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COVER PHOTO

A Pond on a Woodlot in Palo Pinto CountyBy Don Price

North TexasStar4OUTDOORS ALONG THE BRAZOSBy Don Price

8A TALE OF AUNT BERTBy Wynelle Catlin

14GEORGE WEBB SLAUGHTER:Palo Pinto PreachermanBy Jim Dillard

10By Randall ScottBIDDY LAFAYETTE ERWINBuilding Palo Pinto County One Stone at a time



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Outdoors Along the BrazosA W o o d l o t i n P a l o P i n t o C o u n t y B y D o n P r i c e

The hinterland is all round, a copse here, amotte there. It's our bastion, our citadel, ourstrength.

Early sun's rays dapple the lichen-smoth-ered fence, every sandstone in its niche, laid by cal-loused hands over a century ago, a freestanding wallwithout the aid of mortar.

Except for those precious stones pushed over bytoday's generation, boasting to peer pressure, a realshow, bragging rights in a tire-smoking ride to town.

It's fall before you've realized, pockets of leaves azenith of contrasts,

beginning to makeus aware of PaloPinto pockets ofgold.

Every leaf a trea-sure for a thirstysoul, but you musthurry to quaff it allbecause the nextnorther's gusto... asun-mottled gladein early morn, not

a sound but thecough of a skittishdoe.

Little sentinelsof post oak dot thedome, protected bycacti bristling redfruit. Every ounce of it is here but we don't see itbecause of our frustration, our worry, our stressfullives.

Nature is a panacea, a stronger utopia, making aheadline of some media rather paltry. Taking a bit moretime to read the Good Book brings a gush of under-standing.

Being four score and three, I'm so thankful I canwalk, I can hear, I can see; and He is thanked frequent-ly for a strong heartbeat. Falling on your knees wouldmake you humble, if you are seeking, something spiri-tual for a famished soul, something that satisfies morethan Coke or Winston.

No one's pestering you in the live oak grove, not thepaparazzi, not even a digital camera, and there's nohard rock. Peace will cloud you, time is of no essence,so you might discover your Timex has lost a lot of itsvalue.

A shock is the tiny lake, a mirror of serenity, its slickshattered by foraging fish. It's peppered with stumps,ringed with Ashe junipers, a shock reeling one back toreality. Thoughts of trivia are gone.

I have to pinch myself, realizing it's not a dream. I

can't believe it's like Walden Pond. Harken! Is that youstanding in shadow beneath a willow, Henry DavidThoreau, the author of "Walden", a masterpiece, whichsold only a half-dozen copies 160 years or so ago?

But there is another place, a picturesque place, aplace for one who cherishes tranquility. It's our ownLake Mineral Wells State Park plus its own rail-trailconnecting the twin cities of M. Wells and W'ford.

Have you been to Penitentiary Hollow on the easternshore of the park's 646 acre lake? A labyrinth of joy.Have you ever walked the Cross Timbers Trail in early

morn, a 9-mile

loop in thepark's northend?

You'll wendRock Creek'sbottomland onthis trek, then asteep hill. Still,if you've gotenergy to burn,try the switch-back near the

park's amphithe-

atre a few times.No one will haveto rock you tosleep tonight.

Winding watertrails hug theshoreline for thosewho wish to strollthrough the OldGrowth Forest, theCast Iron Forest,and flora [in sea-son] along theprimitive trail isworth a camera's focus. It's all there.

Blessed quietude. Please don't litter. Do a little think-ing before you cast aluminum or plastic aside, let thenext fellow know you care.

Let us stop for just a moment of thankfulness. This isour very own Lake Mineral Wells State Park &Trailway, hardly more than a stone's throw from town.How wealthy can we be?

Wouldn't it be nice if we could set aside a couple of

minutes of our most important business engagements toawe one glorious sunrise? Can't we turn off our cell-phones for at least a couple seconds?

Vincent Van Gogh's art is everywhere high and lowin autumn's equinox; sumac will be the deepest shockof coloration; day after tomorrow it's gone.

Please excuse me for digressing, but have you everheard a gray fox suddenly bark a few feet behind youin dusk's stillness as your wandering thoughts were onthe Great Sphinx? The solving of this riddle, the enig-ma requiring such deep concentration that you com-pletely forgot where you were? And you jumped out of

your skin, causing the plastic webbing of your alumi-num lawn chair to r-i-p! And you were so tankful (punintended) no one else saw you but the fox.

Something funny like that usually happens as you arein a chair or ensconced on a log in the woodlot. Be stilllong enough and most any animal even a bird willsurprise you with its antics. Use patience and observa-tion, but you've got to turn off your cellphone to makeit work.

A song at twilight, the dusk oozing through post oakand blackjack until three grazing does have snuffed into nothingness; you've stared at them so long they've

become shapeless, fading into cows, horses... one finalwide-eyed blinkand the doeshave beenerased, blendingin with pasturegrasses. Thiswas the last dayof hunting sea-son.

Another timetwilight is fastapproaching,with flicks of

jagged yellowbolts dartingfrom black thun-derheads; thecrashing youhear is fromfeeding large-

mouth black bass ripping the slick surface just beforethe storm hits, a great time for the angler, about 30minutes or so just before the wind gets too strong.

Hurriedly you'll open your big tackle box to gropefor a 75-year-old wooden lure, a yellow Jitterbug, akiller just before the high wind hits, when the pond's[we call 'em stock tanks in West Texas] surface is likeglass.

Continued on page 6

A Pond on a Woodlot in Palo Pinto County



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May 2013 NORTHTEXAS STAR STORYTELLER & RAMBLER Page 6


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Continued from page 4Timing is perfect for this circa 1930's wooden yellow

Jitterbug, a wobbling surface lure, but this angler is notso sure, on second thought. "Wait a minute," he must bethinking out loud.

The angler is hesitating to tie this sought - after col-lectors' lure to the end of his braided casting line.

