been over thirteen years since a man suffered the death penalty in Grayson county, the last being ______ Toettle, who killed Julius Brennan in Denison.

George Smith, the condemned man, was standing with his hands placed against the cell grating gazing out of the east window yesterday when the sun went down. Silently he stood and gazed till the tints and reflections in the clouds began to dim and the shadows of evening crept into the cell. With a deep drawn sigh he turned, placed tow or three times across the iron floor and then sat down.

For just a few moments he bowed his head once in his hands, and then arising he began chatting pleasantly with the death watch and his fellow cell mate, Henry Garbalt.

He was the same stout hearted George Smith again. He has talked a great deal about the preliminaries of the execution. He desired of Watchman Reidnoir to know why it was necessary to place a black cap over his head and if this was to prevent his seeing the execution. He was told that sometimes the face of those who were executed would become distorted and that it was not desired to have anything more than necessarily unpleasant attending an execution. He replied that this was certainly right.

He wanted to know why he would be executed in his stocking feet and rather laughingly remarked that he supposed they would have let him die with his boots on. He ate supper with apparent relish at the usual prison hour.

He had several little delicacies furnished him and was very appreciative of the  enine?. It has been his custom to talk to the death watch until 10 or 11 o’clock in the evening and last nigh was no exception and the general drift of his conversation did not majorially differ from what it has been all along.

Once in a while he simply remarked: “This is my last night here.” This he said without the least signs of weakness.

At 11 o’clock he bade the watch good night and went to sleep. His rest was practically unbroken and the watchman in the after part of the night noticed nothing unusual in the actions of the prisoner. He arose at 7 o’clock, or perhaps a little earlier, this morning. He saluted his fellow prisoners very pleasantly and passed a cheerful “Good morning” to the watchman outside. He ate the regular breakfast and was favored again with quite a number of little delicacies.

At 8:30 he was shaved and very soon after received hsi attorney, Captain J.D. Woods, who inquired if there was any word or message he desired to send to any one. To this he made his stereotyped reply: “There is nothing that I wish to say; it would do no one any good.”

A cigar was offered him this morning, but Smith remarked that was a habit he had never indulged in, accepted the preferred weed, but handed it to Garbalt, his cell mate. Several times he has asked if he would be allowed to see his coffin. This morning when Dr. E.H. Winn, the prison physician, called Smith’s face lighted up in expectancy. He began a careful and detailed inquiry of the sensation experienced by a man when undergoing execution by hanging. He desired to know the length of time required for death to ensue or if unconsciousness came before death.

He seemed gratified at the explanation of the physician that death was practically painless, and said he had heard so. With the assistance of Garbalt at 9 a.m. he began to dress himself.

The suit, which is of his own selection, is of dark blue. It was thought for awhile that he would select a soft flannel shirt, but a white shirt with a turndown collar was finally selected.

When at 10 o’clock he was fully attired George Smith was decidedly a handsome man.

Shortly after 12 o’clock Smith finished eathing a hearty meal, in which there was a number of delicacies and any little thing he expressed a desire for.

At 2:08 p.m. Drs. Winn and King were admitted and injected one-forth of a grain of morphine into his arm. At 2:18 the sheriff, accompanied by the newspaper men present, went to the cell, and there the death warrant was read.

When the Sheriff had finished and turned away Smith took one or two strides across his cell and taking his handkerchief, wipe the perspiration from his brow. IT was 2:23 when the iron door of the cell was swung open and Smith with a firm step came out and walked with the sheriff to the iron trap. Of all the crowd there is little doubt that he was as cool and collected as any man there. He stepped upon the door, and at the request of Sheriff McAfee, turned his face to the east. He said nothing, but looked around and scanned the crowd. He was still cool, and as the deputies were pinioning? his legs he looked at them intently. When they began to tie his arms he remarked:

“Wouldn’t you just as soon tie them in front of me?”

When told that they would have to be tied behind him, he said “All right,” and requested that they be more securely pinioned, which was granted. His limbs having been tied the prisoner straightened up and as the black cap was being placed on his head he looked at Rev. Gibbs, who stood near him, and said: “Good bye, Mr. Gibb.” Then the black mask came down and George Smith had looked for the last time on earth.

When the cap was being adjusted he said: “A fellow can’t breathe much in this,” and his last words were, “That is pretty tight,” as the know was drawn down by the sheriff.

At 2:23 the trap was sprung, and the body shot with rapidity through the open door. The rope tightened up and gave the body a swing, but not a muscle quivered in the suspended body. There were none of the terrible twisting and writhings which usually sicken spectators.

For thirteen minutes there were evidences of pulse beating. In fifteen minutes he was pronounced dead by his prison physician and his assistants. His body was immediately cut down and place on an iron cot brought in from the hospital department. His neck was found by the physicians to have been broken and Dr. Winn said to the reporter: “He suffered no pain in dying.”

In a few minutes the body was placed in a nice coffin, provided by a public subscription, and was turned over to some of his old friends and neighbors in Choctaw, where it will be taken for burial. There was not a single event of any annoying nature in the whole execution, which was very successful.

In January, 1891, Smith killed City Marshal Isbell of Bells while trying to hold up a whole store.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) Jul 9, 1892

Would Not Disgrace His Family.

SHERMAN, Tex., July 9. — The remains of George Smith were buried at Choctaw to-day. Mrs. Wright, the lady who constantly visited him during his incarceration awaiting execution, says she has good reason to believe that he was not from Michigan, but came from a good family, having run away from home when he was quite young. It was because he did not desire to have his family disgraced that he did not let his true identity be known. She does not think he name was George Smith.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) Jul 11, 1892

*J.D. Woods, Smith’s attorney, later became a state senator and a Grayson County judge.

Clear Sky Lightning:Cremates and Silences Life

Photo posted by Shannon Beauford on jpgmag.com

Lightning from a Clear Sky.

GALVESTON, TEX., Sept. 14. — News is received here of the cremation by lightning of James Wells, a farmer living 10 miles east of here. Wells was in a field working with a thresher when from the cloudless sky a flash of lightning descended, knocking him senseless on a pile of straw, which was ignited, and Wells was burned almost to a crisp. A minister named Moore, who was in the vicinity, was rendered unconscious by the violence of the shock, and though 36 hours has elapsed since the fatal event his is still speechless but will probably recover.

