The letter* was written to three of Johnson’s sons, urging them to follow their parents in settling in Comanche County. Of course there was no way for Mr. Johnson to know what his future would be.

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“Dear sons and daughters I availe of myself of the present opportunity of writing you these few lines an can say to you that we are all well at present an hope these lines may come to hand an find you all in the same state of health we have nothing of importance to _____people ______ country is generally well. I have not heard of any sickness in this county since we have bin here.

“There is fine seasons in this country at present. I am well satisfied with this country. I have five acres under fence and I will commence sodding it in the morning. the grass is as good heare as heart cold [could] wish yor Mother is milking ___________ than we can use. She makes about six pound of butter at one churning.

“We have got two gilts and they have fifteen pigs the prettiest you ever saw we’re in high hopes we will have gog [?] and hominey once _____ if we have good luck. It is the best hog country I have ever seen in my life.

“There has been hogs kill heare at one year old that weighed from one hundred ____ to 175 pounds. Mr. McHenry is out heare at this time. He had the misfortune to loose a fine horse stolen buy indians we sopose. Also Mr. Montgomery lost a fine mule the same night. Mr. McHenry promise me he will come and see you as soon as he gets home. Robert McHenry lives near Rockwall an knows Robert Tucker if you can see McHenry he will buy your note.

“There is plenty of game here. I have killed a great many turkeys this spring. I could heare more turkey [than] ever I heard before. I have killed but few deer there is fish plenty in the Leon. We went fishing the other day and the girls caught them as fast as they could get their hooks _____.

“Your Mother say she wants you to come to see us with out fail an bring the girls and children if you can we want to see you all vary bad. We have been looking for Thomas Draper and James Biffle [future sons-in law] for some time but they have not come yet. If they are there yet tell them to wright to us when we may look for them ____.

“Your Mother say give her compliments to all inquiring friends. Tell Mrs. Callahan ____. We have preaching twice a month one Methodist and the other Christian preachers. Wilson Biffle has left but said he was coming back in a month or two. We heard he went to ____ in Bosque County in Meridian an also Raif Gore went with him.

“______sends howdy to you all an says he wants to see you all vary bad. _______

“I want you to wright as soon as you get this. Send you letters to Gatesville, Comanche County. [Can you imagine having to go sixty miles to get the mail?] No more at present______________.”

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The letter is signed with the initials of Peter Cartwright Johnson and wife Matilda. Of course, it will not be many months until the Indians attack Johnson, and we have to assume that he would not have encouraged his sons to come to Comanche County if only he had known.

*The letter is very well written, but I did divide it into paragraphs along with some spelling changes to make for easier reading.

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Here’s the beginning of an easy one just to show you what I mean:

“I’ve done made a deal with the devil. He said he’s going to give me an air-conditioned place when I go down there, if I go there, so I won’t put all the fires out.”

Probably the most famous firefighter in the world was born a poor boy in 1915 in Houston, Texas. At the age of 24, he went to work for Myron M. Kinley, a pioneer in fighting oil well fires. He would remain with Kinley for the next 20 years, honing the skills that would eventually make him famous.

….to be continued…

]]> http://www.texansunited.com/blog/2012/05/19/texansunited-com-partners-with-kyox-radio/feed/ 0 http://www.texansunited.com/blog/2012/05/19/texans-united-sends-a-whole-lot-of-thank-yous/ http://www.texansunited.com/blog/2012/05/19/texans-united-sends-a-whole-lot-of-thank-yous/#comments Sat, 19 May 2012 18:26:49 +0000 Fredda Jones http://www.texansunited.com/?p=10294 Continue reading →]]> We do it, but we sure don’t do it often enough, and it is a really simple thing involving only two words…Thank you. That’s right, today here on Texansunited.com we are going to stop long enough to say thank you to the sponsors who saw that we had a great idea and who jumped on board to be a part of it.

Of course,  a big thank you goes out to both the Dublin EDC and the Comanche EDC, neither of whom get enough credit for everything they do to try to make their towns the best that they can be. It is a tough and often thankless job, and we salute their efforts. Both organizations are a big part of why we were able to put together what is becoming the best community website in the state of Texas!

