The Tulia Herald (Tulia, Tex), Vol. 18, No. 28, Ed. 1, Thursday, July 14, 1927 Page: 2
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M
ARTISTS Were Scarce in
By W I 1I0RNADAY
New York Times
5T is seldom that a mans little de
vices for amusing himself during
the tedium of office hours bring
him anything more positive than
a rebuke from his chief but 0 Henry
known to his contemporaries in Austin
Texas as Will Porter the entertaining
chap who worked in the Land Office
and who adorned the margins of his
record books with sketches once got an
unexpected commission through his gift
for embellishing his daily task
One of the books for which collectors
of early Americans ransack old and rare
bookshops is a volume entitled Indian
Depredations in Texas a collection of
source stories of the tragedies of early
settlers published in Austin in 1800 by
a firm of local publishers the Henry
Hutchings Printing House Only a limited
number of copies were issued and
now there are probably not more than
half a dozen in existence
0 Henrys Crude Drawing
It has recently been discovered that
the twentysix crude and curious woodcuts
which illustrate the volume are by
nono other than 0 Henry the famous
novelist Although the authorship
of the illustrations seems
to have been kept a profound secret at
the time there are now living in Texas
two men who were connected with the
publication of the tales and who are
able to settle beyond all doubt the question
of the illustrators identity One
of these is Thaddeus A Thomson former
United States Minister to Colombia
who was largely instrumental in
bringing out the book In 18S9 he became
interested in gathering together
stories of the adventures of some of the
early settlers most of which were written
by the men who actually experienced
them When the manuscript
was ready for the press the editors decided
that it would be a good plan to
have some of the outstanding incidents
illustrated Artists were somewhat
scarce in Texas in those days but Mr
Thomson had seen some of the drawings
with which Will Porter decorated
the margins of the outline maps and
record books in the General Land Office
so he asked Porter if he would
undertake the job When the drawings
came they were the source of no little
amusement to those who saw them before
and after they were published The
woodcuts from the drawings were made
by T J Owen a local engraver whose
name appears on many of them What
has become of the original drawings no
one knows Perhaps they will be discovered
some day stored away in some
bodys attic and what a find they will
be for lovers of 0 Henry
Grim Scries of Pictures
What a grim series of pictures these
illustrations are With his unerring
dramatic instinct 0 Henry seized upon
the most vivid moments of these necessarily
gruesome tales A few of the
titles chosen at random are Starving
Fugitives of Fort Parker Massacre
Preparing to Eat a Skunk A Comanche
Warrior Dragging to Death
Mrs Plummers Child Scalping of Jo
HERE has never been an adven
ture in the air into which was
packed so much daring skill and
romance as the feat of Lind
berghs flight from New York to Paris
It was not only his technical accomplishment
which fascinated those who
followed him with their hearts his personality
and youth his reckless courage
and cod skill made him a figure like
those of King Arthurs time men without
fear and without reproach
Other brave men had tried to make
that flight other men of skill and resource
and failed Six men had died
in trying to prove that it could be done
Lindbergh knew that He had a grim
memorial of it in view less than a hundred
yards from where lie started
Only once did disaster clutch at him
vainly in the first moments of his
starti when it seemed that he too was
to go the way of these others That was
a moment which would have crushed a
weaker man One moment of faltering
one second of indecision and Lindbergh
would have been piled in the wreckage
uf his machine on Roosevelt Field
His giant courage pulled him through
he forced his way into the air seemingly
by the power of his will and from that
nH awful moment fate was kind to him
It had done its worst and Lindbergh had
I oat on fate He had looked death in the
fa < e and defied it and miracles were
1 nrf irmed for him
Lindbergh alone in his little cabin
oaring his way through the desolate
paces over the sea could not know that
destinv was opening the way before
him But to those who studied weather
iii p > or scanned reports with eager
vos as he sped along it seemed that
something stronger than fate had de
rdl that this young knight of the air
hould win through
Fog Bank Served to Guide llim
Before him all the way to Newfoundland
a coast which had boon hidden for
lavs beneath a rolling curtain of mist
Mrouhed before him like a map under
a smiling sun All day long it rolled
ineath him giving him guidance at
the time when he needed it most when
his plane still staggered under its load
