The Autobiography Of Benjamin Hardy Carlton, Md, White Co, AR

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Freeport, Texas   Ca 1938

I was born September 2, l861, in White County, Arkansas, near Hog Thief Creek.
My father,  Dr. Francis Marion Carlton, and mother, formerly Miss Mary Williams,
a native of Mississippi, and my two brothers, George and James had moved to
Arkansas a year before my birth.  We lived nine miles from Searcy, Arkansas, in
the beautiful Searcy Valley in the little town of Center Hill.  I can vaguely
remember my grandfather, James Carlton, fondly called Uncle Jimmy by all who
knew him.  He was typical Irishman, short of stature, round red face, and with a
heart of gold.  In early life he lived in Coweta County Georgia where Father was
born and later moved to Mississippi where Grandmother died in the prime of young
womanhood.  My Grandfather Williams also died early in life, and Mother being an
only child, Grandmother Williams made her home with us.  Grandfather Williams
had been tall and stately and as all seven of my brothers and sister and I were
over six feet tall, we must have inherited our height from him.  Father and
Mother being of medium height.


EARLY IMPRESSIONS

It is common knowledge that the older a person becomes the more he can remember
the joys and sorrows that impressed him in childhood days.  A man is once a man
and twice a child, so I shall relate my childhood impressions first and last.

The first near-tragedy happened when I was but three years old while living in
Arkansas. I had followed my older brothers, George and James to a sawmill where
they were accustomed to playing on a large mound of sawdust.  They were busy
playing and soon forgot that little brother was in their care.  Becoming tired,
I decided to go back home but instead went in the wrong direction into the
woods.  I was such a small lad that I was still wearing a dress and sunbonnet,
and the woods being full of brambles, my clothing was torn at every turn.  I
wandered among the huge trees, becoming more frightened and hungry every minute.
My Fairy Godmother must have been lurking near for suddenly there appeared
before me the most luscious blackberries that I had ever seen.  My hunger was
soon appeased and the fact that I had been eating them was very evident from the
stains on my dress and face.  To add to my terror and that which impressed the
incident more vividly on my mind was the approach of storm clouds which made the
woods grow darker and darker.  Finally the storm hit with all its fury, and the
rain came down in torrents.  I was so terribly frightened that in my imagination
every flesh of lightning seemed to strike me, and the thunder was some wild
beast ready to jump at me from around every tree. Finding a large hollow tree, I
crawled back into its darkness as far as I could.  My parents were frantic, and
an alarm was spread throughout the district.  All business was suspended and
search parties were sent in all directions.  My footprints were finally
discovered in the mud that led the searchers to my hiding place in the old
hollow tree.  I was so hysterical that at first sight of my parents I started
running and screaming like some wild frightened animal. I did not have to be
reminded to stay with my brothers again.


MY FIRST CURSE WORD

The most vivid impression of my childhood was in 1865 just before the end of the
Civil War.  Father was a doctor and had been fairly successful and had built us
a comfortable dwelling overlooking beautiful Searcy Valley.  The house was a
story and a half white frame building and consisted of four rooms on the lower
floor and two large bedrooms upstairs.  The house was surrounded by a neat
picket fence and the gate was about one hundred yards from the house.  A deep
wood commenced at the back of the lot and extended for miles.  How proud we were
of our nice home and what happy times we had together.  Father had a large
sorrel horse with a white face of which he was very proud for it was considered
to be one of the best in the country. Della was his means of travel in
ministering to his patients scattered near and far.  How happy and contented we
were, but with the war growing closer and closer each day and the "Cause" the
main topic of conversation, our bubble of happiness was soon shattered.  There
was hardly a home in the countryside that had not sent a son, brother, father,
or lover or a husband into battle for the Confederacy.  I was too small to
realize the meaning of war, but I can remember seeing Father ride away to war on
his favorite mount.  Not all of the soldiers were on horseback for most horses
had been turned over to the Confederacy at the beginning.  Father had been
permitted to keep his, as he needed it in calling on his patients.

I do not remember, but heard my parents tell of the hardships and conflicts our
gallant soldiers went through.  Towards the close of the war, the very old and
the very young men fought shoulder to shoulder.  They seemed to spring up over
night to take the place of the dead and wounded.  They were lucky if by chance
they had a full uniform of gray.  Most likely the coat would be a patched, faded
gray and the trousers a butternut shade of homespun.  Many of them were barefoot
in the dead of winter and were forced to wrap their frozen feet in rags and
sacks, Many a Confederate wore boots taken from dead Yankee soldiers.

Mother and Grandmother were left with us small children, Mother expecting a new
arrival in the near future.  They managed to keep us in warm clothing and the
table supplied with food, though very, very plain.  Confederate money had
dropped alarmingly and the cost of food and clothing had advanced to such
prohibitive prices that only the very rich could afford.  Tea, coffee, soda,
spices and silks were considered a luxury, and as cotton was seventy-two cents a
pound even the cheapest cotton goods had risen until women were mending and
turning their dresses and making them do.  Old looms that had been discarded
were brought back into use, and men, women, and children began to wear homespun.

I can picture Mother and Grandmother as they sat before that huge fireplace
knitting our stockings, mittens and caps with that far away look in their eyes. 
I can remember the day Father returned home from the war, sick and nearly blind
and how Mother cried for joy on his return although he was terribly broken and
sick with fever.  He wore a full beard and it was matted and dirty, his eyes
glassy and bloodshot and his face flushed scarlet.

As Father was a doctor, he served in a medical capacity and had witnessed the
most horrible suffering of the wounded and dying.  As a result, many terrible
stories were related about those "Damn Yankees."  How they would plunder and
burn everything in their path, turning old people, women and children out of
their homes.  I was only four and my parents probably did not realize the
terrible fear they were planting in my small mind.  I clung to Mother's skirts
and was afraid to let her out of my sight.  We had heard that the Yankees were
camped across the creek about two miles away.  I was constantly on the watch,
and never shall forget the horror that came over me as I looked up and saw those
Yankees coming down the lane and through the gate.  I ran screaming, "THOSE DAMN
YANKEES ARE COMING!  THOSE DAMN YANKEES ARE COMING!"

By this time Father was terribly ill and had broken out with smallpox and was
not expected to live.  Mother was powerless in keeping those Blue Coats from
surging into the house.  There were about a dozen dirty, ragged, unshaven, and
hungry men in the group.  Thinking they could find bedding upstairs they tramped
up the stairs and were surprised in finding Father there.  Not knowing he had
smallpox, they all stood around his bed and one of them roughly yanked Father's
pistol from under his pillow.  He had a new pair of boots sitting by the bed and
asked the soldiers to leave them but only lost strength is asking.  Realizing
the soldiers were desperate and would take anything, he pleaded with them with
nearly his last breath to leave him his horse; but this only caused them to roar
with laughter.  They went through every room in the house, taking everything of
value and then made for the smokehouse.  We had no beef but did have plenty of
hog meat, which would have lasted us throughout the winter.  After realizing
that they had all been exposed to smallpox and thinking they might need Father
to doctor them, they consented to leave our house standing, for which we were
thankful.  Tying those big hams and sides across their saddles, the leader
mounted Father's fine horse and finally led the soldiers away, leaving us
paralyzed with fear.  Our only consolation was that they might all take smallpox
and die.

Shortly after the soldiers had gone an old doctor that mother had sent for
arrived and told Mother that the excitement had caused Father's temperature to
rise and couldn't possibly recover.  In those days doctors believed that to give
water to a person with temperature would certainly kill them.  Mother had sent a
colored boy, who we called "Clabber" to the creek for water, and when he
returned he was cold and mumbling. " I done had a turrible time gittin dat watta
ma'm.  De ice is friz hard dis mornin.  God hep us po niggers durin dis cold
wedder if Massa docta dies and goes to hebben."  Father must have heard Clabber
for he motioned for Mother to come to the bed.  She could hear him faintly
whisper, "ice... ice."  Thinking that he was about to die and wishing to grant
him his last request, she gave him a small piece.  After several small pieces he
was able to speak and began to improve rapidly.  It was not long before he was
fully recovered.  From then on he gave his feverish patients all the water they
wanted, never forgetting how near death he was, all for the want of water.


SCHOOL DAYS

My first day of school still remains in my fond recollections.  My brothers and
I had to walk three miles to that little log schoolhouse.  I can picture it yet,
with the schoolmaster, L. E. Sheridan, trying to drill into us the fundamentals
of readin', ritin', and 'rithmatic, and how we would be sitting on those hard
seats made from split logs.  The older boys wishing to initiate me invited me to
play whip-cracker with them.  I was delighted to be asked to play with the older
boys, and, of course, was eager to be included.  They told me that as I didn't
know very much about the game I had better get on the end.  The end was nearly
the end of me.  After landing forty feet away, I was so humiliated that the
incident has always remained in my memory.