With the storm approaching, a favorite time for bigbass to feed savagely, what if a record-breaking lunker

tackles this one-and-only collectors' plug, then popsthe line?If this happens, the very next morning in

Whataburger our hapless plugger will be moaningabout the ancient wooden lure he lost, not the perch.

Thoreau: "The mass of men lead lives of quiet des-peration." But to have a remnant of peace each day,notwithstanding an ancient wooden lure, if only Icould spend a few priceless moments in a woodlot.

Fall will be here before you realize, the peacefulautumnal equinox, a flame of falling leaves spreadingcrimson throughout the creek bottom, pecan yellow

and oak rust; to go barefoot once more before JackFrost's rime clings to the lichen-covered sandstone, thefreestanding wall without the aid of mortar the coun-trymen's fence in the beginning of this narrative.

Just to stroll down the pickup's loam road through acanopy of elm, cedar and oak is rewarding enough, outthere early when the dew's heavy and you don't knowwhat you'll see round the bend.

Getting out there even before the big orange wafershows, to walk up on cottontail and squirrel, fox anddeer, all the while chuckling to yourself at their lurchof surprise. Now and then you'll skirt' way 'round tokeep from spoiling their show.

Thoreau again. "Only that day dawns to which weare awake." This advice of the great sage covers every-thing we do.

To know a small pond [stock tank], to know it welltakes years of observation, for it holds to its bosomsecrets. It has its own ecosystem; some of its fish seemto have their own quirks. Ask an ichthyologist. We

could go on about this forever.It would take an entomologist time to catalog the

insects on just one acre of ground hugging the shore-line of this pond. With these myriad possibilities inmind, how long would it take an untrained towns per-son to absorb a fraction of the wonders of several hun-dred acres of Palo Pinto landscape holding many stockponds?

Where are the sinuous channels, the main creekchannel? Where are the flats and drop offs, the barna-cled hollow stump where a great largemouth blackbass has found his castle? And how about pinpointingthe channel's dog leg where another granddaddy lives.Do you think we can find everything on Google?

Spiderwort and wild onion, larkspur and yuccabelong; even hairy Jimson weed grew on this earthendam some 35 years ago. Folks won't likely stop longenough to recognize this pond, a wild rose, a wild rosein late bloom. It holds a magnificent orchard oriolepartially hidden in its bramble and no one knows.

A Pond on a Woodlot in Palo Pinto CountyPhotos by: Don Price



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STORIES & SNIPPETSThursdayDecember 6, 1934

COUNCIL ASKS ADOPTION OF 5-POINT PLANSThe Mineral Wells Chamber of Commerce has been asked by the West Texas Cham-

ber of Commerce to consider the declaration of principles of the All-State Council or

regional chambers of commerce adopted at the Waco meeting of the Council in Octo-ber, with a view to adopting the principles as the local chambers policy also.The request was received by Henry Love, the West Texas Chamber of Commerce for

Mineral Wells, and George Barber, secretary of the local chamber. It was sent by J.A.Rix, assistant manager of the West Texas Chamber of Commerce in charge of organiza-tional [matters] at the direction of president James D. Hamlin.

The principles which the local chamber have been asked to adopt are as follows:First: We stand for a championship of private business, industry, and ownership

of property as the road to recovery, to which end we shall sponsor all Federal andState measures, which tend to lend encouragement and condence to private businessand shall oppose all measures and administrative acts which have or will destroy thecondence of business and capital and retard its welfare.

Second: We call for a rapid balancing of the Federal budget; for a reduction of theGovernments extraordinary expense and for a drastic curtailment of existing andproposed Government Bureaus.

Third: Will shall oppose every effort of the Federal and State Governments togo into business in competition with private and semi-private business. Althoughgranting to the government the right of regulation of public utilities, we oppose theGovernment destroying private investments by competing with utilities.

Fourth: With local and state Governmental liens already existing against a greatportion of the existing tangible private property of the state, with local public debtsburdening property for many years to come and with greatly decreased property val-ues and earnings, we believe that something must be done to relieve tangible propertyfrom a portion of the ad valorem tax otherwise the private ownership of propertywill cease to be the cornerstone of American civilization and prosperity. We thereforecall upon our Legislators to study the question of the burdens of the ad valorem taxas imposed by State, School, City and County Governments with the view of immedi-ately lifting from property at least one-half of the ad valorem tax now levied.

Fifth: We recommend this Declaration of policy for the profound consideration ofall local chambers of commerce in Texas and indulge in the hope that these local bod-ies will in turn ofcially adopt it.

Publishers note: So this balanced budget issue is not new?

This series of pieces from the past is meant to remind us of this areas unique history.The material comes from old issues maintained at the Index ofce and is presentedpretty much as it appeared in print. These papers are quite yellowed and brittle,

deteriorating from age. By publishing these pieces perhaps we can keep them inplay in the digital world for years to come. For clarity, some punctuation issues havebeen addressed. Hopefully you will enjoy these tiny windows to the past. Feedbackis appreciated and will be shared. E-mail [email protected] or sendyour letter to Mineral Wells Index, P.O. Box 370, Mineral Wells, Texas 76068, atten-tion publisher. You may also drop it by our ofce at 300 S.E. 1st. St. in Mineral Wells.Thanks for reading!



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A TALE OF AUNT BERTBy Wynelle Catlin

M

y Aunt Bert was a pretty baby so pretty anIndian woman tried to trade for her. Blond

curls framed her pretty blue-eyed face.When she was a baby, my grandmother and Aunt Bertsfather lived in Indian Territory, where he was a horse trad-er interacting with the native Americans.

One day Grandmother was in their log cabin with AuntBert and two toddlers, when an Indian woman, carrying ababy, came and entered the cabin. She kept tellingGrandmother something but they didnt speak the samelanguage.

Muttering, the woman went over to the crib, laid herbaby in it, picked up Aunt Bert and started out the door.Grandmother grabbed a butcher knife and told her to put

Aunt Bert down!Her actions spoke louder than words. Unhappily, theIndian woman put Aunt Bert back in the crib, picked upher baby and left, mumbling balefully.