Other large sponsors to the site include the Comanche National Bank, the CECA, who can be found in  both Dublin and Comanche, and Frontier Tire & Service. All of these local businesses believe in giving back to the communites they serve, and their involvement with Texansunited.com is just another example of this service.

And, of course, we salute the local businesses in both Dublin and Comanche who understand that the world is a changing place and who want to be a part of that change.

Here’s wishing you profits galore in 2012!

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You can register online at http://www.runningintheusa.com, and then be ready to run  at 7:00 a.m. on the morning of the 9th.

Of course, for  you bikers the Tour de Pepper bike race starts at 8:00 a.m. Entries for this even may be picked up at the Chamber office in Dublin. 254-445-3422

What you may not know is that Bette has a granddaughter who is TRULY amazing and that she is running in some mighty big circles these days. Her performance (aerial silks) is a must see.

This one-minute video will show you exactly what I mean; however, since I posted it, You Tube has changed the rules. When you click on the video, you will be routed to You Tube where you can skip the commercial and watch Elizabeth’s tryout. Don’t miss it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOq6mHyIRFo&feature=player_embedded

Our thank you goes out to Danny Armstrong for sending us the info. GOOD JOB, ELIZABETH!!

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It was on the evening of December 19, 1889, that a man by the name of John B. Chilton met with a group of businessmen. Before the meeting closed, they had established a bank by the name of Comanche National Bank, elected a board of directors, and put up $50,000 worth of capital stock.

The bank received its charter the following March and by the end of the year, deposits had grown to $47,451 and total assets were $136,064. On April 14, 1891, the bank purchased the lot that would eventually hold the building that most of us today know as Star Beau’s Restaurant, located on the west end of the south side of the square.

The decade of the 90s was a booming time for construction in Comanche, Texas and on top of that, the railroad had arrived! The new courthouse that would be hailed as one of the most beautiful in the state was almost completed in 1891, and the Scottish stone cutters that did the work on the courthouse began the work on the beautiful bank building. This stonework can still be seen on the building today.

The Comanche National Bank occupied this building from January 1892 to June 1969. During that time it saw Texas droughts, two world wars, the Great Depression, Korea, and Vietnam, and yet it continued to grow and prosper.

On March 11, 1968, the bank purchased property from Higginbotham Bros. & Co. to build a new bank building. The new facility was opened on June 2, 1969, located just directly across Houston Street to the west (200 West Central Street) from the old building.

Of course, the bank just continued to grow and again outgrew its facilities. It purchased its present property from Dudley Brothers in 1984, and after extensive remodeling, the Comanche National Bank opened its new doors in April of 1987. Today, it is one of the most beautiful buildings in the town of Comanche.

How proud those men of 1889 would be to see what their investment has become today!

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Our flagship wine here at Brennan Vineyards has always been our Viognier and deservedly so. Although our newly bottled Brennan Vineyards Lily 2011 has shown remarkably well in it’s first two competitions. A few weeks ago it won a GOLD Medal at the Pacific Rim Wine Competition in California.

Last week in it’s second competition it won a DOUBLE GOLD Medal at Riverside International Wine Competition also in California. Our flagship Viognier did very well in those two as well with a GOLD & SILVER Medal.

The Lily is a white Rhone blend of Rousanne 53%, Viognier 25% & Grenache 22%. The Brownwood Bulletin is also coming to interview me today because of all our recent success in these wine competitions, so keep a looks out for the article. 4.0 Cellars has been open for just about a month now and the responses have been overwhelmingly positive.

Please check out http://www.fourpointwine.com or their Facebook page for an updated list of events that we have scheduled. We should have live music on the weekends regularly down there.

By its dejected stance, I knew immediately just how humiliated this one-time King of the Field felt as I pulled to the side of the road for a short visit, letting the old machine bemoan the fact that an entire generation of children has now grown up, never really knowing about him and the glory that was once his.

