the Sackett Companion (1992)

by L'amour, Louis

  A fiddle had to stand the gaff. When they made music for dancing it was a boot-stomping, swing-your-partner sort of music, and a fiddle had to stand up to hard use.

  A big thing in those days was a "sing." Word would get about that somebody was having a sing and folks would come from miles around to take part and to listen. Sometimes a fat hog was the prize, or a heifer, but it was not the prizes folks came for, but the music. Often they'd drive in a spring wagon or ride horse- or mule-back thirty or forty miles to take part, and just as often they'd been rehearsing and singing to be ready when the time came. Some made their own music to sing by, but often enough they just sang.

  Mostly it was ballads from the old country, dating back to Elizabethan times, or versions of their own built on the same tunes. They made songs of people they knew who were legends in the mountains, or about Andy Jackson, Davy Crockett, or somebody like Floyd Collins. If something happened, like a train wreck or a ship sinking or a gunfight, there'd be a song about it within the week.

  FLOYD COLLINS: He was a Kentuckian who found a cave on his property. He had known of it for years but believed it to be just a small sinkhole. One story is that he dropped his jackknife into the hole and went down to retrieve it, discovering an opening leading off from the hole. Hoping to have a cave that could be exploited, he began exploring and was trapped by a falling boulder.

  Efforts were immediately organized to get him out, but the affair turned into a three-ring circus with crowds gathering, and hotdog and balloon vendors making a killing. Some say the efforts to save Collins were deliberately stalled to keep the gravy train rolling for the vendors. In any event, Floyd Collins died in that cave.

  The story has been made into a movie with Kirk Douglas called Ace In The Hole and it was almost immediately made into a song called The Death of Floyd Collins. An almost forgotten chapter of the Nashville music business is that for a time they put out instant records. No sooner was there a disaster than a song was written about it and a recording on sale. It was so with the death of Floyd Collins, and with the sinking of the Vestris.

  I was in Oregon at the time, if I recall correctly, and remember that the record of the Death of Floyd Collins was being played on many music boxes or wherever there was a record player.

  Times have changed. The hills don't sound with music as they once did and the singers have gone down to the Settlements like Nashville to make music or to listen. In the old days a boy or girl just couldn't wait to have a broken heart just so he or she could make up a song about it.

  It's like the coffee. Nobody parches their own coffee any more, and a good cup of coffee is hard to find. Why, the coffee you find these days won't even take the silver off a spoon! Maybe that's why the Sackett boys went west. They'd heard those cowboys out yonder drank good coffee.

  There was a song they used to sing in the mountains about "Black, black, black was my true love's hair."

  That was the way they liked their coffee, Black, Black, Black!

  NOLAN SACKETT: He wasn't headed anywhere but away when he saw that wagon out in the middle of nowhere, and he didn't quite like the look of things, but one of them was a right handsome woman, so he stopped. That was when his trouble began, and it carried him on for some distance. It seemed like a man couldn't even ride across country without running into some kind of a difficulty.

  When he heard there was gold left near Rabbit Ears and that there were women involved, he knew he was riding right for trouble.

  YELLOW HOUSE CANYON: One of a series of canyons, including the larger Palo Duro Canyon, that stretch down the Panhandle of Texas. From some distance off there was, in the old days, no indication of their existence, the plains seemingly unbroken to the horizon. This was Comanche-Kiowa country for many years. Go to Lubbock, Texas, in the Panhandle. They will show it to you.

  PALO DURO CANYON: The bleak plains of the Panhandle are slashed suddenly by a truly amazing canyon. In the first place, you don't expect it to be there. Indians used to raid and rob and then ride away. The soldiers following would see them and then they would vanish, dropping into their canyon hideout that the Army was some time in finding. Almost a thousand feet deep, it is anywhere from a few hundred yards wide to more than ten miles.