When Grandmothers husband returned after his day oftrading, she told him of the incident. He laughed uproari-ously. He had jokingly told the Indian woman hed tradehis blond blue-eyed papoose for her black-haired brown-eyed one.

Later, the horse-trading husband left with a herd of hors-

es he intended to sell. She never heard from him again.Grandmother left Indian Territory, but she left behind

one of the toddlers. The child had fallen out the cabindoor, hitting her head on the rock doorstep. She died of theinjuries and was buried there.

For several years, Grandmother did odd jobs inand around Jack County to feed and clothe herself andher two little ones.

One year at cotton-picking time, she moved her wagon,with the two little girls, near a field of cotton belonging toRobert Powell. Powell was older than Grandmother. Hiswife had died and he had a family of grown children.

He and Grandmother decided to get married. Theybought a cabin in the Squaw Mountain community. That

cabin, restored, now stands on the grounds of Jack CountyMuseum in Jacksboro.They moved into the cabin with her small children and

they increased their family two boys and two girls. Mymother and her twin brother were the last born.

The cabin, though roomy for that time and place,became crowded as the children grew. There was a lean-tokitchen. The main room, 12 feet square, served as theirbedroom as well as parlor in cold weather In warm weath-er the porch which ran across the front was a gathering

Aunt Bert holding the little boywith all the children.



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y g

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place for family and neighbors.Grandpa sometimes got his fiddle out and there was

music and singing.Above the main room was a half-walled attic, which

was a bedroom for the children. Then, as the boys gotolder, they needed more space so Grandpa closed in halfthe front porch, making them a room 6x8 feet. One year,the schoolteacher boarded with them, sharing that roomwith the boys.

When my mother was 6 years old, Grandpa died ofpneumonia. Neighbors built a coffin and the body waslaid out on the kitchen table. Aunt Bert was a teenager,but she helped prepare and serve meals which were tem-porarily prepared and served in the spacious root cellar,which was just a few feet from the kitchen door.

Grandmother continued to live in the cabin with her sixchildren. With the help of the boys, she plowed andplanted and raised crops while Aunt Bert did many of thehousehold chores, tended the younger children, milkedcows, gathered eggs. She also served as telephone opera-tor when that service became available. A switchboard

was set up. Wires had plugs dangling from the ends.

When someone wanted to talk to someone else Aunt Bertanswered the ring, then plugged into the appropriate holeto connect the two phones. Since everyone on the linecould hear when phones rang, there were rarely privateconversations.

There were very few ways for farm families to havethings they could sell for cash, but one was the raising ofturkeys. A turkey drover came through once a year, driv-ing a herd of turkeys. Available turkeys were counted,

and added to the herd, and money handed over.Raising turkeys was important to the family. One of

the chores that Aunt Bert performed was following theturkeys when they were turned out each morning to gothrough the woods eating seeds and grasshoppers. Shewatched and when a turkey hen went to her nest to lay anegg, she would tie a strip of cloth nearby so she couldfind the nest again. When the nest had 12 eggs in it, shewould take the eggs up and carefully carry them to thehouse to set under a broody hen to hatch. If left in thewoods, wild animals or snakes would help themselves tothe eggs or baby turkeys after they hatched.

Many years later, I was aspiring to be an author. All

would-be authors keep a little notebook in which theywrite ideas for future articles or books.

My mother and I liked to go visiting, and when wedrove, we would reminisce about days of yore. One dayas we were driving she talked about Aunt Bert followingturkey hens to find their nests to get their eggs.

Following Turkey Hens turned into Old Wattles, achildrens book, published by Doubleday. I used the realcabin as the setting and had my fictitious characters live

the way the family had. And I had my main character fol-low a turkey hen to find her nest the way Aunt Bert had

When the other children grew up, married and left toraise families of their own, Aunt Bert stayed withGrandmother, even taking care of her tenderly throughher last illness.

My mother thought that Aunt Bert, in her youngeryears, had a sweetheart, but she didnt know why shenever married.

The pretty baby the Indian woman tried to trade forwas a beautiful young woman. And she kept her beautyeven after the blond curls turned white.



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Biddy LaFayette ErwinBuilding Palo Pinto One Stone At A Time

by Randall Scott

Like an ephemeral flash of lightning, a baby bornpremature on the western frontier usually suf-fered an abbreviated life. Too many tombstones

were etched with just one date, and his parents fearedBiddy LaFayette Erwins would read: March 12th 1900.

Modern medical science offeredpathetic excuses while Maudes doc-tor gave little more than hygienicadvice in a feeble attempt to saveBiddys life. But it was his father,Samuel, who provided the best care,most of which was prayer for divineintervention.

Their first son, Fred, was carriedto term without any problems andborn healthy at his fully expectedweight. Fanny Maude (Froman)Erwin, herself, was a strong andhealthy Texan. She descended fromhearty stock, the Biddy and Cassie(Yeary) Froman family, resident pio-

neers of earlyParker County.And, so it wasntto their surprise,but with humblethanks to God, thattheir prayers were answered when the tiny boy survived.

Maude named her second son in honor of her father,Alcibiades (pronounced, Al-See-Bee-A-Dees) SidFroman. Folks couldnt pronounce it, so they just calledhim, Biddy. Shed heard her fathers stories about theirKentucky family heritage and how uppity blue bloods

named their children for Greek Gods or RomanEmperors. But they werent blue bloods, and besides, thatwasnt why she liked the name. The answer was simple,the name was uniquely theirs and when she said Biddyout loud, she smiled with pleasant memories of herfathers love and admiration for her. She had to admitAlcibiades was a tongue-twister, and so she spared herboy the misery and went with the nickname, "Biddy."

