The Archer County News (Archer City, Tex.), Vol. [19], No. [16], Ed. 1 Monday, November 11, 1929 Page: 3 of 27
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Archer County Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Archer Public Library.
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Golden Jubilee - Hard Surface Highway Edition
4
November 11, 1929
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SOUTH SIDE OF SQUARE IN ARCHER CITY AS IT IS TODAY
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Few of the Old Landmarks
Now Recognizable
Few Homes of Fify Years
Ago Standing Today
Station,
names
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shooting distance I would be riding
and the antelope would be going so
and the GAG Chimney.
The Morgan Springs were named for the
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Archer County Formerly
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A RCHER COUNTY was once the hunts-
man’s paradise and from the very first
accounts we hear of Archer County in
1858 to 1900, it has been spoken of as the
home of the larger game.
In 1858 the explorers and surveyors re-
ported it filled with vast herds of buffalo,
deer, antelope and wild turkey. The b.d-
falo’ was almost extinguished by the ye.ir
1880 or driven farther west and north by
the continual hunting by the buffalo hunt-
er that made it a business to kill them
for both the meat and robes. The meat
was disposed of to the settlers further east
and the robes were shipped to the northern
and southern markets to be finally dressed
and used throughout the world. So at
the organization of Archer County only a
few buffalo were ever seen but vast droves
of antelope, deer and wild turkey could
be seen in most any direction and from
most any hilltop.
The first settlers used the meat as the
meat of the stock farm and barnyard is
used today and in fact more so for you
could hardly visit a home that was not
supplied with fresh venison, antelope and
wild turkey. Ducks, geese, wild pigeons
in the migratory season would visit our
country in great unmbers and would stop
to feed in Archer County. The pigeons
would come to the south part of the coun-
ty when the post oak acorns were ready to
fall and the sky would be darkened by their
numbers and as many could be killed as
wanted. The roosts of these birds were
oftimes visited by hunters with torches
and clubs and hundreds killed in this
way, while the wild ducks and geese would
come in uncountable numbers and in
many varieties and stay most of the win-
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rI1HERE are only a few homes remaining
-*■ in Archer City that were here fifty
years ago perhaps the oldest that have
never been remodeled in any way are the
house now owned by J. B. Cross which
stands just west of the stock pens
on the railroad and was first built by
John H. Stone in 1879 and occupied by
Allen Parmer as a home; and the home-
stead of the late ,W. W. Duren owned by
his heirs that stands just west of the rail-
road two blocks south of the depot.
These two homes are practically the
same as they were fifty years ago.
The old Parmer home was built on a
lot where the Bowman Lumber Co. now
have their office, and in after years was
moved to its present location. This house
at one time housed the James boys, who
lived for a few months with their sister,
Mrs. Allen Parmer
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tag. • few- j *
reins in order to follow us for this kind
of riding was not only new to Judge Pur-
cell, the country was new, the people were
new, in fact it was all different to the
old home in North Carolina. At last the
dogs treed in a bottom and I was the first
to reach the tree and seeing it was easy to
climb, being an elm tree, I volunteered to
go up and I did to almost where the cboii
was on a limb until I saw it was not a coon
and begun to back down and they wanted
to know why I was coming down. I sa>s
there is no coon up there but they all
said they could see him and I told them
I could not, so John Turbeville went up to
show me I was blind and he pulled off
his hat and hit what he took for the coon
and he got shot with all the hydraulic
power that pole cat possessed for that is
what it was instead of a coon and Judge
Purcell got the first laugh he had that
night, in fact, all of us enjoyed it hugely.,
and from there in home to Archer City
that we reached after sun-up. The next
day we spent in calling on Judge Purcell
and having others of the town to call
and ask him all about his first all night
out on a coon hunt in Texas. The Judge
was game and said he enjoyed it hugely
but there was a little skin off of his back
and legs and that scratch across the face
was from a limb that he run into he said
but he would wind up by saying he en-
joyed the trip. But I always thought the
only thing Judge enjoyed about that trip
was when the pole cat sprayed Turby.
