The Naples Monitor (Naples, Tex.), Vol. 44, No. 21, Ed. 1 Friday, August 9, 1929 Page: 6 of 12
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Fitzhugh Lees§4and-to-Hand Fight With
By AUSTIN CALLAN
(Copyright, 1029, by the Home Color Print Co.)
.N those years immediately pre-
I ceding the Civil War, Camp Colo-
j| rado, in Coleman county, was the
__ most fascinating military post on
the Texas frontier. Among the men who
were stationed there from time to time
were E. Kirby Smith, Earl Van Dorn,
Fitzhugh Lee and John B. Hood. All of
these became famous in that fratricidal
contest of the 'sixties.
Camp Colorado is situated on the
banks of Jim Ned creek in a section that
was once the best game country in
America. Back in the 'fifties it was the
gateway to the land of the Indian, the
buffalo, and the deer. Society center of
a vast territory, the post was frequent-
ed by knightly riders of the range in
those good days when chivalry was in
flower.
Robert E. Lee sometimes visited
Camp Colorado and frontier belles had
an opportunity to dance the Virginia
Reel with that greatest captain of any
age or any land. In certain of the pio-
neer homes entertainments were given,
where culture, grace and beauty shone
in all its refinement and splendor.
It was at this post that General Hood,
dauntless commander of Texas troops in
many hard fought battles, received his
first command. A great "blowout" was
given in his honor at the home of John
Sheen, one of the pioneers, on the occa-
sion of Hood's promotion, which was at-
tended by brother officers and society
folks of the entire settlement.
Trails That Were Dangerous
But "tripping the light fantastic toe"
was by no means the only thing of in-
terest in that section. The country was
infested with hostile Indians, and army
men were often required to take a dan-
gerous trail through wild, uninhabited
regions, for the purpose of avenging the
murder of a white settler or recover
stock stolen by Indians.
These trails lead southward into the
Brady Mountains, northward by Caddo
Pfcak, and westward through Buffalo
Gap. There were Indian rendezvous in
each of these directions from which
Indians could reach the Jim Ned set-
tlement at the end of a one or two days'
ride. As a consequence, raids were fre-
quent and it was common occurrence for
a citizen to be aroused from his slumber
in the middle of the night by an effort
on the part of sneaking red devils to
break the lock to his
stable door and
steal his horses. It
was necessary t o
keep animals closely
guarded to protect
them from these
raids.
One of the most
serviceable o f all
the frontier pro-
tectors stationed at
Camp Colorado, in
that historic past,
was Fitzhugh Lee,
the great Virginian
who was in charge
of our affairs at
Havana, Cuba, in
1898 when we en-
gaged Spain in war.
He was a young
military graduate at
Camp Colorado,
handsome, athletic
and of fine figure.
Those who knew
him say he was a
true type of that
splendid Southern
manhood which
graced the Old Dominion State back in
the early days of our Republic.
Swift and Telling Blows
Lee struck some swift and telling
blows at the .savage raiders, and was re-
garded by them as a foe who had
brought depletion to their ranks and
made it difficult for them to steal stock
or commit murder around Camp Colo-
rado. There was nothing that would
have pleased one of the savages more
than a chance to put him out of the way.
However, they never risked an open
fight on the range.
Lee was relentless in pursuing and
punishing them, and his men gave the
government soldiers a reputation for
bravery and effective fighting, which,
through indifference, they failed to sus-
tain in after years.
"He wheeled around
creek, or in the nearby woods, to com-
mune with nature. He was called a
"star-gazer" because he loved to trace
the course of the planets on a clear
night or to read alone from the mys-
terious pages of an open sky.
Attempted Assassination
A certain springtime evening he was
out several hundred yards from his
quarters engaged in a study which
rendered him prac-
tically oblivious to
everything. Sud-
denly there was a
rustle in the brush
behind him, indi-
cating that some-
one or something
was approaching,
and h e wheeled
around just in
time to see a pow-
erful Indian buck
advancing upon
him with a deadly
knife in his hand.
The general had
side arms, o f
course, and had
been trained i 11
their use. But the
savage was so
close upon him
that it was too late
10 successfully
draw1 either h i s
pistol or his sword.
Under such, cir-
cumstances many
just in time to see a powerful Indian buck advancing upon him with would have
knife in hand."