The News (Frederick, Maryland) Sep 15, 1884

Sherman’s Black Friday: Texas Tornado 1896

DEATH RODE THE GALE

Several Texas Towns Visited by a Fearful Cyclone Yesterday.

SHERMAN SUFFERS WORST

Sixty People Dead or Fatally Hurt and 150 Injured at Sherman Alone.

DEATH AND RUIN ELSEWHERE

Eighteen Persons Killed or Fatally Injured at Howe, Gribble Springs and Justin – Immense Damage Done.

Sherman, May 15. — Just a few minutes before 5 o’clock this afternoon, a cyclone not exceeding two blocks in width, but carrying widespread destruction and death in its wake, swept through the western half of the city, traveling almost directly north.

The approach of the terrific whirlwind was announced by a deep rumbling noise, not unlike reverberating thunder. A fierce and driving rain accompanied it.

Late to-night it is supposed that 10 people have been killed south of town, in addition to the city’s death list. Wagons are unloading the dead and injured every moment.

A reporter standing on the north side of the Court plaza had his attention called to the peculiar appearance of the clouds. They were parted at the lower side, converging into a perfect funnel-shaped point, while a

BOILING SEETHING MASS

of vaporous clouds were rapidly revolving in the rift. The air was suddenly filled with trees and twigs and the downpour of rain brought with it a deluge of mud. Then the truth dawned on all that a cyclone was prevailing.

From the point at which it seems to have first descended, to where it suddenly arose from the ground, just north of the city, it left terrific marks of its passing, not a house in its path escaping; not a tree or shrub left standing, or not twisted and torn out of shape. Fences are gone.

The iron bridge on Houston street is completely wrecked and blown away notwithstanding its hundreds of thousands of pounds of steel and material. The number of persons wounded will reach not less than 100 and it will be several days before the exact number of fatalities can be given as many persons and especially children are missing and many of the injured are in such critical shape that a score may die before morning.

THE LIST OF KILLED.

As far as reported by the authorities tonight is as follows:
MRS. OTTO BALLINGER and two children.
MRS. I. L. BURNS and two children,
JOSEPHINE, aged 3, and
GROVER, aged 10.
JOHN AMES and wife and two children.
REV. J. S. SHEARER.
MRS. LUKE MONTGOMERY and two children. Another child is also missing.
WILLIAM HAMILTON, farmer.
MRS. GEORGE ANDERSON and an infant daughter.
MRS. BELLE JENKINS.
D. L. PIERCE.
TOM PIERCE, his son, aged 14.
MRS. DAVE HERRING and two children.
AN UNKNOWN WOMAN and two white children, about 4 and 6 years of age, have not been identified and are being held in the morgue for identification.

The list of colored people killed, so far as learned up to 10 p. m., is as follows:

JAMES WALKER.
MRS. NORA NICHOLSON and two children.
LUCY BALLINGER and daughter.
CHARLEY COX, son of ELIZA COX.
MARY LAKE, and three children.
LEITTIS, JOHN and FATUS.

LIST OF WOUNDED.
TOM JENKINS, his wife and five children.
MR. AND MRS. HENRY MILLER, and two children.
A heavy sliver of wood was driven through the thigh of GRANVILLE JENKINS.
MR. AND MRS. ED. HALSELL and little son, with B. F. WOODARD, were in the cellar at the former’s residence and were covered with debris. MR. AND MRS. HALSELL were both painfully bruised about the thighs and are supposed to have been blown through a window.
ELIZA COX, colored, hurt in the breast.
HARRIET LAKE, colored, cut and bruised.
DON CEPHUS, colored, his wife and son, CLARENCE, all have limbs broken and are in a precarious condition.
LETTIE and LUMMIE BURNS are badly.
MR. AND MRS. JESSE BROWN, badly bruised. MRS. BROWN’S arm is broken.
LUKE SHEARER, son of REV. SHEARER, who was killed, is badly bruised.
This list is necessarily incomplete. The greatest

NUMBER OF FATALITIES

are reported from the colored settlement along Post Oak and Lincoln streets, between Curry and Lost streets where several people were killed outright.

Very few of the persons in the demolished houses are able to tell just how the storm burst upon them and only in one or two instances were parties able to get out of its deadly path.

MRS. J. P. KING and two children are seriously injured.
PHILIP NICHOLS received painful hurts about the head.
MRS. JOHN IRVINE and four children were all more or less injured.
W. S. BEUTWICK, who was in the same residence, is cut very seriously.
OTTO BALLINGER, whose family were all killed, is badly hurt about the head.
HESTER and NANNIE NICHOLSON, colored, of the family of which six were killed, are seriously hurt.
DAVE HERRING and MRS. D. L. PIERCE, who alone escaped death at their home, are perhaps fatally hurt.
MARY PATRICK, colored, and three children are all badly hurt.
MATTIE JOHNSON, colored, head hurt and injured internally; will die.
JOHN AND ALICE NEWHOUSE, colored, and four children, badly hurt.
HARRIET HENDRICKS, colored, both legs broken.
MISS EVA PIERCE, daughter of D. L. PIERCE, left leg and right arm broken.
MR. AND MRS. WRIGHT CLARK, painfully hurt.

THE NUMBER OF MISSING

is large and includes a great many children and it is quite probable that the most of them are dead.

It is very conservative to estimate that the list of fatalities will reach 50, while the injured will reach 150.

At least 50 houses are wrecked. Most of them are small cottages, except in Fairview and Washington avenues where the handsome residences of L. F. ELY, Captain J. G. SALLER, MRS. PAT MATTINGLY and JAMES FALLS also succumbed. The loss will reach at least $150,000 and but little if any of it was covered by cyclone insurance.

About the most graphic description given by any of the injured was that of W. S. BEUTWICK, who said:

WHAT HE SAW.