No, in this world of modern tractors that are as tall as our houses with enclosed cabs, air conditioning, and radio, young people have no idea what it really was to ride the tractor all day long with nothing showing white by evening except the whites of the eyes.

The old tractor went on to remind me that it wasn’t just in the field that he had played such an important role. No, in days gone by thousands of children actually learned how to drive on the tractor. By the time they were old enough to get a license, the children of the tractor were already experienced drivers who understood the meaning of horsepower, and just how dangerous it can be.

Don’t get me wrong. The old tractor doesn’t want to return to work; he spent many very, very hard years doing that. No, it’s not work that he wants at all. When it is all said and done, the tractor only wants what the rest of us want. He wants to be remembered.

And maybe more than that, he just wants to know that he made a difference. That’s not too much for any of us to ask, is it?

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As I’ve said so often on this website, if you missed it…well, you know.

[[Show as slideshow]]

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Now, fast forward to 1967. The Cowboys were seven years old and by then, I was as bad as my parents and a die-hard myself so I did not find going to a motel to watch an away game strange at all.

(Back in those days, games were “blacked out” in certain areas if they were not a sell out. Well, my family wasn’t going to miss the action just because it was an away game (We attended home games.)so we would simply travel to an area where the game was being shown and get a motel room so we could watch.)

Thus…came playoff time in 1967…

Unless you are a sports history buff, you are going to have to be at least as old as I to know anything about the Ice Bowl. It was played in Green Bay with the Packers and the Cowboys going head to head for the 1967 NFL Championship. It still ranks as the number one bad weather game of all time. And, with the temp on the field at sixteen below and the field solid ice, it will remain at number one, no doubt about it.

Well, there we were, holed up in a strange room with a few friends and a ton of food, the adults watching the game at the top of their voices. Why we weren’t ejected, I have no idea!

And on the field, the conditions were completely unbelievable. To make you understand just how bad it was, understand that there was only one whistle blown the entire game. The reason? The first play of the game the ref blew the whistle. When he removed the whistle from his mouth, he also removed half of his mouth. It was agreed that every one would listen to audible calls, and they did.

With sixteen seconds left in the game, the Cowboys were leading by a score of 17-14. On a goal line play that no one expected and with the scoreboard showing thirteen seconds, Bart Starr slipped into the endzone on a keeper.

Cowboy’s Coach Tom Landry was usually a stoic, but his twisted grimmace as Starr crossed the goal line was caught on camera and lived on in football video history for years.

The Packers went on to win Super Bowl II, but it was a very long ride home for the Davis family.

There are all kinds of great Ice Bowl videos online. I chose this one simply because it is a good four-minute watch. There are also no commercials to wade through before you can watch.

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On _________ Peter Cartwright Johnson and his ten-year-old namesake, Peter C., Jr., were returning from Waco, having been there to purchase supplies. Father and son were returning home, and after passing Meridian Peak (It is called Johnson’s Peak today.), their wagon was surrounded by a party of Indians.

Mr. Johnson was killed immediately, his son taken captive. After robbing the wagon and with young Peter in tow, the Indians went up through the Bosque Valley and out through the northeast portion of Erath County, toward the Clear Fork of the Brazos. They were pushing a large herd of horses in front of them. From the direction the Indians took, it is easy to see why many believed they were reservation Indians.

While all of this was going on, a posse of men from the Resley’s Creek area was finally raised; some of the men in it were Eli Picket, Dave Roberts, George B. Hasty, Jim Neal, F.B. Gentry and Tom Shockley. They picked up the Indians’ trail on the creek, and followed it until they came upon the murdered Bean and his Negro. Of course this delayed the men as did the finding of Johnson’s body; leaving the posse little hope of rescuing Peter, Jr.