Only once again whs he put tn the test
and that was over Newfoundland
Thrm a bank of fog clung over the
cold sea and covered the land Lindbergh
seeking an opening through
which he could look swung his plane up
from his course along the coast until he
reached the Bay of St Johns He tore
up that searching for a mark on which
he could get his bearings and found it
the city of St Johns That gave him
his direction and in a wide circle he
swung again and headed out to sea
A strong wind blew him on and he
passed the fog And then the second
ocean area on the chart was a
spot where the wind changed and
came from the east But as Lindbergh
approached it shifted to
the southwest and died down a
gentle quartering wind that blew
him along toward the north and
Ireland Fuither on toward the
Irish coast it changed still more
to the west and blew directly behind
him toward Paris
That was good fortune but it
would not have been if Lindbergh
had not turned it to his advantage
He could hardly have told
bv his drift indicator how the
wind had changed for he carried
nothing to be dropped that would
have given him his direction The
natural flying instinct of the man
came to help him then and Lindbergh
proved again that fate
helps those who help themselves
He had been called reckless
and foolish for going alone for
not being able to use a sextant
to aid in navigation His course
showed that he had the skill and
judgment to make the most of
the excellent instruments he carried
Instead of drifting far to
the north as he might have
in midocean he kept to his
course so closely that when he reached
Ireland he was only a few miles north
of the point at which he expected to see
land His whole course across the ocean
was as straight as a crow flies With no
sights at the sun with nothing to check
his reckoning weary and tense from
watching his instruments constantly
with the roar of his motor drumming
hypnotically in his ears Lindbergh
managed to keep track of hi compass
variations the wind his drift and his
sreed for those many hours with almost
Parker the hero of this odyssey left
the group exhausted on the banks of the
river and set out alone for help performing
the remarkable feat of walking
thirtyfive miles to Fort Houston in
eight hours after having gone without
food for six days
Many of the stories are tales of
womans heroism Texas in the 30s and
40s was no place for the weepy fainting
heroine of the early English novel
Mrs Crawford whom the woodcut pic
tures with her black hair floating upon
siah Wilbarger He Keeps His Ap j the waters of the pond while her baby
pointment But Drops Dead at the Gate lifts one arm out of the water as if be
Mrs Crawford Widowed Daughter of stowing a pastoral blessing is the hero
Mr Groacher Rescues Her Child from ine of an adventure which narrowly es
a Watery Grave No pen can
do justice to the ferocious expressions
on the faces of the Indians
the attitude of Mr Bat
lys skeleton and the pained surprise
of Mr Wilbarger being
scalped
The stories themselves although
they are gory bits of
source history of the Southwestern
pioneers have the glamour
of a heroic past The episode of
the skunk which 0 Henry
draws with realism that is unconsciously
grotesque is an adventure
of magnificent endurance
The little band of thirty
four men women and children
who had followed the Rev John
Parker from Illinois and barricaded
themselves in a settlement
named Fort Parker were
attacked by n band of 500 Co
manches and massacred A few
escaped and started for Fort
Houston ninety miles away
Wandering six days through
thorns and briars they existed
on two skunks and a few small
terrapin In the words of James
H Parker the leader of the little
band
Dramatic Episode
We were on the bank of the river
and through the mercy of Providence
a polecat came near us I immediately
pursued and caught it just as it jumped
into the river The only way that I
could kill it was by holding it under the
water until it was drowned Fortunately
we had the means for striking afire
and we soon had it cooked and
equally divided among the party the
share of each being small indeed I
gave my share to the children This
was all we had to eat until the fourth
day when we were lucky enough to
capture another skunk and some small
terrapins which were also cooked and
divided between us
He ltccps his appointment but drops dead at the gate
The above illustration In from n woodcut by 0 Henry reproduced by
courtesy of the University of Toxns
caped being a tragedy She and her
two children one of them a two
months old baby were carried away
as prisoners by the Indians who had
massacred her parents On the march
the captors were annoyed by the childs
crying Halting by a pool one of the
warriors snatched it from its mother
and threw it into the water The mother
dashed into the stream to save it but
the Indians amused at her frantic efforts
to rescue it from drowning threw
it in again as soon as she reached the
