Claude News (Claude, Tex.), Vol. 45, No. 19, Ed. 1 Friday, January 12, 1934 Page: 6 of 12
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1M4. W tb. Bum Color Mat Co.)
far back as I can remember
1 have been working with horses.
And it was while hunting a bunch
of horses for the boss that I had
_fiwt experience with Indians.
!he ranch where I was employed was
on the upper Guadalupe river, in Cen-
tral West Texas. One morning the old
man went out to the corral to look over
his horses and came running back to
the house, pulling his hair.
"They're gone!" he said. "Somebody
left the bars down!"
I knew nobody had left the bars down.
There was a smart horse in the bunch
who was always leading the others into
devilment. I'd seen him fooling with
the corral bars two days before, but
didn't think much about it—didn't think
he was learning the combination.
A fellow a good bit older than I, nam-
ed Chilam, started with me trailing
the escaped horses. There were no
fences in those days, and all the country
up there was brushy and wild. We
trailed those devil-may-care horses all
day without any luck. When the sun
got low, we began to look around to see
how far we were from the ranch. We
had halted on the edge of a little clear-
ing in the cedars.
"Ahi—ahi—e-e-e-ah," came from the
other side of the clearing.
"Indians," says Chilam, and broke to
turn his horse around.
"Wait," I told him, "if you want to
save your scalp."
The brush on the other side of the
clearing came alive with red savages on
horses, decked out in shields, feather-
caps and war paint. There must have
been fifty of them lined up along the
edge of the clearing, ready to charge us.
The Friendship Sign
I put my hands up in front of my
chest, palms inward toward me—like
this. That was sign language for: "I
am friend; let us meet." If I had held
my hands up like this—palms out, that
would have meant: "Enemy, stay
away; or fight."
Right away the one on a white horse,
with feather-cap a yard long, made
me the friendship sign and jabbered
something to a brave beside him.
Then this young brave got off his
horse and came hopping toward us on
one foot, turning back and looking at
the chief about every three hops, all the
while singing a sort of squeaky chant.
He came up, made some signs that I did
not understand and waited for his chief.
Then the old chief came forward and
shook me by three fingers and patted
me all over—on my head, hands, eyes,
and chest. While he was doing this, he
mumbled something in his throat; it
flniahfof his rigamaroM, the
chief made signs that we should come
with him and spend the night at his
lodge.
Chilam said: "No! No!" But I
told him that it would be the best thing
to do; that we were lucky to meet up
with such friendly Indians. So we went
along.
The village was on a little flat hill,
and in the center of it was the chief's
teepee, all decorated with suns, moons,
stars, animals and queer figures. The
chief grunted through the flap door,
and out came his wife. She was a
white woman—had been captured when
a little girl.
Chiefs Two
Pretty
Daughters
Fo 11 o w 1 n g
her came the
c h 1 e f's two
daughters.
They were
pretty. I was
17 years old
then; so the
youngest
daughter,
about 16 years
old, came up to
me, slapped my
face, pinched
me on the
shoulder and
bit my ear—
hard, just play-
ful-like — (that
is, playful-like
to her). I didn't
dare resist.
She wanted to
see if I would
g e t m a d—
seein' if I could
take it, as you say, on the chin. When
she saw that I didn't fight back, she
took it that I wanted to be friendly; so
she dashes into the lodge.
Out she came with a funny kind of
cup that looked like it had been made
of hide beaten into a sort of hollow. She
took a sip from the cup to show me
its contents wasn't poison and offered
the cup to me, making signs for me to
drink. It was coffee, and while drink-
ing she snatched the cup away from
me. took another sip herself, handing it
back to me. T drank again, and before
1 could get a good swallow she snatched
the cup once more and drank herself. We
continued thus drinking until the cup
was empty.
The older daughter got a cup and of-
fered to drink with Chilam; but he held
his hand behind him, shut his mouth
as tight as he could and said, "No!"
Then the older daughter made me drink
with her. Now, I had both girls on
1*4.1
SS&tM
a big buffalo robe and
threw it on the ground. Then they
threw me on the robe, jumping on top of
me. They tickled me, pinched me, bit
me, and twisted my arm till I thought
I would yell in pain. I'd rather played
with two half-grown panthers. The
old chief and his wife looked on smiling
and nodding. I made as good a bluff
as I could toward making out that I
liked it; but next morning I was so stiff
and sore I could hardly get up from that
buffalo-robe pallet the chief's wife had
made for me.