COTTON GIN

When I was nine I helped my father in the horse-powered cotton gin, which he
owned.  It was my duty to ride on the little box seat attached to the lever
right behind the mules and to whip them when they went too slow.  Eight mules
were used and about three bales were ginned a day by this method.  I would
become very tired trying to make those mules go faster so one day I decided to
try a different method.  I slipped an old cap and ball pistol out of the house,
loaded it with paper wad instead of a bullet.  When the lead mule got too slow,
I fired the pistol at his rump. Instead of increasing their gate, all eight
mules stopped right on the spot.  The wadding had burned a place on the mule's
rear.  My cousin, who had been tending the gin, rushed down to see what had
happened.  I expected to be bawled out as I explained about my experiment to
cure the mule of his laziness, but Cousin only laughed heartily and warned me
not to do such a thing again.  After this a platform was constructed in the
center on which one boy with a long whip would stand.  It was just as effective
as four boys were, one behind each team were.  My first promotion in life was
from the seat to the platform.  The next step was to carry the cotton upstairs
in a basket and unload it onto a platform.  I was next advanced to one of the
feeders, it being an eighty-saw gin.  The cotton had to be stamped with our
feet, and three fingers on my left hand still carry scars from being cut to the
bone by that old cotton gin, often reminding me of my first position in life and
the day I shot the mule.  In 1872 this gin burned and Father replaced it with a
steam gin, which he operated for two years, until we left Arkansas.


OLD TIME RELIGION

I have very great respect for the Old Time Religion, the belief of being born
again, the days of the mourners bench and shouting for the following reason:
When I was the age of thirteen, I was pointed out as a criterion by all mothers
and fathers in the district in which we lived.  Every year the Baptist church
would have a camp meeting and people would come from miles around to attend
bringing the whole family with them, often going through hardships in getting
there.  Quite a few of the neighbor boys, my brothers and I attended, and when
called upon several of them went to the mourners bench.  Among them, my brothers
George and Jim, and three other boys, the latter being considered the worst boys
in the county.  Considering myself, as all the neighbors did, a perfect boy, I
naturally expected to be the first to be saved.  The first night one of the
worst boys was converted and jumped up shouting praises to the Lord.  In my
conceit, I felt very strange that I had not been first.  After several nights
had passed and all the boys had gone up to be saved, I was left alone.  It came
to me that I was the greatest sinner in the world, that I was absolutely lost
and there was no chance for me.  At that very moment I saw the light and jumped
up shouting that I loved everybody and my sins were forgiven From that day to
this, I have not, or can I ever doubt the meaning of being born again.  The
following true facts I wish to express as a tribute to my mother:

	All the goodness in me was due to my Christian mother.
	She would take us by the hand, me and my older brothers,

	And lead us out into the woods, where we would kneel while she prayed,
	For divine guidance to lead us right, and forgiveness is we had disobeyed.

	That is the most beloved picture in my memory down the years,
	To see my mother kneeling there, her soul shining through her tears.

	Out of nine children, one girl and eight stalwart boys.
	Every one was converted and has experienced Christian joys.

	I only regret that more mothers, today, are not such a spiritual guide,
	Many homes would not be broken but love and peace would abide.*

*The above was put into verse by Lillian Carlton, the wife of Harman Carlton, my
brother John Rufus' son.


BIG BUSINESS

When I was about fourteen years old, I saved up my money until I had the sum of
fifty cents.  I had a lot of boy friends who did not have any money or would
spend it as fast as they got it.  They found out that I had the fifty cents and
all wanted to borrow a dime, so I decided I would loan them a dime for a week at
five cents interest.  The first week I had it all loaned out, and with my
principal and interest I had more to loan the next week.  I only loaned to the
ones I knew would repay me, and many applications were turned down.  This
continued until I had built my fifty cents investment up to the whole sum of
thirteen dollars.  During this time I had been watching out for a better
investment and finally decided on a goose ranch.  Geese were worth fifty cents
apiece and feathers seventy-five cents a pound.  I took my paper and pencil and
figured how many eggs geese would lay, then to be conservative I cut that sum in
half, and when they were ready to set I figured very conservatively and decided
the number of goslings they would hatch and then cut that sum in half.  With all
these deductions I could expect no less than one-half a million dollars in ten
years.  I decided to invest my entire capital in twenty-six geese.  Before I
bought them I consulted a friend, Ben Smith, who lived out of Restless Creek, a
fine place for them to range, and agreed to give him half the profits if he
would take care of the geese.  I told him to keep our venture a profound secret,
because everyone would be going into the goose business.  I sent my geese out to
him and explained how to make nests for them.  Everything was good for about a
week, until Ben came in and told me that the wildcats had caught two of our
geese.  I censured him for his neglect, and we discussed ways and means of
preventing future destruction of our geese.  One week later the wildcats had
killed four more, so I decided right then and there that we would go out of
business.  I sold the remainder of our flock for ten dollars, with a loss of
three dollars.  However, it was a means of preventing much greater losses in the
future, as every time I would think of going into a new adventure, I invariably
thought of my goose ranch and the geese I counted before they hatched.


TEXAS BOUND

We had heard many glowing accounts about the wonderful state of Texas, the fat
cattle, fertile lands and bountiful harvests.  Through a trade for a farm,
supposedly at Grapevine in Tarrant County, Texas, Father lost our home and gin
at Center Hill.  We remained in Arkansas until the winter of 1875 when Father,
together with several of our neighbors decided to journey to Texas, the land of
plenty.  It took weeks to prepare for the long trip, and as we were all filled
with the spirit of adventure, it seemed as if the time would never arrive for
our departure.  Some of the families coming with us were "Rufe" Jones, a cousin,
Laze and Doc Smith and their families, a Miss Murphy, a family by the name of
Rainey and several others.  Father fitted out three covered wagons, which were
filled with our household furniture and provisions.  By this time the family had
increased by five:  Ed, Bob, Tom, a sister Dell, and a new arrival,  John Rufus.
Mother was not able to make the long journey with a small baby, so she, Father
and the smaller children were to come on the train.  Perhaps the proverbial
"slow train through Arkansas."  Father turned the family belongings over to
George, Tite, and me.  I had turned fourteen years old that September.  So in
the month of November, together with our neighbors, we set our sights on a new
horizon, a land of great opportunity.  It took us four weeks to make the
journey, the roads being so rough we could not travel far in one day.  The mules
were slow and the wagons heavily loaded and we encountered many hardships and
delays.  It was necessary to ford several streams where ferryboats were not
available.  There was no danger from Indians by this time, so we were not afraid
to build huge campfires when we made camp at night.  We would all be so tired
that as soon as the evening meal was over we would roll up in our blankets, most
of the men sleeping on the ground, leaving what little space was left in the
wagons to the women and children.

The most trouble we encountered was when we reached Dallas, then a mere village.
That black land was the worse mud we had ever come in contact with.  We had to
get out of the wagons several times and cut the mud from between the spokes of
the wagon wheels with an ax.  Fort Worth was a frontier village, and the first
railroad had reached there just the year before.

We finally wound up in what was then known as Kings Colony in Coryell County.
Father had previously rented a farm through Uncle Louie Smith, who was living
there at the time.  We arrived at our destination on December 22nd, and as we
would not have much of a Christmas we rode four or five miles to Coryell City to
a school Christmas tree.  We spent most of Christmas day running jackrabbits
with our greyhounds.  We had so much fun the day soon passed, and we had not
been too lonely in a strange land on Christmas day.  Within a month, Father and
Mother arrived, and having accumulated the then great sum of five thousand
dollars, Father was determined to give up his practice and become a great
farmer.

	He was determined to give up his practice
	And become a great farmer when he journeyed to Texas.

	But folks had heard of his coming, and he had many calls awaiting,
	So he continued to administer without even debating.

	God must have been with those old doctors of yore,
	For a halo seemed to hover above them as they came through the door.

 	And our fear would seem to disappear in thin air,
	As he sat by the bed in that old rope bottomed chair.*
        *Lillian Carlton

We made a good corn and cotton crop that first year in 1876.  The closest market
was at Waco, twenty-five miles away.  After having harvested the crops, Father
bought a farm of a hundred and eighty acres in Hamilton County.  There was only
a log house on the place, and we moved into it until we could see how we would
prosper in that section.  Fifteen acres had been in cultivation, so we planted
corn there and cultivated twenty more acres, which we planted in cotton.  The
crops were again bountiful so Father decided to build us a home.  It was also a
story and a half white frame building similar to the one we had left in
Arkansas.  After living in a log cabin, it seemed like a mansion to us.  With
Grandmother Williams the family numbered eleven.  As Father increased his land
holdings, I can see him standing on our front gallery, as it was then called,
and probably thinking, "I am King of all I survey."

