te, GOMER. INDIAN IMIRITORY COAL TWINERS.

tih A-(S-140) 4fj|/J• BIOGRAPHY >-®: •

• WORKS Pi<0GR]}SS' ADMlMSTiUTJONIndian-Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma

t \ -"(SOWER, CKWJR. INDIAN. TiifiRITOKZ ".COiO. tolK-ittS 5889

, V/orkor's name Goiaer uov/er -,! . V| This report made on (date) Lay 21 -, ,193 7

1. Name. ', Goaer Sower • \ <. •• ^

z. Post Office Address 608 i^ast Jev/e^ ^vet, fioteau,

3, Residence'addresc (or location) '• '- '

4. DATS OF B3BTE: ' Month' Koveiaber • ' Day"_25 Year 1869

5. Place of b i r t h Maesteg, bouth «ales '

* *• • <, t

_ , ' _ _ _ r

9 * ' • •

6. Name of .Father Thomas gower • Place of- b i r th w'ales

Other information about father'Honeer resident of Indian Territory

7. .Name of Mother, ali-za ^ower - Place of b i r th t V a l e s

Other information about mother Pioneer resident ,t -Indian t e r r i t o ry

3d ^story of the uirson inteririewe.d. Refir to Manual f-or su,_;;csted subject?and questions. Cantinue on blank "Sheets if necessary and .attach firmly to•this form* Number of sheets attached" - ' ^5 •

GOWER, GOMER

Fie/id V»orJcer,

, * •

INDliiN CO,iL "5889'

455

s of Coal iwiij-srs in the IndianTerritory,. 188-2-to 1891. /

)i * -

I was born fn Maesteg, bouth ^ales, on November 25,

1869, and came to America with my parents, Thomas and -

kliza Gower, in J^anuafy, 1880, and .settled at tfentchlftr

Station, Illinois,*where% we, resided unt i l ^ay, 1862. jVe

tBen moved to th.e mining town of Savanna, Indian Territory,

a point abaut.t«n-*snil£s south of old. iiCAlester, where, as

a b.oy; I began to' wo k in the 'mine vd.th my .fatner.

, '-At that time,",the one mine-at Savanna and &o:,e .t o* or

three at Krebs were th«,* only coal Eiin-s, -i.ad the k.iv.6cT.

* •

Railway the only railroad'*in "the Indian territory* Aie to

the isolation from Q%U&C coal mining areas, the operators1 • a • ' >

of the mines at these places found it difficult^to £L

experienced miners, such as were required at that-pre-

inachjne period. They were, thorefore-, forced to secure and

transport miners from other mining centers* It was in

this manner that my father and nineteen other miners were

induced to leave Illinois and come -to 'the Indian Territory

/ . - '

GOTO, GOUaR ' J N £ M TERRITORY COAL MIK^RS , 5889

i$s prospect of more'steady work than might be

obtained at that time in Illinois*. 'This prospect for

steady employment was due to the deuand for locomotive

fuel by the Ivl.K.&T. Railway, which at that time extended

south to.-tort -forth and a short.branch line" fron .»hites-

"boro to Gainesville,'Texas, m d north to bedalia, Missouri,

and, these mines in the> Indian Territory were the logical

. source-of supply.

Houses in which to live w^re scarce, tfpr a short

time, our family shared a four-room house with'-the family

of a Scotchman, Tom Garrl he then succeeded, in renting

- a small log .-.cabin with a box lean-to, where yve. lived until

we deputed'forJlordt5]a7^TQxas, in Juge 1883, - " '

jrthen we moved to this cabia 1 realized the drearaiyife

mos-t= normal boys in-the-form o.f a be^u-tifuL-lBdiSn^ pony

toge%Ker'with^a saddle a-nd bridle presented to me'by my_/

father, and was I proud: ' •

We had no t been there very loii£ before I was stricken '

with Malaria, then called-Choctaw. fever, from the effects

--».-n-t-ryi'nn-t- Vi

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^ ' T E R R I T O R Y CG.-J, MW.&S 5889

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Harris, X no doubt would have died.

