The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 31, July 1927 - April, 1928 Page: 326

326 Southwestern Historical Quarterly
mile from town, but they are holding them very well." His last
message was, "I see the Indians coming. I am gone."
J. E. Farrington, manager of the J A Ranch at that time,
L. C. Beverly, and Judge Campbell were in Clarendon the day
these messages were coming in.6 They were in a one-horse buggy
and they drove the horse to death getting back to the ranch. It
was about eleven-thirty o'clock when they arrived, as they had to
walk a part of the way. Regardless of the hour, they awoke all
the cowboys and sent a part of them up to "The Big House" to
get eight old buffalo guns to clean up.' While getting these guns
from a vacant room, they awoke the women folks, who slept in
this house. Among them was an "old maid" from Virginia, who
happened to be visiting at the ranch." All of the women were
badly frightened and especially the "old maid." She could not
be comforted in any way until all the women were put in a large
cellar connected with the bunk house. There were quite a num-
ber of "nesters" scattered down the valley from the J A head-
quarters, and, as it happened, the men were away from home
working; so the next morning Mr. Kent and a number of the
other cowboys took wagons with hay frames on them and gathered
up the nesters' wives and children, about sixty in all." They were
also put in this large cellar with the other women.
Mr. Farrington firmly believed the Indian story and made all
the preparations possible to ward off an Indian attack. He had
Bill Koogle, who had had military experience, to drill the cow-
boys, and the boys took turn about doing guard duty for three
days and nights.10
One of the boys who did guard duty was an Irishman, Charlie
Parks, of Clarendon, just over from the "Old Country." His post
for the first guard duty was west of the bunk house near a draw
between two hills. There was a house near his post with a fence
around it. But let Charlie tell it:
The boys told me that if I heard a mocking bird sing, or an
owl hoot, or a coyote howl, that it was a sure thing that the
'Interview with J. W. Kent, Paloduro, Texas.
7Interview with J. W. Kent, Paloduro, Texas.
"Interview with J. W. Kent, Paloduro, Texas.
'Interview with J. W. Kent, Paloduro, Texas.
1"Interview with J. W. Kent, Paloduro, Texas.