I could tell you hundreds of funny things
that happened on hunts of that kind that
would interest you probably but the Ar-
cher County News want something more
than reminescences of coon hunts in its
pages so I had better stop, but I wish I
could give you some of my experiences
in deer hunting, antelope hunting and my
killing of my only buffalo.
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when the house was destroyed the chim-
ney was left standing and can still be
seen on the Archer City and Dundee road
between Kickapoo Creek and the North
Fork of the Little Wichita river.
These old landmarks are fast becoming
extinct and unknown, for the springs have
been tramped by stock and not kept open
until they have become almost extinct, and
the names of the mounds are not used any
longer to guide travel; hence their names
have almost become unknown, and only a
few can point them out by name. This
applies not alone to the mounds, but to
all the old landmarks of Archer County,
as enumerated above.
1LT0RGAN Springs, Duren, Springs, Flag
Springs, Persimmon Springs, Benge
battlefieldT of France, and were killed by Mound, Peawely Mound, Horseshoe Bend,
remedy for all evil, despondency and sin
was to let Jesus come into your heart. He
organized the First Baptist church of Ar-
cher City, which was the first church or-
ganization in the county. He oftimes got
small donations but he preached without
demand or expecting pay and was truly a
man of God.
Third, Billie Moses, Harrison Ikard and
Charlie McDaniel, Ira Jones, Doss Pender-
grass and Bob Moss. These six would
come under the same head as they died
in the discharge of their duties. And the
three civilians are entitled to just as much
honor as the three soldiers who made the
supreme sacrifice on the battlefields of
France.
These six men were shot down by out-
laws and enemies in the discharge of their
duties and no one has ever been convicted
for the assassination of Moses and Mc-
Daniel. And, outside of the two who fell
in battle, who fired the actual shots that
killed Ikard, no one has ever been punish-
ed for assisting them.
This is a shame on our county and a
reflection upon the laws of our land. Bil-
lie Moses was a deputy sheriff of Archer
county and afterwards sheriff of Motley
grandfather of Mrs. A. J. Evans of Huff
The Duren Springs derived their
from the late W. W. Duren, who
first settled at these springs over fifty
years ago.
ter. With the ducks and geese could often
be seen swans, cranes, pelicans and most
of the known varieties of the water fowl.
In the fall great droves of prairie chick-
ens would come in to feed upon the red
berries along our creeks and rivers and
to eat a weed that comes up in our val-
leys in winter that they dearly loved to
eat. 1 have killed mule than 12 dozen oE
these birds in one day and sold them at
Archer City to James S. Scott, who bought
them for the northern markets. He paid
me $4.00 per dozen and told me he re-
ceived $6.00 per dozen for them gross.
Deer and antelope were very plentiful
up to 1888 and after that a few could be
found up to 1900.
The prairie chicken also quit coming
about that time. The antelope was killed
and run off in the same way as the deer
and about the same time.
This fleet footed animal was always the
hardest for me to kill of any of the wild
game and out of the many hundreds shot
at I could count my number bagged on
the fingers of my two hands. Many hun-
ters would stalk them and decoy them by
use of a red flag as they are a very in-
quisitive animal and if they once see
something that excites their curiosity they
wall endeavor to find out what it is, but
they always took their good time about
doing this and it oftimes took 5 or 6 hours
to decoy a bunch in shooting distance. I
would never take the time and would try
the other method of letting them run into
you when they would be making for some
point they had in mind and would not
vary for anything in their race to get
there, but in most cases when they got in
so fast
swift
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a Hunter’s Paradise
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county, Texas, and when assassinated was
sheriff in a county in South Dakota. He
was assassinated while in discharge of his
duty by outlaws who fired from ambush.