Friends often warned Lee of the
danger which attended his movements
around the little military post after
nightfall. But he went wherever he
chose without fear or bodyguard.
On one occasion this indifference to
the perils with which he was surround-
ed almost cost him his life. He often
sought solitude and would retire to some
quiet spot on the banks of Jim Ned
attempted a hasty
retreat. The sudden surprise like that of
a savage with murderous intent and
blade flashing would have been enough
to disconcert the most courageous.
.Fitzhugh Lee faced the situation
calmly and his mind worked in lightning
rapidity as he recalled a trick which he
had learned in youth upon the old play-
ground back at home. Quicker than
words can tell, he sprang to one side and
tripped his assailant, sending him head-
long to the ground.
The Indian dropped the knife as he
fell but made a desperate effort to re-
cover it Then the two clinched and a
contest was on for life or death with the
brute strength of the plains on one side
and the skill of a less-powerfully mus-
cled .but better trained man on the
other. Over and over they rolled, each
grappling for a cinch hold on the other
—each struggling with might and main
to become master of the situation. Lee
was at a disadvantage in the tussle be-
cause his sword and uniform were in the
way, while the savage was practically
naked, but Lee knew that if his antago-
nist got hold of the knife it meant
death to him; therefore he exerted all
his strength and skill to possess the
weapon.
White Man's Skill Wins
Only a short distance away the lights
of the post were gleaming. A window
of his own quarters disclosed the pres-
ence of men who, had they only known
what was going on, would have rushed
out there and settled it quickly. But
there was no way to communicate with
them, and they might just as well have
been in some foreign land.
How long the encounter lasted is not
definitely known. Sometimes Lee and
sometimes the Indian was on top. But
either the better management of Lee, or
fate itself, made it possible for him to
reach out and take hold of the coveted
knife. He held to its handle with a firm
grip, and despite the fact that the pow-
erful Indian had him by the wrist, he
was able, through super-human effort,
to slowly sink the keen blade into the
breast of the savage.
Gen. Lee was always reluctant to dis-
cuss this personal encounter, but later
in life he was once heard to remark that
at no time in all his military career did
he face death as nearly as when he bat-
tled with the lone Indian who attempted
to assassinate him on the banks of Jim
Ned creek.
CARLSBAD CAVERN, a Scenic Wonder
By DeWITT REDDICK
(Copyright, 1929, by the Homt Color Frlnt Go.)
HARLSBAD CAVERN, one of the
most recently developed scenic
wonders of the United States, is
about 30 miles from the Texas
border, in southeast New Mexico. Last
year, according to government records,
30,000 persons from Texas visited the
cave. Almost as great a number of tour-
ists from other States also visited it
during 1928. The favorite route of Tex-
ans who annually visit the cavern is by
way of Van Horn, a small station on the
Texas & Pacific Railway, in Culberson
county. Van Horn is on the Bankhead
highway, extending east and west
through Texas, from Texarkana to El
Paso.
Carlsbad Cave is the biggest hole yet
discovered underneath the ground. All
of the chambers and their many rami-
fications have not been explored. At
present the cave has been explored for
a distance of about 21 miles. Jim White,
a cowboy, v/ho rode the range for 28
years, gets credit for discovering the
cave, and for many years White was the
only guide who conducted tourists
through the winding underground pass-
ages. He is now employed by the gov-
ernment as head guide. The entrance to
the cave and an area of two square
miles around it was declared a national
monument on October 25, 1923, by Pres-
ident Coolidge. The government has also
set aside 129 square miles more in the
Carlsbad Cavern district for inspection
with the view of making it a national
park in conjunction with the cavern.
White's Slender Rope and Bucket
A long flight of wooden steps, 216
feet from the surface, lead down to the
first level of the cave. Before these
wooden steps were built and before the
government took over the cave Jim
White used to let down tourists to the
first level in a wooden bucket attached
to a slender rope. Back in the early days
of exploration only the venturesome and
stout-hearted would descend into the
cave's black depths via White's slender
rope and bucket.
At the first level, across a jumble of
rocks, the electric lights reveal a bat
cave where 3,000.000 or more bats
make their home. But this bat cave is
not open to tourists, so the tiny crea-
tures still cling to its walls in undis-
turbed slumber.