  Charlie Goodnight, one of the greatest of the cattle drivers and inventor of the chuck wagon, brought cattle to the canyon and established the JA Ranch. The main canyon was well-watered, as were most of the branch canyons; there was standing timber; and little fencing was needed. For generations the Comanches had come to the Palo Duro, fattening their ponies on the rich grass and hunting the buffalo that also made the canyons their home.

  JIM CATOR: An historical character who had his buffalo camp on the North Palo Duro, a three- or four-day ride from where Goodnight located. There was no town nearer than one hundred miles in any direction.

  SOSTENES L'ARCHEVEQUE: An outlaw and gunman, reported to have killed twenty-three men. When the Casners moved sheep into the area, some outlaws conspired to steal the flock and Sostenes was sent to kill them. Maneuvering one of the Casners into hunting with him, Sostenes shot him in the back of his head, then returned to camp and murdered the man's brother. He was apparently working with outlaws from the Robbers' Roost, off to the north. Sostenes was later killed by his brother-in-law simply to rid the country of a coldblooded killer. Goodnight and the Casners got along well and had established a good relationship with the Mexicans at Borrego Plaza and Romero. Goodnight had been assured that if Sostenes made trouble they would take care of him. He did, and they did.

  FORT GRIFFIN: A small military post and a town close by, the latter a supply point for buffalo hunters. The town catered to a rough, independent lot, and a great many of the men who became noted gunfighters first served their apprenticeship as hunters of the buffalo. Many renowned western characters passed through Fort Griffin at one time or another. One story has it that it was here that Wyatt Earp first met Doc Holliday, and Pat Garrett outfitted there for buffalo hunting.

  COMANCHEROS: New Mexicans who traded with the Comanches, supplying them with arms and ammunition and taking in exchanges horses, cattle, or other loot taken from Texas homes the Comanches had raided. A trade disapproved of by most New Mexicans, but one highly profitable at times.

  BORREGOS PLAZA: On the south bank of the Canadian River, roughly a mile from the site of Tascosa, which was built later. Borregos Plaza had been settled by former Comancheros led by Colas Martinez, a friend of Charlie Goodnight. It was a small, pleasant village inhabited by friendly people and strangers were welcome as long as they behaved themselves. There are several versions of the death of Sostenes l'Archeveque other than the one given here but the purpose was the same. The community wished to rid itself of a troublemaker.

  ADOBE WALLS: This spot is referred to in several of my stories and is without doubt one of the best-known places in Texas, although visited by few, comparatively speaking. It was the site of two battles with Indians, both decisive.

  Originally a trading post built by William Bent about 1842-43, it was eighty feet square with adobe walls nine feet high, and was situated in what is now Hutchinson County, Texas. The original fort was built under the directions of William Bent and Ceran St. Vrain in an area where the Kiowa, Comanche, Arapahoe, and Cheyenne were sure to be found, and the traders made periodic trips to the site for trading purposes. The First Battle of Adobe Walls took place on November 26, 1864. Colonel Kit Carson, leading the 1st Cavalry, New Mexico Volunteers, moved to attack a Kiowa village of some 150 lodges after a series of raids on outlying ranches and towns. Carson's command consisted of 14 officers, 321 enlisted men accompanied by 78 Indians and 2 howitzer cannons. Upon nearing the village, Carson left his wagons, guarded by infantry, to follow, and advanced to the attack. They scattered the Kiowa and burned their village, but the Kiowa alerted several Comanche villages that were also in the vicinity.

  Carson moved into the ruins of the trading post, underestimating the size of the force, which numbered sev
eral thousand Indians, that opposed him. There was sporadic fighting throughout the day and then Carson withdrew to protect his oncoming supply train. Despite the retreat, however, Carson had won a decisive victory.

  However, as Custer would do twelve years later, Carson seriously underestimated the size of the force that could be brought against him. Logic was on his side, but on this occasion, as with Custer, logic did not conform to the facts.