“I was at MR. JOHN IRVINE’S house when I heard the noise of the approaching storm. Just as I looked out I saw Captain BERGE’S house blown into the air and then MR. SHEARER’S house. The air was filled with great trees and timbers and every conceivable kind of article. I was fascinated, petrified, for I saw it was coming directly upon us and that it could not be long in reaching us. It was a black, serpentine cloud, twisting, writhing in the center, but at the bottom it seemed to be moving steadily. I woke from my stupor and called out to the family, who were in the house, and asked them not to run out. I feared that we would all be struck by flying timbers. Then came

AN AWFUL CRASH.

A sense of suffocation, and when it was over the house was gone and myself and family were scattered about the yard and under the debris. It was over in such a short time that I can not give you an idea of how long it was.”

In just a few minutes the police officers were appealed to for shelter for the dead and wounded and ambulances and all kinds of conveyances were pressed into service. A vacant store room on the north side of Court Plaza and another on the south side, and the court room were transformed into impromptu morgues and hospitals for the wounded down town, while every residence left standing on Fairview is

FILLED WITH WOUNDED.

The physicians and druggists responded promptly to the call for succor and drugs and everything needed came spontaneously. Hundreds of ladies responded to the call of humanity and with a score of physicians, were soon at work. Color and caste disappeared, in the supreme moment of woe and desolation.

Thanks to the excellent police service, the crowds were restrained everywhere about the improvised hospitals and citizens and physicians found their labor more effective on account of non-interference. The cries of the injured were supplemented by the agonized shrieks of those who, passing

FROM CORPSE TO CORPSE

at last found some loved one, perhaps a husband or a wife or son or daughter.

MR. MONTGOMERY’S wife and two or three children are dead. The children are terribly mangled.

One of them, about five years old, had the top of her head knocked off.

Another child was found dead 500 yards from the house.

On West Houston street several are dead.
A man named BILL HAMILTON is fatally injured.
MR. CEPHUS, and child, colored are reported dead.
Several negroes have been picked out of the creek dead.
A young white woman, unidentified, was found dead, three hundred yards south of ELY’S residence.

Every moment brings new victims. It is likely as many as 50 people are dead. The victims are

HORRIBLY MANGLED.

JOHN AMES and wife and two children are dead and a five year old boy fatally injured.
T. W. JENKINS, daughter and wife are dead.

The most miraculous escape so far as learned by the reporter was the case of the family of Captain ELY. The residence, quite a roomy, brick structure, was razed to the ground, and but for the presence of some heavy timbers standing upright in the debris, which sheltered them from the avalanche of brick and stone, they would have all perished, but as it was only one member, a little girl, was bruised.

A public meeting raised $3,000 for the immediate relief of the sufferers and the PERMANENT RELIEF COMMITTEE, consisting of C. H. SMITH, C. B. RANDELL, C. H. DORCHESTER and COLONEL GEORGE M. MURPHY, will take donations.

It is distinctly stated that donations from points outside of Grayson county will not be received. Denison has responded nobly and nurses and physicians from that city are here rendering great assistance. All railroads running into the city placed special trains at the disposal of the local authorities and brought help from all neighboring cities.

Reports are that the storm killed many persons in the country west of Howe.

A large number of police and searching parties are looking for missing persons.

ADDITIONAL DEATHS.

The following are additional deaths reported up to 1 a. m.;
JIM ENGLISH, colored.
JOHN TAYLOR, white.
KATE KING, colored.
The unknown woman at the morgue has been identified as MRS. I. L. BURIES.
Another infant of the BALLINGER family has been found dead.
CHARLES WEDDLE, of Fairview, is dead, with a piece of timber driven through his body.
The family of JOHN HAMILTON has been discovered, all badly injured.
One of the HAMILTON boys, aged 20 years, will die. Two girls, one aged 15 and one 9, were fatally injured, and another girl, aged 11, was injured internally.

It is impossible to get a correct list of all the missing. Nearly every family in the district has some member that they can not account for and it is believed that most of

THE MISSING ARE DEAD.

A water spout accompanied the cyclone and the creeks are all out of their banks. Several objects thought to be human bodies were seen in the water, but could not be reached. The officers are making every effort to dredge all creeks in the vicinity to-morrow. It is a remarkable incident that in every case where there were deaths the bodies from the houses destroyed were found from 100 to 150 yards away, in a direction opposite to that in which the storm was moving. The storm was moving northward and in every instance the bodies were found to the southward. Telegraph poles were torn up and driven into the ground. A great many of the wounded are in private houses scattered all over the city. It is safe to assume that at least one quarter of the number

INJURED WILL DIE

in the next twenty-four hours. Another storm of a similar nature passed about six miles west of the city at about the same hour. Several houses were blown down and many persons injured. Their names can not be obtained.

At Carpenter’s bluff it is reported six persons were hurt, five seriously.
Buildings and other structures in the way were demolished.

A daughter of TOM JENKINS was found lying in a pool of water. She was evidently drowned, for no marks or bruises could be found on her body.

The police department is employing every means in its power to help the sufferers and all have been given comfortable quarters

AT CARPENTER BLUFF.

After passing over Sherman the cyclone went southeast.
At Carpenter Bluff, seven miles east at Denison, the dwelling of JOHN DEVANT was blown down and four persons, DEVANT and wife, and DEVANT’S hired man, named ARMOUR, and a little child, received injuries from which they will die.

THE EARLY ACCOUNT.

Sherman, May 15. — A most disastrous cyclone struck Sherman at 4:30 o’clock this afternoon, wiping out the western end of the town entirely.

The loss of life is appalling. The dead are estimated at between 30 and 40. This is a very conservative estimate. Many more are fatally or seriously injured.

At 6 o’clock, the evening twelve bodies are lying in the court house and as many more are scattered about across the desolated west end of the city. No accurate estimate can be made yet of the loss of life and property. The work of rescue and search for the missing goes on. The business part of the town is deserted and the greatest excitement reigns. The Western Union office is overflowed with anxious ones sending messages and inquiring the fate of other towns. Every available wagon, buggy and horse is in use by searchers and workers on

THE FIELD OF DEATH.

As time passes reports of greater loss of life and property are arriving. Many stories of miraculous escapes are told.

The Sherman court house is insufficient to hold the dead and wounded.

The vacant Moore building, on the south square, was utilized at 6 o’clock, fifteen colored people, dead or dying, being placed there.

