"The Kill List Was Headed By A Man By Of Killis Jones, They Put Him Down As The Most Worthless Man In The World."
"THE WINTER OF 1883 THEY FORMED A NEGALMENT COMITEE AND THEY HAD A HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN MEN ON THE DEAD LIST. THE KILL LIST WAS “HEADED BY A MAN BY OF KILLIS JONES, THEY PUT HIM DOWN AS THE MOST WORTHLESS MAN IN THE WORLD.”
Black, A. (rthur) P. (ierce). (1868-1946) A rather notorious cowboy and the author of THE END OF THE LONG HORN TRAIL whose wife Clara Belle “Mustache Maude” Rose Black (1872-1932) was a gun toting saloon owner who was put on trial for cattle rustling, but never convicted.
Although undated, the book THE END OF THE LONG HORN TRAIL was probably published in 1936. This added 13 page manuscript has a cover letter dated Dec. 8th, 1941 and was sent to Western historian Floyd Benjamin Streete. Although some of the names and basic events of the book and the letters are the same, the letters tend to add additional materials of colorful and violent interest for the western enthusiast. Also included is a copy of THE END OF THE LONG HORN TRAIL. The manuscript is very readable and housed in a later cardboard case with marbled covers. Overall in vg cond.
(Transcription in full without correction.)
Letter 1
Selfridge No Dak
Dec 8th 1941
Dear Mr. Streter
Im sending you the manuscript what I have wrote you of the History of the Early days.
If there is anything that you wish for me to add I will gladly do it, I have not been feeling very good. Hope this finds you and family well.
We are having fine weather up here.
My Persnal Regards
A.P. Blackburn Selfridge
No Dak
Letter 2
Cattle Movement
18-82 & 18-95
Chapter I.
In 1882 the hash Nile started to run the Millet ranch on the square, on April first we took a pack outfit and went too the winter range, we could only use wagons pack outfits on the roads, we pushed out of the brakes about 2000 twenty hundred Cattle, on April the fifteenth 1882, we Commenced to put out the first herd to be driven to Montana, William tho fourth had charge of this first twenty five hundred Cattle. Mark Grune drove the second herd, the hash ranch also drove the other three herds of twenty five hundred each, their destination was Box Elder Montana, about twenty miles East of Ekalaka Montana. The hash Brothers had one Ranch in Pegis River and the pecas ranch near the Prins River, The Continental or hash River have raised all their own Cattle. In 1884 and 1885 they drove twenty four-hundred Cattle to Montana.
In 1885 and 1886 they lost all the cattle they had in the drive they had twenty four thousand Cattle, We spoke ___ Millet and Mabre but I never herd of them driving so many Cattle, They were big operators they drove the bigest drives in the early seventies.
I was trail Cutter on the drives for 1884 the trail Cutter got sick and I helped Tex XOZ trail, the XOZ man was deputy inspector, we was stationed on the Wichita River on the Chishlum trail We averaged twenty five thousand Cattle a day going North.
The old timers thought that was the bigest drive.
The chislum trail crossed the red River and crossed Doans Doams Store and Crossed the flat River in New Braska.
Some of the drivers went East of the Black Hills and some went west.
In 1895 the Fort Worth and Denver built a railroad.
The Kansas County settled up. The Cattle had to be shipped Windover Wyoming then later on we had to ship to Chud Wyoming. There were one hundred forty five herds unloaded in Orin Junction Wyoming. That was about the last open Country for herds.
Montana had some bad lands that were still left.
Letter 2:
Chapter 2
Macus De Marrow
A French Count buildt a packing plant on the little Missouri where the Northern Pacific rail road crossed the little Missouri River it was build about 1880 I was Working Countintill Cattle Company Country in 1884 Countintill Company sold 5,000 beef steers, they put them in a corale and someone let them out that night, he gave the Manager John W. Bostired $50,000 to put them back in the Coral.
Teddy Roosevelt had a Ranch on the little Missouri County at that time.
Macus De Marrow and Teddy didnt get along good, the Cattle Man and Macus got to fighting one man was killed. There is nothing left of the old packing house except the chimney.
I was there ten years ago and the house where marcus De Marcus lived they gave to one of the three maids Mrs. De Marcus maid, se still had furnishing in there that Maquis De Morrow left and they run a tea house there.