Doctor Harris, an elegant-getrtleman, who. was quit*

tall and wore a lon^ flowing beard, presented a striking

appearance whsn making lis professional round of calls,

mounted on a vt;ry pretty though small brown stallion,

•doctor Harris was employed by the mine owners

'the medical needs of the miners. For thib service the

/, mine owners collected'one dollar per month .'rora/each• " • ' • • /

employee. The medicine was provided by the doctor who

carried his-piilbae-js in the form of saddlebuc-p laid acrotsr

the rear part of the saddle.

•d-fter my recovery from the attack of C)/octaw f ^

everything moved alt^n^ nicely until the following Spring*

when Father was stricken with an intestinal trouble and in

June upon the recommendation of doctor Harris and of doctor

Hailey, who had been eallad into consultation, we left the

Indian Territory for Gordon, Texas, where a raar.ried sister

had preceded us. ^ , ',

The employees at the mine at Savanna at that tir,ae

were of various nationalities; Scotch? Irish, nglish and

who, like our family, were recruited from fini

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GQMR-; GOMER INDIAN- TjiRKTTORY" CO^L. MINERS • 5889

centers i n o t h s r s t a t e s . Of the^^bcli^people I •' . '

remember begi_^fee^Srrs and Javid Crozier^ the • ""

licLaughlins and William Cameron, who was superintendent

of,the. mine. Of the I r i sh people, Tom Courtney who

succeeded"Charley Iiokey as mine foreman;, of the English *

people there was John'Beck and* his son bob, ocxd old

Lancashire people, who kept a popular boarding house, '* 0 %

then there were the Lav/Jesses who I think came, direct

from .England to the Nation, ^nd nearly all became * r

Victims of that /dr^a-d-'malaria. *'ho living today re-

members Jimmie Lawless singing that good" old song "Oh,

my bonnie dujean.'1 This song dwelt on the pleat-ures"' % . •

^njoyed while smoking his "dujean" and after Jimmie had

a drink or two of "Chocri the "dujean" would be converted

I n t o an idol . ' The welsh miners were quite.numerous with

John 0., William's from Pennsylvania a.nd h i s sons, Tom" and

Jim, and a fos te r son, Ted Richards . 'This fajd.ly} with the . "

^aid of one or two of the girls^formed a brass 'band and

wliiled away many, an evening e n t e r t a i n i n g the -neighbors

.with the r end i t i on .o f popular a i r s - John Parry^ o.ur

.45 i)

GOVGSR,- GQuiay . INJJL^ Ti-RRlTuRY COiiL MII^RL . 5889, . - ^ • • ,

fire-boss, who cams from Litchfield, Illinois.- Billy

James and Jack Daniels from Pennsylvania and our oyn

family. . . • » • * • ' *, •* -

In the Winter of-1882-1883 Slope' 2 was opened and a '- • , • • • • > » . . .

double row of corapany iiousos erected midway between:

Slope 1 and Slope 2. J-'he; e houses were of the four^room

variety; two front rooms with a lean-to at the rear , and

accommodated two families, »hen thevse houses were ready

for occupancy the mining comrany brought' in families from

the ^hotwail—raines in Kentucky* ^iong these families wasthat .of James illiot^who ^ater became, a prominent coal—-

\ . .operator at Hg^leyville. Jim was one of th-j best miners*j -

in -that aggregation. ' ^ [ <

With this aggregation of people of foreign origin who

had ever bact tneir beer when wanted, and the Kv»ritucki_ns

wh.6 came from the proverbial home of "mountain dew", now

« - • - > • ' :

residing^in surroundings where it was unlawful tc. intro-

due* intoxicants for -ei'ther use or sale, added to this

the fact that the drinking water which the wells afforded

was gyppy in character and t^ste, it may,well be wonder-

ed and -conjectured what the result was. ^way was fo.nd

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. GK?W£B, GOMKR - - II?tflaK TJSRRlTuRY CwiL 'iUM^Bto 5889" ' ' t - '