Express drays, baggage wagons and all kinds of vehicles continue to come in with dead bodies. Around the Moore building the highest excitement prevails and the greatest difficulty is experienced in getting the names of the victims and accurate reports.

The storm struck Sherman without warning, on the southwest corner of the city, and cleared a path 100 yards wide along the west end of the town. Houses, trees, fences and everything went before

THE TERRIBLE FORCE

of the cyclone. The negro part of the town suffered the most severely.

There are probably, 30 negroes killed. Ten bodies have been picked up in Post Oak creek.

The flood of rain which attended the storm was severe. The town is a mass of mud and floating debris. There is much difficulty in finding the dead and injured.

Captain J. E. ELY’S house was demolished and his wife and two children had miraculous escapes.

Captain B. BERGE’S residence was also leveled to the ground, but fortunately the family was away from home.

FRANK RYAN, manager of the Sherman baseball team, had his house blown off its foundation and completely turned around. His wife and two children escaped serious injury.

Leadville Daily and Evening Chronicle 1896-05-16

THE TEXAS CYCLONE

Further Reports of the Terrible

Destruction Wrought.

Additional Returns Only Add to the Horrors

of the Catastrophe.

Austin, Tex., May 16—News from North Texas reports a terrific cyclone in that section yesterday afternoon. At the small town of Justin, twelve business houses were blown down and their contents scattered to the winds.

One man, named W.J. Evans, of Keller, Tex., was killed by a tree falling upon him and seventeen others were injured, some of whom are not expected to live. Cattle in the fields were blown hither and thither and many of them killed outright.

Keller, a small town to the north of Justin, was almost entirely wrecked by the cyclone and it is reported that only one house in the hamlet is now standing. All that section of the country immediately north of these two towns was left in ruins by the storm.

The cyclone struck the town of Hudson, leaving death and ruin in its wake. The path of the cyclone at this point was a quarter of a mile wide. Ten farm houses and as many barns were wrecked. Eight persons were killed outright and many injured. Much stock was killed.

Griddle Springs, a small village north of Denton, was also swept by the cyclone, four persons being killed, five dangerously hurt and thirty badly wounded.

The railroad track north of Justin is also reported to be torn up and twisted out of shape, showing the terrific velocity of the wind. Water was scooped out of creeks by the wind, and every section of the country lying in the path of the cyclone is laid waste. The path of the cyclone was possibly 10 miles wide by 12 long, judging from reports.

A cyclone at Mound Ridge devastated a stretch of country about eight miles in length and 100 yards in width.

Samuel Bass, a farmer, was fatally injured and his house demolished. Five others, whose names are unknown, were more or less seriously injured.

A permanent relief committee has been organized at Sherman and will take donations for the relief of the sufferers from yesterday’s storm. Denison has responded nobly and nurses and physicians from that city are there rendering great assistance. All railroads running into the city placed special trains at the disposal of local authorities and brought help from all neighboring cities. Reports say that the storm killed many person in the county west of Howe.

It is impossible to get a correct list of all the missing. Nearly every family in the district has some member that they cannot account for and it is believed that most of the missing are dead. A water spout accompanied the cyclone and the creeks are all out of the banks.

Several objects thought to be human bodies were seen in the water but could not be reached. The officers are making every preparation possible to dredge all the creeks in the vicinity at an early hour. Telegraph and telephone poles were torn up and driven into the ground. It is safe to assume that at least one fourth of the number of injured will die in the next 24 hours.

Another storm of a similar nature passed about six miles west of the city at about the same hour. Several houses were blown down and many persons injured.

At Carpenter’s Bluff, on the Red River, it is reported that six persons were hurt, five seriously.

Buildings and other structures in the way were demolished. A daughter of Thomas Jenkins was found lying in a pool of water. She had evidently been drowned, for no marks or bruises could be found on her body.

In Sherman many elegant residences were demolished. The Houston street steel suspension bridge was torn to splinters and huge iron girders were twisted like straw. Houses, trees and human beings were blown thousands of feet. All of the buildings on Sixth street were swept away by the mighty whirlwind.

A dead child was found in the top of a tree. A farmer driving along in front of Captain Ely’s house was killed instantly. The wagon wheelsbut no trace of the team. Bodies of children, beheaded and disemboweled, were seen in many places. Six unidentified white corpses are in Undertaker Harrington’s rooms. A son of J.H. Perren, who lives five miles south of the town, was fatally injured. The boy was away from his home, at his uncle’s, who was killed with his wife and baby. Ten bodies were brought in from the Wakefieldfarm, two miles west of the city.

A.F. Person, wife, granddaughter, married daughter and three other children who lived on the farm were all killed. It is thought that the country for 14 or 15 miles has been devastated and depopulated by the storm.

Not a tree or house was left standing in its course. Five hundred yards to the east the storm would have taken in the business portion of the city. The cyclone was preceded by terrific claps of thunder, much lightning and a furious dash of rain. The people were terror stricken and many fell on their knees and prayed for deliverance.

Five minutes after the storm the sky was bright and clear but desolation, terror and uncontrollable grief reigned where ten minutes before were happy, united families and pleasant homes.

Many private houses have been turned into hospitals and physicians and surgeons of this and adjacent towns worked all night. The ladies of Sherman came to the rescue nobly and bear up bravely in the face of the most sickening sights.

Very few persons in the demolished houses are able to tell how the storm burst upon them and only in one or two instances were parties able to get out of its deadly path. W.S. Bostwick relates his experience as follows:

“I was at John Irvine’s house when I heard the noise of the approaching storm. Just as I looked out I saw Capt. Birge’s house blown into the air and then Mr. Spearen’s house. The air was filled with trees and timbers and every conceivable kind of articles. I was terrified for I saw that the black cloud was coming directly upon us and that it could not be long in reaching us. I hurried home and called to the members of my family, who were in the house, and asked them not to run out. I reared that we would all be stuck by the flying timbers.

Then came an awful crash, a sense of suffocation, and when it was over the house was gone and myself and family were scattered abut the yard and under the rubbish. It was over in a short time.”

Later—The death list is growing rapidly and this morning over 75 bodies were found. Over 25 physicians from Sherman, Denison, Whitewright, Howe and Van Alstyne are attending the wounded and hundreds of women are helping. The colored people having recovered from their first fright, are working like Trojans. The excitement cannot be abated so long as reports continue to come in as they do.

