The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 12, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 25, 2009 Page: 4 of 32
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4
The Clifton Record
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Marc's
Remarks
By Marc Johnson
Last couple of days really been
nb hot! No more rail
Frontier Lawman Earned His Reputation Shooting Drunks
nice. Plumb hot! No more rain.
Mebbe later on this
week. Notice, I said
“mebbe.” Good
rains we did have
seem to have might
nigh disappeared.
Some of the stock
tanks did catch
some water. Some
didn’t. One of these day it’ll set in
to rainin’ and we ll be wonderin’ if
it’ll ever stop. The Man upstairs
will take care of us somehow; he
always has.
Any y’all wonderin’ when we
might git back in the Post Office?
Bunch of us has. They don’t seem
to tell Bryan anything. He just
does as he’s told. Several of us
have called Theresa Meyers.
She’s Customer Relations Man-
ager in the Waco PO. She told me
that it’s in the hands of facilities
manager outta Dallas. Did not
have; or wouldn’t give me; his
phone number. Reckon???
Some have mentioned that she
don’t even return their calls.
Makes ya wonder how she be in
“customer relations.” I tried to
contact PO on the web. Went to
<www.usps.com> and punched
buttons ‘til I dang near give out
tryin’ to find his phone number.
Finally sent ‘era an e-mail and
they said they’d respond in 1 or 2
days. I’m waitin’. Waco Post Office
is not even listed in the Waco
phone book.
They give ya an “800” number
to call. I did that. Talk about a
laugh. None of the questions they
ask had nothing to do with the
number I wanted. Couldn’t git to
talk to person. Didn’t surprise me.
Did make me ‘bout half mad,
though. I finally came up with
phone number of Post Master at
Waco. Left message; he ain’t
called me back either. Aw well,
seems Post Office is having to deal
w/ some Damn Yankees; owners;
outta New York so I’m purty shore
that may be a big part of the prob-
lem. I have been know to describe
them Yankees as “hemmoroids”;
‘cause they come down on ya; and
don’t never go back. Aw well,
they’ll surely git it open some day.
BURN BAN!!! Bosque County
Commissioners Court didn’t take
it off but they did say they wouldn’t
prosecute if ya lit one betwep*-'
now and the 23rd of March, troll,
guess what. It ain’t workin’.
Yestiddy, the 17th, every fire dept,
in the county was out fightih’ fires.
Some were shore ‘nough acci-
dents but some were controlled;
but not controlled worth a dang.
Controlled burns must be called in
to Sheriffs Office and then ya need
to stay with it to make shore it
stays “controlled.”
Dumber’n heck to light one in a
breeze and then just leave it. We
ain’t had near enough rain to keep
‘em from gittin’ loose. So, “knock
off the outdoor burning.” Hope-
fully, they’ll wait to lift the ban ‘til
it’s shore ‘nough safe. Not now!
One fire-fighter mentioned that
the Judge and all the Commission-
ers oughtta have to go out on ev-
ery fire called in. Then, they could
see what’s happen’in to them fires.
Ain’t got a clue as to how many
folks visiting Las Vegas on ac-
count of the “Vegas Bound” trip
that The Gap won. Know of one
couple fer shore what did. Dr. and
Ms. Don Newbury from up in the
metro-mess did, but, I toldya ‘bout
them couple of weeks ago.
Larry and Kathy Ward from up
in Nehalem, Ore., was up in north-
ern Nevada and saw an article in
a magazine about The Gap win-
ning this trip. Ain’t shore if they
visited Las Vegas, but, they did
come to Cranfills Gap. Planned on
stayin’ couple of hours; ended up
spending might nigh two weeks
down in Marvin Payne’s RV park.
I think they was first folks what
had stayed there. Larry worked
for Oregon Saw Chain company
fer 40 years and now they retired
and just travekthe country ‘bout 6
months out of the year. Super nice
folks and we enjoyed having them
and they enjoyed their time here
in the Gap. Mebbe come back
again next year. They headed fer
Florida on this trip. Pulled out
Monday, the 16th. They even got
to make our Chamber of Com-
merce meetin’. Mebbe they’ll send
some folks with kids what might „
want to settle down here in the
Gap. Who knows?