, ' • • . •• < • • • ' •

to circujtiivent the lav/iaiid &;t the same'tirue render the

* gyppy water more palatable., "1'his ''..as done' by- boiling > >,'

malt or oats , oV corn and hops in the desired quantity

0 of water and .extracting th'e substance of .the ingredients,

and then 'adding the proper amount fof yea&t ar.d sugar*

' * This concoction v,as-tLen pIac.;J. in :j' '-2^-or b^r^el t o

ferment. <<hen properly a^-d i t sffordo I a irick 'that

had a vral'lop cpiuoarable to, t^e^'kick of a B jile, "-xlii-s

-, " potent driiik, no doubt,"h^d -the effect of counteracting .' » ' ' • ^ • » ' * ' j

-'' the effects of .the deadly xiai?ria-r? 'squiio fro.m which.

we had no-other protection as viindCv,' -nJ door",screens*

•.fere unknov.-n .to us , Besides i t rendered the^"wit-t^r :.;6re"

.palatable0- *' - ' J • -

Then, ag"aiA,.-aji enterprising raerchant,-yeorge

' k

of ^aittt Loufs, dijit *a "mai-i ords^."bfusia'as.s-.' He sent out a'

monthly price i is . t , -^Uotiaj '^iricoe" JE cr6ce"rie£, jnd ot'Her• • - , • ' - • ' ' ' • " . - - ' • - " " - -

v ' ' *

household, necessities', inqludii.^ liquors in gallon.-lots,. .• ' • -- ^ . -• - ' • - - * i w

It -.'.-s ths c^ston'of'ti^so ---hdJTpecnti -to -include an -• • ' ' " • >. t . > s -

order for a gallon-of whisky in .their zvCiQ'xxrf crde,r which

was. limited to a miniruvfni amount of twenty-five dolQ.ar&; '•r . , " < < * - 1 • ' . • • " . ; " , ' • . ' . , '

When th'is was £or;e the. order :f--^rcc<-*ries^ would 'usually• * "

• - ; -

GOifcfc IH4UN T^RBJTuRY

be packed' :

qask of wh:

resemble a

and placed

5889-

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n a wooden cask for shipment with the. gallon

sky or other Liquor carefully, wrapped to '

nearly as possiole a package, of .groceries

near the center "of"'the cask used for ..yhipraent

was the discreet-use of this method of'lav: evasion

that I So not reca l l a single instance in which -the

sus;icicn^ of the United States Marshals v^.e aroused •

to the-extent that .they fplt ^caile'd^-upon to break into

and examine the contents f these grocery r«.:,cka^es.

Perhaps-.it was a privilege ' tolerated and errj^yed on ac-

count of the assurance lasnifestsd that i-ts use wa's not

abused. , • .

Occasionally, whisky peddlers v«5aid a ^ e a r , always^

at night, and they 7;ouid make thei r presence known by

twp' pXs'ooTr^shotsTTn rapTd successsicn, but aside

from small s^ies _ni;d'«. to the employees ,who T«t ided ia the

boarding houses, of which th?.re wj>fe four., their sales •

of whisky were mesgftr. "ISieir wares were sold at-two

per p int . 'Sbe aler tness of the i<ir£halJs_j2rJ&vjiniu..

any sxtendud practice qf__law yj plat ion of that nature»

ooott'after moving to'.iiaTanna we-rficide tjus- aquaintarxe*

GOWER, (KAuiR \BJfflLosl TiiRBlTCm CUaJj

of t?/o Choc taw Indians, one. ©f whom was. Aaron

.the other Hiyokitubbe-,the/spelling of which, is• : • y / ,

and possibly incorrect. I t was from ^ppellar that my/ ' *

father bought the pony ror me and i t was from Hiyokiytubbehe bought two cows. 'iftese Indians provided us and/other

fariilies wi'th venisoa, wild turkeys aiiCt e.^gs. £-or a hani

of venison v/e paid/fifty cen.ts ind the same for a turkey.