With good returns from his vast acreage and his medical fees he soon felt the
urge of expansion and soon built a general store and a cotton gin.  Mr. Hugh R.
Armstrong, one of the first pioneers in that section, and Mr. H. L. Johnson had
been operating a store and post office at Honey Creek and decided to move their
business and all united and started a town.  In 1877 the building was moved on
an oxcart, and through Mr. Armstrong's influence the town was named Carlton in
honor of Father.  And so the little town of Carlton, Texas came into being.  (As
of 1938) it is still just a little country town but what fond memories it holds
for so many scattered over many states.  Its homes and churches are kept painted
and in good repair, and the cemetery where those hardy pioneers are at rest is a
credit to any town no matter how large.

Father continued to practice medicine, and his calls carried him for miles and
miles around the countryside.  With the farm, store, gin, and his practice he
was unable to see after it all properly so it was necessary for George, Tite,
and me to assist him in every possible way.  It was Father's idea that to spare
the rod was to spoil the child.  Naturally, boys growing up are most all
inclined to want to stay in bed as long as possible.  Father kept a buggy whip
handy, and we knew well enough that he would use it if we tarried longer than
necessary.  As a result of having to help, my education and that of my older
brothers was sadly neglected.  Up until this time I had gone as far as the third
grade in school.  But even at this age, I had gradually built up the idea that
you can win any goal you want within reason if you want it bad enough.


THE REIGN OF THE HORSE THIEVES

In 1884 there was a gang of horse thieves that were well organized, their
activities extending from Brownwood to Waco.  It had become so bad that the
whole country was stirred up.  They became so bold they would come in open
daylight and steal our horses.  Then they would pass them on from one part of
the gang to another and finally sell them at Waco.  This thievery became so
prevalent the citizens were forced to take matters into their own hands.  Hence
an anti-horse thief association was formed.  Previously, when one of the thieves
was arrested, he would have an "alibiä, as his associates would swear that the
suspect was miles away at the time.  Finally, the sheriff arrested five of the
thieves at one time and put them in the Hamilton jail.  The authorities knew it
was useless to bring them to trial, as they would have their usual alibis.
However, when a vigilante mob began gathering at the jail the sheriff decided
that it would be wise to be somewhere else.  He came to Carlton to spend the
night at our home.  Indeed, the mob did break into the jail as anticipated and
all five thieves were strung up on the same tree.  The remaining horse thieves
realized that the Association meant to have "law and order" at any cost and this
certainly put a stop to the reign of the horse thieves.


SHEEP MEN vs CATTLEMEN

Soon after this there arose quite a rivalry between the sheep men and the
cattlemen.  Politicians even ran on the platform of free range or fencing.  The
sheep men began fencing their land with barbed wire, and the cattlemen insisted
that the country be left an open range.  Fences were cut as soon as they were
built.  There became such a war between the two factions that a law was passed
that it was unlawful to carry pliers in the state of Texas.  That law has not
been changed to this day.

Dr. Miers, who lived about ten miles from Carlton, was one of the first in that
locality to try to raise sheep.  The cattlemen did not wish the sheep to run on
their land where the cattle grazed, and one night about a hundred of his sheep
were killed.  Dr. Miers then decided to fence his land only to have the barbed
wire cut as fast as he could put it up.  He was finally forced to move his sheep
out of that section.  For some time afterwards, the fence cutters continued to
operate, but ultimately things settled down to normal again.  My father was
neutral all the way through, but I always believed that he was in favor of the
open range.


THE WILD WEST

During this period, our section of the country was considered part of the Wild
West, and all kinds of lawlessness existed.  Most small cities and towns were
forced to form Citizen Protective Associations.  Most of the leading citizens of
each town were members of the Association but under the most profound secrecy.
There was a certain blacksmith living a short distance from town who sent in his
application to join the association.  He was voted on and accepted as a member
in good faith.  A few days after being accepted he published a statement, giving
the names of every member.  The next night while at home in bed with his family
he was called to the door and shot down in cold blood, his body riddled with
bullets by some member of the association.  Of course, the list had been
published and the authorities were forced to arrest one hundred-fifty of the
membership.  At the trial not one was found guilty.  This caused so much
excitement that most everyone, especially women and children were afraid to step
out of the house at night.  After the trial the association became divided as to
future operations, which came very near producing a bloody battle between two
factions.  Finally, they decided to meet at a designated spot and fight it out
between themselves.  When they were lined up for battle, several cool heads on
each side saw how useless it was.  Bloodshed would not solve the problem, and
each appointed one member to meet between the line of battle to discuss the
matter.  Better judgment prevailed, and the battle did not occur.  What a
terrible calamity it would have been to our little home-loving community had
friend shot down friend just for the sake of argument.

Father was always neutral, and he was very careful about putting himself in a
compromising position, but I must say that he was always right in his opinions. 
After these stirring times the association was disorganized and law and order
was more nearly normal than it was ever had been.


PROCLAIMED A HERO

In 1876, when I was fifteen years old, my brother James Titus- nicknamed "Tite",
Ben Smith and I, together with one or two other boys had gone out to look for a
cow and calf.  A couple of days previously we had heard rumors of a huge
mountain lion being seen near Hamilton, which was fifteen miles from Carlton.
Rumor had it that the lion had chased two boys up a tree and they were forced to
stay for several hours.  People were very skeptical of such a thing as a lion
being in this territory.

We had our dogs with us as usual and they had been running a rabbit and had
treed it in an old hollow tree.  We cut a limb, split it at the end so we could
reach in the tree and twist the forked end around the rabbit and pull him out.
Our custom was to cut the rabbit up and divide it among the dogs.  We found that
our shepherd dog, Shep was missing and we called him several times and when he
finally came he wasn't interested in eating.  He seemed excited over something
and he turned around and went back the way he had come.  We knew something was
wrong and followed him.  He led us to an isolated thicket and was barking
excitedly and we thought it must be a squirrel up one of the trees.  We advanced
cautiously to where the dog was barking, when suddenly some huge animal rushed
wildly from the thicket and ran up a leaning tree.  He went up into the branches
some ten or twelve feet and let out a terrific roar at the dogs.  We had never
seen a lion, but knew immediately that the rumor was true.  We were all very
scared and excited and having no gun with us, we shouted and screamed at the top
of our voices for about an hour.

We hoped to attract some attention, but no one came to our assistance.  We
finally decided that we would have to go back home and get a gun.  But the
question arose as to who would stay and keep the lion up in the tree.  It seemed
no one wished to stand guard alone, so leaving the dogs we ran all the way back
to town.

No one would believe that we had a large lion treed; we were only laughed at.
The only gun we could get was a double barrel shot gun and only one of the
barrels was in condition to shoot.  When we again reached the thicket, the lion
had climbed to a height of about forty feet and was clinging in a fork of the
branches I was holding the gun and when I was getting close enough to shoot, Ben
Smith said, "Oh please Ben, wait until I get these briars out of my feet so I
can run."  I felt very confident of my ability to kill that lion, despite the
fact there were only two buck shot among the small shot in the load.  Just as I
stepped close enough and had raised the gun to shoot, that lion raised up,
opened his mouth and let out the most terrible roar I had ever heard.  It looked
as if it were about to spring on me.  Thoroughly frightened, I pulled the
trigger and one of the buckshot struck him in the mouth, knocking out one of his
teeth.  It addled him very much and he twisted around for several seconds and
then started down towards the ground.  We were so frightened, it seemed to take
forever to reload the gun.  In the meantime the lion had reached the ground as
was among the dogs.  They immediately began nip the lion's hind legs, which
caused him to fight back.  I finally got the gun reloaded and I shot him in the
head.  He fell as though dead but when the dogs began to nip him he would get up
and start fighting again.  After we had shot him three times, our little
shepherd dog, who was accustomed to catching hogs by the ear and holding them,
ran up and caught the lion by the ear and shook him.  The lion still had enough
strength left to sink his claws into poor little Shep.  We were so excited by
now that we forgot our own danger and went to the rescue of our beloved dog.  We
grabbed limbs and anything we could find and began beating on that fighting,
squirming beast and with the help of the other dogs the lion turned Sheep loose.
It took two more shots to finish him, making six in all.  He was so large,
measuring seven feet, two inches from his nose to the tip of his tail, it was
impossible for us to drag him.  We went home and asked for a pair of mules so as
to drag him into town.  We were again laughed at and we told them to just wait
and see.  When we finally dragged our lion into town it caused a great
excitement and we were all proclaimed heroes.  Naturally it gave us great joy to
see our names in the paper, telling how brave we had been.


