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With the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898, John Simpson "Jack" Howard answered Teddy Roosevelt's call to arms by enlisting in the 1st U. S. Volunteer Cavalry at San Antonio, Texas. As a Rough Rider, Howard served with distinction in Cuba, taking an active part in the major engagements of the war including the famous charge up San Juan Hill. Following the war in 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt personally appointed Jack Howard to the U.S. Customs Service. For the next twelve years, Howard worked as a mounted inspector of customs along the border in the Big Bend. During this time, he earned a reputation described by the Marfa New Era newspaper as being, generous, high minded, gentle and kind but brave as a lion and cool and self possessed in an emergency. Jack Howard's life came to a tragic end in February 1913 when Mexican bandits ambushed and murdered him not far from Porvenir, Texas. The murder of Howard shocked and outraged Big Bend residents leading to a number of bloody reprisals along the border. Jack Howard was the father of Marian Walker and Nell Howard who operated the Candelaria store for many years. Jack is pictured above standing in his Rough Rider uniform at the top of the blog. He is also shown in the third photo from the left standing in front of the Presidio County court house with his right hand on his holster. Just left of Howard is Texas Ranger Joe Sitters.

On Friday, November 10th, the yearly conference of the Center For Big Bend Studies will commence at Sul Ross University in Alpine. I will be presenting my paper about Jack Howard at 2 p.m. Friday in the Espino Center Room A on the second floor of University Center. For more information about the conference see http://www.sulross.edu/~cbbs/
Gj


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JC,
Check out this link: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/messa ... s.upton/11
Is this your Graham Barnett? Gj

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"I am in the process of researching a fairly well known Border character named Graham Barnett. At an early period (c. 1912-13) in his career he worked for the TO Ranch which was, I believe, about 50 miles west of Pilares. Do you have any information on the TO? There is some in the Joyce Means book and in Bosque Bonito but I was hoping for a little more. Also, photos of Graham seem to be hard to locate. Do you have any suggestions for a possible source? Thanks, Jim Coffey"

Jim,
Other than the two sources you mentioned, Means and Keil, I can think of only a couple of other sources that briefly talk about the T.O. Ranch. that being J.J. Kilpatrick, aka the "King of Candelaria". Kilpatrick and his sons, who ranched and farmed in Candelaria did business with the T.O. Ranch. The T.O. Ranch in Chihuahua covered a huge expance of land streaching from a little north of Candelaria upriver almost to Juarez. From what I have been able to glean, the T.O. was owned by a number of North American cattlemen and some U.S. lawmen. At one time, about 1915, the T.O. had H.O. Robertson as foreman. See p. 456-457 of "The Texas Rangers and the Mexican Revolution: The Bloodiest Decade, 1910-1920" by Charles Harris and Louis Sadler. Robertson was a very shady character and the T.O. ran along the border making it an ideal place to smuggle cattle stolen during the Mexican Revolution into Texas. Cattle stolen by Pancho Villa's henchmen frequently brought cattle to the T.O. to be sold. Somewhere I have a file on the T.O. ranch, just can't lay my hands on it at the moment. I'll see if I can't locate it and see if there is anything about Graham Barnett. Hope this helps, Glenn Justice

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I have been asked who are the men pictured at the top of my blog. On the left, standing in his Rough Rider uniform is John (Jack) Simpson Howard. Jack Howard fought in Cuba during the Spanish American War and was later appointed to the U. S. Customs Service by President Theodore Roosevelt. Mexican bandits murdered Howard in the Big Bend in February 1913. He is the subject of one of the chapters in my forthcoming book, "More Little Known History Of The Texas Big Bend". The picture to the right of Jack is James Judson Kilpatrick aka "The King of Candelaria". Kilpatrick's story is told in "The Captain And The King of Candelaria", a chapter in my previous book, "Little Known History The Texas Big Bend". The gun packing lawmen in the next photo on the steps of the Presidio County Courthouse are, left to right, Texas Ranger Joe Sitters, Jack Howard, an unknown person. and Customs agent Luke Dowe. Anyone have an as to who the unknown man is? Finally, on horseback is the "Lion of Chihuahua", Pancho Villa. Gj

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DEAD BANK ROBBER REWARD IS SCORED


Austin, Texas, April 3, 1928 The New York Times. "The entire southwest is watching the more or less single-handed fight which Ranger Captain Frank A. Hamer is waging on the standing reward of $5,000 offered by the Texas Banker's Association for dead bank bandits. Hamer fired his first gun this week when he appeared before a Grand Jury at Rankin, Upton County, and offered testimony supporting his claim that the reward has resulted in the organization of a "murder ring'."