Hiyokitubbe could'not speak English but could make him-

•self understood by moans of grunts and raoti-ons. He liv.;d

; at a point about three miles, east of what was theniferryvilu

at which tasrfc x*'as a cotton jin^and a email s tore , hs was ,

prominent in th^ Choctaw Tribal affairs and ifi d made

. several. t r ips to- V.ashin^ton, J . ^C, in tas in teres t of hife

people. I t was h'is custom to wear, a red baa'dana tied aroundi i * *

Washington', he hi;d "been resented ^?ith auite a eollsct-ips." *

, . . . . . _. .. . ...j . .of *silk top hat«, vjhich then ?.s ho.w wei1© the vogue with

' • ' ' / • ' ' • ' • " ' . ' • / " " ' " • ' " " • *

official ^W&-hirlgton9 . These h.i*ts h^s/kept as" souvenirs only,and he took keen/delight in showing them to us vhen we

visited his hocie; He would plaee^one at, these" iwts upon

- .* ' "his head and- would affect the ai-rV^f a Beau Brummsll and'

\JOWSR, 5 8 8 9 , ^ 1

stri/t around in imitation .of the dandies he had seen in> •* - * • • . . ,

$> Washington.' On all other occasions he-was dignity ,

'personified. Kis dignified silance was in itself eloquent.

fay visited us often .when -Father was sick .and", though ih>i.t

fifty years ago, I shall, never f©rge"t nor''cease to

admire hira. ^ppellarytoo, was'a' kir.dly man and was fairly

well-educated in the/-^n^lish

Oa-May .1st., 7L883, the coal cuhf.any reduced tha

wages of the miners w^ich r soilted in the first strike of•". "/. - - * . " "" "

miners in the Indian-Territory, 'i'he miners y/ere not

organized at that tim i as no labor o rgan iza t ion we

know them today was i:i eseijStence. ^ joint ».rn*etinL. of ' the

Savanna and *ic&lesteij miners was h*ld on the pra i r i e

-near .Savanna and a coiamttee b&lected to apneal to Chief. . \ • • •

§ ikicpurtain fo^moral assistance to r^i'sf t" y ~ ' ' ' • . • ' ~

in wages, iappsed by th6"^coal coitmsny. However, to

consternation of the.conmitt e, the Chief directed that

the-Tnlr-ars return to work or .^et peudy to take an Arkansas*

bed, which rae.-ant to return to work or. £st out of the ' .Territory. ' 'Jehus' ended the first strike of miners after a

t* • t • • •

period of idleness of one month., idleness vrfii'ch^fforded

a grand .opportunity-^for imntifts and fishing. *

GGWiiR, 9OM1LB • IRdtaJI. TiSRITOflY CQ*L MINERS 5889

.•- 1 0 - . • ' • . /

In Jaauary, 1886, the mines at Gordon, Texas;

were closed down and in August of that year the writer

returned to the Indian Territory to work in;the wines

$t Lehirfi which had been opened a f t e r we l e f t oavanna.

-at Lehigh i t . wa:> the custcra of the miners ,to close the

week's work ^t noon on oaturday.. Tins custom tjave the

•miners an opportunity to indulge in the various shorts,

pony-racing, foot-racing,''pigeon scooting and baseball ,

•a. quarter mile race frack was located on H r if^e we.-.t of

iuine 3,-. ^-nothet was located about a mile t-outh of -toka,

.It 'y;as'here v.-hdre the more iraportant raco^ .vore .run.; i

*r'ells, "i^aje Hod^e, Jack-Ho^-J^v. irhl»lli?r. nnJ Jutch r\h

hardt, each' o\;ned faat' ijcnie^s and >ere ready a f ' a l l tiirie".

te-sjDack them with their money. The Veeches,' ^n^rev^ and

contenders far.supremacy in the contests in'pigeon sh

ing* l iuch money ;vould .be vvagerei on thete sport's und

trickery of oil sorts w.s rractic-i.» Jim 'ells owned a

long-bodied savi'-,ba*ckeds. ye?;-needed brov;n n^re* that, pn• y v ' " ' \

the race track would be transfprmed into a streak,.of ~~~

lightnine, The niare's outlandish appearance when not-on

ACJ1. ' • . -v- - t - f

G0W2R, GGMJK •. INDIAK' TliRRITGHY COaL fcilNJRS 5869

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the race track gave Jim a decided"advantage when

matching a race-with some< ne to" whom the fleetnoss

of the mare was unknown. In additfon to this advantage •

-Jim's mare had been trained to use tactics calculi ted*,

to wecar out .the opposing horse before the -actual race " „

was started. In starting^always a flyi*ng start-» she ' .