bank and continued the sport until the
child was nearly drowned Finally one
of the savages seized it and started to
cut its throat but the mother with the
strength of desperation felled him with
HENRYS DAYS
a stick of wood Instead of meting her
instant death the Indians were highly
pleased and guffawed at their fallen
comrade One of them picked up the
child and gave it to her saying Squaw
too much brave Take papoose and
carry it yourself They never again
nttempted to injure the child
Baby Dragged Through Prickly Pears
Not so fortunate was Mrs Rachel
Plummer whose baby was murdered by
being dragged back and forth through
a clump of prickly penrs She was made
a slave of one of the Indian braves and
later was given as a servant to a very
cruel old squaw One day the squaw
beat her with a club and the white
woman having reached the end
of endurance grasped the club
and knocked her tormentor
down Instead of falling upon
her in rage the Indians were
greatly amused patted her on
the shoulder and called her the
fighting squaw Thereafter
she became a favorite of the
camp
A tale with a psychic element
is that of Josiah Wilbarger
whom O Henry pictures leaning
obligingly on one hand while
a gleeful savage takes his scalp
Ho and two friends were attacked
by a party of Indians in
ambush Struck by a ball which
penetrated the center of his
neck and came out on the right
side of his cheek he fell but did
not lose consciousness although
he was not able to move or speak
and knew when the Indians
stripped him and removed his
scalp There was novpain but a
sound in his ears like distant
thunder
That night there appeared to
a neighbor Mrs Hornsby a
vision so vivid that she awoke
her husband and told him
that she had seen Wilbarger naked
scalped and wounded but alive A second
time the vision appeared and she
again awoke her husband saying I
know that Wilbarger is not dead
So confident was she that her husband
and several friends started immediately
to Wilbargers relief As they
approached the tree under which he had
passed the night they saw his naked
body blood red and mistaking him for
an Indian were about to shoot when he
called to them saying Dont shoot it
is Wilbarger When he was found the
only article of clothing left on him was
one sock which he had torn from his
foot and placed on his bare skull
When Wilbarger was told that his res
no error It was a masterpiece of navigationThird Miracle Performed for Him
As he passed over the land and headed
once more for Paris having checked his
position a third miracle was being
worked for him over the flying field toward
which he was speeding In the
afternoon there were clouds and mist
and a heavy rain over Paris And then
the gods who rule the weather heard
Charles Augustus Lindbersh
ilh tCETuph tnkn when h > vm i d < ir he Advanvel F r < X E bwl
at Kc t Od ir Sji i Txns
that Lindbergh was coming The rain
stopped and the clouds parted The
wind died down to a zephyr and when
Lindbergh came over it was in the still
calm of a warm spring evening
Lindberghs navigation was the admiration
of flying men Instruments
which enable men to fly straight are a
recent development in aviation and few
pilots have learned to use them accu
rately They follow railroad tracks and
rivers But this lad flew as the crow
flies following a course which is a great
circle over the earths surface
When Lindberghs flight is traced
back to his start in San Diego California
a little more than a month ago it
stands out as one of the great long distance
flights in aviation His present
flight of 3600 miles is a oneman worlds
record From San Diego to Paris is
6100 miles as Lindbergh flew it and he
made it in the elapsed time of 54 hours
and 52 minutes at an average speed of
110 miles an hour
From San Diego to St Louis is 1600
could
er for
miles which he made in 14 hours
and 5 minues From St Louis to
New York is 900 miles which he
made in 7 hours and 15 minutes
From New York to Paris is 3600
miles and he flew it in 33 hours
and 32 minutes His average
speed from here to Paris was 107
miles an hour slightly less than
his speed across country where
there was no necessity of conserving
fuel
The flight was a brilliant proof
of the efficiency and reliability
nf American planes and motors
The plane was a stock Ryan plane
with ten additional feet built into
the wing and no extra bracing
was used to carry the unusual
weight The motor was a standard
Wright Whirlwind motor of
200 horsepower which has a performance
record of remarkable
reliability
Qualities That Stirred viators
But all thoughts of records and
planes and motors were superseded
in mens minds by their admiration
for Lindbergh His
quiet way of preparing for his
flight to New York from the
West when it seemed that he
be discounted as a contend
the honor of being first across
his quick decision to go when he found
that he had a chance of good weather
all these are still discussed among flying
men