RUNNING

A young man from Austin came to visit his sweetheart at Carlton, and when our
gang found out he was coming over to see her we immediately planned to "run"
him.  When he arrived, we told him that he had a rival and that this person had
bragged that he would have a date with her that evening even if the visitor was
to be there only one night.  We told him that we did not think it fair and also
told him of his rivalâs intentions to prevent him from having a date with her.
We explained that we would join him and go over about eight o'clock and help him
remove the wheels from this fellow's buggy and hide the caps in order to prevent
his taking her for a buggy ride.  He readily fell for our plan.  Two of us went
with him to assist him in removing the wheels, while the gang followed close
behind without his knowledge.  As we were removing the last wheel, shots were
fired close to us, and we all ran and soon were separated from him, as was
intended.  He was so frightened that he ran and fell through a barbed wire
fence, ripping his clothing practically off.  He didn't get to see his
sweetheart that night, but wandered around somewhere, we never knew where until
early morning.  We found out that he had walked to Hico, ten miles away.  We
never saw him again and he probably does not know to this day that his rival did
not exist.


BOYS WILL BE BOYS

Unlike today, the boys and girls of my day were forced to invent their own
amusement and usually with the boys in our community it was something
mischievous.  We figured on a scheme of "running" every boy or man that was a
newcomer in our section that we could induce to add to our line of fun.  Most of
them would readily join us in such fun as going out in the watermelon patch, and
the rest would stand by to see that the owner was not in sight.  At the time,
three of us, including the newcomer would be in the act of getting our
watermelon or chickens, the other boys would begin shooting.  Of course, we
would run as fast as we could but would become separated from him on purpose.
After giving him the scare of his life, we would tell him that he was now
initiated into the gang, and if he took it like a sport he was instilled to play
the trick on the next newcomer.

I was away from home for several years attending medical school.  After
graduating in 1888, I returned to Carlton to find that the boys were still
running the newcomers.  At this time a cousin of Jap Adams came to visit and
immediately Jap and brother George planned to run the visitor.  They were grown
men by this time and I did not feel that Jap should run his own cousin so I
decided to turn the tables on them.  I informed the young man of their plans and
with the help of two other boys we hatched a plot:  When the shooting started,
the victim was to fall down as if dead.  I included Father and Dr. Sledge in our
plans and they were to stand by near the Masonic hall.  We had gone about a half
a mile from town when shots rang out and the boy collapsed as planned.  As a
doctor I quickly examined the boy and declared that he had not been shot but was
suffering from a heart attack and was near death.  I told George to quickly find
Father and Dr. Sledge and we would carry the patient to the Masonic hall.  I
told the boys to get some water as quickly as possible.  Six of them ran to the
creek about a hundred yards away and returned with their hats full of water,
which they poured on the patient.  It took a good twenty minutes to carry the
boy back to town.  Father and Dr. Sledge had not yet arrived so I had blankets
brought out of store beneath the lodge.  As the patient's body was "becoming
stiff" I insisted that the boys vigorously rub his hands and feet, which they
did until they were nearly exhausted.  Father and Dr. Sledge finally arrived and
conducted a thorough examination.  With grave expressions on their faces, they
removed themselves to another room for a "consultation."  After what seemed to
be an interminable time, they came back in and solemnly said that there was only
one chance to save him and that was to stand the boy on his head and pour a
bucket of water over him from his feet to his head.  The boys unquestioningly
and promptly did just that, drenching themselves in the process.  Father, Dr.
Sledge, the patient, and I could hold it in no longer.  We all burst into
laughter until our stomachs hurt.  The boys realized that they had been had and
that proved to be the end of the running clan.


AMANDA

With such a large family we each had out duties to perform and it fell my lot to
assist on the farm which I continued to do until I was twenty-one years of age. 
I worked hard without complaining, always waiting and anticipating my twenty-
first birthday when I would be considered a man.  So on September 2nd, 1882, I
considered my duty to my parents well done and started out for myself.  I would
accept any kind of work available, such as building chimneys, digging wells,
cutting and splitting rails, digging post holes, etc.  After about a month and
having acquired the sum of six dollars I had the audacity to propose marriage to
Miss Amanda Kerley, with whom I had been keeping company for some time.  She
lived about four miles from Carlton and was the daughter of Sidney Kerley.  We
had no telephones in those days and it was customary for young men to write
notes to their ladylove asking permission to call at a certain day and time.
Those notes were either sent by mail or by a boy, and the girl usually answered
that it would be a pleasure to accept his company, or reject if her father
forbade her keeping company with that certain youth, which was often the case.

Amanda seemed to have a great confidence in my future and my ability to support
her.  She accepted my proposal and we were united in marriage November 9, 1882. 
Amanda was a beautiful brunette and very likable by all who knew her.  After
paying a dollar-fifty for a marriage license and twenty-five cents for our first
meal we had four dollars and a quarter left from our six dollars to start
housekeeping with.  Father had little two-room rent house which he let us have
rent-free and we went to Hico to buy our supplies and furniture.  On Father's
reputation, the furniture company gave me sixty days in which to pay for what we
had purchased.  Our entire household goods, including groceries amounted to
thirty dollars.  We bought a bed, stove, two chairs, one dish pan one coffee
pot, three plates, cups and saucers, three knives, and forks and spoons and one
half dozen candles for light.  It wasn't much but with love in our hearts and
God as our guide, it seemed like heaven to us.

Amanda wanted to help in every way possible in getting a start.  I would go
among our friends and buy up all the old socks that had the feet worn out and
Amanda would wash them and at night I would help to rip them up and roll the
yarn into balls and then she would re-knit them and we would sell them at a good
profit per pair.  With my new responsibility and a faithful and loving wife who
was so confident of our future, I could not let her down.  I started in earnest
now and everything I did I would make a contract for a whole job instead of by
the hour or day.  One of my first contracts was to fence a hundred and fifty
acres of land with barbed wire, having to dig through mostly solid rock in order
to set the posts.  For this job I was fortunate to clear seventy-five dollars
after paying my help.  How proud we were to be able to pay all our debts and
still have money left.  My next contract was to furnish rail for a small tract
of land, which was to be built with rail fencing.  For this I received three
dollars per hundred feet for cutting and delivering the rails.  It was about
four miles to the timber where we cut and split the rails.  Doc Kerley, my
brother-in-law and I would leave home at daybreak and would cut, split, and
deliver fifty rails by noon and fifty more by the end of the day.  Other
contracts were cutting and raking hay which we delivered at Alexander, a little
town ten miles away and which amounted to a ton a day.  We would work until
eleven o'clock at night and start again at daylight.  Under this contract I made
about seventy-five dollars.  With this, I purchased a yoke of oxen and a sulkie
plow and contracted to plow one hundred acres of land, for which I received
three dollars an acre and after completing the job I cleared one hundred
dollars.  With my earnings I bought one half interest in a blacksmith shop, but
the profit was so small for such hard work that I sold it at the first
opportunity.

About a year after we married, a son was born to us who we named Marion, after
my father. Two years later, March 15, 1889, another son, Sidney Columbus was
added to the family.


INTO BUSINESS

My next adventure was a half interest in a drug store, which was called the
Turner Drug Store, my partner being J. C. Turner.  Owing to the confinement and
my adventurous nature, I soon sold my interest in that enterprise also.

After selling my interest in the drug store, I began buying yearling cattle and
two-year-olds on contract for which I received a nice profit.  Mr. H. R.
Armstrong gave me a contract to buy twenty young heifers for which he would give
me twenty dollars apiece.  I would go to Mr. Eaves, a cattleman, and bought the
heifers for eighteen dollars, then deliver them to Mr. Armstrong that afternoon.
I cleared forty dollars that day.

About this time, my father being the only doctor in the area had given credit to
all those who needed it.  As a result, his general mercantile business failed.
He was a conscientious man and could not refuse anyone, rich or poor, medical
services or goods from the store.  People took advantage of his generosity to
the point that he finally had to close the store.  Lessing & Solomon of Houston
and Mr. Rosenthall of Waco were his main creditors.  My sister Dell's husband,
Mr. Henry Henricks, had been a drummer for the firm.  That April, he made
arrangements by which my brother George and I bought the entire stock of
merchandise for five hundred dollars.  By fall we had paid off the debt in full.

Through some creative manipulation of our assets, Mr. Henricks was able to
obtain a fifteen hundred-dollar line of credit for our venture.  He and George
went to Waco and spent the whole amount on merchandise.  I was very
uncomfortable with the misrepresentations of our financial situation but never
the less went along with it.