There was a downside. The name Biddy came withsome baggage. Her father was killed in a gun battle withhis neighbor, Will Rivers, on Nov. 27, 1891, which wasonly nine years before. On the lawless frontier, dueling

pistols was an acceptable means of settling disputesamong gentleman. But times were changing and somecondemned the barbaric practice. Either way, tongue-wagging Texans werent going to forget the Froman-Rivers shootout anytime soon, if ever. She knew it, Samknew it, and everybody else knew it; so just make it sim-ple, give the boy his grandfathers name, (yes, hes BidFromans grandson) and there wont be any questions or

confusion about it.Hand-me-downs were a time-honored family tradition

where each child inherits what the older sibling outgrewor discarded. In this case, Fred was no help to his littlebrother. His clothes, carriage, and crib were so large that

they engulfed the poor infantto present more of a hazardthan serve the intended pur-pose. To compensate, Maudeswaddled him tightly in a blan-ket and then carefully placedhim inside a shoebox.Handkerchiefs became diapers,and for a crib, a dresser drawerremained open near her bed. Inlater years Biddy overcame hisfrailties as if they'd never hap-pened. By the time theydmoved to Oran, Fred andBiddy had grown to the sameheight, and two sisters, Grace

Lou, and, Stella Mae, wereborn to the Erwin family.With the expense of educat-

ing four children, Sam andMaude conceived a plan to send each childthrough college one at a time as they could

afford. His older brother,Fred was first and thenBiddy would have hischance after Fred gradu-ated. Sam would do whatwas needed to provide

his children a propereducation with all oflifes opportunities thatcame with it. His owncollege education at theUniversity of Alabamahad served him well inthe field of education,and now, ProfessorErwin was the adminis-trator for the Whittschool district.

World War I delayed their plans whenFred enlisted in the Army. It seemed toBiddy like everyone he knew went off tofight the Kaiser. He, too, wanted adventure, the fun offriends living the college campus lifestyle or even riskingdanger to seek his fortune in some distant land. The onlyadventure Biddy could find was fishing with his buddy,Obadiah (Obie) Bean. They were the same age, school

chums, and best friends, and ,no, there wasnt muchadventure in it; but with everybody off to war, they couldspend all their time paling around together.

On Armistice Day, Fred was discharged from the Armyand returned home to enroll in the 1919 fall collegesemester. Biddy stayed in Oran to work the fields andawait his turn. In just three or four years from, Fredwould graduate and then his lifes adventure wouldbegin, or so Biddy thought. May 3, 1922, was graduationday at Whitt High School and it was his custom to give afarewell address to his beloved students. But on that dayit would be Professor Erwins last benediction. In themiddle of his speech Sam grabbed the podium, collapsedonto the stage floor and died of a massive heart attack.Professor Samuel LaFayette Erwin was 54 years old.

Fred was in his final year of college and with no manin the house domestic responsibilities fell on Biddysyoung shoulders to provide and care for his mother andsisters. His fathers passing diminished any chances ofattending college in the near future. So, he had to usewhat was available to him. Taking inventory of his life,

he found farming to be his only skill and he was good atit, yet it gave him little consolation.Depressed by his predicament, Biddy felt slighted until

a sweet distraction changed everything. He was intro-duced to a newly hired Whitt schoolteacher, a very youngand beautiful Lera Williams. Her parents were Samuel

and Pearl Williams, and Sam wasknown by many as the preacherover in Graford, Texas. Lera was

just the right amount of medicine tocure whatever ails a young man andthe two hit it off immediately. For

months they dated at the homes ofboth the Williams and Erwins resi-dences and at church socials andparties. While seen everywheretogether in romantic interlude, theircourting gave credence to the recentsightings of little cupids flyingabout.

Biddy and Lerawere married on the19th of October, 1926.They moved near her

parents at Graford andin the following yearsBiddy milked cows on

his dairy, farmed vegetables, fruits, and cash crops, andraised chickens, while Lera kept up the household clean-ing and cooking, taught grade-school classes, attendedAbilene Christian College, and completed her masters

Continued on page 11

Biddy Erwin shing at Farm Road 4s DarkValley Bridge on the Brazos River north of

Palo Pinto, circa 1920s.

Obadiah (Obie) Bean at his 105th birthdayand Bob Erwin. Obie shared shing storiesabout his good friend Biddy Erwin with his

son, Bob.



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Continued from page 10degree from TCU. Somewhere in there they had three children: Biddy Jean was born

May 16, 1927; Bobby Ray was born July 10, 1928; and Patsy Pearl was born Aug. 20,1932. And, these were the good times.

The years of the Great Depression hit them hard right when they needed money themost. Children quickly outgrew their clothes and shoes every few months and thesenecessary items were expensive purchases. Yet, while they had it bad, others had itworse. At least they had their gardens, cattle and dairy food supplies when so many

were starving. It made Biddy recall those bad memories back in Oran working hard forlittle pay when his father passed away. Times like these were tolerated when he wentfishing with his friend Obie at Dark Valley Bridge on the Brazos River. It was his onlyescape from gloomy and depressing thoughts. Those lost feelings of pending doomadded to his hardship and despair when he sat on the porch one night and turned on theradio. He listened intently to the Fireside Chat radio broadcast, We have nothing tofear but fear itself.

Biddy wasnt afraid as much as he was determined - determined not to give up. Hedlearned to put his faith in God and not some spendthrift president or governmentscheme. But he would take FDRs job offer working for the WPA. Works ProjectsAdministration was the Presidents answer to a skyrocketing unemployment rate of 17percent. While a civilian work corps built much-needed bridges and dams, the com-

merce of their paychecks would hopefully circulate enough dollars to improve theeconomy. Or, so the plan envisioned.

When Biddy came home each night Lera was stunned at what she saw from acrossher supper table. Exhaustion and fatigue had robbed him of his speech and only a faintsqueak passed his lips. Too weak to eat, she put Biddy to bed and prayed for Godsstrength to help him survive. His project was to demolish the old 1890s Palo PintoCourthouse stone-by-stone and rebuild a new one from the same sandstone. During theconstruction process he learned the trade of stone mason. And, it was truly a blessing.Higher-skilled positions fetched better paychecks, and the task of a mason wasnt near-ly as laborious. On occasion, he even had the time and strength to go fishing with Obie.