Digital TV! Ain’t this a mess? Ya
git channels ya don’t want. Cain’t
git some ya want.
They oughtta stick the whole
dang mess where the sun don’t
shine and make everybody change
over and git it over with. Three
months extension ain’t gonna help
them folks what couldn’t, or didn’t,
git ready after a year of notifica-
tion. Three years probably
wouldn’t hep some of ‘em.
We need to continue to pray fer
leaders of all Nations; especially
ours. Troops too.
See ya next week,
Marc at the Gap
“Cap” Light, Belton’s new
deputy marshal, got his first
wanted man on March 24, 1884,
with the help of a large posse.
William Sidney Light was a Civil
War baby born in the Central
Texas county of Bell. As soon as
“Cap,” a childhood nickname he
carried for life, finished school, his
stepfather encouraged him to
learn a trade. He decided to try
barbering, not an imaginative
choice since an older half-brother
was already cutting hair for a tiv-"
ing.
But Light quickly learned that
shearing locks was too tame for
his tastes. Hearing the town mar-
shal was hurting for a deputy, the
19 year old traded in his scissors
and straight razor for a six-
shooter and a badge.
This Week
In Texas
History
jQ
What part the wet-behind-the-
ears lawman played in the pursuit
of William Northcott, a run-of-the-
mill criminal, is unclear. More,
than likely he kept his mouth shut
and followed the lead of the more
experienced members of the
posse. It did not matter in the end
because the teenaged deputy took
credit for the killing of the outnum-
bered fugitive.
But Light did not have a posse
to back him up several months
later, when he took on a bush-
whacker named Hasley. As was
his habit, the incorrigible bully
showed up drunk in Belton one
afternoon and began picking on
the terrified townspeople.
At first, Hasley did not know
what to make of the baby-faced
deputy, who told him to cut it out
or face the consequences. But
surprise to turned rage, and he
reached for his gun. Light calmly
beat him to the draw, and shot the
homicidal lush dead in his tracks.
From then on, hard cases and
troublemakers steered clear of
the straight-shooting deputy.
Bored with the uneventful routine
of enforcing law in a law-abiding
community, Light resigned the
next year and went out west in
search of excitement.
He apparently found it, accord
The Clifton Record
Editorial / Opinions
By Our Staff And Our Readers
Robert Samuel Barnes
Forgotten Texas War Hero
Part 3
The time period from 1840 to
1845 was a troublesome time in
the Republic of Texas. The Mexi-
cans kept crossing the border to
fight the Texans and various In-
dian tribes attacked the surveying
parties out of Nashville on the
Brazos.
Robert Samuel Barnes worked
closely with Erath and the
McLennans during the early for-
ties:
In 1842 29-year-old George B.
Erath was elected a member of
the congress of the Republic from
Milam County. Inbetween ses-
sions, he continued to lead survey
parties from Nashville.
It was in September 1842 that
President Sam Houston ordered
volunteers to invade Mexico to
rescue Texas prisoners. Erath
gathered a group of men in the
Nashville area to join in the fight.
Robert S. Barnes was one of the
volunteers.
Under the command of Erath,
they went to San Antonio to join
the troops. President Houston
placed General Somervell in com-
mand. The troops were not happy
with his choice as they felt he was
opposed to the invasion.
Somervell marched the soldiers
up and down the Rio Grande;
nothing was accomplished and
the troops returned to San Anto-
nio. Somervell gave up on the ex-
pedition and went home. Many of
the volunteers followed his ex-
ample; however, about 300 men re-
mained near the Mexican border
and William Fisher was elected as
their Commander.
