Posts

Black-Eyed Peas, Tabasco, and Good Luck General Sherman

In Texas, there is a great tradition of eating black-eyed peas for good luck on New Year's Eve/Day. The origin of the tradition has been forgotten by some though. Belive it or not, we can thank the arrogance of General Wm. T. Sherman. General Sherman is shamefully remembered for his 1864 March to the Sea in the midst of the War of Northern Aggression, during which he burned the conquered city of Atlanta to destroy supplies and provisions stashed throughout the city to replenish the Union Army. As he continued his destruction, Sherman murdered women, children, and other innocent non-combatants. But his arrogance was evident. Edmund McIlhenney and his family were forced to leave their plantation on Avery Island, LA. When they returned after the war, the only survivor of the devestation was 12 cayenne pepper plants. Evevery drop of Tabasco produced since 1868 is a descendant of those 12 plants. Since Sherman was all about the death and destruction of innocent people, he burned thei...
Post a Comment
Read more

Battle of Adobe Walls

In 1874, the word on the high plains was that the savage Indians were coming after the buffalo hunters for venturing into the Texas Panhandle to hunt the buffalo. It was true that the hunters were doing just that.   As a result, the Indians were attacking the secluded buffalo hunting camps. This caused several hunting groups to come into the Adobe Walls post, reporting that they had been attacked, usually resulting in one or two of their group being killed by the savages. They felt safer at Adobe Walls. Word had come to Myers, Rath and Hanrahan of the news about the upcoming attack of the post by the Indians. However, they did not tell the buffalo hunters of what was to happen, for fear that the men would leave, resulting in the post being left unprotected & destroyed. It’s interesting that Myers and Rath did leave, taking buffalo hides on to Dodge City. Hanrahan chose to remain to protect his whiskey supply. Rath and Myers left their stores with people in charge. Hanrahan, a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grandpa Mayes, the Indy 500, and John Philip Sousa

  Austin Carroll "Slim" Mayes was born in Eastland, graduated from Anson High School, and lived off and on in Abilene, TX throughout his life.  He was born in 1901, before there was any sort of popular music in America.  As a result, the only music he was able to get ahold of to listen to was the kind of orchestral music that has been around for hundreds of years.  He always considered himself a violinist, but was recruited to play clarinet with the Simmons College Band while still in high school.  Of course, Simmons College is now Hardin-Simmons University; that band is now The World Famous Cowboy Band. Mayes worked as a mechanic during a brief time as a student at Simmons College.  He was one of the first people to repair airplanes in West Texas.  Of course, there was only one way to make sure the plane was fixed.  This meant he was one of the first people to FLY airplanes in West Texas as well!  Mayes decided to take his skill as a mechani...
Post a Comment
Read more

Uncle Obed and the Possum

My great uncle was James Obed Baker, DDS. He had been a Ag teacher for 15 years, while working his way through West Texas State Teacher's College (now WTAM). He loved to hunt and fish all his life. He lived a very exciting, from pranks with his brothers on the farm to meeting Al Capone. He liked to share the stories of his life with us, going to and from the farm he grew up on in Central Texas.  During these trips, Uncle Obed got to where he would repeat his stories near the end of his 97 years on this Earth. But, he always told at least one story that he had never told before. That includes the following story, on his last outing with us. A week later, he was was hospitalized for the first time in his life. Two weeks after that, he was dead. All of my life, I wondered why Uncle Obed’s nose looked the way it was. It was formed normal, but seemed to be mostly scar tissue.  My dad and I were in the pickup with him, on our way to the farm to fix some fence. Uncle Obed related the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Famous Last Words of Devil Jack Hays: Today is San Jacinto Day!

  One of the greatest early Texans was John Coffee Hays.  He was born outside of Nashville, TN into the Donelson family, founders of that great city.  His father Harmon and Uncle Robert rode with Gen. John Coffee during the War of 1812.  Hays' uncle was their ultimate commander, Gen. Andrew Jackson.  Hays was born a year after their return from the war, and was named in honor of their commander.  Uncle Robert dubbed him "Jack", the proper noun by which he would be known to friends, family, and compadres in arms throughout his life. After a stint at the Davidson Academy, Jack Hays learned of the Texas War for Independence from Mexico.  This struggle was being led by Gen. Sam Houston, who was meant to be Jackson's political  protégé.  [Personal problems took Houston off that path, but Houston was back on track in Texas.  A perfect story for another time!]  Anyway, Andrew Jackson provided young Jack Hays with letters of introduction an...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Importance of the Alamo in Westward Expansion

People came to Texas from all over the United States, and all over The Earth.   When they carved “GTT” on the door of their homes and were Gone To Texas, they brought their guns along with them.  Why were they GTT?  Many of them had nowhere else to go.  The fact of the matter is that our greatest Texas heroes were ejected from their previous lives for various reasons.  The newly opened colonization of Texas was a great place to commence anew.   They brought along their firearms, because the country was wild and unknown.   The opportunity to disappear and start over was not without mystery of what was waiting for them here. Texas was part of the Mexican state Coahuila y Texas.   The government of México operated under The Mexican Constitution of 1830, which actually was not that bad.  Mexican El Presidente and Generalissimo Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna did not like the constitution, though, so he tossed it out.  This did not set well w...
Post a Comment
Read more

After the Battle of Adobe Walls

            After the Battle of Adobe Walls, the savage Indians were demoralized; this was especially the result of Billy Dixon’s long shot with his buffalo rifle. At this same time, the U.S. Army was responding to the settlers’ ongoing pleas of 20 years for something to be done about the marauding Indians’ savage attacks, murders, and kidnappings all along the frontier. An all-out war was waged with the Indians, carried out from all sides of the Texas High Plains. There were few actual confrontations, other than Ronald MacKenzie’s Battle of Palo Dura Canyon. This well known battle against mainly women and children (most of who escaped) resulted in the capture of the Indian’s enormous herd of horses, their winter’s food supply, and shelters. The supplies were destroyed. The best horses were kept for the Army, but the majority were shot and killed. Their food, shelters, and horses were gone, and they were left afoot and now on foot...
Post a Comment
Read more