We opened the new store with a policy that we would not extend credit to anyone
without their putting up some sort of collateral, even if it meant a mortgage on
their crops.  When we needed more goods we would send our creditors a list of
the mortgages we held and sent very little cash with the order.  The result was
that in October we owed over seven thousand dollars to our creditors, Lessing &
Solomon and Rosenthall.  Sales were good that fall and by the middle of November
we paid every cent we owed them.  Then they gave us credit to the amount of ten
thousand dollars for the coming year.  We would issue a book for the amount each
customer figured he would need for the next year and charge them ten percent
interest on that.

About this time I had made two thousand dollars out of my share of the profits
so I decided to sell my half of the business to Jap Adams, brother-in-law to
George.  Their lines of credit ultimately reached three hundred thousand
dollars.  They opened stores in the succeeding years at Hamilton, Hico,
Stephenville, Iredell, Gatesville, and Walnut Springs.  My brothers, Tom, Bob,
and John Rufus joined in the business, which was named G.M. Carlton Brothers &
Company.  Tom was located at the Gatesville store, R.N. (Bob) in Stephenville,
and Rufe in Walnut Springs.


ADVENTURE IN THE UNDER-WORLD

My good friend, C.C.Johnson, decided that I should get a taste of the big city
so I might see how another part of the world lived.  We went to Fort Worth where
he wanted to go to a show, which cost us a quarter each.  After we got the
tickets we went into the lobby and each bought a ten-cent beer.  Then he
suggested that we could see the show better if we went upstairs.  I found that
up there they had small boxes with only room for two people.  C.C. left me in
one of the rooms while he went down to get another beer.  He was no sooner gone
when a beautiful young girl came in and took the seat next to me.  Not knowing
what in the world was going on, I moved away against the wall as far as I could,
but she slid even closer to me.  "Honey, won't you buy me a bottle of beer?ä she
asked.  I stammered and stuttered and finally said yes.  When the porter arrived
with the beer he said, "That'll be two dollars".  I told him I certainly wasn't
going to give him two dollars as I knew the price was only ten cents.  He told
me to pay up or he would call the police.  I said for him to go right ahead and
call them for I wasn't about to pay that price.  He did!  The officer asked me
if I owed the establishment two dollars.  "I certainly do not", I exclaimed.  "I
ordered a beer and I know it costs ten cents".  "And what does that sign right
there on the wall say?ä he asked.  "Beer... two dollars", I stammered.  I was
mad at the policeman.  I was mad at the girl.  I was mad at the waiter.  And I
was mad at myself for being so green as to be put in this predicament.  I had
only ninety cents to my name so I told them that it was that or nothing.  They
accepted that and then threw me out of the theater.  What angered me even more
was that C.C. laughed and laughed about how he had set me up.  As we were both
out of money, we were forced to sleep in the railroad station that night, as the
train didn't leave until early morning.


DENTISTRY

After my experience with the drug store and blacksmith shop, I decided to try my
hand at dentistry.  There was an old doctor by the name of McQuary who was a
dentist and wanted to quit his practice and sell his instruments.  He said that
if I agreed to purchase his equipment he would in turn teach me how to practice
dentistry.  After taking a few lessons in filling and extracting teeth, I felt I
could do it so I bought his equipment, which consisted of forceps and hand drill
for thirty-five dollars.  I still believed that if a person wanted to do
anything badly enough he could succeed.

I shall never forget my first case.   It was the extraction of a Negro girl's
eyetooth.  I took hold of that tooth and pulled with one hand with all the force
I had and she was screaming at the top of her voice.  When I used both hands, I
pulled her out of the chair and dragged her half way across the room before that
tooth gave way and came out.  I consulted Dr. McQuary about it and he told me
that I should have twisted the tooth a little before pulling on it straight.
After this experience I had no further difficulty in extracting teeth.

Then, I commenced the art of filling teeth.  In filling teeth, I would take my
hand drill and would drill away until the patient cried out in pain.  Then I
would fill the hole with cement, which was very easy to do.  To my surprise,
when I later examined teeth I had filled ten years previously they were still in
good condition.  Soon after this I took up the study of medicine.


MY GOAL IS SET

I had been studying medicine on the side and again my old belief held sway:
that if a person wanted anything within reason bad enough, he only had to set
his goal and work to that end.  I decided that I would have a medical diploma
before I quit.  My father, having such hardships in his profession objected to
my continuing, but after realizing my determination and perhaps a little
pleased, gave me all the assistance possible.  In the meantime another son
Oliver had been born to us and I decided to take my family with me wherever I
studied.  Hearing glowing accounts from my wife's uncle about the Portland
Medical School in Oregon, we decided to go.

We had several unusual experiences on our trip to Oregon.  We started our
journey in June and the small children and not been accustomed to wearing shoes
in warm weather.  When we arrived in San Francisco it was quite cold, it being
an exceptionally cold month there, and we immediately had to purchase shoes for
the children.  As I was leading the boys to the shoe store I was humiliated to
hear people whispering, "poor little fellows" upon seeing their bare feet.

From San Francisco we were to take a steamer to Yaquina Bay near Toledo, Oregon.
Just before boarding ship, a man with a cap resembling an officer's and another
man rushed up and told me that this man's family was on the ship but since the
bank was closed they couldn't get the twenty-three dollars to pay their fare.
He had this gold watch which I could hold as security if I would loan them the
money until we reached Oregon.  Not having any change I let him have twenty-five
dollars.  Feeling sorry for this man's family and my feeling good about my
ability to help someone in distress, I felt certain of being repaid.  In the
hurry and confusion of boarding the steamer, it was some time before I was able
to examine this "gold" watch closely.  Fool's gold was more like it.  Of course,
I never laid eyes on the man again.

Shortly after leaving port dinner was served.  But it didn't do me much good for
I was sick enough to die and only wished I could.  The trip was to take forty-
eight hours, but we ran into the worse storm that had been in that area for some
time.  We were all sick except for my mother-in-law, Mrs. Kerley and the baby.
Most of the room attendants were sick so I decided to try to make it to the
dining room to eat a little something.  Soup, I thought, would do the trick.
Just as the soup was placed before me, the ship gave a roll.  The soup sloshed
out and so did my stomach.  I raced back to my room and got there just in time. 
Due to the storm we arrived at Yaquinta Bay thirty-six hours late.

We disembarked in the early morning and arrived at Oakland that afternoon.  We
spent the night with my wife's uncle, Bill Kerley.  From the glowing tales he
told us of Oregon we just knew we had reached paradise.  The following day he
took me to see a little farm a mile from town.  It was a beautiful place with a
wonderful orchard and was for sale for three hundred dollars.  That orchard with
more fruit than I had ever seen was something I had to have so I bought it,
losing sight of the fact that everyone else had more fruit than they knew what
to do with.

Shortly after getting settled in our new home a rather elderly woman with a
lunch basket came to the door and asked Amanda if she could come in to eat her
lunch and have a drink of water.  I came home just as she was about to finish
her lunch and was immediately struck by a terrible odor.  I told Amanda to get
that woman out of the house, as she was absolutely rotten.  We later discovered
that her lunch contained limburger cheese with which we were thoroughly
unacquainted.

We lived four miles from the Portland Cement plant and I made a contract with
them to haul cement from their mine to the factory.  I purchased a wagon and
team and was to haul two loads a day for four dollars.  The boss could see my
desire to make money and warned me not to work too fast.  Four dollars a day
seemed like a fortune to me and I tried to make all I could so I could go on to
school.  You could buy venison ham for twenty-five cents.  Deer was very
plentiful and we had every kind of fruit imaginable on our own place, so we were
all well and happy and thought we were settled for sometime.

When it neared the time for medical school to begin a new term I determined that
I could go back to Texas and from there to Nashville, Tennessee for less than I
could attend the medical school in Portland.  We sold our little place for the
exact amount we paid for it and I was still ahead after the trip back to Texas
and on to Nashville.  I always thought I would return there as soon as I was
through with school.  My wife and children remained in Carlton during the time I
was at Nashville.


OBSTACLES

Just a few words as to my difficulties in the study of medicine.  The first
obstacle was that in studying anatomy.  I would have to consult the dictionary
frequently.  I soon found that it was absolutely necessary for me to have a
skeleton.  Not having the money necessary to purchase one, I followed a course
some students resorted to in obtaining theirs.  That was to rob a grave.  A
friend of mine told me where there was a lone grave, which had been there for
many years.  So, two friends of mine and I went to the designated place but we
couldn't find the spot.  At the suggestion of one of the men we went to a
cemetery and commenced digging...

The study of anatomy could be particularly gruesome.  We would start at nine
o'clock in the evening and work until midnight.  Two students dissected while
the rest looked on and consulted their anatomy books.  The first night was
terrible but by the third night those of us who were not dissecting at the time
would watch and eat peanuts and candy.  There was one subject we had who had
frozen to death on the streets.  As there was no way of identification he was
brought to the dissecting room. He was a perfect thirty-five year old specimen.