It is reported that 12 dead bodied have been found in a pit north of town and there have been no means of bringing them here. Many persons are missing and entire families cannot yet be found. It is believe many negroes will be found in Post Oak creek. Bodies are still being brought in and will be during the day. If all reports are to be credited, the number of dead must reach 150. The storm passed two miles from Denison, and is thought to have broken up beyond there.

Telephone an telegraph wires between here and Denison are all down and many other towns have no connection. It is feared that the restoration of telegraphic communication will bring information of the loss of life and property in surrounding towns, greater than already estimated.

Bangor Daily Whig and Courier (Bangor, Maine) Monday, 18 May 1896

Amanda (Gray) Cook

This is my great-grandmother, who was injured and left an orphan by this tornado. She was about 10 years-old at the time. Both of her parents, Lafayette Gray and Martha Jane May, as well as her grandmother, Martha E May died from injuries sustained in this natural disaster.

This picture, which can be found on the Grayson County, Texas Genweb website is of the memorial placed in the cemetery in remembrance of the horrible trajedy and its victims. Most of the dead do not have their own gravestones.

There are several other articles about the Black Friday disaster, which I transcribed posted on the same site.

In addition, the book, Sherman’s Black Friday, by H.L. Piner can be read online there as well. The two pictures depicting the damage that I posted with the articles come from that book.

*Links fixed to the Genweb pages linked above.

Jim Dahlman and the Charley Bree Shooting

See previous Jim Dahlman related posts:

“Cowboy Jim Dahlman: Perpetual Politician”

“Dahlman and Middleton: Characters of the Old West”

HIS EARLY LIFE

JAMES C. DAHLMAN TELLS OF HIS YOUTHFUL HISTORY.

GREW UP WITH HARD CROWD

WHERE MIGHT AND PISTOL WERE THE ONLY LAW.

WHY DAHLMAN LEFT TEXAS

DROPPED HIS MAN AND MOVED NORTH AS “JIM MURRAY.”

Democratic Nominee Meets Campaign Story Early by Giving Authorized Interview on His Life in the South.

James C. Dahlman “got his man” in Texas thirty-two years ago and came to Nebraska under the name of “Jim Murray.”

In 1884, wishing to marry and hearing that he had not killed his victim after all, he resumed the name of Dahlman.

Because such rumors were afloat and because they would probably be printed before the campaign is over, Mayor Dahlman was asked by The Journal to give an authorative account of his early life before he became known in the political world. He readily agreed to this and told his history in a frank and unhesitating manner. This was on Thursday, when he passed through Lincoln. A reporter met him on his arrival from Beatrice and rode with him to Wahoo. He answered every question, only stipulating that a copy of this interview be submitted to him before its publication. The copy was mailed to him at Central City, where he was to be on Monday, a carbon copy remaining in the office for immediate use. Last night the publication of the interview was authorized by the following telegram:

GRAND ISLAND, Neb., Sept. 27. — State Journal, Lincoln, Neb.: All right. Cut her loose. Except county is Lavaca, if I remember rightly instead of DeWitt that trouble took place.
JAMES C. DAHLMAN

Mayor Dahlman’s Story.

“My father settled in DeWitt county, Texas, in 1845, and there I was born and raised, with a rope in one hand, spurs on my heels, and a six-shooter on my hip. It was a wild country as early as I can remember and was but little better when I left there. There were seven children in our family, of whom I was the fourth.

During the war and afterwards DeWitt county came to be the rendezvous of about the toughest gang that could be found in the United States. Feuds were common and unrelenting in character between such groups as the Hardins, the Taylors, the Suttons, and the Clemmons factions. I think I am safe in saying that more men died violent deaths in DeWitt county than in any other territory of equal size in the country at any time in the history of Texas. I have seen as many as seven men killed in one fight between these factions.

“This was the atmosphere in which I grew up and naturally as I became a young man about the only right I knew was that of the pistol and a quick hand. The law was but poorly enforced and men lived by the right of might. I got to be pretty tough, I admit it. I went around a good deal of the time with a chip on my shoulder hoping some one would knock it off. The country was full of maverick cattle and no one was a better hand than I with the rope chasing down these strays and putting the branding iron on them. Everybody did it. I was training with a bad crowd, as bad as there was in the country, harum-scarum, devil-may-care fellows, you know. I can see now that it was only a question of time when I would get into trouble. So I came to Nebraska to get away from it.

Dahlman Family 1870 Census

Name:  Rosalee Dahlmann
Gender: Female
Marriage Date: 7 Jun 1868
Spouse: Charles M. Bree
Marriage city: Dewitt
Marriage State: Texas
Source: Texas Marriages, 1851-1900

Why He Left Texas.

“The immediate cause of my leaving Texas was this: An older sister married a man named Charley Bree, a shiftless sort of fellow, nothing more or less than an outlaw. They lived together for two years and some time after their child was born he deserted her for no apparent reason than that he was tired of married life, and his innate cussedness. I was a fiery, quick-tempered boy less than twenty years of age. There was scarcely any law in the country and none that was likely to reach a cuss like that. I sent him word that I  would shoot him the first time I saw him. Things went on in this condition for some time and Bree and I did not meet. Then on day purely by accident we met in a town where neither was known. No sooner did we face each other than we both pulled and shot. I got him; he missed me. We shot but once each. My shot hit him about the eye and he dropped like lead. I thought he was done for and wasted no time in getting away. I rode through into Arkansas and stayed there in secret.

“Well, I stayed in Arkansas for six months. Finally my money ran low and dead broke I wrote to a friend in Texas for a loan, meanwhile going to work for a butcher. This Texas friend did not send me the money. It happened that an old-time acquaintance was coming to Nebraska and my friend told him to stop off and get me. He did so and we came by rail to Omaha and thence west on the Union Pacific. He had $350 when he dropped off in Arkansas and divided even with me. I afterward paid him back with interest. It is not true that I followed the trail from Texas to Nebraska. This was in 1878, and I was twenty-two years of age.

His Arrival in Nebraska.