Teddy Rosevelts Cabin was moved to Bismark No Dakota.
Teddy Roosevelt was liked by everyone in Dakota that ever knew him he was a good Cow puncher took any hard ships the boys had to take.
And He was just as good a president as Salgier.
These Cattle went to Montana, Northern Wyoming North and South Dakota. Some where driven to the Canadian line, In about 1898 the Country Commenced to settle up small ranches, and the big one’s had to quit in 1901 the Souix Indians Reservation was least by Lake tomb Tenman and Bros and they fenced 7,8000 acres and stock with 22,000 Cattle that was about the end of the open range in Dakota’s.
Matadora land Cattle and Country of Texas made a simpler leas on the Shiann reservation they stocked it from Texas Mattedoo Texas, the Milwaukee rail road Country build out to the Missouri River and put in a pantoon brige and least a strip throw the reservation six miles wide and 84 miles long the town of Everts was on the East side they built big stock yards on the west that was at one time the bigest shipping point in U.S. the southern Cattle were shipped then around by way of Kansas City and where unloaded at Everts at the Pantoun brige, in 1907 the Milwaukee rail road crossed the Missouri river ten miles above the pantoon brige and build west of Miles City Montana and the Country was open for homestead that was about the end of the range Cattle in the Dakota’s.
The general roundup in Texas in the the cattlemen would have a early ____ stock meeting every year in the State, they would make up a program of the spring roundup one man would be pointed as the roundup Boss, I was on the general Roundup in 1883 It started on Brazon River there was Seven outfits of Cowpunchrs the outfit consisted of about 15 to 20 men a wagon.
The Roundup Boss arranged the place where the Roundup would be, we would make one Roundup a day and each outfit separated his cattle in a different bunch we would have men a coming and men a going going back all the time. This Roundup was 50 miles up the Brazon River, then we worked North threw ___- Country, then threw Cattail County, then we worked threw the Mattadri then Roundup into Spurs at the foot of the lane the men that was with me and Myself got back too the Ranch July 10, Started May 1st that was excitement every day, over ____ Cattle but there was no one hurt during the summer we where not allowed to gamble around the wagon.
Every day we was layed up we would have horse races, the Cowboys got their Recreation during the branding season on home range outfit we did not have to stand gard we had all kinds of Camp regulations we would have kangroo Court every evening we either threw them in the Creek or nip them with a pair of ax ____ the Cook was the judge.
The Branding outfit consists of about 15 men, the Company gave us about 10 Saddles horses to a man, we had no horse ranglers we would hobble our horses every night, we made one Roundup a day we branded around 200 calfs a day, everyone had a chance to make a Cowpuncher out of himself, 2 men would rope one day sit Branding irons one day Bulldog one day and hold and Cut one day.
The forman I worked under three years with the Branding outfit with the Cannotil Cattle Company his name was R.D. Green he worked for the Company around fifty years, Died at Clayerdon Texas in 1929 he was the best Cow man I ever knew of he trained more good Cow boy then any man that ever lived in Texas he was a great Planesman he studyed ever bird Snake & aants also Deer & analope he drove the first hashkife herd from the buzzard roost on the Concho to horse head on the picas River in 1876 the herd made 70 miles with out water, the Pacha’s Indians took there horses from them about half way across the plan they only had one horse a piece left that was the herd drove across the plane without water, the Company started a ranch by Talor Creek a few miles west on where Pacho City is now, he started back across the plane with a span of mules and two men besides himself, there was one spot on the plain where they could dig down and get water with a spade, they had no Compass, they would set the wagons in the the night too keep the directions, the second out they found two yoke of oxen and two old wagons and 4 skeletons they had got lost, they had parished on the way to the gold rush Californio in 49 or 50.
On finding the skeletons the men got panicky but he held his course and hit the water hole on the plane.
He crossed 10,000 herd over the same trail in 1876.
We never had any fighting in our outfit their was only one man killed in our outfit during the 5 yrs I worked their. He was killed in a drunken fight in Seymore Texas.
The Pias River Roundup was where most of the fighting took place their was one man killed on the three 999s Roundup in 1883.
The R-2s outfit and the three 999s both hired fighting men and R2 man by the name of Bill Belle killed Sam Varner one of the boys I worked with saw the killing they where both running the same cow, and Belle was on the left side but right handed he said it looked like both guns was pulled about the same time. Belle killed Barnes the first shot he dropped from his horse.
