Indian Pioner Papers - Charley W. Grant
Submitted by Brenda Choate   bcchoate@yahoo.com

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Charley W. Grant



Interview #4814

Field Worker: Maurice R. Anderson

Date: July 15, 1937

Name:   Mr. Charley W. Grant

Residence: Wynnewood, Oklahoma

Date of Birth:  1874

Place of Birth: Near Fort Arbuckle, Chickasaw Nation

Father: Tom Grant, born in Kentucky

Mother: Margaret Howe, born in Mississippi  





I was born about a half mile north of old Fort Arbuckle, 

in the Chickasaw Nation, in 1874.  My father was Tom Grant.

  

After the soldiers were sent to Fort Sill from Fort Arbuckle, 

my father bought Fort Arbuckle for fifty dollars.  I believe 

he made this buy in 1873, but this took place before I was born.



My mother was the daughter of William Howe, Choctaw Indian, 

and the owner of the first store at Eagletown.  My mother 

said the post office was in the store and she helped my 

father in the store and took care of the mail.



I have heard her say during the War she had sent out 

several white men's scalps.  The Indians from Mississippi, 

when they killed a Yankee soldier, would scalp him.  They 

would send the scalp back to Mississippi to show their 

friends what they had done.  She said that there had been 

several sent from Eagletown while she was working in the 

store. 



My father delt in cattle; owned a ranch located on Line 

Creek where Chickasha is now.  He also owned a large ranch 

north of Fort Arbuckle.  



In 1887, my father sent me to his ranch on Line Creek.  

He had at that time about five thousand head of cattle on 

this ranch.  There were three men working there then, so he 

sent me up there to take charge of the ranch.  I was only 

about thirteen years old, but I had been herding cattle ever 

since I was big enough to climb on a horse.  My father told 

me to stay with the cattle until late in the fall, then bring 

them to the home ranch.



In November, I believe, one of the men who was working 

with me quit and that only left the other two men and me 

to bring the cattle through.  It took us four days to 

drive this herd of cattle to the ranch at Fort Arbuckle.  

The cattle came through fine without any stampedes.

 

It doesn't take much to start a stampede.  I remember 

one time I was helping bring a herd of cattle from Texas 

to Fort Arbuckle.  Everything was going along fine when 

all at once the horse I was riding stumbled and fell.  

The cattle broke into a run and we were several days 

getting them back together again.



My father had a large orchard at the home place where 

I was born.  My mother always had the dugout full of 

canned apples and peaches.  She had preserves setting 

in this dugout that had been put up for five years.  

We always had plenty to eat but I have been tot he homes 

of several of the new comers who moved into this country 

when I was a small boy.  They would ask me to dinner with 

them and for many a noon meal, they would have only

cornbread and wild greens of some kind.  People moving into 

this country would have it hard for a while unless they brought 

plenty with them. 



My father owned a store at old Cherokee Town, and one at 

Fort Arbuckle.   I believe a Mr. Blackburn owned the first 

store at Fort Arbuckle and my father bought him out.

  

I now live on the old home place at Fort Arbuckle.