As the method of procuring bodies for examination was not always perfectly
legal, the police were in the habit of raiding the dissecting room.  Usually the
first thing we did was to remove the top of the subject's head and the skin on
his face so no one could identify him.  Sometimes, when warned by friends of a
possible raid we would put the body up in the attic through a trap door.

At one time when subjects became very scarce and it was essential to have a
fresh body, the faculty Dean, Duncan Eaves, learned of a woman with no relatives
who had just died.  He had made arrangements with the sexton to bury her in a
shallow grave.  Later, he and two students went and recovered the body.  Knowing
that they would have to drive the carriage right down Nashville's main street
they placed the woman on the seat.  One of the students covered her face with a
veil, put his arm around her and they proceeded on to the college.  We finally
had a fresh subject in the dissecting room.

The regular medical course was two years and I graduated on February 22, 1888.
Through hard work and with the determination that you can do anything you set
your mind to, helped me through in record time.


MY FIRST MATERNITY CASE

Shortly after graduation from medical school a family of poor people had tried
to procure the services of every physician in the area and after failing they
sent for me.  Oh, how delighted I was to receive a call, whether they had money
or not.  When I arrived, the poor woman was in the last stages of labor.  I
washed my hands a quickly as possible as she was suffering so very much.  As I
began the examination her water broke and it almost scared me to death.  I did
not know what I had done.  The baby was born right away and all the family felt
so grateful to me and was sure that I had saved her life.  Word quickly spread
that I was a wonderful obstetrician.  Had they known how unsure of myself I was
they would not have considered me as such.  However, through this case, my
obstetrical cases rapidly increased.

Soon after this I began using chloroform, which greatly relieved the pain of
childbirth.  As no hospitals were available, all of these babies were born in
homes.  I have been fortunate in that I have had over two thousand maternity
cases without losing a mother.  I have had difficult presentations such as
"breech" births and PROM and a few cases of puerperal convulsions.  I do not
mean to throw bouquets at myself, but by God's help I was very fortunate in not
having problems I could not overcome.

My first case of puerperal convulsions was very alarming.  In spite of its being
contra-indicated, I gave the patient a half-grain of morphine by injection.  I
kept her under the influence of the morphine until the convulsions had ceased
entirely.  Much later in life, after having five cases that recovered with this
treatment I gave at report at a medical association meeting in Angleton, Texas. 
All of the doctors disagreed with my methods arguing that the kidney was
responsible for the convulsions and that morphine was contra-indicated.  I told
them that scientifically they were correct but that the morphine injections had
saved my patient's lives.  It was not long until the medical profession adopted
the use of morphine in treating puerperal convulsions and is still in use today.

Among many standard procedures in use by doctors was the practice of using an
antiseptic douche to prevent septicemia after childbirth.  I never did adopt
this procedure.  I felt that if the woman were kept clean externally, then
nature would take care of any internal septic trouble.  Some of my associates
who used the douches had several cases of septicemia and even deaths.  My main
method of sterilization was plenty of boiled water and carbolic acid.  I never
lost a patient to septicemia.


MY FIRST INQUEST

My first inquest was for a supposedly wealthy man.  After searching for his body
for several days, he was found hanging from a tree about eight or ten miles up
the Leon River, not too far from Carlton.  His horse had been unsaddled and
turned loose. My official report stated that after careful investigation I
determined that his death was the result of foul play.  The crime had been
committed for the victim's money and that he was on his horse when the rope was
put around his neck and then the horse driven out from under him.


TIME TO MOVE

I practiced in Carlton for about six months and then in Lanham for about six
months, but I soon saw that I couldn't make a living for my family there and
started out to find a new location.  In 1888, C.C. Johnson and I got a covered
wagon and horses and struck out for West Texas.  Arriving at San Angelo we
learned of a new county being organized named Coke County.  The new courthouse
was being built at Hayrick and there were only a few people there at the time.
As there was no physician in the area I stopped, put out my shingle, and sent
C.C. and my brother, Rufus along with two wagons back after my family.

I was immediately appointed County Physician by the county judge.  Also to the
Schools Examiners Board.  This board consisted of a schoolteacher, one other
person, and myself.  It was our purpose to ascertain a person's ability to teach
school.  We would make out a long list of questions and the person applying
would have to be able to answer two-thirds of the questions correctly.  After
this exam we would have to look up the answers to the questions ourselves to be
sure that we graded the papers right.  I felt a little uncomfortable holding
this position as I had only a third grade education prior to medical school.
Even so, my associate on the board who

was a teacher knew very little more than I did.  Soon many framers began moving
into the county.  My practice continued to increase until I was covering four
counties.  My mode of transportation was on horseback and with a two-wheeled
gig.


TICK-TACKING

Tick-tacking was a great source of amusement for a small group of fellows in
Robert Lee.  The procedure involved going out late at night and attaching a long
string to the side of a house by inserting a nail underneath the siding.  Then
hiding in the bushes, they would rub rosin over the taught line producing a
sawing, and other strange sounds within the house.  Plucking the string with a
finger sounded like a hammer hitting the house.  Soon after I arrived in town I
was inducted into the club.

I remember one night in 1889 when we decided to tick-tack a Baptist preacher by
the name of Baker who lived near town.  The house was dark when we arrived about
eleven o'clock and attached the string.  It took only a few rubs and plucks
before we saw a candle being lit in the bedroom.  We heard them discussing what
it might be.  After a while they went back to bed and we resumed the activity.
"Do you believe in spirits?ä Mrs. Baker asked her husband.  "Yes", he replied,
"But a spirit couldn't make a sound like that".  We waited a while and then
started up again louder than ever.  We could tell they were becoming frightened
as they began praying aloud, so we decided that we had carried our joke far
enough.  Brother Baker was reluctant to come to the door, but when he did we
explained what it was all about.  He took it in such a grand manner that he
became a very proficient member of the organization.

Fortunately for Brother Baker, he was not along with us when we went to tick-
tack the brother-in-law of one of our members.  Not long after we began making
the noises the fellow discovered the string.  "I know what's going on!ä he
shouted.  "I've got my Winchester and if you don't stop. I'll shoot!"  He took
aim in the direction of the end of the string and fired, killing his brother-in-
law.  That was the end of our tick-tacking.


MEDICINE IN ROBERT LEE

One of my hardest trips was about twenty miles to see a sheep man's child who
was very ill with pneumonia.  I found them living in a dugout and I treated the
child the best I could.  I told the father that I would go home and return the
next day.  I did not expect to be paid as I assumed them to be very poor, but I
was very surprised when he handed me a twenty-dollar gold piece.  As soon as I
returned home a blizzard came up but as I had promised to go back the next
morning, I did.  I found the child doing much better and the father was so happy
that he gave me another gold piece.  On my way back home the blizzard increased
and having a mustache at the time, icicles were hanging on each side.  I
suffered from the cold but about halfway back home I began to feel warm and
comfortable.

The most difficult time of my practice was in 1891 when an epidemic of "La
grupe" (grippe) broke out.  For three weeks I had no sleep except while on my
horse returning home from seeing patients.  Eventually, I took the grippe myself
and had to take to the bed.  I was coughing with every breath and had a
temperature of 103 degrees.  My recovery was cut short by emergencies that took
me through two counties and totaled over a hundred miles before I was able to
return home.

That same year we had an epidemic we called, "slow fever" and I could not
determine the cause.  It worried me so I went back to Nashville to take post-
graduate courses.  They had an outbreak of the fever in Nashville while I was
there and they found that the illness was a mild form of typhoid fever.  I did
not finish the course work for the reason that my partner, Dr. Toliver, wired me
to come home at once, as he could not take proper care of so many patients who
were ill. Upon my return I found many calls awaiting me by those who Dr. Toliver
was not able to see.

One of my young colleagues who had recently graduated was very methodical as he
kept a record of what he gave to each patient and the result there from.  He had
a case of pneumonia for which he had prescribed a strict diet and at the crisis
the patient became very hungry.  He ate quite a bit of fresh ham and when the
doctor returned they told him that he was feeling better.  He advised them he
would be dead in two or three hours, as he couldn't do anything for him.  The
next morning the family sent for the doctor saying that the patient was very
much better.  The doctor examined him and indeed, there was no fever, good heart
action, etc.  Then he took out his record book and wrote that ham is good for
pneumonia.  Soon after, he had another pneumonia case and instructed the family
to feed him all the fresh ham he could eat.  When the doctor came to check on
his patient the next morning the house was surrounded with horses and buggies
and a great many people.  He learned that the man had died.  The doctor took out
his record book and marked down, "Ham is not always good for pneumonia".