“On the Clear Fork of the Brazos, from some cause unknown, the Indians dropped little Peter Johnson, taking his coat, hat and socks, leaving him with nothing on but his shirt and pants, fifty or seventy-five miles from the nearest ranch, in the bleak month of January, with nothing to subsist upon and no means of procuring any, and liable to be destroyed by hungry wolves. ….Little Peter lived five days and nights without a single morsel to eat save grass roots. On the evening of the sixth day he was found by a company of cow boys that Bill Keith had sent out from his ranch to make a ‘round up.’ The little fellow had found the cattle and had remained with them, thinking perchance he could procure milk from some of the cows, but in this he failed, the cows being too wild, but the cow hunters found him in time to revive and save him….A cold, drizzling norther was blowing at the time and the poor little fellow would evidently have frozen to death during the night that ensued. When brought to Cora a few days after his being found, says Hon. Frank M. Collier (who gave me these facts), he was the poorest looking object imaginable- a mere skeleton. Mr. Collier says he took the little fellow up in his arms and carried him around all over town and procured a present of one dollar from every man in town.”5

View/Jones Page 45
The story of the Peter Johnson’s, both Junior and Senior, was told by Billie Johnson, grandson of Peter, Sr. Mr. Johnson claimed to have seen many Indian war dances performed on the very spot where the present day Comanche County Courthouse sits. (Personally, I think Uncle Billie might be stretching things just a bit!) According to Uncle Billie, the Johnson’s had been to Waco to have their corn ground and were returning home when they were attacked. Mr. Johnson “made a desperate effort to do so by whipping the sluggish oxen into a gallop with his long blacksnake whip,” but a bullet stopped one of the oxen, and it was all over for Mr. Johnson. He was killed and scalped while his son watched.
Suddenly enraged, young Peter grabbed his father’s whip and let it fall on the nearest Indian. Seeing this as an act of great bravery, one of the Indians grabbed the boy, and the entire band left the murder scene with the brave white boy who would become a brave Indian. However, it was not to be; young Peter would not cooperate, refusing even to eat the raw meat offered him. This was something the Indians failed to understand since their own children loved it. Eventually he was released with nothing on except a tattered blanket.
Peter wandered around the cold countryside for several days, having no idea where he was. Finally, one day he heard a bell attached to a milk cow’s neck, and he made his way to the group of cows. Knowing that eventually someone would come for the cows, Peter waited, and was discovered later that day. According to Uncle Billie, Peter was taken to Stephenville where he was nursed until his mother could come for him.6
J.C. McConnell also told of the killing of Mr. Bean (whom he called Beene) and his Negro. McConnell, like Deaton, remembered the event as happening in ’57.

View/Jones Page 46
“John Pruett Beene and his negro , Dan Beene, early in the morning of December 30, 1857, left Mr. Beene’s home on Resley’s Creek, in Comanche County, where Mr. Beene had lived for about one year. Previously he had lived near the present Coryell City, in Coryell County. The Beene home on Resley’s Creek, was about two and a half miles east of the present town of Lampkin. Mr. Beene, accompanied by his negro, had started to his former home in Coryell County, and the two were riding in a wagon pulled by two yoke of oxen. This wagon contained only a few empty sacks and nothing more. A gray saddled pony was led behind. When Mr. Beene and his negro reached a point about fourteen miles east and were near the present town of Fairy, in Hamilton County, both were attacked by Indians and killed. Mr. Beene’s Negro Dan, had always said that in the event he should be with his master when the Indians charged, he would never desert him. Reports differ concerning how long they lay before they were found. But it was perhaps sometime during the succeeding day. Mr. Beene’s gun had been fired at the Indians, and after he had been mortally wounded, the same weapon was broken over his head. The body of the negro lay nearby. The Indians took the wagon sheet and empty sacks, but they never molested the oxen. When Mr. Beene was discovered, his wagon was hung up to a tree and the yoke of oxen which were still fastened to the wagon were nearly starved. The murder of Mr. Beene occurred the day before the killing of Peter Johnson…but the death of Mr. Johnson became known first, and scouts who trailed the Indians from the point from where Mr. Johnson had been killed, soon found the body of Mr. Beene and his Negro. Mr. Beene was buried near his home on Resley’s Creek, and after his massacre, a gap nearby became known as Beene’s Gap.”7

First of all, the map at the top right corner will be going away soon. If you will look at the top navigation bar on the far left, you will see the words Other Towns. Putting your curser there will cause our United towns to drop for your selection. No matter where you are in the site, this feature will be there for you.