Erath remained north of the
Rio Grande because of illness, and
missed the miserable fate of the
troops who went on the ill-fated
Mier Expedition. Volunteer Rob-
ert Barnes, now 27 years old, did
remain with the the Texans and a
description of horrible treatment
they suffered at the hands of the
cruel and heartless Mexicans fol-
lows. (The source of research for
the Mier Expedition is from
Pennybacker’s History of Texas,
published in 1912, pp 202-206)
“On Christmas Day 1842, Colo-
nel Fisher led his troops across
the border to attack the Mexican
town of Mier. After fighting all day
on the 25th and resuming the
battle on the 26th, Mexican Gen-
eral Ampudia sent a messenger
bearing a white flag. The message
given to the Texans said that Mier
was surrounded by a large force
of Mexicans and fresh troops were
expected at any time. (This proved
to be untrue.) The General offered
the Texas troops generous terms
Of surrender — including the
promise that they would be kept
near the border and exchanged
for Mexican prisoners. At first the
Texans opposed any agreement;
however, since General Fisher
had been seriously wounded and
his men had lost heavily, they
agreed to accept the kind treat-
ment and surrender.
ONCE UPON
A TIME...
IN BOSQUE COUNTY
a
After a few days, 235 Texans
were marched to Matamoras and
then on to the interior of Mexico.
The “kind treatment promise”
was completely disregarded.
When the Texas prisoners were
camped at the hacienda of Salado
about 120 miles beyond Saltillo on
Feb. 11, 1843, they overpowered
the guards and some 193 escaped
and started back to Texas. They
chose to travel over mountain
trails rather than the main road
and became lost. They ran out of
food and suffered from thirst as
they could not find water. They
were captured by a company of
Mexican Cavalry on Feb. 18 and
marched back toward Mexico
City.
On March 25,1843, the prison-
ers received news at Salado that
Santa Ana had ordered that every
10th man was to be shot as pun-
ishment for their attempt to es-
cape. “The prisoners, heavily
guarded, were marched into a
courtyard. The Mexican officer
took an earthen jar and placed 159
white beans and 17 black beans in
the crock. The men who drew the
black beans were to be shot.
“Brave Captain Cameron was
the first to draw. He drew a white
bean, but there was no joy in his
face as he knew that 17 of his men
would be shot. At dark the unlucky
men who had drawn a black bean
were moved to a nearby court and
shot.”
The next morning the surviving
prisoners were forced to continue
their march to Mexico City. On
April 25, Captain Cameron was
ordered to be shot.
From Mexico City, the Texans
were sent some 150 miles to the
Robert Samuel Barnes
east and placed in the gloomy fort
of Perote. Here they met other
Texas prisoners. Although this
rock fort was thought to be one
from which the Texans could not
escape, some did tunnel their way
to freedom. Finally in March, 1844,
Geneal Waddy Thompson, U.S.
Minister to Mexico, was success-
ful in getting some of the prison-
ers released and on Sept. 16,1844,
Santa Ana ordered that the re-
maining 107 survivors of the Mier
prisoners should be set free.
From Dec. 25,1842, to Sept. 16,
1844 — one year and nine months
—125 of the original 235 Mier pris-
oners had either died or escaped.
Robert Samuel Barnes, one of the
survivers, made it back to Nash-
ville on the Brazos. In 1845
Barnes, along with Lowry
Scrutchfield and Neil McLennan,
accompanied George Erath to
Waco Village to survey out lots.
(To Be Continued)
Research sources: Bosque Ter-
ritory by W. C. Pool and A History
of Texas by Pennybacker.
Letters To The Editor
Dear Editor:
One more puzzling thing to me
is how I have been hearing about
many worship places (churches)
that are having a decrease in at-
tendance.
In the Holy inspired word of
God, that our president placed his
hand on to take the oath of office,
we are told to not forsake the as-
sembling of ourselves together.
I like the comment in my Bible
about this verse, which says, “The
assembling of God’s people pro-
vides opportunity for reciprocal
encouragement, strengthening,
and the stirring up that can be
gained from one another. It con-
sists of participation in worship
and fellowship. The church a body
interacting. It is not merely a dis-
pensary of spiritual food and medi-
cine.”
In trying to understand why
Ace
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A Place For
All Your Tool &
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Meridian Ace Hardware
310 S. Hwy. 6
Meridian
(254) 435-2251
The Clifton Record
Serving Bosque County Since 1895
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Media Communicatlone, tnc.
some have quit attending the wor-
ship service, I wonder if some
church leaders have made mis-
takes, and maybe do not even re-
alize it until, and unless they are
told about it. Some mistakes I have
made during worship time were
not so serious to hurt anyone, but
there was one happening that I
was plainly told would never hap-
pen again. I took that to mean that
I could easily be replaced. What I
do could be done by people of
much higher qualification, but
they might not want to work as
cheap as I do, so I still have the
job.