  Carson knew, as did Custer, that maintaining a large force of Indians in the field was beyond the abilities of the Indian. The American Indian had never thought of war in terms of a campaign, of a series of battles leading to a final victory. He thought in terms of raids or single battles, so had never organized a supply system. What food they had was carried with them or taken by hunting as they traveled, but when a large body of Indians came into an area all the game promptly left the vicinity and took to the hills for protection. Custer's scouts had warned him of the size of the pony herd, judging by the dust cloud, but that dust might be accounted for in other ways and so he doubted the presence of so many Indians. With adequate reason he discounted the reports brought by his scouts. Carson had no such reports but had the same reasons for doubting the presence in the area of a greater number of Indians than those in the village he attacked.

  After both battles, the parties of Indians broke up and went their ways to hunt for meat.

  The Second Battle of Adobe Walls was ten years later, and seldom in history have so few men fought a battle more decisive. To be closer to the market, store owners Rath and Wright moved out from Dodge City a supply of ammunition, whiskey, and such other supplies as buffalo hunters might need, and located a store at Adobe Walls in the heart of the buffalo hunting country. There were several buildings, and outside the buildings was a covered wagon in which two men were sleeping. In all, on that fateful morning of June 27, 1874, there were twenty-eight men and one woman present at Adobe Walls. The one woman was Mrs. Olds, wife of a storekeeper.

  Actually, the men were scattered in three buildings: in Jim Hanrahan's saloon and in the two stores, that of Rath & Wright, and another operated by Myers and Leonard.

  The attacking Indians were largely Kiowa, Comanche, and Cheyenne, led by Quanah Parker and Lone Wolf. The one who instigated the attack was a medicine man called Isatai, and Isatai had been making big medicine. His idea was to gather all the Indians together and drive the white man east of the Mississippi, out of Indian country forever.

  He claimed his medicine was good, that he could protect the others from injury, and that the time had come.

  Many Indians were skeptical. They then suggested that if the attacking party, variously estimated at seven hundred to onethousand men, could wipe out the buffalo hunters at Adobe Walls, the rest of them would join in the drive to sweep the country of white men. First, though, Isatai had to prove his medicine was good. When the fight began nearly one thousand Indians attacked, with probably twice that number as spectators. In the stores and the saloon at the time were thousands of rounds of ammunition, food supplies, and whiskey enough to last for a month or more.

  What happened next has never been fully explained. In one of the stores where a number of men were sleeping, there was a sharp report. It awakened everybody, who believed the ridgepole had cracked. By the time they discovered that nothing was wrong, Billy Dixon, then twenty-three years old, decided it was no use trying to get back to sleep when no more than an hour later he would be packing to leave for the hunting grounds. He decided to get his picketed horses, pack up, and be ready to leave at daylight. He went outside and walked to where his horses were. He was leading them back when his eye caught a hint of movement. He glanced around and against the first gray light of dawn he glimpsed a long line of charging Indians, still some distance off but coming at a dead run. Dixon dropped the lead ropes and leaped for the door. He made it just in time.

  The Indians swept around and among the buildings. The two men asleep in their wagon were killed as they grabbed for their rifles. A large dog was also killed, and then the fight began. Isatai could not have chosen a worse spot to begin his attack. The twenty-eight men at Adobe Walls were all dead shots. Most of them had already put in two or more seasons on the buffalo prairies firing thousands of rounds in the killing of buffalo. Most of them were veterans of other Indian battles and several were men whose names would make western history, such as Billy Dixon himself and Bat Masterson, then just seventeen. They were securely lodged behind log or sod walls and their firing was done from rests where they could take their time and pick their targets.

  The shooting continued for several days but the riflemen were too good and their position too secure. The event that may well have broken the back of the effort took place on the second day, when a party of Indians appeared on a ridge some distance away and Billy Dixon was asked to see what he could do. Using his Sharps Big Fifty buffalo gun Billy knocked an Indian from his horse at a distance, checked a few days later by an Army officer, of seven-eighths of a mile.