Another feature that you will notice is on the right at the top of the sidebar. Our TU merchants may now list a very short blurb about their weekly specials. Clicking on red banner will allow you to see the entire list of what merchants have submitted this week.  If your favorite business is not listed, it is because it did not enter information. The blurbs that you see listed on the home page are just the last three submitted. These will rotate off of the front page when someone else enters a weekly special.

We have changed a few other things as well on the new home page.

On the lower section of the home page you will also notice that our map can be used for navigation. Putting your curser on the map will cause a list of towns to move to the right. Choose your town by putting your curser on it, and then choose where you want to travel within that particular town.

Of course, you will notice that we are now beginning to add Google Ads to the site. We have absolutely no say about what ads Google might place on what page, and we cannot ad or remove one ourselves.

In the very near future, we will be adding road trips to Texans United. We intend for Texansunited.com to become the premier website for all things Texas as we work to invite others to share the beauty that is exclusively Texas.

We hope you enjoy the progress we are making here on Texansunited.com as we continue to promote our small Texas towns!

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Of course, as I told you last month both the Dublin DQ and the Texas Rangers turn the big 4 0 this year, and the Dublin Dairy Queen plans to celebrate with a year-long party! On Friday May 18, they will be holding another 40-40 Club drawing with the winner snagging tickets for the Rangers vs Blue Jays game. You know, you can’t win if you don’t enter!

And right in line with the party mode, be sure to stop by and get your blizzard of the month which just happens to be Confetti Cake. How’s that for perfect timing? Of course, the Dublin Dairy Queen also offers 1/2 price burgers on Monday nights, fajita night on Tuesdays, and taco night on Thursdays. Here at Texans United we’ve learned that there’s always something shaking at the Dublin DQ and most of it has to do with good ideas and really good food!!

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Of course, there’s not a lot on the menu that you won’t love at Star Beau’s Restaurant in Comanche. From salads (You know that I think the grilled chicken breast salad is fabulous.), to sandwiches and burgers, to pasta and steaks, it’s all just great food.

Couple all of the above with the historic 19th century Comanche National Bank building and the relaxed, small-town atmosphere and you have Comanche restaurant that you will not want to miss on your next trip to Comanche, Texas.

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Maybe it was just the day for beautiful little girls to be dining out in Dublin, Texas, but I caught this tiny beauty nibbling a chip as she patiently waited while Deb prepared both her and her mom’s lunch at Patrick Street Pharmacy.

 Of course, I was there at lunch time and Deb was WAY too busy to tell me if she had dreamed up any new creations lately. However, from the way she was putting wraps together, I assume that someone know something about just how good her cooking actualy is. If you’re not eating with Deb, you need to give her a try when you’re in the mood for salads, wraps, sandwiches, and if you get lucky, a pot of soup. Of course, everything tastes better in the atmosphere of an old-time soda fountain.

Happy dining!!

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That is exactly how I feel about social network guru Facebook, which is set to go public in the very, very near future. I must admit that I salute those who were brilliant enough to have the idea and act on it. I even put the order in to buy on opening day, believing Facebook will be good jump in and jump out kind of stock. Then…I heard the news.

Co-founder Eduardo Saverin who has  taken advantage of everything this country has to offer, including a Harvard education, had decided that being a U.S. citizen will cost him more taxes on his billions than he is willing to pay. So, poof! Saverin has decided that he just won’t be an American anymore; that’s the way to fix that!

“The openness of our economy,” says Edward Kleinbard, a professor at the USC Gould School of Law, “the willingness to encourage and incubate start-up businesses, made Facebook worth what it is today and made him the extraordinarily wealthy man he is today.”

“Saverin is being hailed in some quarters for drawing attention to high taxes. He plans to continue living the high life, in Singapore, where there are no capital gains taxes.”