12/24

Continued from page 11By 1940, Biddy and his WPA crew had completed the

new courthouse and were reassigned a few miles upriverto the town of Pickwick where they joined another WPAcrew building a hydroelectric dam.Completed in 1941, it was namedfor a US Senator, Morris Sheppard,

and small creatures indigenous tothe area named the lake PossumKingdom. The lake filled rapidly,and to the glee of Obie and Biddy,fishing was good.

Elmer Seybold hired Biddy for theconstruction of his new guest ranchwest of Mineral Wells on the BrazosRiver. A crew began by building alodge on a cliff overlooking pan-oramic views of the river valleyescarpment below. With the Brazos

at their feet, Obie and Biddy kepttheir poles handy for an evening offishing after working hours. In thedistant west were majestic scenes ofthe Palo Pinto Mountains whereBiddy had hunted whitetail deer. Heconstructed the lodge with stone sid-ing that was then mudded over with stucco, and in thesouthwestern style of architecture, roofs were of red-clay

tile. When finished, the entire compound depicted asquare fortress where 29 guest rooms fashioned the northand south walls. The main lodge formed the westernwall, and to the east, a towering adobe gateway provided

a grand entrance. Inside the fortress aswimming pool filled the courtyard.

Biddy was lucky to have a paying

job while the nation plunged deeperinto full economic depression. Soonafter the Japanese attack on PearlHarbor, many of the workers joined themilitary, leaving job vacancies forthose who wanted work. Biddy was tooold, and his son, Bobby, was too youngto enlist, which was a blessing to afamily that needed multiple incomes.His masonry skills were in demand atboth the Seybold Guest Ranch and atCamp Wolters Army Base construction

sights, sending him back and forth tobuild a cowboy bunkhouse forElmer and troop barracks forUncle Sam.

It was a cold day in February,Thursday the 15th 1945, the day afterValentines Day on the road from

Graford to Mineral Wells that Biddy and Lera wereseverely injured in a car wreck. Ambulances quickly

rushed them to Nazareth Hospital where Biddy was ban-daged and released with only minor injuries. But, Leraskneecap was so badly lacerated doctors said she wouldprobably never walk again. By the end of WWII, in justthree months time, Lera had proved the doctors wrongand was walking on crutches.

But the accident had changed things and he realized it

was his turn to make the drive between Mineral Wellsand Graford. Biddy moved his family to Mineral Wellswhere Lera was teaching fifth-grade classes at SamHouston Elementary School. She wouldnt be drivingthose long distance miles commuting to and from schoolany longer. Biddy drove to Possum Kingdom lake wherehe parked his car and took a boat to his job as managerfor the upscale fishing resort Costello Island.

What started as a cattle ranch became a fishing resortfor the rich and famous, or whomever could afford tocharter a fishing guide with expensive accommodations.It wasnt so luxurious as it was exclusive. It catered to

the discriminating fisherman who wanted guaranteed pri-vacy and complete anonymity. There were no roads. Theonly access was by air or water. Guests flew aircraft ontothe islands private airstrip or docked their yachts at thepier. There was no air taxi service, which dictated a self-sufficiency on the island. All food supplies and consum-ables for the restaurant and cabins were brought in byboat.

In keeping with his guests desire for privacy, Biddy

Biddy LaFayette Erwin



13/24

wouldnt identify his clientele. Most were political figures, senators and governors,who few people today would recognize. Others were actors and sports figures. Itwas well known that Loren Green of the hit TV series Bonanza frequented theisland, as well as John Wayne and Ronald Reagan.

Biddy was doing what he enjoyed, and that of course, was fishing. In his capacityas fishing guide, Biddy captained two identical Chris-Craft fishing boats to accom-modate his guests. Each had twin inboard engines, 30-foot mahogany hull, and brass

cleats, instruments, and captains wheel. They were beautiful boats and when theyhad time on their own, Obie and Biddy could go fishing in high-class style.Biddy suffered a stroke in 1956 and was confined at home with limited mobility

while Lera cared for him. All the while, she continued to teach school in the MineralWells school district. His final years of illness took their toll and Biddy passed awayOct. 22,1961. His internment was at Graford Cemetery. Biddy LaFayette Erwin was61 years old.

* * * * *

To the reader: Biddys son, Bob, attended Obie's 105th birthday on Dec. 16, 2004,in Weatherford. When introduced, Obie thought for a moment and then asked Bob if

he was related to Biddy Erwin of Mineral Wells. When Bob replied, his eyes bright-ened with excitement and he was thrilled to tell fishing tales about his old friend,Biddy Erwin.

I always had to look out for Biddy. Cause he was younger than me,Obie said.In reality, Obie was only four months older than Biddy, and to a youngster, thats abig age difference. The following year, the oldest man in Parker County and Biddysbest friend passed away. Obadiah Bean was 106 years old.

* * * * *

Consultants:

(1) Lera (Williams) Erwin - wife of Biddy Erwin.(2) Bobby Ray Erwin - son of Biddy Erwin.(3) Patsy Pearl (Erwin) Harvey - daughter of Biddy Erwin.

References:(1) History Of Palo Pinto County Texascopyright 1986, Erwin Family- by

Grace Mann.(2) Palo Pinto County History,

copyright 1978, Oran- by DessieMorris Harris.

(3) History of Parker Countycopyright 1980, PROFESSOR

ERWINS FAMILY- by LeraErwin.

(4) Texas Highways - magazine,June 2012 issue, HaciendaDreaming: Seybold Guest Ranch -Lori Moffatt.

(5) Cowboys and Indians - maga-zine, April 2010 issue, RanchDressing," Seybold Guest Ranch -Chad Windham.

Randall Scott, author of TheTinner, is a member of Western

Writers of America, WesternLiterature Association and TexasHistorical Association. You can findRandall on the Internet at http://Randall-Scott.com.

Fred Erwin, World War I veteran -United States Army.