Indian's Pick Up Lost Trail
Following a hearty breakfast of veni-
•uch cloatly every inch of
Directly we heard
ground,
a sharp
yell come
from the brush about a half mile a
i away,
ilamto
"The clearing came alive with savages decked out in shields, feather raps and war paint.
son and some funny kind of soup, the
chief asked me in sign language what
we had come into his country for. 1
finally got the idea to him that we were
hunting our lost horses. He said he
would find them for us if we would give
him one horse. Chilam said that they
weren't mine to give and that the chief
was just trying to beat us out of a
horse. I said that we owed him some-
thing for keeping us all night and that
it would be worth it to find the horses.
I told him to feel lucky that the In-
dians were treating us so nicely.
I agreed to give the chief one of our
horses if he would find them for us,
since I had lost the trail. So the chief
got together all his young men and said
a few words to them. He made signs
to me that he would find the trail
mighty soon.
All the young Indians led their horses
off in different directions and began
circling within a mile radius, scanning
The chief motioned to me and Chi
follow him, and we rode out to where, a
young Indian was pointing at the
ground and saying, "e-e-a-"—e-e-a-i."
In a two-mile's ride we found all the
horses. I asked the chief to take his
pick. He told me to select the horse.
I asked him which one he liked best. He
pointed to a dappled-gray. I told him
to take the horse. Chilam started to
say something, but I motioned him to
shut up.
The Chief's Farewell
Then the old chief made me a speech,
telling me that he had been honored by
my presence in
his teepee; that
I could have
either or both
of his daugh-
ters in mar-
riage (some In-
dians have as
many as three
wives) and
that now he
was giving me
a chance to go
back home free
and unhurt.
At the end
of his speech
he gave me a
friendly smile
and shook my
h a n d—not by
three fingers,
but by all four
and my thumb.
He petted me
three times on
the head and
three times
over the heart
and then put
fingers to his own eye. I guess he
meant that my head and heart were
good but my eyes were not as sharp as
the red man's.
1 did the best 1 could toward thank-
ing him for his hospitality, and started
to go. The youngest daughter began
chanting a song and jumped right upon
my horse behind the saddle, throwing
both her arms around my waist. But
the old chief frowned at her and she got
down and went crying into the teepee. A
strange feeling I never had before came
over me. I realized that it would not
be hard for me to stay with these peo-
ple. 1 had to pull myself back to the
ranch.
Son, you hear lots of talk about mean
Indians. They weren't as mean as some
folks make out. 1 believe lots of the
dirty work blamed on Indians was done
by white Indians—white men dressed
as Indians.
The old chief was like a father to me.
1
And that younstat
should like to have t. r,
was too far back there to go
She was pretty, but rough—I
bull-fighter I once saw at
N60r&Si
When a young fellow I went to a
Mexican fiesta in Piedras Negraa, a
Mexican town across the Rio Grande,
from Del Rio, Texas. I saw many pretty
senoritas there, but I saw one play the
part of matador in a bull ring.
18-Year-Old Girl Matador
They had fought lots of bulls that
day; then came the fight that every-
body had been waiting for. A thousand
dollar bet was up on this girl—she was
to get one thousand dollars if she killed
the bull.
When she came into the arena the
big crowd—there must have been fif-
teen thousand people—stood up and
cheered wildly. She was graceful, pretty,
though not very big or strong-looking.
A clatter and bellow came from over
by the gate. They were bringing in
the bull. He had long, sharp-pointed
horns; was black with a copper-colored
belly. The gate swung wide open. I
wanted to climb the fence and help that
girl. It looked like murder to me—an
18-year-old girl fighting a wild, vicious
bull!
The girl stood in the center of the
arena. All she had was a little red
flag on the end of a stick about three
feet long and a keen dagger about eight
inches long. Through the gate came that
bull, bellowing and pawing.
About thirty feet from the gate he
stopped, as the girl waved her litt'° " td
flag. A mad bellow broke from the
bull, and he charged straight for the
girl, his head down and his tongue
out.