“I guess I was a hard-looking customer. I wore the high heeled boots of the cowboy, with pants tucked in at the top of them. I affected also a mustache and a little French goatee. My luggage was carried in a pair of leather saddlebags. I would give $500 today if I could get hold of those saddlebags. I had never seen snow nor ice until I saw them in Nebraska. Well, we went west on the Union Pacific to Sidney and from there overland north. I remember the stage was so heavily laden that we had to take turns walking. We were not dressed to trapse through snow six inches deep in the midst of a blizzard, and finally I got so mad that I tumbled the whole crowd out at the point of a gun, got in, and threatened to shoot the first man who mentioned walk again. We rode.

“Well, I first got work from a ranchman, known familiarly as “Old Man Newman.” He is still alive and lives in El Paso, Tex. He would not hire me at first because he said I looked too much of a tough, and would be picking quarrels with his cowmen first thing. But I was broke and persuaded the foreman to let me camp with them a while. Finally he gave me a job. I stayed with him for seven years, became his foreman and there was not a better paid cowboy in that section of the country. Newman’s ranch was located twelve miles east of what is now Gordon.

Went Into Politics.

“Finally I got a job as brand inspector for the Wyoming live stock association and held this job two years. In the meantime Chadron had been started and I decided to start into business for myself. I had got a few cattle together and started a ranch. I and my partner also ran a meat market in Chadron. Then I mixed some in politics, was elected sheriff of Dawes county three terms, and mayor of Chadron twice. About the time I quit the position of mayor the hard times were upon us and we all went broke. I was fortunate enough to secure the position of secretary of the state board of transportation and moved to Lincoln. My youngest daughter was born while I lived there. Since then everyone knows of my career as chairman of the democratic state committee, twice member of the national committee from Nebraska and member of the executive committee. I moved to Omaha and engaged in the live stock commission business in South Omaha, meanwhile residing in Omaha. I got into Omaha politics and that is how I came to be elected mayor the first time. And there you are.”

“What became of Bree?”

“Oh, he got well from the bullet wound I gave him, although I did not know for two years that he was not killed. He died several years ago. My sister, over whom we had the trouble, is still alive. She married again.”

Came Here as “Jim Murray.”
“Did you live in this state under an assumed name, Jim Murray, after you came here in 1878?”

“Yes,” and the mayor smiled his appreciation of the question. “When I go to Arkansas I changed my name to Murray. I do not know why I picked that name. I thought I had killed Bree, and I was keeping out of sight, you bet. Strange to say the authorities in Dewitt county never took the matter up and I was never looked for. But I did not know that.

“I kept the assumed name after I came to Nebraska, and cowboys and ranchers in Wyoming where I was brand inspector still know me as Jim Murray. After I knew that Bree had recovered I felt no need for the name but it was easier to keep than to change back.

“I finally changed to my right name for this reason: We used to trade with a trader at the Pine Ridge agency, ninety miles from the ranch., Blanchard was his name. I got to know him pretty well and he often invited me to his house. He had several children and finally secured the services of a young lady named Hattie Abbott as governess for these children. I fell in love with her and decided to ask her to marry me. But before doing so I told her the whole story of my life and took back my real name. This was in the fall of 1884, after I had been Jim Murray for sex years. We were married in Union, Ia., where she had a sister living.

“I think that pretty well covers my life history. I was a tough one in Texas, and I guess I did not change all at once after coming to Nebraska, although I had resolved to live a different life. When one considers the environs in which I grew up and the desperate character of the people of Texas, and later the not entirely tame life on the frontier of Nebraska, you will have to admit that I did pretty well to come out of it no meaner than I am. I did a great many things which I would not do now, but I am not ashamed to tell what they were, and I have told you.”

The Nebraska State Journal (Lincoln, Nebraska) Sep 28, 1910

Yellow Bank / Koerth, Texas

From Texas Escapes Online Magazine:

Irish settlers arrived three years before Texas Independence was declared. The site was first known as Yellow Bank and later Antioch. St. John the Baptist Catholic Church were built around 1865. German and Czech immigrants replanced the original settlers after the Civil War. Storekeeper C. J. Koerth opened a post office in his store from 1884 through 1910 (although it was closed from 1887-1893). Koerth built a school in 1914.

AS IT IS TOLD IN TEXAS

STORY OF DAHLMAN’S SHOOTING OF HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW.
OLD SETTLER REMEMBERS IT

Harks Back Thirty-two Years to His Own House Warming and Tells Incident as He Saw It and Heard It.

Some weeks ago The Journal printed a biographical sketch of Mayor J.C. Dahlman of Omaha, present candidate for governor on the democratic ticket. This story was authorized by Mr. Dahlman who said it was substantially as he had related it. Comments on this story of the life of Mr. Dahlman as he related it were general. The general opinion was that it would not seriously affect his candidacy one way or the other, whereas if the story had been printed without his having told it, it might have been more serious from a political point of view. Many people, however, declared that the tale was too favorable to the “Cowboy Mayor” and that The Journal had played far too fairly with him in giving all the extenuating circumstances as presented by the relater.

Ten days ago The Journal sent three or four letters to Texas, enclosing a clipping of the story, and asking briefly that if in the neighborhood any old settler resided who could remember the incident of the shooting of Charley Bree, that he be asked to relate it as he heard it, and that the story be sent here to be printed. The idea was that if the story were at all one-sided any old settler of Texas, familiar with the affair, would give the other side, not being actuated in any degree to apologize for the act, as it was charged generally by those opposed to Mayor Dahlman would be the case in taking the story from him.

One of these letters was sent to Yoakum, Texas, as being in Lavaca county where Mayor Dahlman said the shooting occurred. The resulting story here related by a man who saw the whole affair except the actual shooting, and he heard that, being but a few yards distant when the shots were fired.

The tale comes from Texas, a newspaper proprietor of Yoakum being the intermediary. This newspaper man is proprietor of the Yoakum Herald, J.W. Cook. He writes in explanation as follows:

“As per your request of the 9th inst. I am handing you herewith the story of the shooting of Charley Bree by J.C. Dahlman as told by Mr. C.G. Koerth. Mr Koerth is a thoroughly reliable man and any citizen of Yoakum who knows him will vouch for his veracity.