  By the middle of the fifth day hunters were gathering from all over the area, and over a hundred of them had come to the aid of the men at Adobe Walls. By the time the Army arrived, the fight was over.

  The casualties among the hunters amounted to four men and a dog: the two Shadier brothers, killed in the first attack; one man killed later; and the last was the husband of Mrs. Olds, killed when his own gun discharged accidentally.

  CROSS TIMBERS: Two remarkable belts of timber beginning in Oklahoma and running south to the middle of Texas. Dense stands of timber, they were some distance apart, each varying in width. As they were often as much as fifteen miles in width they presented a formidable obstacle to travel. They were a haven for much wildlife, including some of the last grizzlies found in Texas. They were famous landmarks both for the Indian and the white man. In the eastern Cross Timbers the trees were larger, the growth more dense. A good part of the timber was blackjack or post oak.

  LLANO ESTACADO: The so-called Stake Plain. Literally, it includes most of the Panhandle of Texas, a vast uplift protected from erosion by the Cap-Rock. Flat as a floor for many miles, it was in the beginning virtually without water, hence uninhabited and rarely visited by either Indian or buffalo. The origin of the name has been much debated. One quite logical explanation is that it was so named because of the necessity of staking one's horse as there was no tree or shrub to which a horse could be tied. Another explanation is that the earliest travelers placed occasional sighting stakes so they could maintain their direction. A dozen other explanations have been offered. Read them all and take your pick. You are as likely to be right as anyone else.

  SERBIN, TEXAS: In Lee County, a town founded by Wendish Lutherans in 1854. John Kilian was the leader of a group of some five hundred of the Wends who settled there and built a rock church that was still standing when I last was there. The church was built before the Civil War. Nolan Sackett was jailed there for a shooting, but the Wendish folk had reason to favor him and he was allowed to escape.

  RABBIT EAR MOUNTAIN: An important landmark on the Santa Fe Trail. The peaks give the impression of rabbit ears from a distance, but it is also said that a Cheyenne chief called Rabbit Ears was killed near there and buried on the mountain, if such it could be called. The mounds are situated in Union County, New Mexico, north of Clayton.

  Just north of the mountain in a box canyon is a green pool covered with a thick scum. The walls of the canyon have been blackened by fire, and there is an opening, very uninviting, about three to three-and-a-half feet in diameter. It is possible there was oil or gas here that may have been set afire by lightning or some other cause. The situation is virtually as related in the story.

  RABBIT EARS CREEK: Creek heads up near Rabbit Ears, flows through a part of Texas and into Oklahoma. Gregg lists it as a stopping place on the Santa Fe Trail.

  SLANTING ANNIE: A frontier prostitute who followed the boom camps. So-called because one leg was shorter than the other. An historical charact
er.

  OLLIE SHADDOCK: A freighter at this period; kin to the Sacketts; he appears in THE daybreakers.

  MORA: A pleasant town in New Mexico; Tyrel Sackett located there, and it was visited by Tell Sackett. Orrin came here with Tyrel. It was the town where the mountain man Ceran St. Vrain, partner of Kit Carson, located.

  ROMERO, TEXAS: Settled by Casimero Romero, a sheepman; an area where Comancheros operated. Just a few miles from the New Mexico border.

  LOMA PARDA: Now a ghost town; a drinking town for soldiers from Fort Union. On the Mora River, and a rough place in its day. Usually off-limits to soldiers. It was a hang-out for thieves, gamblers, and formerly a base for Comancheros.

  TINKER KNIFE: A knife made by the Tinker, a pack peddler in the Tennessee Mountains. Made from a variety of steel known only to the Tinker, but derived from the same steel used in the Toledo and Damascus blades. Most of the steel in those famous swords and scimitars was imported from India. The Tinker made few knives and only for close friends or someone he admired.