She stood still as a mouse till the bull
was almost on top of her. I thought
the girl had lost her nerve and had
"froze" in her tracks.
Everybody held their breath ; they all
thought something had gone wrong.
When the bull couldn't have taken an-
other step without catching the girl on
his horns, she slapped him in the face
with her flag and stepped aside like a
cat. The bull dug his feet in the ground,
turned and again madly charged the
girl. She threw her flag in the air,
crabbed one of the animal's horns with
her lef( hand, swung inside of it, and
jabbed her keen dagger to the hilt be-
hind the bull's ear. The bull crumpled
to the ground dead, while the crowd
yelled and threw their sombreros into
the air.
T was in a cold sweat. I expected
every minute to see that girl gored and
trampled to death. She had more nerve
than I have.
Son. that just goes to show you what
a woman can and will do when she
makes up her mind.
I
y
i The Famous Keys (1 8-Y e a r-0 I d) Quadruplets
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By HOWARD R. SMITH
213 So. Fifth St., Wnro, Texas.
(Copyright, 1934, by the Home Color Print Co.)
W
1
HEN the Keys (Hollis, Okla.),
quadruplets, all girls—M a r y,
Mona, Roberta and Leota, arrived
in Waco, Texas, to attend Baylor
University they created no small sensa-
tion. Although born quadruplets, 18
years ago, they are now young ladies
and fine specimens of physical woman-
hood.
Quadruplet babies are rare—not al-
ways attaining full growth—and if so
are seldom as resistant to ills of the
flesh as are single birth babies, but in
the case cf the Keys quadruplets fate
was kind and they represent a perfect
biological cycle, from birth to maturity,
all four having strong, healthy bodies.
Roberta weighs 122 pounds, Mopa 125
pounds, Leota 130 pounds and Mary
150 pounds. Leota and Mary do not
resemble each other, but Mona and
Roberta, are identical twins, having de-
veloped, according to a famous geneti-
tists, from the same cell.
The four girls arc not as popular as
they could be, for the simple reason that
they are wholly occupied with the busi-
ness of getting an education. Between
full work in the class rooms every day,
band practice in the afternoons, (for
they are accomplished saxaphonists),
music and voice, they do not
have a lot of time for dates
and social functions.
Dress Alike
They dress alike. Landing
in Waco in an American Air-
ways plane, they were attired
in four dark green dresses
with metal buttons and plaid
ascot ties, all garments made
by the hands of Mrs. Flake
Keys, their mother.
Despite all the publicity and
flattering attention bestowed
upon the quadruplets they are
not conceited or spoiled, but
just natural, wholesome,
sweet girls, keenly interested
in life and all that goes on
about them.
Mr. and Mrs. Keys came
down to Waco from Hollis,
Okla.. two days after the girls
had arrived in order to see
that they were properly set-
tled in their four-girl suite in
the Women's Memorial Dor-
mitory. There are four other
children in the Keys family,
two sons and two daughters.
"I was never more surpris-
ed in my life." said Ray Rozell,
1 ish instructor at Baylor, "When
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Heading from left to ri({hl Koberta, Mary, Leota and Mona
(Hollis, Okla., quadruplets), now freshmen in Uuylor
University, Waco, Texas.
Eng- acquainted with the four Keys girls. I
1 got had almost pitied them in the thought
that certainly they must have
become spoiled with so much
public attention all their lives,
but, indeed, I have never seen
students more unaffected and
sincere."
Complimented by Instructor
I n s t r u c tor Rozell, who
teaches the freshmen English
class at Baylor, in which the
girls are enrolled, reports that
they are among the highest
ten students in a class of 35.
That's not saying they are
the best in the class, but it
speaks a lot in favor of their
I. Q. The quadruplets bring
up their assignments on time
and prepare each day's lesson
in advance.
It is obvious, says Rozell,
"that the quadruplets have
never taken advantage of any
•pull' in their prep school pro-
gram, because they are well
grounded in all fundamentals
necessary for doing good col-
lege work."
They are musically inclined.
All of them sing as well as
play the piano and saxaphone.
first Sunday in Waco they joined
the choir of the First Baptist Church.
Although the famous girls have had a
number of "dates" since matriculating
they have formed no attachments and
have not yet claimed any "steadies."
