The previous email contained a Newsletter. I clicked on a link for American
Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940. I
went to Texas and did a search for Carmack and found the name Carmack in two
stories. I copied them and thought I'd pass them along. I thought it was
interesting to read how things were during that period.
enjoy, dale
[Hugh M. Wood's Story]
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Mrs. Belle Kilgore
718 Wallace Street
Clovis, New Mexico
MAR 6 1937
1,200 Words
Hugh M. Wood's Story
Mr. Hugh M. Wood and wife, 711 Wallace Street, Clovis, New Mexico, came with
a colony of thirty-five families from Ft. Worth, Texas and settled near
Melrose and St Vrain, in Sept 1907. Mr. Wood took up a claim one and
one-half mile from St Vrain. In 1908, Mr. Wood moved his family to Melrose
for school purposes. Of course, they had to go back and forth to the claim
to hold it. After they proved up they moved to Clovis in 1910.
These families organized a Melworth Club among themselves. They organized
the first Sunday School in [that?] part of the country and met at Mr. Wood's
home every Sunday, for they had a three room house and a piano. Mrs.
Edeilbrook was the pianist, she was a pipe organ player in [?] {End deleted
text} Fort Worth. Mr. J. C. Riley, Mrs. Wood's father [was?] Supt. of the
Union Sunday School.
"Our house would be filled and the yard also, for every one was anxious to
talk to their neighbors and [hear?] from 'back home'
"We never made anything for three years,, but if we had we could had have
sold it, for there was no market. The first year we came out, I bought feed
for 1 a bundle. One year it looked as if we were going to raise a crop. One
morning we found our corn white with antelopes, there were about thirty of
them in the field. We used the dogs to keep the prairie chickens out of our
garden. The rattlesnakes were awful bad, too, we had to carry a stick or a
hoe every where we went to protect ourselves. The wolves were so bad that we
had to build houses close and tight to keep them away from the chickens. We
men would have a bit of fun digging the wolves out of the holes in the
ground," said Mr. Wood.
"Yes, and there was a white Lobo wolf in the country, as well as the brown
ones. When they howled it seemed that they just shook the ground, spoke up
Mrs. Wood.
"One morning, early in the spring, a man came to the door," continued Mrs.
Wood, "and asked if I had seen a cow. 'No, I said, 'but I saw her tracks.
She has been in my garden."
Well, why did you come out here for?" he asked.
"We came out here to get land of course," I answered.
"Well, this is my land." he said.
"Did you turn your cow loose on us?" I asked.
Yes, I turned her out and I am going to turn some more out," he said, and he
walked away and I found out it was Wild Horse Brown. So sure enough a heard
of 37 cattle was soon tramping down our crops. But the men drove the cattle
off our claim onto the next man's claim and he in turn drove them on to the
other man's claim until they had been driven several miles away. They kept
them moving until when Mr. Brown found them the could only get about
fifteen."
In a few weeks the Melworth Club decided to have a picnic. We went several
miles south of Melrose down {Begin deleted text} [?] {End deleted text}
Alkali Lake, which was dry and grassy. Soon after we had stopped and got
unpacked getting ready for a good time, a man rode up.
"Hello," he said, "you are the woman I ralked to once about the
cattle,"
said the rider.
"Yes, and you are the man who drove his cattle into our crop," said Mrs.
Wood.
"Well, I live in that big house on top of thill and you folks just send up
there and ger all the milk and buter and eggs you want. {Begin deleted text}
[?] {End deleted text} I'm Wil Horse Brown," hesaid.
"Won't you stay and eat with us?" I asked him. "Yes, I'll go and
get my
wife." he replied. They came back and we had a very pleasant evening. A
cloud [mass?] rising, but as we had not seen a rain since we had been out
here we paid no attention to it.
"You people come up to the house for it is going to rain," requested Mr.
Brown.
"Well it has'nt rained since we have been out here, so we are not afraid."
we told him.