Early in his practice, this same doctor worked with an older physician in order
to gain experience.  One day they went to call on a patient who was suffering
from ptomaine poisoning.  The old doctor told him he had contracted the disease
from eating raw oysters.  After leaving, the young doctor asked how he knew the
man had been eating oysters.  "Why, didn't you see the oyster shells under the
bed?" he admonished.  "You must observe everything when you go into a patient's
house".  Soon after a visit to a new patient the young doctor reported that the
man had been eating a horse.  "What are you talking about?  Eating a horse", the
old doctor asked.  "Why", responded the young doctor, "It was perfectly plain as
there was a saddle and bridle under the bed".

A short time later, the county seat was moved from Hayrick to Robert Lee on the
Colorado River.  On April 19, 1891, I lost my good and faithful wife, Amanda, to
measles and heart trouble.  I was left with three small children who were in the
care of their grandmother, Mrs. Kerley, who was a real mother to them for two
years.  The cause of my leaving that part of the state was the death of my wife
and the terrible blizzards through which I had to go.



GULF COAST BOUND

Velasco, Texas at the mouth of the Brazos River, which empties into the Gulf of
Mexico, was at that time a great boomtown so I decided I would like a city
practice.  Leaving Robert Lee for Velasco were my friend, C.C. Johnson and his
wife, his sister Lena Johnson, Grandmother Kerley and my three children.  We
arrived at Anchor Junction one evening and stayed overnight in order to catch a
train to Columbia the next morning.  As there was not railroad to Velasco at
that time, we took a boat down river.

Upon arriving there must have been at least a thousand people lined up from the
wharf to the main street, leaving only a small place through which the boat
passengers could pass.

To my dismay, I found that there were seventeen doctors practicing in the area.
I spoke with each one and they all told me that they were doing well and planed
to stay.  Not sure that there were enough people to support another doctor I
felt my stay in Velasco might be short.  As fate would have it, eventually I
became the only doctor in Velasco.

During the panic of 1893 (Grover Cleveland was President), the Bank of New
England failed.  The Brazos Land and Development Company, which had borrowed
heavily from the bank, went into receivership bringing most of Velasco's
development to an end.  The area's population rapidly decreased leaving me the
only doctor in town.

In April of 1892 I was united in marriage to Miss Lena Leota Johnson.  On
account of my financial condition our honeymoon was a trip to Galveston.  In the
excitement of changing trains at Anchor I accidentally picked up a grip which I
thought was my wife's but upon reaching the hotel in Galveston, we discovered
that it was not hers so he had no extra clothing.  I immediately wired the agent
in Anchor telling him of our mistake.  He said that it had already been
discovered and to send it back and he would send my wife's bag on the next
train.  After our limited honeymoon we returned home and started housekeeping.
Mrs. Kerley remained with the children until we were prepared to take care of
them.

On March 6, 1893, Lena gave birth to our daughter, Myrtle.  Two years later,
another daughter, Doris was born on June 28, 1895.

Finding out that the Quarantine Officer at Velasco received three hundred
dollars a month for doing very little, I decided that was a job I wanted.
However, I had to wait five or six years for the appointment from Governor
Colquit.  I held the position for, I think, about ten years.  Unfortunately, the
salary had been reduced to a hundred and fifty dollars by the time I got the
position.  I lost the job when Ferguson came into office.  I had voted for a
personal friend, Tom Bawl who was a prohibitionist and I was a strong "anti".
When my wife was in the hospital I met Tom on the street and he said to me,
"Doctor, I know how expensive these things are and if anytime you need financial
help, you know where to come".  Of course, I never forgot that friendly gesture
and so I voted for him.

My duties a Quarantine Officer consisted of meeting all incoming ships and
examining them.  On foreign vessels I personally had to board and examine the
crew.  The State allowed me two boatmen and they would board the coastwise
vessels and report to me only if everything wasn't okay.  Naturally, I was
delighted when a foreign ship came in as my boatmen would invariably get a case
of gin from the captain at a cost of twenty-five cents a bottle. My boatmen were
Albert Cobeney and Louis Lock (spellings are questionable).


BADGER FIGHTS

Badger fights originated out in west Texas when we would have a bulldog and
presumably a badger.  We would advertise a fight between the two.  The big event
would take place in a large room or sometimes on the prairie.  We would work up
a great deal of excitement.  Many of the naive spectators who did not know the
secret of the game would bet on the bulldog and some on the badger.  Three
judges were appointed to decide on the outcome.  The badger with a long chain
attached would be in a large box and the chain would rattle intermittently and
indicate that the badger was primed to fight.  The bulldog would hear the chain
rattle and get very anxious, ready to attack whatever might be in the box.  One
judge held the dog; the second judge held the badger's chain; the third judge
had the starting flag.    Sometimes we had a ventriloquist who could throw his
voice to make vicious "badger sounds" to appear to come from the box.  Tension
mounted as the last bets were placed.  Finally the flag dropped, and out of the
box came...  an old time Thunder mug.  Yells of "fraud" came from those who had
been taken and the judges announced that all bets were off.

In Velasco's boom days when hundreds of Northerners came to the area we
frequently took the opportunity to stage badger fights.  Though we always
returned the money to those we had duped, some unscrupulous hucksters in other
parts of the state were not so honest.  Northern newspapers began publishing
warnings about the crooked badger games in the South.


THE BRYANS AND THEIR COOK, LISA

During Velasco's boom days I had a maternity case- a Mrs. L.R. Bryan.  Mr. Bryan
was a lawyer and a friend in Houston sent him a quart of very fine whiskey in
celebration of his wife's expected event.  At that time everyone thought it was
essential to have some whiskey to help ease the pain of confinement.  It was on
a Saturday afternoon that he received the gift and that night he and Mrs. Bryan
went to Quintana to spend the night with Col. Guy M. Bryan.  When they returned
home the next day, Aunt Lisa, their old family cook, was sitting in a rocking
chair, rocking back and forth with all her might and seemed to be very happy.
Mr. Bryan said, "Lisa, you are drunk".  But Lisa continued her rocking, giggling
to herself.  Mrs. Bryan went to the cupboard and saw that there was only about
an inch of that fine whiskey left.  No amount of prodding could get Lisa to
admit to anything.  All she would say was, "Mrs. Bryan, I ain't saying a word."

For years I teased Aunt Lisa about her getting drunk that day.  She would laugh
a hearty laugh and confide only to me, "Doctor, that was sure good whiskey".


HURRICANE!

The year was 1900.  On September 5th, the wind was blowing from the north and
the water was rising.  I consulted the old settlers of Quintanna, asking them if
it wasn't a storm coming.  They said no, it was impossible to have a storm with
the wind coming from the north.  Well, I wondered what was going to happen.  The
wind was getting stronger and stronger and the tide was inundating the lower
part of the town.  If it continues like that, what are you going to call it?

At that time we had two homes, one in Quintana and another in Velasco.  On
September 6th, I went to Velasco to attend the Masonic Lodge, taking with me my
wife and my two small daughters, Doris and Myrtle.  I left the two boys, Marion
and Columbus at Quintana.  After the close of the meeting I took a sick headache
which I had periodically for a number of years.  We decided to stay overnight
with my brother-in-law, C.C. Johnson.

The next morning the wind was stronger than ever and I attempted to go back to
Quintana.  Reaching about half the distance I discovered that the water was all
over the prairie and floating logs made it impossible to go on.  By the time I
got back to Velasco the river had become so rough that the ferryboat could not
operate.  There were two government boats anchored in the river so I asked the
officers if they couldn't go down to Quintana and reach my sons and the other
folks that were there.  They said they would take great pleasure in doing
anything for me they could and immediately began to get steam up.  I sent word
to Lena that if the storm increased, not to attempt to go to the Velasco hotel
as I considered it unsafe, but just to remain in our home.

Upon arriving at Quintana they attempted to anchor the steamboat just opposite
the lighthouse.  They threw ropes over the piling and it snapped like a pipe
stem.  The boat was drifting rapidly out towards the gulf.  The captain turned
into the wind and put on all the steam they had.  Throwing out the anchors they
finally brought the boat to a standstill.  The captain ordered his men to get me
ashore in a lifeboat.  Arriving on shore I found that everything in the lower
part of town was under water.  I met my son, Columbus telling him to stay in a
certain house nearby.  I had my boatman take the quarantine boat and help to
remove his family, including a baby just several days old.  When we got there,
water was up to the door.  After getting them into the boat we proceeded to try
and reach higher ground.  We hadn't gotten far when the boat swamped.  I was
holding the little baby and trying to walk with the wind in waist deep water.
Every thirty or forty feet the wind would blow me down... the baby being
completely immersed each time.  I finally reached Captain Bowers house
completely exhausted, but I still had the baby. I expected that the baby had not
survived the ordeal but when I unwrapped it, it was sound asleep

The mother and father with several others were fortunate to reach higher ground.
In the excitement they lost one little boy but later found him clinging to the
branches of a salt cedar unharmed.  At this time most of the houses were being
blown away and Captain Bowers' house was a two story one.  Near his house was a
one-story house that was supposed to be storm proof that was built by a
syndicate during the construction of the jetties.  Thinking that the Bowers
house would soon collapse, we made several attempts to reach the other house.
When we were about to make a dash for it we looked out and the house was gone.
We went back upstairs and shortly afterwards a two by four was blown through the
double walls, through a double partition, and into the piano.