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George Webb Slaughter:

By Jim Dillard

As George Slaughter made his waythrough the narrow and cluttered streetsof Bexar (San Antonio) during the early

days of 1836, he could not help but notice signsof fear and foreboding among the inhabitants. Theconfusion and clamor that filled the city wouldnot deter him from his duty: he was on a mission.In his saddle bag was a message from Gen. SamHouston that had to be delivered to Colonel Travisin the Alamo, a message that would ultimately

result in defining the Texas spirit of patriotic sac-rifice.

Mexican forces under General Cos had beenforced to surrendered and abandon the Alamo onDec. 9, 1835, following the Siege of Bexar byvolunteer Texas forces. Led by James Bowie,Edward Burleson, James W. Fannin Jr., Juan N.Seguin, James Clinton Neill, Stephen F. Austin,Thomas J. Rusk and William Barrett Travis, thehard won victory had sent a clear message toMexico that an independent Texas would befought for at all costs. Cos and his troops were

allowed to retreat into Mexico with the assurancethey would never return. Although most of thevolunteer Texas units had disbanded or retreated,Travis, Bowie and a small group of men movedinto the Alamo and prepared defenses against theapproach of a larger Mexican Army led by Cosbrother-in-law, General Lopez de Santa Anna.

Having received intelligence concerning theevents unfolding in and around San Antonio,General Houston knew the small force gathered atthe Alamo would have no chance against theapproaching Mexican Army and had written an

order to Travis and Bowie to blow up the Alamoand retreat to Gonzales. When Slaughter handed

the dispatch to Travis, he read it and gathered themen around him to convey the message fromHouston. Rather than comply, he drew a line inthe sand with his sword and asked whoever wouldstay and fight with him to the bitter end to stepacross the line. Bowie, ill and bedridden, asked tobe carried across. Almost all of the men steppedforward and sealed their fate. Slaughter wasted notime and left immediately to return to GeneralHouston with the disparaging news. Few rein-

forcements ever reached the Alamo and it fell tothe overwhelming forces of Santa Anna on March6, 1836, when all 189 of the Texas defenders werekilled. It was George Slaughter who first encoun-tered Mrs. Dickerson and her infant daughter onthe road between San Antonio to Gonzales. Theywere the only survivors of the massacre at theAlamo and had been released by Santa Anna totake news to General Houston of his victory.

George Webb Slaughters father, WilliamSlaughter, had moved his family to Mississippi in1810 and began farming and stock raising in the

area west of the Pearl River. He and his brother,John, had participated in the defense of NewOrleans against the British in 1815.

George Webb Slaughter was born on May 10,1811, in Lawrence County, Miss. Lured by theboundless prospects of adventure, financial gainand cheap virgin land across the Sabine River inTexas, William Slaughter decided to move hisfamily to Texas in 1825 after the birth of theirson, William Ransom. However, being a devoutProtestant, William was reluctant to become aCatholic in the Mexican state of Texas as was

required, so he settled in Sabine Parish, La., a fewContinued on page 16

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The Daily Index (Mineral Wells Index) is established in the "City Built on Water."MAY 10, 1811Palo Pinto County cattleman/pioneer and Baptist preacher George WebbSlaughter is born in lawrence County Miss. In 1857 he established a ranchsome 5 miles north of Palo Pinto.MAY 18, 1871

A band of some 100 Native Americans from the Fort Sill Reservation in Okla-homa attack Henry Warren's wagontrain on the road between Fort Richardsonin Jacksboro and Fort Belknap near Graham. Kiowa Chiefs Satanta, Satankand Big Tree lead the raid. The wagon master and six teamsters were killed andsome 40 mules taken. The Indian casualties were one dead and ve wounded.The remaining warriors immediately returned to the reservation north of the RedRiver.MAY 27, 1871

Arriving at Fort Sill, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman personally arrests Satan-ta, Satank and Big tree for their leadership roles in the Warren Wagontrain Raidin North Texas on May 18.

Continued from page 14miles east of the Texas border. In addition, nearby FortJessup provided security from Indians raids and thelawless faction along the border.

At the age of 18, young George Slaughter could notresist the opportunities that lay across the Louisianaborder in Texas and began freightinggoods across the Sabine River to SanAugustine and Nacogdoches. His storiesabout Texas influenced his father tomove the family across the river in 1830where he settled on one square league(4, 428 acres) in Sabine County andcontinued to grow cotton and raise live-stock.

George Slaughter, like many othernew immigrants who had staked theirclaim in Texas, became involved in theindependence movement long before theevents in San Antonio unfolded during1836. In 1832, he had taken up armswith other settlers to drive Mexican sol-diers out of East Texas after they threat-ened to ally themselves with nearbyCherokee Indians. After a two-day fightthrough the narrow streets ofNacogdoches during July 1832, theMexican troops were forced to surren-der.

George soon developed a thriving

freighting business as more and more settlers floodedinto Eastern Texas. With his good reputation as afreighter, newcomer Sam Houston hired him to trans-port his legal library from Louisiana to Nacogdoches.

After the initial first shots of the Texas Revolutionoccurred at Gonzales on Oct. 2, 1835, George joined

Stephen F. Austins volunteer army then assemblingnear San Antonio. During the Siege of Bexar, he par-ticipated in an engagement known as The GrassFight. When a Mexican caravan of pack animals wasobserved approaching San Antonio, Colonel Burlesondispatched Jim Bowie with 40 cavalry and William H.

Jack with 100 infantry soldiers to seize thesupply train. When the two opposing forcesmet, a protracted battle ensued with theMexican units eventually retreating into San

Antonio. It was later discovered that thepack animals were only carrying hay tofeed the Mexican Armys horses and live-stock.

During January 1836 Slaughter became acourier for Sam Houston and it was duringthat period that he took the message toTravis in the Alamo. Following the fall ofthe Alamo, Slaughter served as a procurerfor Houstons retreating army. After theBattle of San Jacinto (I find no record thatGeorge Slaughter was there), GeorgeSlaughter returned to his home in EastTexas and became engaged to 18-year-oldSarah Mason. Their wedding plans weredelayed since there was no civil law yetestablished in the new Republic of Texas.He returned to service as procurer for theTexas Army until October 1836.




