Sunday, June 28th, 2020 at 11:21 am
On July 1, 1854 the first cattle driven from Texas arrived in New York City. New York City? That’s right New York City. Here’s the story of the Texas – New York Cattle Drive. As early as the 1840’s there were stories of cattle being driven from Texas to Missouri. However, cattle drives from Texas didn’t start in earnest until around 1866. But there was one cattle drive that took place over ten years earlier, taking cattle all the way to New York. And it wasn’t done by a Texas cowboy, but an English immigrant who grew up in Illinois, by the name of Thomas Ponting.
Now, Ponting wasn’t a novice around cattle. As a youth in England he drove cattle to London. And later in Illinois he drove cattle up to Wisconsin. Hearing about cheap cattle in Texas, he and partner Washington Malone went down there and bought 800 longhorn cattle.
They hired men to drive the supply wagon. An ox with a bell around his neck was tied to the back of the wagon. He was the lead steer, and the cattle followed him wherever he went.
While traveling through Missouri they restocked their provisions from local farmers. Four months after their start they got to Illinois. It was winter. So they took time to fatten the cattle on corn. In the spring Ponting sold all but 150 of the longhorns. Those 150 he wanted to take to New York. When they got to Muncie, Indiana, Pointing got the idea of transporting them the rest of the way by rail car.
On July 1, 1854 the cattle arrived in New York. They were taken to the Hundred Street Market and auctioned off.
Although Ponting’s cattle drive was a great feat in itself, his greatest achievement was to show that cattle could be brought 2,000 miles from Texas and sold at a profit. And with this a new page in Old West history was opened.
Saturday, May 30th, 2020 at 7:05 am
In the past we have told the stories of two of Arizona’s lost treasures. One was the Lost Dutchman’s Mine located in the Superstition Mountains a short distance from a busy Phoenix freeway. Another was a treasure comprised of gold coins lost when a dam broke on the Hassayampa River just north of Phoenix.This week we’re going to learn about another Arizona lost treasure.
It all started on May 10, 1881. A Wells Fargo Stage was taking passengers and mail from Canyon Diablo to Flagstaff. On the way the stagecoach was robbed by five bandits.
Two mailbags were taken containing $125,000 in gold, silver and coins. When the stage made it to Flagstaff the authorities were notified and a Cavalry detachment was dispatched to run down the outlaws. And that’s just what they did. A shootout ensued and all the outlaws were killed. But, the loot wasn’t found.
Now, fast forward some 32 years to 1913. The regulars were enjoying their libations at Black’s Saloon in Flagstaff when an excited Jimmy McGuire came into the saloon and ordered a drink. Quickly downing it, he ordered another. And Jimmy didn’t stop until he had four empty glasses in front of him.
He then pulled some gold coins from his pocket to pay for the drinks. They were immediately recognized as coming from the 1881 stage robbery. A crowd gathered around asking about the treasure. As Jimmy started explaining where he found them, he began gasping and holding his chest. In no time Jimmy was on the floor dead of a heart attack. And the location of the treasure died with him.
Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 7:49 am
A constant fear for western towns was fire. The buildings were wood, and with the dry weather, they soon became kindling. During Denver’s 1863 fire that fear became a reality. A pile of garbage behind the Cherokee House Hotel ignited. A wind whipped up the flames into a citywide inferno. The resulting damage was estimated to be in the range of $350,000, which doesn’t sound like much, but in the 1860’s that was most of Denver.
As with most tragedies, it brought out the worst and the best in men. When it came time to rebuild the area the local Kountze Brothers Bank announced that they were willing to give loans to merchants… The best in men? Not really. The interest was a whopping 25% per year… And we think interest rates are high today.
Prior to the fire there was quite a bit of animosity between Denver City and neighboring Cherry Creek. With both cities adversely affected, they put aside their animosity and worked together… Truly the best in men.
One of the individuals who borrowed money from the Kountze Brothers Bank was a Black entrepreneur by the name of Barney Ford. He operated a barbershop that was destroyed in the fire. Barney borrowed $9,000 at the going rate of 25% interest.
But, Barney Ford didn’t use it to reopen his barbershop. He used it to open the People’s Restaurant. Along with great food, the restaurant advertised fresh oysters and Havana cigars. How did Barney Ford do? Well, even at the high interest rate, he paid off the loan in just 90 days.
Sunday, March 15th, 2020 at 7:33 am
Before Judge Roy Bean became “The law west of the Pecos”, he had quite a life. He killed a couple of people, broke out of a jail where he was being held for attempting to kill another person, and he had a stiff neck with scars, the result of an unsuccessful hanging.
In 1882, at the age of 55, a bearded, rum-soaked, fat Judge Roy Bean purchased a tavern in a place on the Pecos River called Vinegaroon, Texas, and he got elected justice of the peace.
Bean saw a picture of Lily Langtry, a stage performer from the east, and fell in love with her; changed the name of the town to Langtry; and the saloon, which was also his courthouse, to the Jersey Lilly.
His pronouncements as a judge were often unique to say the least. Finding a pistol and $40 on a dead man, he fined the man $40 for carrying a pistol, and confiscated the gun. He freed a man for killing a Chinese because the only law book he had didn’t say anything about a law against killing Chinese. Another time he let a friend off because, “the Mexican should not have gotten in front of the gun my friend happened to be firing.”
After a number of years handing down his unique brand of justice, Roy Bean was thrown out of office when the number of votes for him way exceeded the number of eligible voters.
During his time as a Judge, Roy Bean wrote Lily Langtry, asking her to visit him. Finally, in September of 1903 Lily Langtry came to Langtry, Texas. Unfortunately, Judge Roy Bean didn’t get to meet her… He had died six months earlier, on March 14, 1903.
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020 at 7:04 am
In 1833, when she was a child, the family of Cynthia Ann Parker and several other families came to Texas. One day when the men were in the fields working, a Comanche raid took place. Seven residents were killed and five, including Cynthia Ann Parker kidnapped. They were able to find and rescue all of the captives… except Cynthia Ann Parker.
Cynthia Ann, kidnapped at the age of nine, became the wife of Peta Nocona, the tribal chief. Cynthia had three children by him. Now, normally a Comanche chief would have a number of wives. Peta Nacona was happy with only Cynthia Ann.
In 1860, while the men were out hunting, some Texas Rangers and military troops raided the tribe’s village, completely catching them off guard. Cynthia Ann was captured, along with her youngest child.
Cynthia Ann Parker didn’t feel as if she had been rescued, it seemed as the same ‘Cynthia Ann Parker kidnapped’ story once again. She often tried to leave the white society, and the daughter that Cynthia Ann had brought with her died. And in mourning, Cynthia Ann starved herself to death. In addition, her Comanche husband, Peta Nocona, also died in mourning.
Cynthia Ann’s oldest son, Quanah Parker became the chief of his tribe. By 1870 the Comanche had been defeated and were being relocated to the Fort Sill reservation… All that is except Quanah and his people. They were raiding settlements throughout the Texas frontier.
In his many battles with the army, Quanah was never defeated. Finally, in 1875, as if the anger was gone from his heart Quanah Parker gave up his fight against the army, relocated to a reservation, and started fighting for Indian rights in the political arena. On February 22, 1911 Quanah Parker died.
The question remains, would Quanah Parker have gone on the warpath if his mother had been allowed to stay with her Comanche family? Probably not.