Probably most Christians real-
ize very clearly that a lot of things
happening in this country are not
anything like what a completely
Holy God could give His blessing
upon. One that I believe God would
be pleased with is for Christians
who do not have a necessary job
at church meeting time, to con-
sider meeting together at God’s
house to ask Him to forgive us and
to let us know how we can be good
witnesses for Christ.
I hope and pray that there are
still many Christians in this nation
who realize that the real change
we need is to come back to the
One, and the only One true God
who can bless, or will curse, and
who can build up, or will destroy.
Alan Blum
jmmm m a mmmm m m tmmm ■ w
Commercial!
Printing
ing to the “Dallas Morning News.”
In a brief account that was short
on details, the big-city daily re-
ported the former deputy marshal
chalked up another killing in “a fa-
tal difficulty at some point in west-
ern Texas.”
Thinking he had flushed the
wanderlust out of his system,
Light returned to Belton in the
summer of 1887 with every inten-
tion of settling down. He married
a girl, who had patiently waited for
him, and went back to cutting hair.
That lasted for two years. Then
he found out that Temple, a sleepy
hamlet transformed into a lawless
boomtown by the railroad, was in
dire need of someone to make and
maintain the peace. The middle-
aged marshal was only tod happy
to delegate his more dangerous
duties to a youthful eager beaver.
With Light’s good looks, win-
ning personality and reputation
for getting the job done, the resi-
dents of Temple readily over-
looked his less than auspicious
beginning. Like the time he placed
second in a footrace with an es-
caping prisoner and when he lost
a murder suspect in a swamp.
Light at last lived up to his ad-
vance billing in a March 1890
quick-draw contest. After refusing
to go along quietly, a drunk drifter
clawed at his holster, which gave
the deputy the legal justification
to put a bullet in him. The de-
ceased died, a Temple editor
wrote, with “his pistol in one hand
and a beer glass in the other.”
The fatal saloon shooting had
the same effect on Temple that
Light’s killing of Hasley had on
Belton. By the end of 1891, things
had quietened down so much that
the city fathers informed the
deputy his services were no long
required.
Ordinarily Light would not have
given his ne’er-do-well brother-in
law the time of day, but jobs were
hard to come by in the spring of
1892. That was why he accepted
Soapy Smith’s invitation to join
him in a Rocky Mountain mining
town, where the deputy position
was his for the asking.
Soapy, a gambler who was mak
ing money hand over fist fleecing
miners, neglected to mention that
Creede, Colorado was crawling
with real gunfighters like William
“Reddy” McCann. Deputy Light
was still learning his way around
town, when he tangled with the
“Terror of Santa Fe.”
If McCann had been sober that
fateful night, the Texan would not
have had a snowball’s chance. But
alcohol was again his live-saving
ally, and Light survived the lead-
filled confrontation that by all
rights should have been his last.
Telling Soapy Smith, “I’ve had
enough of this,” Light caught the
next train back to Texas. Turned
down for a plum post with the Gulf,
Colorado & Santa Fe, he got it in
his head that he had been black
balled by the railroad’s chief de-
tective, T.J. Coggins.
Light took out his frustration on
his nemesis with a skull-splitting
pistol whipping. When the case
came to court, Coggins shot his at-
tacker twice in the head at point-
blank range, but Light soon
recovered from wounds the at
tending physician pronounced fa-
tal.
That was what made the cir-
cumstances of his death so
ironic. While riding a train on
Christmas Eve 1893, Cap Light
accidently shot himself in the
groin. The slug severed a ma-
jor artery, and he sat there help-
lessly as his life drained away.
(Bartee Haile welcomes your
comments, questions and sugges-
tions at haile@pdq.net or PO. Box
152, Friendswood, TX 77549. And
come on by www.twith.com for a
visit!)