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Continued from page 16After completing his service with the Texas Army,

he returned home and on Oct. 12, 1836, married MissSarah Mason, who was five months pregnant at thetime. The marriage is reported to have been the firstone sanctioned by the new government of the Republicof Texas. Slaughter resumed his freighting business inSabine County and was engaged in the employ of the

new government. When their first child was born onFeb. 11, 1837, they named him Christopher ColumbusSlaughter in commemoration of their wedding date(Columbus Day.) Over the years, 11 children would beborn to George and Sarah.

With the influx of more and more settlers into theregion, conflicts soon arose with resident CherokeeIndians who occupied a large area in Northeast Texas.An all-out war eventually erupted and GeorgeSlaughter once again answered the call to duty. Heoined other volunteers under the command of Thomas

Rusk and moved to invade Indian lands in present-day

Cherokee County. After several decisive battles, theIndians were eventually forced into Indian Territory(Oklahoma). Slaughter then returned to his home inSabine County and continued his farming interestsointly with his father. Four additional children were

born to George and Sarah.In 1846, George Slaughter was ordained a Baptist

minister at Bethel Church in Sabine County, and began

his lifelong labor of spreading the gospel throughoutfrontier Texas. For seven years, in addition to hisfarming and cattle-raising ventures, he rodethroughout the counties of Sabine, Jasper, Newton,San Augustine, Rusk, Nacogdoches, Shelby,Angeline, Panola and Cherokee where he organized27 churches and baptized 871 lost souls. He alsopreached in the parishes of Louisiana, including

DeSoto, Natchetoches and Sabine, where he orga-nized seven churches and baptized 362 people.With a thriving new cattle market in New Orleans

and a growing family, George began to expand hislivestock interests by acquiring an additional 3,000acres. In 1849, George, his son, C.C., and his broth-er, William, drove 92 head of cattle 175 miles westto a new ranch located along the banks of theTrinity River in Freestone County near the town ofButler. He left William with the cattle and returnedto Sabine County to continue his farming opera-tions. When his father died in April 1850, George

decided cattle raising was a more financially viablebusiness than trying to grow cotton on the worn outsoils of East Texas. In 1852, with his four sons,C.C., George, Peter and John, he headed west totheir land in southern Freestone County where therewas ample grass to support their growing cattleherd. While living in Freestone County George




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Continued from page 18Slaughter organized five churches and baptized 297converts.

Within five years, the cattle herd had increased to600 head. Each year they drove small cattle herds tomarkets in Shreveport for shipment to New Orleans.As more people began to move into Freestone Countyand convert vast acreages of native grasslands into

farming lands for cotton production, Georges son, C.C., encouraged his father that they should look fornew land for their cattle-raising operations along theBrazos River Valley or on other streams to the west.For two months during the summer of 1855 theSlaughters roamed over hundreds of miles of WestTexas grasslands searching for new ranch lands suit-able to accommodate their ranching enterprise. Theyventured up the Brazos River from present Hill Countyto near Fort Belknap in Young County and then south-west along the Colorado River. Since the ColoradoRiver Valley was still home to vast herds of buffalo

and roving bands of Indians, they decided the BrazosRiver country of Palo Pinto and Young counties wouldbe their best choice.

The lush grass and rangelands in the Western CrossTimbers provided good grazing lands along with well-watered tributaries of the Brazos and ample buildingmaterials from the oak and cedar covered hills. Withprotection of the military at Fort Belknap, and two

Indian reservations located nearby on the Brazos andClear Fork of the Brazos, a ready market existed fortheir cattle. Other settlers were already ranching cattlein the region including the Cowdens, Daltons,Goodnights and Lovings. The decision was made:George Slaughter bought 2,900 acres on a sharp bendof the Brazos River 5 miles north of the fledglingtown of Golconda (Palo Pinto) and would make his

new home there.In 1856, C. C. Slaughter drove the familys cattleherd north to the new ranch and supervised the build-ing of a house. The following year the entire family,which included seven children, completed the moveand settled into their new log cabin. Although PaloPinto County had been created by the TexasLegislature in 1856, it was not organized until 1857.The country was lightly populated and Fort Belknapwas 30 miles to the northwest. George Slaughter andhis sons were initially able to profit from selling cattleto the military at the fort and at the two Indian reser-

vations. When the reservations came under reprisalsfrom the local citizenry for contributing to civil unrest,Indian depredations of livestock, and killing of set-tlers, a movement was put into motion to expel theIndians into Indian Territory north of the Red River.

Despite the presence of marauding bands of Indiansthroughout the region, he weekly traveled alone on a60-mile circuit with nothing more than a bedroll,

Bible, hymnbook, picket rope, revolver and carbineand ministered to settlers wherever he could find them.Many settlers and their families had forted up inremote areas of the frontier for self-protection fromIndians and George often visited these forts to preachand minister. He traveled throughout Palo Pinto, Jack,Young, Stephens and Erath counties and the unorga-nized region including the present counties of Baylor,

Archer, Shackelford, Callahan and Eastland, where heorganized 26 churches and baptized 793 people.Having studied medicine, he was often the only doc-tor for miles around and was often called upon for hisexpertise in saddlebag medicine.

A most distressing incident occurred at the SlaughterRanch on Dec. 27, 1858, when a group of reservationIndians who were hunting game off the BrazosReservation with permission was attacked in theircamp as they slept by a group of men from ErathCounty. The attack, which took place only a milefrom George Slaughters house at Indian Hole on Elm

Creek, resulted in the death of seven Indians and onewhite man of the raiding party. Hearing the gunshots,young C.C. Slaughter ran to the scene of the atrociousattack. Knowing that Indians who had escaped wouldflee back to the reservation to report the incident,Slaughter saddled his horse and set out to the reserva-tion to try and prevent a raid against the town of Palo




20/24

Continued from page 19Pinto. He met an advancing group of Indians coveredin war paint bent on exacting revenge for the massacreand was able to convince their leaders the people inPalo Pinto were not involved. A disastrous confronta-tion was averted but, much to the chagrin of theIndians, the culprits involved in the killing of theirpeople were never prosecuted.