For Lindbergh did not decide to go
until four hours before he actually took
off All the stir about his hangar during
the night was merely the Lindbergh
way of being prepared for what luck
might come his way Lindberghs im
petuousity is controlled by quiet judgment
and breaks come to him because
1
cue was effected as a result of Mrs
Hornsbys dream he declared that a vision
had also appeared to him In his
vision his sister said to him Brother
Josiah you are too weak to go by your
self Remain here and friends will
come to take care of you before the setting
of the sun
When she said this she moved in the j
direction of Hornsbys home Several
weeks later he learned that the day before
he was scalped his sister had died
in Florisant Mo
Saved by His Wits
Next to tales of heroism the book
abounds in anecdotes of the ingenuity
which the rigors of the times bred in
white settlers William Barton in
whose delineation 0 Henry allowed
himself the nearest approach to humor
was a nonchalant old settler whose wits
never deserted him One day in the
spring of 1842 Barton shouldered his
gun and walked to the hilltop to see if
he could catch sight of his son who had
gone to Bastrop on business As he
passed a thicket he was attacked by In J
dians who shot at him one bullet grazing
the rim of his hat He returned the
fire The whole band then charged
upon him The old man started on a
run toward his house with the redskins
right behind him When his strength
began to fail him he called out to his
deer dogs to come to his aid They responded
in full cry but as fate would
have it just before they reached him a
deer ran across the path and they deserted
their master to pursue it The
Indians were fast gaining on him Making
an almost superhuman effort for a
man of his age he reached the brow of
the hill and suddenly stopped looked
down into the valley which the Indains
could not see and called in a loud voice
Here they are boys come quick at
the same time beckoning with one hand
to the boys who did not exist
Fearing that there was a party of
whites on the opposite side of the hill
hastening to Bartons relief the Indians
turned and fled and the old man saved
his scalp
So it is not surprising that this brave
little book of heroic tales with its equally
brave illustrations by an artist who
made up in sincerity and enthusiasm
what he lacked in skill should have an
honored place in the libraries of early
Texas history And one is tempted to
believe that 0 Henry whose fame asa
story teller later spread around the
world would in no wise regret the
honest and naive efforts to embellish N
these early records of a country which
he was to make so genuinely his own
he is ready for them When he went
to the field the night he left it was
pouring rain He studied his maps and
told his men to get ready
We will gas up and get the last reports
in the morning he said These
weather reports of the afternoon will
be sixteen hours old by tomorrow morning
Perhaps the fog will lift I think
it will
And then at 4 oclock with his silver
plane all ready to be pushed out into
the night he stood with his aides about
him and studied the chart Finally
Lindbergh looked up
Ill go he said quietly Take her
out
It is these qualities of mind as well as
his shining personality which endear
Lindbergh to those who meet him His
nature illuminates what he says and
does And every one now has iearned
that here was a clean fearless boy whe
brought to the great adventure a glamour
which none other could give it
Here was youth idealistic youth opening
once again the door of eternal romanceLindberghs flight is of special interest
to Texans because he trained as an
aviator at Brooks and Kelly Fields near
San Antonio His instructor at Kelly
Field was Lieut T W Blackburn one
of the most thorough instructors in the
flying service Lindbergh made an average
of 93 per cent in his six months
at Brooks Field Ho was advanced from
Brooks to Kelly Field where he trained
another six months receiving a commission
of Second Lieutenant in the Reserve
Corps From Brooks Field he wfut
direct to St Louis to become a pilo > f
the air mail between Chicago and ft
Louis
DALHART GETS WATER AFTER
GAS
Dalhart rejoices over obtaining an
adequate water supply New wells have
recently been sunk giving a supply of
more than a million gallons of pure water
a day The water system as well
as the electric light and ice plants are
owned by the Public Utilities Company
Sewer improvements are to be made at
a cost of 75000 and the Council is now
considering a franchise for natural gas
The source of the gas is less than forty
miles from the town
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Engleman & Engleman. The Tulia Herald (Tulia, Tex), Vol. 18, No. 28, Ed. 1, Thursday, July 14, 1927, newspaper, July 14, 1927; Tulia, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth42052/m1/10/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Swisher County Library.