So there you have it. Will I still buy the stock? Probably. Of course, I’ll also be silly enough to pay the taxes on my few thousand. Why? Because unlike Mr. Saverin, I happen to love the country that allows me to make a few thousand on his billions.  I also don’t think I want to learn to speak Chinese, etc.  today. And as I said…so there you have it. Enjoy your money, Mr. Saverin.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505268_162-57433505/facebook-co-founder-renounces-u.s-citizenship-draws-heat/

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I’m sure this move by Mr. and Mrs. Baggett and their children haunted all of them for the rest of their lives because it was after this move, while away from the more secure community of Cora, that Mrs. Baggett and the children were attacked by Indians. Of course, as was so often the case, Mr. Baggett was not home at the time of the attack.

Years after the attack, E.L. Deaton interviewed Mrs. Baggett. There has been much discussion over the date of the attack; however, I have recorded the entire interview just as Deaton wrote it, in my book, The View From The Old Oak Tree.

http://www.betterworldbooks.com/the-view-from-the-old-oak-tree-id-1441527737.aspx

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‘On the 3^rd day of March, 1860, about four o’clock, after putting supper on to cook and getting some water from the spring, the children being out at play, I laid down to take a little rest.

‘Joe and Bid were in a live oak thicket below the cow-pen.  Pretty soon I heard Sarah call out to Joe to open the gate, as her father was coming with the horses, and in the next breath she exclaimed: “Joe, it’s Indians!”

‘At this I got up and went to the door and saw the Indians coming around behind the cow-pen.  My daughter, Sarah, aged fourteen years, ran into the yard, and three children ran through the crack of the fence.

‘I asked Sarah where Joe and Bid were.  She answered: “Ma, they are in the thicket below the cow-pen; the Indians will kill them!”

‘The three little children ran under the bed, both doors being shut.  I got up in a chair and looked through a crack over the door.  I saw one of the Indians bridle our horse and hand him over to another one who mounted it.  The one that did the bridling then strung his bow and went behind the thicket.  I heard my little boy scream, but I could not see him, the thicket obstructing the view.

‘Then one of the Indians threw Bid out so I could see her, then ran up to her with an arrow and commenced to push it through between her ribs, but she pulled it out of his hand and threw it away.

‘The Indians then rode off about one hundred yards southeast of the thicket, stopped and looked back, I suppose for the purpose of seeing whether or not I would open the door, but I did not.  I saw Bid get up and start to the house, but I could not see Joe.  Turning my eyes back to watch the Indians, I did not see Bid until she crawled to me from under the floor.  She said: “Open the door!”  I told her to go around to the other door for fear the Indians would come back and kill all of us.  I met her at the other door and took her in.  The Indians had stripped her of all her clothes and shot her five times, two of the shots going to the hollow.

‘I had Sarah get upon a chair and watch the Indians to see if any of them came back.  At that time I had two guns prepared for them if it was necessary to do so.  Sarah watched them as long as she could see them.  I saw the cattle and hogs coming.  The hogs were very bad to tear up anything they found.

‘I asked Bid where Joe was.  She replied: “He is dead.  I called him, but he did not answer.” ‘By this time night was coming on and Sarah and myself went out to get the lifeless body of my darling boy.

‘When we got there I saw an arrow sticking in his left shoulder.  I tried to pull it out with one hand, but could not, so I put one hand on him and pulled it out with the other.  He was scalped and stripped of all his clothes, except a shoe and sock.  We picked him up and carried him to the house, where I washed him the best I could, as he was still bleeding, and then wrapped him up in a sheet and laid him out.  My husband and his brother, Joel, came home about ten o’clock that night.  They had not heard anything about the trouble until they got home.  We stayed there all night.

‘The next morning, as soon as it was light, Joel Baggett went to Old Cora to let the people what had happened.  About twelve o’clock there came twelve rangers and five other men.  The rangers followed the Indians and the five men were John and Fred Tridee, Captain James, Vergil Cross and a Mr. Brown.

‘My daughter, Bid, got well and married Isaac Kuykendall.  She has nine children and now lives at Santa Anna, Coleman County, Texas.’”

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After the attack the family moved back to Cora and into their again vacant cabin. By this time the county seat had been moved into the newly created town of Comanche, and the courthouse was once again just a cabin.

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