"Several months ago, the Texas Banker's Association offered a reward of $5,000 for dead bandits, and the printed notices in the windows of the member banks specified that not one cent would be paid for live ones. This offer was made in an effort to stem a wave of banditry in which banks had been heavy losers."

“On the day following the announcement, Hamer, senior Ranger captain and the Southwest's most picturesque and most feared peace officer, denounced the reward asserting that it would lead to a 'frame-up' and the slaughter of innocent men."

"Within two weeks, two men were killed at the back door of a bank in Odessa, a west Texas village by four officers late at night. The officers shared a reward of $10,000. Within a few days Hamer charged that a fifth man had 'tipped' the officers and had sent the two men to their death. He pointed out that the men were not equipped for safe-breaking, were palpably amateurs with no criminal records, and he claimed they were duped into going to the bank at the hour of the killing."

"Within a fortnight, three Mexicans were shot down while standing in front of a bank at Stanton, 40 miles from Odessa. Two men, one a deputy sheriff did the shooting. Two of the Mexicans died instantly but a third lived to tell how the two assailants had brought the trio to a point near Stanton in a truck and arranged to meet them in front of the bank, having been promised employment. The two men were arrested and one confessed that they had shot down the tree men in the expectation of collecting a reward of $15,000 from the banker's association. One of these men later broke out of jail and is now at large."

"A few weeks subsequent to this, two more men were shot down at the back of a bank, this time at Rankin, near both Odessa and Stanton as Texas distances go. They were shot by a sheriff and his deputies at night and instantly killed. The officers asserted they had been warned of an attempt to rob the bank."

D. C. Waide
Special Correspondent to The New York Times

Note: Captain Frank Hamer is the famous Texas Ranger who killed Bonnie and Clyde in Louisiana a few years later. The bodies of the dead Odessa "bandits" were displayed to the public in a furniture store window in downtown Odessa. The Upton County Grand Jury returned no indictments, Ector County Sheriff Reeder Webb cashed his reward check and the killings faded into history. Gj




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"I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past."

Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775.

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The extensive and insightful collection of former Texas Attorney General John Ben Shepperd's (1915-1990) personal papers are now available at the University Of Texas Of The Permian Basin in the J. Conrad Dunagan Library Special Collections. Shepperd was a personal friend and political advisor to President Lyndon B. Johnson as well as many other Texas political luminaries of the time. The huge 288-cubit foot collection offers anyone interested in Texas politics a wealth of information. To learn more about this outstanding resource contact Dr. Terry Shults, Head of Technical Services, at the Dunagan Library. Email Terry at shults_t@utpb.edu. Gj




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For an online history of the Circle Dug Ranch see http://www.circledugranch.com/ and click on the history button at the bottom of the page. Gj

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According to Davis Mountains historian Barry Scobee, Comanche Chief Quanah Parker came to Fort Davis in 1894, as the Chief put it, in search of"the gift-of-God cactus to lighten the Red man's burden". Accompaned by Chief Rising Star and several other diginatries from the Indian Territority, Chief Quanah checked into the Hotel Limpia much to the suprise of Miss Finick who worked at the hotel. Scobee described what happened next. "Miss Finck heard a knock at the door and was somewhat startled, upon opening it, to see three heap big Indians standing there in stately silence. Mr. Fox was an Indian Agent accompanying them. He stepped forward and explained that the chief and his two lieutenants were here on a peaceful mission, simply wishing to be accomondated with bed and board while they sought, in the vicinity of Mitre Peak, for a wonderful herb which the Comanche Indians traditions taught, could never be found in any other locality. Peyote was also described as, "the devil's drug and a gift of God to the poor Indian."

Scobee didn't say if the chief found what he was looking for. Gj

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Glenn,
A fellow sent me an e-mail today asking about Ranger Captain John R. Hughes. In particular,"his dealings in Shafter Texas at the turn of the century when the Contreras gang was known to have been stealing massive amounts of silver." I'm familiar with Captain John R. Hughes, but I've never heard of thisepisode. Do you know anything about it? KW

KW,
You will find an account of this in Chapter 5 "Ore Thieves At Shafter" in "Border Boss: Captain John R. Hughes-Texas Ranger" by Jack Martin. Its a rare little book, I have a copy, published by The Naylor Company in 1942. Keep in mind Martin tends to sensationalize Hughes. Like a lot of these old ranger books all glory, no warts. More of a dime novel than a history and no footnotes. Hughes, however, from everything I have seen, seems to be a really straight forward, honest ranger. His reputation is never questioned. Not like a lot of the bloody Big Bend rangers that followed.
Gj

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