Harrison Ikard was killed while attempt-
ing to make arrests, as sheriff of Archer
county, of some outlaws near Megargel in
which two of the outlaws were killed and
Sheriff Ikard lost his life. There were
others who assisted, but by the fine, hair-
splitting construction of our higher courts,
they will go free.
Charlie McDaniel was killed while pre-
venting a robbery at Dundee. He had held
the position of deputy sheriff there for
many years, and by a very peculiar coinci-
dent, the murderer of this brave man has
not yet received punishment and may never
be, for if the man first arrested and tried
was the man, he is free, and if he was not
and another party was, it will be hard to
overcome and fit in the evidence’ against
the first man to a second party, hence I
say his murder may never be avenged.
Doss Pendergrass, Ira Jones and Bob
Moss were Archer county boys fighting - , T j- * j n
their country’s battles over the seas on the Mound, Spy Mound, Indian Mound,Day
German 'bullets1 ^“'battle? They 71V died the“Three Forks, the Three Tree gate, the
THE ARCHER COUNTY NEWS
entitled to ever lise Eagle Nest crossing, the GAG chimney, for pioneer settlers of Archer County, such
the Copper Mines, the Black Flat, the as Benge Mound, Day Mound, Peavvely
there, he says yes, I believe it is going
to fall and about that time it started and
I knew if I went to the ground with it
it would kill me so I stood up and jumped
for the hawbush top against which I had
set my borrowed gun and as I hit it all
spread out I noticed the tree was follow-
ing me so I did not try to hold but bounc-
ed off and the tree come down on that
hawbush and gun and broke the stock in
many pieces. I was not hurt, but picked
up the pieces of the stock and balance
of thr gun and we came home and I ap-
proached Uncle John gently and told him
I would get him a new gun or send the
stock to the factory and have a new one
made and fitted just like the old one. I
did the latter as he agreed to it and in
course of time got it back with a bill of
fifteen dollars for stock and express and
took the gun to Uncle John, but I heard
through others he said it never fitted his
shoulder like the old one, but I think this
was imagination for it looked identically
the same.
While I am telling coon hunting stories
I will tell one more that will be remem-
bered by John Turbeville, John Low, Alex
Logan, Judge Purcell and others. John
Low had a pack of hounds and Judge
Purcell who had just arrived in Archer
City wanted to go a coon hunting, so we
boys got up a crowd and Judge borrowed
a spirited pony from Charley Hammond
and we were off on our hunt. Those old
dogs I think were rabbit hunters for they
would break out and we would go pell
mell after them through thick mesquite,
over rock bluffs, through briar thickets
and as we had noticed Judge Purcell was
new at such riding for he would grasp the
horn expecting the pony to jump a mes-
quite, but instead he would go around
it and Judge would swing with the sudden
change the other way and loose his hat
and on mounting would give his pony the
like heroes and are
111 Fourth would’include all our old set J White 717, the* Lone“ Oak, Pecan Grove, Mound/Morgan, Springs, Duren Springs
tiers mentioned on our honor roll not in- th,
eluded in the first, second and third class Ch
mentioned above, for they were heroes as
well as the doctor, minister, soldiers aud
officials mentioned. They filled their
place and did their duty as citizens, built
their homes, raised their families, built
churches to the honor of God, built schools
to educate our children, formed county,
communities, districts and precincts, laid
off public roads and blazed the way for
our present civilization and each is an out-
standing hero and deservedly belongs upon
our Memorial Honor Roll.
---------o----------
that it was only an accident if I got my
game, but once in a great while I would
do so but I only baged a few, but deer,
turkey, ducks and prairie chickens I be-
lieve I have killed as many as any other
hun.ter in Archer County.