Carlsbad Cavern is not just one big
cave but a series of caves, large and
small, with narrow openings as a rule
leading from one cave to another. About
seven miles of the cavcrn is open to
tourists, the seven miltr having well
beaten paths illuminated by electrc
lights. All around are great stone walls,
high and low, enclosing queer forma-
tions of stalagmites and stalactites.
Some of these take on grotesque forms
that somewhat resemble humans as well
as animals. Across a wide chasm top-
ping a great cliff is a stalagmite that
closely resembles a baby hippopotamus,
stretched in frozen solidity upon a
frosted rock. Interspersed are shafts of
onyx and marble limestone formations
that show forth in sublime grandeur.
Here is one of nature's greatest art gal-
leries. ' r;;
%
The Giant Dome
somewhat forcibly of pictures you have
seei< of the Tower of Pisa.
Jtsf '&e sit there looking back over'a
va'Iley of strange formations that sink
behind ridges of jagged domes the
thought recurs to us: "Is this real, or is
k a dream?"
The guide now takes off his hat and
starts speaking. "Sometimes," he says,
"when a group of tourists sit here to
rest and look out over yonder" (he
points across the underground valley)
In bold relief is a giant dome, enor- !"and view that masterpiece of creation"
mous pillar of white, stretching upward (he points to the Rock of Ages) "they
toward the vaulted roof, said to be the like to sing that old familiar gospel
largest known stalagmite in the world, song, 'The Rock of Ages.' Is there any-
It is 62 feet high and 16 feet in
diameter. The guide tells that this
formation, like many others, has
been built at the rate of about an
inch each hundred years. Scientists
have estimated the age of the giant
dome to be 60,000,000 years.
On and on we go through a won-
derland of beauty and art. We are
far underground now; have come
down another flight of 84 steps and
another of 124 steps and have walk-
2d down a number of inclines.
We are now in the Big Room, the
guide tells us. It is the largest room
in the world, being 4,000 feet long
and 623 feet wide. In places the ceil-
ing of th<; Big Room is 300 feet high.
When you stop to realize that in the
center of that room you are stand-
ing 750 feet, almost a quarter of a
mile underground, and that you are
three miles from the entrance of
Carlsbad Cavern, you begin to real-
ize somewhat the stupendousness of
this marvelous work of nature.
"Rock of Ages"
But the climax of the trip comes
at the foot of the Rock of Ages. We
have circled the Big Room on a path
named the "Texas Trail;" we have
seen the Bottomless Pit, where the
floor of the Big Room drops down
into eternal darkness and where the
distance to the bottom is as yet un-
known; we have looked over the
railing at the Jumping Off Place and
have been told by the guide that 150
feet down that hole we would find
ourselves in another cave that un-
underlies the upper cave and about
six miles of which has already been ex-
plored; we have walked a path that
threaded its way through a valley of
lily-shaped rock formations and needle-
shaped stalagmites; we k climbed a
slight incline and are resting at the foot
of the Rock of Ages.
The Rock of Ages is a great stalag-
mite, built in a series of terraces. It is
not smooth and rounded as is the Giant
Dome but is formed by a series of col-
umns that run vertically from one ter-
race to another so that it reminds you
1
FawPW
The Uock of Ages," a giant stalagmite in Carlsbad
Cavern. Scientists estimate this stalagmite to be
millions of years old.
(Copyright 0. L. S-. Photo Studio.)
one here who would like to lead us in the
song?"
Song Swells in Volume
There is a long silence. Then a gray-
haired little woman begins to sing:
"Rock of Ages, cleft for me—." The
song swells in volume as others begin to
sing. Two or three of the younger men
iaugh when the guide mentions sing-
ing, but their laughter soon subsides
into respectful silence. A gray-bearded
f., ,-mer from Texas removes his hat. One
by one the other men remove their hats.
"Rock of Ages—"
The second verse is more impressive
than the first, everyone singing, men
with hats off, guides standing at atten-
tion. The strangeness of it all was the
homage to God in a great subterannean
cave, far from any church or pulpit.
