A history of Deaf Smith County, featuring pioneer families Page: 67 of 174
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History
Deaf Smith County
Pioneersare two grand-children.
Clarence Williams' parents, Mr. and Mrs. L. M.
Williams, were living at Amherst at the time of their
deaths. Their family included, in addition to Clarence:
Gertrude (Mrs. A.G.) Kelly, Dallas; Bernice (Dr. Wilbur)
Coulson, Elk City, Okla., deceased; Mrs. Lula Painter,
deceased; Enna (Mrs. Charlie) Coulson,, Pearl (Mrs.
Clint) Abbott, and Sherrill Williams all of Amherst.
W. A. WITHERSPOON, 1899
Shared County's History
Two Witherspoons were among the first officers elected
for Deaf Smith County after it was separated from Oldham
County in a special electionin 1890. Although those two are
no longer here, there are others who came the same fall
and have continued to live in the county and work for its
development continuously. C. G. Witherspoon was the
county's first clerk, and W. D. Witherspoon was its first
treasurer.
C. G. was the eldest son of W. A. Witherspoon and had
come to the Plains two years before his father moved the
family from Ellis Co., Tex., in 1900. C. G. and his wife,
Fannie Jackson Witherspoon, came to Amarillo in 1888.
He taught the first full term of school there. He came on
to Deaf Smith County and filed on land near the center
section of the county. His brother, Anderson, came to the
county in 1889.
W. A. Witherspoon and his sons, Anderson and Remmie,
drove a herd of cattle and horses through from Ellis
County, arriving at a land camp near Canyon on July 4,
1890. They came on to Deaf Smith County and filed on
land adjoining the La Plata section. Witherspoon planted
a patch of cotton as soon as he arrived, declaring if this
country will grow cotton, he would move on. He was
through with cotton and planned to be a rancher. An early
freeze got the cotton; so the Witherspoons put down roots.
Mrs. Witherspoon and the younger children made the
trip to the Plains after the cotton was picked in the fall.
Making the move were the oldest daughter, Sarah Francis
(Fannie) Witherspoon and her husband, RobertLee Wilson.
Their son, Alvie William Wilson, born March 3,1892, was
the first child born in La Plata. Other Witherspoon children
coming with their mother were Tom, Nancy Rachel,
Vernon (Vern), Hugh, Roxy, and Mary Leona.
The year of 1890 was wet, and the ranchers found lush
grass for their cattle. Their chief worry was from cattle
rustlers and outlaws from the Oklahoma no-man' s land and
from New Mexico, which then was still a territory. The
nearest officers there were in Santa Fe. A small RangerSix Witherspoon Brothers, taken about 1902;
left to right, seated, Anderson, Thomas, Coleman
G., and Remmie; standing, Vern and Hugh.-,:'i'~ ? ~Ip i ::: ::';:: : ~::i E i ; ~ :: . .:::;
:~~.... -~~~~~~~~::
Cowboys at Escarbada Bunk House, 1891, front
row, left to right, Jim McLaren, Tommy Smith,
Charlie Orr (hired by XIT to kill wolves), and
Newt Dean; back row, Henry Weems, John Keys,
and Bob Finch.
force at Amarillo and soldiers at Mobeetie and Fort
Sumner, N.M., furnished the only legal protection.
With the organization of Deaf Smith County, however,
the cattlemen at least had the protection of a sheriff,
Jim Cook. Vern Witherspoon recalled that a man shot
by Sheriff Cook was the first to be buried in the "boot
hill" cemetery, which finally contained five graves. Four
La Plata citizens were buried in the La Plata Cemetery,
now a part of a cow pasture where two broken headstones
may be seen. Boot Hill is a part of a wheat field.
The Witherpoon men, including 10-year-old Vern, joined
cowboys from all the ranches in the annual cow works
starting about the first of June. Cattle ran over the open
range and had to be worked twice a year so that calves
could be branded. Young Vern was fascinated as a bawling
calf was roped and drug to the side. Expert flankers
caught the rope with one hand while they reached over
the animal's back to catch it in the flank. As the calf
jumped, the flanker lifted it from the ground and threw
it on its side for branding.
When he was 12, young Vern Witherspoon went to
work for the XIT Ranch. He was dubbed "The Kid" by
fellow-cowboys on the Escarbada Division, one of eight
divisions of the huge ranch. Each division was about 50
miles long by 24 miles wide, with the entire XIT at that
time covering some 3,000,000 acres.
Witherpoon often mused that the cowboy of the XIT
bore faint resemblance to the TV and movie version. Each
part of his traditional gear was functional.
"We wore it for comfort and protection, not for looks.
We rarely saw a soul other than the cowboys--and the
cows--and who cares what a cow thinks of your looks?"
The bandanna was worn to shield the rider's face from
the stifling dust kicked up by as many as 5,000 cattle on the
trail. While the Stetson hat does look good in the movies,
"The Kid" explained that it filled a real need for the
cowboy. Being large, it afforded protection from the
blistering sun, and being sturdy it could take the daily
drenchings which were the lot of a cowboy's hat during
rainy periods.
Leather gauntlets were worn to protect the lower arm
from rope burn. Plains cowboys wore tough, high boots,
rather than chaps, which cowboys in brush country wore
to protect their legs from scratches. The boots fitted
closely around the calf of the leg and reached almost to
the knee. The cowboy folded his trouser leg firmly and
pulled the boot over it. The boot's high heel kept his
foot from slipping through the stirrup.
During the four months when cattle were not being
worked, the Witherspoon boys joined others in school
at La Plata, which drew students also from eastern
New Mexico. During
one school term there were 65
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Patterson, Bessie. A history of Deaf Smith County, featuring pioneer families, book, 1964; Hereford, Tex.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth16011/m1/67/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Deaf Smith County Library.