In 1858-1859, George Slaughter became the firstpastor for the Baptist Church in Palo Pinto and in1861 established the Slaughter Valley Baptist Churchon his ranch north of Palo Pinto. In 1859, he hadhelped establish and build the first Baptist church westof Weatherford in southwestern Parker County at SodaSprings in Littlefield Bend of the Brazos. WhileGeorge Slaughter traveled throughout the region on hismission of ministry, his sons C.C., George, John andPete kept busy tended the growing cattle herd andgathering free-ranging cattle from the roughs along theBrazos River. Cattle were herded to pens they con-

structed nearer the Indian reservations where govern-ment contractors bought cattle to supply the Indians.However, with the disruption created by the clashbetween settlers and Indians and their final removalinto Indian Territory in 1859, George and his sonswere forced to begin looking for new markets for theircattle.

With the outbreak of the Civil War and the departureof federal troops from forts along the Texas frontier,Indian depredations increased in Palo Pinto and sur-rounding counties during 1860-1861. Like many otherfamilies, the Slaughters frequently retreated into PaloPinto and forted up for safety with other citizens andsettlers in the area. During this period many smallstockmen left the country, abandoning their cattle

which were allowed to roam free until after the war.Despite several encounters with Indians, theSlaughters remained and increased their cattle herds;but the Confederate currency they received from anysales was of little value. They began looking for newcattle ranges in southwestern Texas away from Indiansand Jayhawkers, but finally returned home to continuetheir ranching operations in Palo Pinto and surround-ing counties.

In 1866, while driving a small herd of cattle alongDry Creek east of present Graham, George Slaughterwas attacked by 13 Indians, but fought them off with

his pistol and trusty carbine. It was not until 1867 thatfederal troops returned to frontier Texas and began acampaign to chastise marauding Indians who hadkilled countless settlers and stolen thousands of cattleand horses over the previous eight years. Cattle wereeverywhere but of little value unless they could besold at a profit. In 1867, George and his son, C.C.,

formed a partnership and began a drive of 900 head ofcattle to market in Shreveport, La.

On the trail near the Trinity River, they combinedtheir cattle with another herd of 600 belonging to Col.H.T. Johnson and trailed them to a packing plant inJefferson, Texas, where Johnson had a contract. Withthe assistance of the Slaughters in crossing the cattleacross the rain swollen Trinity River, Johnson met the

deadline for his sale, and the Slaughters also sold theirherd there for $24,000. Rather than attempt the returntrip home with that much money, they spent $4,000 onnew wagons, teams of oxen, groceries, mens clothing,boots, shoes and other dry goods for barter back inPalo Pinto County. When they were within 3 miles ofPalo Pinto, they hid the remaining $20,000 in $20 goldpieces under a rock for safe keeping. They would usetheir gold bank to purchase more cattle and increasetheir cattle herds.

With the goods they brought back from Jeffersonand in partnership with John A. McLaran, they estab-

lished a mercantile store in Palo Pinto under the nameof Slaughter and McLaran. They were able to bartergoods for as many as 700 head of cattle per year forthe next five years. After restrictions against Texascattle being driven into Kansas were relaxed during1867, Joseph G. McCoy constructed new shippingpens on the railroad at Abilene, Kan., thus opening up



21/24

a new market for Texas cattle. C.C. Slaughter soon con-vinced George to drive 800 head of their cattle north.They would send another 2,500 head up the trail toAbilene during 1868 with the two sales netting almost$40,000.

The Slaughters continued to raise cattle and fight offIndians during the next several years. George Slaughtermoved his family to Emporia, Kan., in 1871 to help super-

vise the sale of family cattle. While there he organizedthree churches and baptized 97 converts. He returned tohis ranch in Palo Pinto County in 1875 where he built a$25,000 mansion where he lived out his final 25 years. Hedissolved his partnership with his son, C.C. Slaughter, andranched there with his younger son, Peter, until he retiredin 1884. C.C. would go on to become one of the most suc-cessful cattleman in Texas history.

In 1882, George Slaughter founded the First BaptistChurch in Mineral Wells. When a tornado blew away theSlaughter Valley Baptist Church building in 1886, thecongregation decided to move into the town of Palo Pinto

and constructed a new church building. The building wasbuilt from lumber from the old church and new lumberfreighted in from Fort Worth by Reverend Slaughter. Itwas then decided to unite with an existing Baptist congre-gation there and the two churches united, moving into thenew Slaughter church building named the Baptist Churchof Christ of Palo Pinto. That church building was used

until 1952 when it was replaced by the current buildingknown as the First Baptist Church of Palo Pinto, which isstill in use.

George Webb Slaughter died 11 years later at the age of84 on March 19, 1895, at his home north of Palo Pinto.His tombstone in the Palo Pinto Cemetery was inscribedas follows: "Farewell Father Here Lies an Honest Man -Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord that they may

rest from their labors and their works do follow them.During his life-long mission as courier of the Word ofGod, George Slaughter baptized over 3,000 people, orga-nized approximately 75 churches, married many couples,spoke over the graves of countless settlers, and preachedwherever he could find someone to listen. George WebbSlaughter crossed his own line in the sand and neverstepped back across it.

* * * * *

(References: "Painted Pole: The Beldings and Their

Ranches in Palo Pinto County Pioneer Days toComputer Age," by Barbara Belding Gibson; "C.C.Slaughter: Rancher, Banker, Baptist," by David J. Murrah;"Eighteen Minutes: The Battle of San Jacinto and theTexas Independence Campaign," by Stephen Moore; The

Handbook of Texas Online and other Internet sites)



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