Soon after, a lull came and there was not a breath of air.  I tried to reach the
baby's mother and father to tell them that the baby was safe.  On the way the
water was up to my chin.  They were very happy to learn that their baby was
safe.  The lull lasted for about fifteen minutes, and then the wind came back
from the south at the same velocity that it had been coming from the north.
Amazingly, my watch, which had been immersed in the water several times, was
still running. It and the clock on the wall both said 8:10 PM.  We had all gone
through so much, it felt like it should be about twelve o'clock.  There I was
and I did not know if any of my family was living or not.

The next morning about eight o'clock I found my two sons  and could not hear
anything from Velasco except that the hotel and everything was blown down.
After a great effort I found a man with a skiff who would take me the five miles
to Velasco for five dollars.  The waves were still high and it was a very
dangerous trip but we finally got there.  I met a friend at the railroad station
which was also gone and he told me that my wife and two girls were safe.

Up until this time it had all seemed like a dream but when I saw them I cried
like a baby.  Myrtle had received some bad cuts and bruises but they were not
severe.  Their experience during the storm was fearful.  Afraid that our house
was about to come down they decided to get out.  Lena held onto Doris but Myrtle
was separated from them.  A large skiff that was built but had not yet been
launched was sitting on the ground, half full of water.  They made it to this
boat and took refuge there for a short time.  My wife started to move on to a
better place when Doris said, "Mommy, let's wait.  I want to play with these
little frogs a little longer."  They finally made it to the bank where they
discovered that a friend had found Myrtle hiding in a piano crate and brought
her there. They, with several others, went into the bank vault for protection.
That was the only brick building in town that was not destroyed.  Our own house
was not severely damaged and if Lena and the two girls had stayed they would
have saved themselves a terrible experience.

Eight were killed in the hotel, among them a Catholic priest.  Probably eight
thousand died at Galveston.


MY BROTHER "RUFE"
Dec. 10, 1875 - Dec. 7, 1956

My brother, John Rufus Creight Carlton, believe it or not, could perform some
apparent miracles.  For instance, he could be blindfolded and have one of the
boys take a knife or other object and hide it.  He would take hold of his head
and seemed to be in a very nervous state and would follow the same route that
the boy had gone until he would arrive at the place this article was hidden.
Now, I think I can understand this maneuver.  The boy was somehow cued by him to
lead him around the same route he had taken in hiding the object.

But one thing I cannot understand: He was in the drug business and filled
prescriptions.  He would take a prescription while blindfolded, select the
different ingredients called for, measure them accurately, and fill the
prescription.  He said he couldn't explain how he did it but he did and that is
one on me.

Rufe married Denie Ann Armstrong (4/1/76 - 8/14/60) and they had a son, Harman
Hugh.


MY BROTHER ED
Sept. 1, 1866 - Dec. 29, 1918

Brother Ed was of a romantic nature; he first started out as a horse trainer.
He had two boys, Aeolus, "A. A. or Buster" as we sometimes called him, and Elgan
Henry.  He would go to different towns and advertise for any wild horse that
couldn't be ridden.  They would bring him several horses.  He would take one
into a pen and would train it until he would come up to my brother when he held
out his hand.  Afterwards he would take him outside into the corral and put one
of his little boys on his back.  He would then crawl between the horse's
forelegs and hind legs without any danger.

He took up veterinary medicine and was very interested in all of his horses.  He
was on the road for a few years and at each place he would put on a wonderful
show.  He would have the ringmaster call two volunteers from the crowd and have
them tie him in a chair as secure as possible and then place a canvas over him.
In one minute he was free.  He explained to me all those tricks.  I couldn't
understand but he said they were simple as A B C, that he held the two ends of
the rope in his hands and could immediately untie every knot that they had tied!

One of his other tricks was that in the middle of the tent he would put one of
his boys in a box and have them pour a quart of kerosene oil over the box and
set it on fire.  As women and children screamed the boy would pop up on stage
and say, "How do you do, ladies and gentlemen".  I asked him how that trick was
done and he said, "Perfectly simple".  When he staked his tent, no one was
allowed to see what he was doing.  He would take the sod off the top of the
ground, cut it our carefully and fit it back so you could not see it had been
disturbed.  Under this he had dug a tunnel to the stage.  To the audience it
seemed to be a miracle, but as stated, it was very simple.

He had two well-trained little mules that he took on tour.  One of his tricks
was to go up to a mule and ask him the age of a certain man or woman he had
picked out.  The mule would then bow his head the correct number of times.  Ed
confided tome that he would have an arm over the mule's neck with a pin in his
hand and he would stick him a little and the mule would nod his head.  Ask it
how they got oil in west Texas and he would go round and round with his front
feet together as if drilling a well.

The little mule would fall down as though with colic and would seem to be in
terrible pain.  Then he would give him a dose of "medicine" and the mule would
jump up and be all right immediately.  Then Ed would give a short lecture on the
diseases of animals.  He had a book which covered many of the diseases of
animals and their cures which he sold for two dollars each.

Once Ed went to Houston with his show and advertised that he would give ten
dollars for any horse's tooth that he couldn't extract.  His fee would be only
ten dollars if he were successful.  Several veterinarians who had tried and
failed to remove a particular tooth took him up on the proposition and brought
this horse to him.  He examined the tooth and then unfolded his roll of
instruments and selected the right forceps.  Observing all those instruments one
vet exclaimed, "Dang if I don't believe that man knows what he's doing.  He's
going to extract that tooth"!  My brother had his assistant hold the horse's
head and he pulled that tooth and held it up before the crowd.  He collected his
ten dollars for extracting that impossible tooth.

After being on the road with his show for a few years, he located in Beaumont,
Texas to practice vet surgery.  He experimented a great deal with horses that he
knew he couldn't cure.  For instance, at that time the medical profession
believed that a small amount of air injected into the vein would cause a heart
block and instant death.  He was a little doubtful of that matter so he
experimented with an incurable horse and gradually injected two bulbs of air
from a horse syringe before he caused death.  So he had demonstrated that the
theory that a small amount of air injected into vein would be fatal, was not
correct.

He was such a well-informed vet and through his knowledge of vet surgery that
the medical doctors often called him in to assist with different operations.  On
one occasion, a Mexican was brought into the hospital with a ruptured appendix
and general peritonitis.  He ran a very weak pulse.  The surgeons had refused to
operate as they felt an operation would not save him.  Ed asked them if he could
experiment on him and they said to go ahead as the man was going to die anyway.
He opened the abdominal cavity and put in drainage tubes, etc.  The next day the
fellow was very much better.  He did recover to the astonishment of the doctors.
Many experiences that he had were a great aid to the medical profession.

At one time Ed owned a very fine racehorse.  Lon Kelly could size up a horse and
bet right.  He started the largest veterinarian hospital in Beaumont.


SIDNEY COLUMBUS

My son, Columbus lives in Fort Worth and has been in the oil leasing business
for a number of years.  He has been quite successful.  He has one son, Langford
who is a prominent lawyer in Fort Worth.  Being in the city appears to give him
more prominence.


MARION

I never heard from Marion after World War I.  I presume he was killed... one of
the unknown soldiers.


MYRTLE
Mar. 6, 1893 - Feb. 3, 1972


My daughter Myrtle married Jack Hudson and is now living in Iran, Pecos County,
Texas.  They have two children, Bill and Lenora "Lennie".  Lennie is studying
journalism at Sol Ross College.


DORIS
June 28, 1895 - Dec. 7, 1973

My daughter Doris married Joe Hautier and is living near Houston on the San
Jacinto River.  They did live in Houston but after Joe's serious illness, from
which the doctor doubted his full recovery, they decided to move out to the
river, near nature.  Fishing, swimming, and outdoor exercise seem to be helping
in his recovery.  They are enjoying life immensely out there in those woods.


Rayman G. Carlton, Jr.
880 Arlington Place, NE
Atlanta, GA 30306-3911
404-872-8615
10/97