The small game such as quail, squirrels,
plover, doves and sni pe, have most all
hire time b<?en very 4>ieniifui ‘in Axclrnr
County, only a few years that they have
been extremely scarce. The law now pro-
tects most all game to certain seasons and
restricts the bag to certain numbers, that
will eventually restore and preserve the
wild game of Texas to a certain extent
but never to the point it once was in Ar-
cher County. The wild animals, such as
bear, wolves, coons, wild cats, panthers,
etc., were limited to a few in case of the
bear and panthers to hundreds of wolves,
coons, cats, opossums, and skunks. I
never saw but one wild bear in Archer
County and very few tracks so I am sure
there never was a time they were plenti-
ful. The panthers was also scarce but I
have seen a few and heard many more at
night when standing guard around cow
herds.
The raccoon in an early day was plen-
tiful and you could ride along our creeks
and see them in great numbers asleep in
the forks of trees and numerous holes in
trees where their muddy tracks showed
they were on the inside out of sight.
I could tell many amusive happenings
on my hunts in Archer County that would
probably be interesting to the reader now
and was very interesting to me at the time.
I remember Hosea Maxwell and others
were with me on a hunt just north of the
present town of Scotland and we saw a
coon’s tail hanging out of a hole in cot-
The GAG Chimney drew its name from
the ranch that was first run there by a
Mr. Gage, who used the GAG brand, and
ton wood tree that stood on the bank
of the Little Wichita River. The tree
leaned over the river and from the hole
in the limb to the bottom of the river
must have been fifty feet. We wanted
that coon and in order to get him some
one must climb the tree so we tossed
coins to see the unlucky one and I was
the one, so climbing up in about 4 feet
of the coon I made a noise thinking he
would come out but he did not and must
not haye been awaijc that his tail was
hanging' out so I r*? ached over and took
hold of his tail and then he did pome out
and he come a fi{ 1 ting. I turned him
loose and hugged the limb and that coon
seemed to play with my bare head for ten
minutes before walking across my back
and going down. I knew if I turned my
holts loose to fight him I would fall
and at that distance it would kill me but
I thought seriously of doing this, but
Hosea and those fellows on the ground
were enjoying it hugely.
Another time Hort Robertson and I were
going deer hunting and Hort took my
gun and I borrowed a shot gun from Un-
cle John Baxter who did not loan his gun
to anybody and I felt honored by him
letting me have it and promised him I
would take good care of it and fully in-
tended to do so, but not finding any deer
but finding a dead cotton wood tree with
a muddy coon trail to a hole up about
40 feet and as we had a bull dog that had
followed us that we had tied at the bug-
gy I told Hort if he would go back and
get the bull dog I would climb the tree
for the coons. On his return and before
ascending I took pains to put the bor-
rowed shot gun out of the way of the
dog and the coon where the fight would
commence and went up. When I had got
almost to the hole where the coons entered
I noticed that old tree shaking and I
hollered to Hort if it was noticeable down
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NORTH SIDE OF SQUARE IN ARCHER CITY AS IT IS TODAY
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the Copper Mines, the Black Flat, the
the Red lake, the Goose lake, the
Clear Fork, the Hunters Grove, Onion
Thicket are all landmarks of Archer Coun-
ty forty and fifty years ago, and were re-
ferred to by stockmen in directing their
men on round-ups, in driving herds and
for directing the traveler on his way to
distant points.
They were also used by the Indians, for
around those springs can be found arrow
heads that planly show they were visited
by the Indians for watering places.
The tops of some of the mounds show
today that they were one time frequented
by the Indian, as many arrow heads have
been found and unfinished arrow heads
and broken flint rock can be found on
their tops as well, plainly showing that
the Indians used these mounds to spy out
game, to make arrow heads and probably
to look-out for his White enemy. In many
crevices on the rocky sides of those mounds
are graves of Indians where time has ex-
posed the bones, heads and other trinkets
that were buried with them.
Many of these landmarks were named
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Martin, Charles. The Archer County News (Archer City, Tex.), Vol. [19], No. [16], Ed. 1 Monday, November 11, 1929, newspaper, November 11, 1929; Archer City, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1234437/m1/3/?q=Hilltop+Lakes: accessed June 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Archer Public Library.