“I have shown Mr. Koerth a copy of the story and he O.K.’d it. Yours very truly, J.W. COOK.”

The Story From Texas.

Here is the old settler’s story:

After making considerable inquiry as to who would likely know something of the shooting case in which J.C. Dahlman was charged with shooting Charley Bree some thirty-two years ago, information was obtained that Mr. C.G. Koerth might remember something of the affair. Mr. Koerth was found. Mr. Koerth is a highly respected and honored citizen of  the city of Yoakum. His is seventy-five years of age and has lived in Lavaca county since 1860. He is a native of Germany. For the past dozen years he has resided in Yoakum and has been engaged in the drug business in this city with his sons, Emil C. and John C. Koerth.

Asked if he remembered a shooting scrape in which J.C. Dahlman and Charley Bree were the principals he replied: “Yes, it occurred at my house. I remember a great deal about it.”

“Would you object to relating what you remember of it.”

“I do not object at all,” said Mr. Koerth.

“The story is about like this,” said Mr. Koerth. “Some time in the late ’70′s, either ’77 or ’78, I was residing near what is known as Yellow Banks creek in Lavaca county. I had established a general merchandise store there and had recently got permission from the department to establish a postoffice there which was given the name of Antioch. During the year in question I had erected a new residence. I did the principal part of the carpenter work on my residence myself but a neighbor of mine, Mr. C. Karney had also had a new home built that year and had employed a carpenter named Eugene Stark. Stark had come to our neighborhood from over near Yorktown in DeWitt county. When he had nearly finished the Karney residence he employed a painter, Charley Bree, who had come to our section from the same place in DeWitt county.

“I needed a painter to finish my house, so Mr. Stark, with whom I had become acquainted and also my neighbor, Mr. Karney, recommended Bree as a capable painter. I employed him. He soon impressed me as being not only a good painter but an intelligent, energetic, good man as well.

“From Stark, the carpenter, I had learned that Bree had been employed some years previous by a Mr. Dahlman as clerk in a store, that he had gained the confidence of the Dahlman family and had married one of the Dahlman girls. Later he was entrusted with a considerable sum of money and sent to New Orleans to buy a stock of merchandise for the Dahlman store. In some way Bree got into trouble on this trip to New Orleans and had lost or spent a part of this money and did not buy near the quantity of goods he was expected to buy. This conduct on Bree’s part aroused the ill will of the Dahlmans and they finally drove him away from home. He located in my community as a painter.

“About the time my new home was finished some young men of the community came to my store one afternoon and wanted to have a dance in my house that night. I objected but the boys saw my wife, secured her permission to have the dance and come back to urge me to yield. I did so, consenting for them to have the dance.

Arrival of Feudists.

During the afternoon of this same day two men, heavily armed rode up to my house and asked for a night’s lodging. As we were entertaining Bree and a drummer for that night we could not accommodate them so my wife sent them to a neighbor, Mr. Gerdes, telling them they might get lodging with him. Gerdes could not take them so sent them on to another neighbor, Schulte, who agreed to keep them over night. These two men later proved to be J.C. Dahlman and “Bud” Seekers.

“When told of the appearance on the place of these two men Bree looked uneasy. We noticed he soon went to his room and in a few minutes left, armed with his pistol and Winchester rifle. We noticed he went to Schulte’s. Upon returning he told us he knew those two men and that he had told Mrs. Schulte to fix them a good supper and he would pay for it. The gentlemen informed him, however, they would pay their own bill.

“Night came on. The young people of the community had assembled and had started the dancing. Soon after the dancing started these same two men appeared at the door and asked me if they could take part in the dance, I told them they certainly could but that they would have to disarm themselves and turn their weapons over to me. To this they readily agreed, handing over to me their six shooters. They had left their rifles on their saddles. So they came in and took part in the festivities. Everybody seemed to have a pleasant time except I had noticed Bree seemed much disturbed about something. I asked him what the trouble was and he evaded answering for a long time but finally said ‘Those two fellows are here to mob me. They will do it tonight if they get a chance.’

“I tried to console him, telling him in the meantime to keep out of their way.
“At 12 o’clock announcement was made that there would be no more dancing, so the crowd began to disperse. Soon, all  were gone except one man — Jim Goodson. His remaining and other occurrences of the evening aroused my suspicions so I took a seat where I could observe what was going in. My store was about two hundred yards from my home and at the rear of the house in the direction of the store was a small orchard of fruit trees.

Slipped Up on Him.

“Presently I saw some one coming up from the direction of the store, through the orchard, on through the back yard gate into the yard.

“I called out ‘Look out Bree, someone is slipping on you.’

“Bree turned, facing the back door, leveled his gun on the approaching figure and shouted ‘Stop there. Don’t slip up on me that way or I will kill you.’

“The fellow took to his heels and left in a hurry.’

“Of course this created considerable excitement and it was some time before my family retired. After they retired I sat up and watched for some time. I suspected that an attempt would be made to rob my store.

“Shortly after this occurrence Jim Goodson left the house and I went to bed but not to sleep. I asked Bree what he intended doing.

“He said he would stay up a while longer to see what he could learn. I asked him to keep an eye on my store while he was guarding himself. As he left he reiterated that he was sure they would mob him if they got a chance.

“Bree had not been away from the house long before I heard three shots in close succession. I knew something had happened, so I jumped out of bed as hastily as I could and dressed myself. Just about the time I got my clothes on Bree reached the back door of my house and said, ‘They have murdered me.’

“I saw he was all covered with blood. I had him come into the house and examined his wounds as best I could. I found he had been struck on the upper left side of the head and a considerable furrow plowed across the skull with a bullet. I was soon convinced that he was not fatally wounded.

“I kept Bree in my house until the following night, in the meantime summoning a physician to dress his wounds.

“On the following night we moved him to a distant neighbor’s house who had a sort of second story or loft to his place and made arrangements with them to keep him and not let anyone know he was there. He remained there a couple of weeks under the care of a physician.

Bree’s Version of Shooting.

“During this period he told me he had come to my store building and was leaning against an old live oak tree that stood near. Around this tree was a large pile of dirt taken from a cellar which I had recently had dug under the store. He was on this pile of dirt. He said that Dahlman and Seekers had discovered him there and opened fire on him. The two first shots missed him but the third struck him on the head and he soon fell to the ground. He had drawn his pistol but the shot had so paralyzed him that he could not use it and that it fell to the ground.