The song is ended. There are two or
three minutes of silence, when no one
speaks and no one moves. Then the guide
announces that all of the lights are to
be turned off for a minute or two; we
are in the midst of impenetrable dark-
ness—so black and oppressive that it
makes the timid shudder. At last far
down the immense dark labyrinths of
this part of the cave comes the flash
of a light us a section is partly il-
luminated. Another flash follows, as
one by one the lights come on, closer
and closer, until they flood the Big
Room again. Flashing of lights bring
out all the delicate hues of the my-
riad of formations. It is a sight we
shall never fofget.
Seven Miles of Exploration
Seven miles of walking under-
ground and then we were ready to
come out of Carlsbad Cavern. We
entered at 10:30 in the morning.
Lunch was served in a central cave.
We were given several periods of
jest so that the trip would not be
too tiresome. It was 4 o'clock in the
afternoon when we came to the sur-
face.
The lighting effects within the
cavern are most impressive. All of
the incandescent lights are hidden
from the visitor, secreted in little
corners and alcoves; they shoot
their rays out to light up the most
important objects in the rooms and
tunnels like footlights on a stage.
During the pTlst five years $25,000
has been spent on this lighting sys-
tem by the government.
The freshness and the coolness of
the air within the cavern is a sur-
prise to all tourists. The air is never
stuffy and the average temperature
is 56 degrees. Air currents are in
constant circulation. The presence
of these currents has led surveyors
and geologists to believe that there
is another entrance to the cavern
not yet discovered.
Carlsbad Cavern is many times larger
than the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky.
In fact, Kentucky's cave is a mere
pigmy in comparison, for just 21 miles
of Carlsbad Cave have been explored,
while many more miles remain unex-
plored. It must be seen to be appre-
ciated. Mere words cannot fitly describe
its bigness, its geologic structure and its
cosmic beauty.
TEXAS' SOURCES OF REVENUE
Texas' principal sources of revenue
are: the inheritance tax, the franchise
tax, the ad valorem tax, the occupation
tax, the gross receipts tax, the poll tax,
the gas tax, the auto tax and federal
aid. Last year the various sources men-
tioned yielded revenue as follows:
Inheritance tax, $978,937.
Franchise tax, $2,012,866.
Advalorem tax, $23,822,261.
Occupation tax, $306,667.
Gross receipts tax, $8,336,278.
Poll tax, $1,737,616.
Gas tax, $19,214,015.
Auto tax, $14,559,511.
U. S. aid, $4,277,455.
Miscellaneous sources, $14^571,515.
The inheritance tax and the franchise
tax go into the general revenue fund.
About half of the ad valoi'em tax goes
into the available school fund, the other
half into the general revenue and pen-
sion funds.
About three-fourths of the gross re-
ceipts tax goes into the general revenue
fund, and about one-fourth into the
available school fund.
The available school fund receives
about three-fourths of the poll tax col-
lections, and the general revenue fund
about one-fourth.
Of the gas tax one-fourth goes into
the available school fund and about
three-fourths into the highway fund.
All of the auto tax and all of the U.
S. aid go into the highway fund.
A REAL FOOL—He that trusteth in
his own health is a fool. Prov. 28:26.
MORE CITIES FOR TEXAS
Texas is not only experiencing a rapid
growth of population, but is constantly
adding to the number of her cities. The
next census is expected to show that in
the ten years from 1920 to 1930 the
State has nearly doubled the number of
her cities of over 10,000 population. The
census of 1920 gave Texas only 29 cities
of population exceeding 10,000, but it is
confidently predicted by students of
population that the census of 1930 will
show more than 50 cities of a popula-
tion exceeding 10,000. Four of the cities
are expected to go above the 200,000
mark.
CLARKSVILLE TO GET NATURAL
GAB
Clarksville is happy over obtaining a
contract for natural gas, a deal for
which was recently closed between the
Chamber of Commerce and the Com-
munity Gas Company.
The gas company will extend its lines
from Paris, which at present is the east-
ern terminus of the line. The company
will begin business in Clarksville with
over 500 patrons. The work of laying the
mains is expected to be under way soon.
Detroit, Bagwell and Blossom, towns be-
tween Paris and Clarksville, will also be
served by the gas company.
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Watts, W. R. The Naples Monitor (Naples, Tex.), Vol. 44, No. 21, Ed. 1 Friday, August 9, 1929, newspaper, August 9, 1929; Naples, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth329474/m1/6/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Atlanta Public Library.