vrouid sond her opponent off on numberlesc false^ s t-irts

!Hhile she remained d.s cool as the proverbial cucumber..^

Then, at a signal from Old Jim, she»would" be off ,.* her .

rider enjoying that thri-ll which accompanies the* ilcusure

of looking back to see how the opposing horse ir rarning.

.jijid invariably these races would-result in Jiui s pockets

•being filled from the bets he lad made, ' Then there was -.

Maje' liodge'.s, Blue^ a blue roan c_ompaetly built, that could

by Dutch Bhine.hardt. -A great horse whien iat-er was ownea-

by my .father and used as-a cowhor^e. ^t£l l a s t , there" was-

Scarieg, s,o named because of his ab i l i t y to-affect a very .

painful limp when being"examined by a prospective party

with a view of matching & race*' -After'the. race vrjd" rrstcii^d

and the money put.in' the hands of a.stakeholder, the limp

would disappear as-if-by magic* "• I have especial.occasion." ' -

4(56' - ' • < ' • '

' , ' *# • *, * . . / • *

GOWER,'.GOiuiR INDIAN M R I TORY COiiL ivJi^fc/ 5889" '

• - 1 2 - - •"•• •

to,recall Scarleg's limp because I myself was made the

'victim of his duplicity on my. first introduction to this'a

wise and good old horse. To the 'lover of a horse there

i s no t h r i l l comparable to that fyl't \.l an two f l ' c t

poni.es come thuitderin^ down the tiv.pk", evt-r.y nerve, ard

muscle strained to the trcilring point, th^ r iders loan-

ing for.vard) and with a s t t a ly hand on^the reins urr.iri^

"and ass is t ing their mounts to a t ta in ..M keep In the

lead. Oh Boyi' , • •'

I had an infiiKite acqu:tintance,T extendinL- OV-T a .

psripei of years, jvith Colonel' -\ol.y-rt J« xiunter, a

piohaer btockman of the Indian Territory, ^nu «vl.o has

.been frequently menti^ed in the Chronicles, of Oklahoma•"I was in his employ a$ the. tii.ie of his -ieath which

occurred at #ort ''north, Texas', in l900y I t i s impossible

. < for those v$io did not know him intimately to fully appricl-

ate wh.it has been written of, Colonel Bunter. He wa& truly9- ' - * . ,

Bn outstanding character of* vrnoiu it can truthfully -be" said"

- -"He was a winner." Tall and portly; ;it- once ruthless and yet

kind',, of Scotch parentage," possessing the determination

.cf the spider which inspired the Scottish' Chief, Hobert] ' ^ \ , •' • - " • " • . _ ' . • ' • - • •

Bruce, tp carry on.' . • _ - • . • - ,

46-7

• GOWEft, GOiVuB • INDIAN TJSRRITOKY COixL IvlIKxiiS \ 5889

, ' Thus closes the na r ra t ive r e l a t i n g the modes- of

. l i f e of the pioneer miners of the indi-.n Te r r i t o ry ,

who were engaged in an industry \mich has-added much to

i t s wealth and- development and has given to the ^ t c t e

of Oklahoma" .many of i t s l e a d i n o l ights:WiHioia Cameron,

•'• T e r r i t o r i a l Mine Inspector , l e t u h jn ra ty , Const i tu t ional

Convention de lega te , and l - . tor , o t a t e iiine Inspec to r , M

'Boyle and Hobert iirovm, ^ t a t e U n e Inspec to r s , and i (a t t

McElroy, member of I n d u s t r i a l Commission, arid l a s *

not l e a s t , Claud Connally, former i<abor Commissicner --ind*

now Director of Labor Relat ions of the Stat-. »orks i-rot;re&s

Administra-tion. .

• a