Upon the subject of marriage or a pos-
sible quadruplet wedding, the girls
jovially express a doubt that they will
carry their unique identical existence
that far.
OLD STORE IS CLOSED
After (51 years of continuous service
under the same family management
said to be a record for Texas—the R. W.
Kindel Drug Company store at Weath-
erford was closed on November 16 to
permit of the final settlement of the
Kindel estate. This store began op-
erations in 1871. when W eatherford was
a frontier town. When Mr. Kindel died
a few years ago its management was
assumed by his son, Warren Kindel.
Keys,
Their
WATERMELON IN NOVEMBER
While residents of Northern and
Eastern States were having zero weath-
er, Rev. II. M. Smith, Baptist minister
at Kerrville, picked a ripe watermelon
the middle of November from his back-
yard vegetable garden. The second
growth of the vine was made possible
by an exceptionally mild fall and early
winter in that section.
Tarrant County Pioneering in the Seventies
(Copyright, 1934, by the Home Color Print Co.)
UST a mile from Keller, a little
town in Tarrant county, north of
J ^ Fort Worth, Texas, lives two set-
tiers who are among the oldest
in North Texas. They are Mr. and Mrs.
D. A. Price. Mr. Price, now 86 years
old, came to Texas in 1870 from Ray
county, Mo., settling near Keller, where
he took up 80 acres of land and built a
log cabin home. At that time Birdville,
the nearest trading point to Mr. Price's
cabin, was larger than Fort Worth
and the county seat of Tarrant county.
Fort Worth had but two stores while
Birdville had four stores and a black-
smith shop. Later the county seat was
A
removed from Birdville to Fort Worth.
Mrs. Martha Lopp Price, wife of Mr.
Price, is 83 years old and was born in
Sacramento, California, during the gold
rush days of 1849.
Mrs. Price was a daughter of William
M. Lopp, who settled with his family in
Palo Pinto county, Texas, in 1857, com-
ing from Missouri. He was a native of
Tennessee. He lived in Weatherford,
Texas, for a time, moving to Tarrant
county in 1860. She met Mr. Price af-
ter her father took up land near where
Keller now stands, and they were mar-
ried on June 8, 1871, by Squire Jones,
now deceased. Mr. Price took his bride
to his log cabin farm home, which he
built in 1870. They lived there 30 years,
during which time five children were
reared and educated, one (Bessie) dying
when young. The surviving children
are Mrs. Nannie Read, wife of the late
Dr. E. T. Read, who lives in Keller;
William Lewis, who now operates the
filling station on their land beside the
highway; Mrs. Eliza Keller, wife of J.
W. Keller of Sacramento, Calif.; and
Mrs. D. E. Hedgecock of Dallas.
Mr. Lopp, Mrs. Price's father, was a
49er. He went to California with the
first Missouri contingent of prospectors
at the outbreak of the gold rush in
1849. Because of poor health, and the
"call of the wild," Mr. Lopp came to
, —PAGE t—
Texas and took up a homestead in the
Keller vicinity.
Log Cabin Home Bums
In 1900 Mr. Price tore down the log
cabin in which he and his wife had lived
for so many years and built a home of
lumber, hauled from Fort Worth. A
few years later it burned down and their
daughter, Mrs. D. E. Hedgecock of Dal-
las, erected for them the home they now
occupy. Asked what was the most ex-
citing experience of her life, going back
as far as she could remember, Mrs.
Price said, laughingly, until tears
coursed down her ruddy cheeks:
"It was the night our home burn-
\
ed. 1 called to my husband to get up,
that the house was on fire. He either
did not understand me or was too sleepy
to get up, for he did not move. I had
to drag him out into the yard. That
was the most thrilling experience in my
whole life—saving my husband from be-
ing burned to death. Did I ever get
lonesome? Never. There was always ^
too much work around the place. Ana
when I did have a breathing spell I'd go
a visiting; jump on a horse and ride
four, five or six miles to a neighbor and
spend a portion of the day gossiping and
swapping the news of the open range.
And every Once in a while we'd all get
(Continued on page 4, column t)
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Claude News (Claude, Tex.), Vol. 45, No. 19, Ed. 1 Friday, January 12, 1934, newspaper, January 12, 1934; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth348548/m1/6/?q=waco+tornado&rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Richard S. and Leah Morris Memorial Library.