The company I worked for never hired any fighting men, everyone carried a gun, in about 1886 the State passed a law making it a 1000 dollar fine to be caught carrying a six shooter. That stopped lots of gun plays. An old time Cow Boy was not like a Cowboy on the Silver screen now.
They sometimes got Cross when it would rain 2 or 3 days we had no tents just a dutch oven outfit.
The later years the Northern outfit had tents and stoves that looked like a picnic outfit to a Texas Cowboy.
The Texas outfit furnished us green coffee, sugar, beans, salt pork, was killed a beef every other day with the branding outfit. He sure didnt feed us much. Cowboys usually would spend all their money in the fall they would work lots better if they were broke.
They was always glad to see Fall come. Standing guard every night for 3 months they would get pretty tired.
Eagle Flat in Willburger County Texas was the toughest cow town I ever saw it was located on peas River where te town of Vernen is now located in Willburger County.
I camped 25 miles South of Eagle Flat the winter of 1883 the county was organized about that time. It had taken 3 Sheriffs to serve one term, Ule Music was the first Sheriff and he was killed and his Nephew Tom Steward was sworn in and he was killed and the man by the name of Douglas finished out the term it was the nearest town to all the cattle ranges.
The winter of 1883 they formed a Negalment Comitee and they had a hundred and sixteen men on the dead list, the list was headed by a man by Killis Jones, they put him down as the most worthless man in the world, he was killed with a arm full of wood he had stoled from the quart house yard, the next man on the list was Hick Garsion they listed him as to bad to run loose he was shot and killed in Paul Huffleys saloon the next man on the list was a man by the name of Byers who run a Livery Barn in town and also a Ranch in the Country, they had him on the dead list for stealing cattle they called it the Livery Barn to house a horse put in, they shot the hired man down by mistake thought they was killing Byres, a man by the name of Billy Naye Farman for the N-N he got in with them and got a hold of the dead list. Hick Gorisin was a friend of Billy’s he worked for the Diamond tails, Billy Noy was a friend of Hick’s , he went and seen the government and he sent a Company of rangers to Eagle Flat and stopped the killing he made several arrests they had most all the Cattle men in the Country on the dead list.
The railroad reached Eagle Flat in about 1886 or 87 they had 3 men on the dead list that had small ranches on my line they was on the dead list as rustlers, and after the _____ was exposed they all drifted out of the Country, if it hadent been for the rangers it would have been another Chisalmo War.
I suppose by now it is mostly cotton patches now.
History of Bull Turner
Bull Turner was one of ___quantrills men in the silver war he drifted to Southern Texas in the early Seventies their was lots of wild Cattle on the new aces River and also the Brodies he comenced to catch wild Cattle and he found out that Bulls wasent worth anything at that time and he could get about 3 bulls for one Heifer he gathered him about 2000 bulls and being acquainted in Kansas he made good money on the bulls he drove about 3 herds in the early Seventys and got his name as Bull Turner.
In the late Seventies he established a ranch in Knox County in the west edge of Millit Bro Ranch, he got in tutch with all the rustlers from te Rio Grande to Red River he furnished the brains for the rustling and he allways beat all Cases in the County Courts he had accumulated a lot of property in 1887 their was a new judge appointed by the name of Hackeral and him and bull Turner served under quantrell during Civil war, The judge got Turner to turn in all the rustlers, they had a man by the name of Brad Brookison in jail and Bull Turner was the star wittness and the day before the trial he started in to Seymor with a jew Cattle buyer and a mile out of town 3 of the rustlers rode up behind the buggy and shot Will Turner in the back he fell out of the buggy and knocked the jew out strattle of the double trees and they shot 2 shots at the jew and missed and shot the 2 horses threw the hind legs the team ran to the livery Barn and the jew told the story they arrested the three men that did the killing Pat Rose, Dick Sheperd, and Bill Broaken was arrested and Pat Rose Sheperd got away and never was herd of Bill Broakin got life in penatenuary and Pat Rose come clear. That broke up the restling and that ended the life of one of the smartest rustlers I ever knew of, He left a wife 2 sons and 1 daughter.
The Daughter married one of Millits foreman by the name of Phill Watson. Prise and Luther the 2 boys was still in the cattle business last I ever herd of them.