The shot dazed him for only a moment and when he arose he saw the two men running away.

“The two men left the country and I never heard of them again until Dahlman became prominent in his state’s politics, and I was not then sure it was the same Dahlman until I read his account of the shooting which recently appeared in the public prints.

“After Bree recovered sufficiently to travel, he left our section, going over near Lagrange in Fayette county. He promised me faithfully that he would write me when he was located but he never did. I learned that he left Lagrange with a fellow named Barney Brown, who carried him to Alleyton, the then terminus of the Southern Pacific railroad. He then boarded the train and I have heard nothing from him since..

About eighteen months later a skeleton was found up on Ponton’s creek, hanging to a tree. The clothing on it had some paint splotches, and some of my neighbors thought it was Bree, but I did not think so.

“What of Bree’s character?

“He was a nice man. I knew him several months. He did not drink and had no bad habits so far as I knew.”

The Nebraska State Journal (Lincoln, Nebraska) Nov1, 1910

THE SHOOTING OF CHARLEY BREE

To Mayor Dahlman’s version of the incidents leading to his flight from Texas and assumption for several years of the assumed name of Jim Murray in Nebraska, we now add the version of a virtual eye witness with no apparent interest in the matter other than to tell the facts. This is Mr. C.G. Koerth of Yoakum, Texas, whose veracity is vouched for by citizens of that community. His account varies from Mr. Dahlman’s in essential respects.

Mr. Dahlman’s story was that Charley Bree, “a shiftless sort of fellow, nothing more or less than an outlaw,” married his sister and later deserted her “for no apparent reason than that he was tired of married life, and his innate cussedness.” Dahlman “sent him word that I would shoot him the first time I saw him.” Later “one day purely by accident we met in a town where neither was known. No sooner did we face each other than we both pulled and shot. My shot hit him above the eye and he dropped like lead.” Then followed the flight that brought Dahlman to Nebraska as Jim Murray.

Mr. Koerth’s story differs in practically all these details. Bree was “an intelligent, energetic, good man,” who made his living as a painter. Formerly he had been employed by his father-in-law, Dahlman, in a store. Bree failed properly or satisfactorily to perform a business mission for the Dahlmans and “they finally drove him away from home.” To the community where Bree worked as a painter, and where he had become known, followed two men, Jim Dahlman, brother-in-law of Bree, and Bud Seekers. After midnight they fired upon him in the darkness, inflicting the wound in the head, and fled the country.

Dahlman’s own story puts himself in the attitude of avenging a sister abused by a worthless husband, and doing it in fair and open duel. Mr. Koerth’s story has him executing a good man, as men went in Texas in those days, who had been driven away from his wife by the Dahlmans; and moreover, perpetrating the act while skulking under cover of darkness and reinforced by an assistant. There was some frontier romance, a dash of unwritten law, in Dahlman’s act as described by himself. As described by an onlooker the act was unnecessary, unjust and cowardly, the act of a common, craven outlaw.

Which story is true? By the ordinary rules of evidence Mr. Koerth’s story would have the more weight. Dahlman has an obvious motive for glossing over his conduct. Koerth has no interest on way or the other. But except as Koerth’s story discredits that boasted frankness of Dahlman it can hardly make a difference in one’s opinion of Dahlman or in his chances to be governor. If Dahlman’s record in Nebraska politics, his personality, and the things he stands for in this campaign will not put him under the ban of the Nebraska voters, neither will the story, even if accepted, that he ambushed at midnight and shot an inoffensive man.

The Nebraska State Journal (Lincoln, Nebraska) Nov 2, 1910

Omaha City Hall

OMAHA MOURNS MAYOR DAHLMAN
Body of Picturesque Leader Of City for 21 Years Lies in State
(By Associated Press)

OMAHA, Neb., Jan 24. — As the body of Mayor James C. Dahlman lay in state at the city hall today and thousands paid homage to the man who headed their city government for 21 years, the picturesque life of the man was told and retold.

There were those among the crowd who had known him when he was plain Jim Dahlman, the cowboy, feared and loved as one of the best shots and hardest riders on the Western plains. These men were in great demand, for the people of Omaha had never tired of hearing of early exploits of their mayor, who died Tuesday night at Excelsior Springs, Mo.

In all this story telling there came to light a tale which Dahlman’s old cronies said had been revealed to the public only once before and that 20 years ago. It revealed how Dahlman once “got his man” and that this man was his brother-in-law.

The story, as told by Dahlman himself:

“An older sister of mine married a man named Charley Dree [Bree]. He was a shiftless sort, in reality nothing more than an outlaw, and he did not treat her right. They lived together two years. When their child was born, Dree deserted her for no reason the family could see except that he was tired of married life and because of his lack of responsibility, and his meanness.

“I was about 20 at the time, fiery of temper, having gone much in bad company since I left home. I knew the nature of hte man. The law in that country was not likely to reach that sort of a man. So I sent him word that I would shoot him the first time I laid eyes on him.

“We did not see each other for a long time, but I happened to be in a town in Lavaca County (Texas) one night when I saw him in a saloon. He was with a partner and I was with a friend. The whole town went over to a dance on the edge of town and, after it was well under way, we saw him go, too.

“The word must have reached him, for when I approached the dance hall, later in the evening, I saw him coming out with his rifle in hand. Dree saw me about the same time I saw him. He raised his rifle and missed me. I got him over the eye. I was pretty handy with the six-shooter then.

“I ran over to where he was and it looked as if he was done for, so I lost no time in getting out of there. I rode through into Arkansas and remained there in secret, while I sent my partner back to find out what happened. It seemed that Dree lived a few hours.”

Dahlman lived in Arkansas for a time and then went to Nebraska with an old friend. He roped and branded steers in the western part of the State, finally coming to Omaha.

The story of his rise to political fame here, however, was conspicuous, his friends agreed, by the absence of the spectacular.

He recently had filed for re-election for his eighth three-year term. A public funeral will be held tomorrow.

San Antonio Express (Texas) Jan 24, 1930