Garvin County Indian Pioneer Interviews - Walter L. Richardson

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Walter L. Richardson



Interview #1089

Field Worker: Maurice R. Anderson

Date: March 11, 1937

Name: Mr. Walter L. Richardson

Residence: Pauls Valley, Oklahoma

Date of Birth: 1888

Place of Birth: Texas

Father: Jim Richardson, born in Missouri

Mother: Mary Scatlin, born in Tennessee





Story told by Mr. Walter L. Richardson, born 1888 in Texas.



I came to the Indian Territory with my father and mother in 1891.   

I was three years old but I can remember some of the things that happened.  

We came from Texas in a wagon, working four oxen.  We were about 25 days on 

the trip.   We would drive until about an hour of sun-down, then while my mother

would make camp my father would take his gun and go after something to eat.  

He would not be gone more than an hour and would come back with several squirrels, 

sometimes a turkey.   There was lots of game then. 



One night when we were camped, my father had gone to kill something to eat.



While he was gone, five Indians rode up on their horses.  My mother was afraid. 

 She made me crawl under the wagon.  My father had another gun there.   It was 

an old muzzle loader, but it was not loaded.  My mother grabbed this gun and 

pointed it at the Indians and told them she would shoot.  My mother later said 

she believed the Indians were more frightened than she was.  One of the Indians 

told her that they would not hurt her.  He asked where her man was.  Mother told 

him and they got off of their horses and sat down on the ground around the fire.  

In a short time my father came back.  He had several squirrels.  The men talked to 

him and wanted to know where he was going.  The Indian that did the talking was 

whiter than the others.  He said they were looking for some cattle.  My mother 

baked the squirrels and made a pot of coffee and lots of corn bread.



The Indians ate with us.  One of them held me on his knee and let me drink coffee 

out of his cup.  After supper they thanked my mother and shook hands with Father and 

Mother.  They got on their horses and rode away.  The Indian that was white looking 

was the only one that had a saddle on his horse.



We came on to Pauls Valley, Indian Territory.   There was only one store and a 

blacksmith shop here then.  My father rented land from one of the Pauls and we 

lived in our wagon until the first crop was made.  Then we moved into a one room 

log house.  Father raised lots of corn.   My mother always took care of the garden.  

She raised lots of vegetables. 



I remember my father coming home one evening from Pauls Valley.   That was after 

Pauls Valley had built up some.  He told my mother that he saw a man get killed.  

Father said he was standing in front of the barber shop when a man walked into 

the shop, pulled out a pistol and told the barber, who was shaving a man to 

stand back,.  The barber stepped back.  This man with the pistol killed the man 

that was getting a shave.  Shot his brains out.



In 1900, my father sold several thousand bushels of corn at one time for fifteen 

cents a bushel.  In later years I have seen him raise 50 or 60 bales of cotton a year.



I married in 1916 and have reared so far seven children, all now living.



My father and mother have been dead several years.