All of us women put down the mattresses and slept in the lake. The men were
higher up on the sides of the lake, and we were all bedded down for the
night, where there was a flood of rain fell and before we could get out of
the lake, our mattresses and clothes were floating. As we wore [rats?] in
our hair then and took them off at night, these rats were floating around in
the water. But at last, we got out of the lacke and went to the conveyances
and spent the rest of the night the best that we could." And Mrs. Wood
[laughed?] at their terrible [experiences?].
"We got a good bath for once, "said Mr. Wood.
"Then we moved to Clovis in 1910
But once before [???] to Clovis, "said Mrs. Wood, "I went to Melrose to get
some feed and take it out to the claim, andthe children were with me. The
ponies were very small and the wagon light, but we piled it full of grain
and food. One of the horses [gave?] out. It was dark and finally some of the
children went up to a house [bout a mile and got another wagon to bring a
horse?], but the children did not know the road back so the woman took the
wron road, and after an [?] long time the got there and we drove in home
away after the middle of the night.
The first school house stood where the Eugene Field School now [stands?]. It
was [a tow?] room house. Mr. JL F. Taylor was the first to cher. The primary
[groceries?] were taught in a tin shed, which had been used as a skating
rink.
Mr. Wood was black smith for eight years. He was appointed deptuy sheriff in
1918 and served four years, when he was elected sheriff which office he held
for four years. I asked if he had any trouble much when he was sheriff.
"No, nothing to speak of. I collected twenty-three stills."
Did they men resent you taking them? How did you do it?" I asked. "Oh, I'd
find, go get'em and take 'em." He said in his crisp way of talking.
"This town was developing fast. There was a race track down Mitchel Street,
at one time.
One morning I went down town [ans?] saw a man sitting down against a
building taking on. I asked him what was the matter. "I'm sea sick," he
said.
"Sea sick? How is that there is no water in 100 miles of here."
[ianswered?].
"I'm sea sick from riding these waves on the street."
Mr. Wood has been caretaker for the Golf course for the last few years.
His Son Hugh M. Wood Jr. is manager of Roy Smith Tailor Shop. He lives on
Main Street 1213.
Mrs. Wallace Carmack [914?] Mitchel St. is his daughter. Mr. Carmack is
manager of Mandel Drygood store.
Mr. and Mrs. Wood have a beautiful home at 711 Wallace Street, and he takes
great delight in keeping the lawn of this home and the duplex house just
south of him.
American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project,
1936-1940
Item 2 of 2
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[N. Y. Bicknell]
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McGuire, Delise
Aug. 5, 1936
Crosby County
District 17
"Pioneer Days At Estacado"
Page 1
Bibliography
(N. Y. Bicknell)
N. Y. (Uncle Nell) Bicknell, who tells a few happenings of the early days of
Crosby county, was born in Madisonville, Tenn., in August 1860, the year of
the memorable campaign of Abraham Lincoln when he was a successful candidate
for the presidency. "Uncle Nell" is now 75 years old.
"I came to Texas in 1884, Steve and Sam Ellis and their families, Temple
Ellis and myself, decided that we would move on west. We outfitted four
covered wagons with four team mules and horses and started west. We could
travel only about 10 to 15 miles a day but managed to put in every day
traveling and on November 20, 1887, landed in Crosby County and settled one
mile west of where the Pleasant Hill school house now stands. We lived there
until 1899 and moved 3 miles Northeast of [?]. But before that time, in
1894, I returned to Farmersville where I was married to Miss Jennie Bumpus,
and returned immediately with my bride to Crosby County."
"The building of the court house at [?] was begun in 1887 and finished in
1888. Temple Ellis and myself hauled the first two loads of lumber that went
into the courthouse from Colorado City, then the nearest railroad and
shipping point. It usually took us four days to make the trip and six days
in returning. In the winter it took eight days to make the return trip.
"On our trips down to Colorado City, we went by the way of Snyder which had
a hotel and general store at that time, and on our return trips in order to
avoid the sand between Snyder and Colorado, we came back by old Durham,
about four miles east of where [?] in Borden county now is".
"In 1891 Felix Franklin was assesor for all these counties attached to
Crosby, nine at the time, and I was his deputy. I remember that it took me
30 days to assess the counties of Motley and Dickens. These two counties
were organized in that year, and Hale county drew out in 1988.