Truisms:
Part Two
In my last column, I was dis-
cussing some of my favorite “tru-
isms” or “true things.” One is “If
you toss it today, you’ll need it to-
morrow.” If I finally toss out some
item of clothing or an accessory, I
can almost guarantee you it will
make a fashion statement within
two years. Sometimes I’ve flatly
refused to discard a thing no mat-
ter what — and kept it long enough
that it came back into style again.
(This return to fashion favor usu-
ally happens only if I discard an
item). In the happy circumstance
that I kept something that actually
came back into style, I’ll be very
lucky if the item still fits — or if
the newer, version hasn’t been al-
tered subtly by the fashionista
powers that be. If you’re really into
fashion, a small change can in-
stantly take an item from “hot” to
“not so much.” I always wonder
about the people who make up
these rules. And have you ever
wondered why it is that all of a sud-
den, every designer of any magni-
tude will decide, as if they are
controlled by one huge brain, that
this will be the year for polka-dots.
Or peep-toe shoes. Or animal
prints. Or whatever.
I’m relieved I don’t care much
now for the dictates of Madison
Avenue. A few years ago when
cropped tops were all the rage, I
flatly refused. That style was in-
vented for very young girls with
size two figures. Now that long
tops are all the rage, I’m very
happy. And these days, it almost
seems like anything goes with
fashion, at least in some areas.
Straight legs are OK. Baggy is OK.
So are flared legs. You can wear
pointed toe shoes or rounded toes,
flats, or heels. Very high heels are
preferred by the fashionably cor-
rect, but I will leave those to the
young, size two girls (like my
daughter) to ruin their feet. I’ll
stick with my flats, boots, and
sneakers. Hemlines are all over
the place, too. This is lucky, be-
cause I think my mini skirt days
are over.
Fashion cycles come and go
much more quickly now, too. In the
eight or nine years I’ve been back
in Texas, I think animal prints
have been very “in” and then oh-
so-very “out” at least three times.
I kept one animal print bag and
one pair of boots, just in case. This
was against my daughter’s advice,
Rustic
Ramblings
By Dr. Gene Ellis
Gene Ellis, Ed.D. is a Bosque County resident who
returned to the family farm after years of living in New
Orleans, New York and Florida. She is an artist who
holds a doctoral degree from New York University and is
writing a book about the minor catastrophes of life.
of course. The last time animal
prints cycled through, the heel on
the boot was all wrong and the
shape of the bag was “out.” My
daughter was right, as usual.
Sometimes I just can’t win.
I’m so proud of myself. My kids
made fun of me for stubbornly
continuing to wear my beloved,
trademark, large sunglasses a few
years ago (when this style went
suddenly OUT). They told me I
looked like an insect. I loved those
glasses. You can hide a multitude
of sins behind huge sunglasses. So
I kept them all and just put them
away. (I never liked those skinny
little lenses that became popular
and stayed that way for what
seemed an eternity. I was de-
lighted when they finally bit the
dust). A couple of years ago when
the bigger lenses came back into
style (and quite expensively), I just
pulled out my timeless, classic
Ray Ban Aviators and a couple of
other similar brands. I was very
satisfied with myself, especially
when my daughter started show-
ing up with the same styles.
Things get discarded for other
reasons than fashion. For years I
used a WaterPik: Then I stopped.
I don’t remember why. I guess I
left mine in Florida when I moved.
I found one when we cleaned out
my father’s house. So like a lot of
other stuff, I brought it to the
ranch. I meant to use it, but I
never did. My daughter convinced
me (against my better judgment,
of course, to dispose of it. I kept
the individual “piks” by mistake,
because they had been packed in
another box. When I noticed this, I
ignored them instead of throwing
them away, left them on a bathroom
shelf. There they sat for a few years
until I finally tossed them last fell.
It hurt, but I did it. After all, I had no
WaterPik for them.
Wouldn’t you know it, when
Zack visited the dentist, the hy-
gienist recommended he buy a
WaterPik until his hands are bet-
ter able to again use dental floss.
My kids complain that I never
throw anything away. I really do.
And then, you see, I’m always
sorry. I just can’t win.
I
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Smith, W. Leon. The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 12, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 25, 2009, newspaper, March 25, 2009; Clifton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth789569/m1/4/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Nellie Pederson Civic Library.