"In 1891 county seat election was held and the court house was moved to Old
[?]. The court house at Estacado was torn down and moved to the new county
seat. The [?] townsite company was Stringfellow and Hume, [??] and George
Bennedick and J. F. Moore.
"Estacado was headquarters for the cowboys who came there for many miles in
every direction. They had their dances in the court house. There was never
any saloon at Estacado and consequently a pretty quiet place. It was
different at Emma for there was a saloon there at one time and things got
pretty rocky sometimes. I never did miss a dance at Estacado. We danced all
night and rode all the next day.
"we used to have lots of prairie fires during the early days and a prairie
fire was something to be dreaded. The biggest one I remember started about
where Abernathy now stands. There was a strong west wind when the head fire
got about where Becton is now and divided, part going through south of
Petersburg. The wind changed to the north when Leslie Ellis and [?] Fox were
along the south side of the fire; it caught them between the fire and
pasture fence. They did not have time to tear down the fence or go to the
end of it, so they rode their horses in a run toward the fire and just
before reaching it lent leant over in their saddles and blindfolded their
eyes with their hands getting through the fire without being hurt.
Joe Brown and myself got caught in the fire. We caught the first team we
could get hold of, I rode a horse and Brown [?] a mule hitched to a buggy.
We had four miles to get home, and a wall of fire was right in behind us.
The old mule laid his ears back on his head and left out of there like he
knew what it was all about. We managed to stay ahead of the fire. Fox had 30
or 40 head of cattle to perish in this fire and some 1600 sheep east of
where Cone is now "About 1877 some of [?] Cox family got sick and there
being no doctors in the country he went to Oklahoma and brought back Dr.
William Hunt, father of the late Dr. J. W. Hunt. We liked the country so
well that he went back and brought his family to Estacado in 1888.
"In 1910 a county seat election moved the court house from Emma to Crosbyton
and I was in the regular move. In 1911 [?] interested in the First National
Bank of Emma. Edgar Allen was cashier and J. C. Woody was president. I was
elected chairman of the board of directors in 1911 and have had the place
ever since. When the bank was moved to Crosbyton it was changed to the
Citizens National Bank.
"In 1909 the First National Bank and the Citizens National Bank were
consolidated.
"A total of thirty-three people who once lived in Crosby County's historic
town of Emma now reside in Crosbyton. These people all moved to Crosbyton
shortly after the county seat election which moved the court house from Emma
to this city.
Only five people who lived at Estacado when that community was the county
seat now reside in the county, three of these living at Crosbyton.
"The ones who lived at Emma and now reside in Crosbyton are: Mrs. Edgar
Allen, Sr., Edgar Allen, Jr., N. Y. Bicknell, Mrs. N. Y. Bicknell, R. S. M.
Carter, Mrs. R. S. M. Carter, Mrs. Ruby (Carter) Parks, Bruce Carmack , Will
F. [?]. Mrs. John K. Fullingim, Miss Mattie Fullingim, Mrs. Dessie
(Fullingim) Walters.
"J. E. Johnston, Mrs. J. E. Johnston, Tom Johnston, Bill Johnston, Joe
Johnston, Mrs. Ola (Johnston) Raymon, Dick Jones, A. K. Lackey, Mrs. A. K.
Lackey, Mrs. J. F. Littlefield, Olen Littlefield, Fred Littlefield, Percy
Lamar, Mrs. W. D. Lamar, Albert Moore, C. E. Roy, Mrs. C. R. Roy, C. C. Roy,
B. E. Roy, Mrs. Maud (Roy) Woods.
"People who lived at Estacado in the early days and are now residing in the
county included Mr. and Mrs. N. Y. Bicknell, Stanley Carter, George Mayes,
Crosbyian; John Kirlin, Mrs. Dave Benton, (was Mrs. J. C. Murphy at that
time), Mrs. S. W. Wright, Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Noble, Halls; J. P. and E. M.
English, J. J. Spikes and Mrs. C. Littlefield, Cone.