Selected and converted.American Memory, Library of Congress. Washington, 1994. Preceding element provides place and date of transcription only. This transcription intended to be 99.95% accurate. For more information about this text and this American Memory collection, refer to accompanying matter. U.S. Work Projects Administration, Federal Writers' Project (Folklore Project, Life Histories, 1936-39); Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.Copyright status not determined. 00011 Warren, Ivey G. January 6, 1937 Lubbock County District 17 [?] Pg. 1 Tales Of Early Days By Judge W. D. Crump. Bibliography. Judge W. D. Crump. "I came to Lubbock County in March 1890 as a prospector", said Judge W. D. Crump. "I was living in Dallas at that time and a great desire to come to the Plains [DEL: [?] :DEL] [DEL: [??] :DEL] me. When I got out here and looked the country ever, I found it even surpassed my expectations and I wanted to see a town established." "As I took this trip around the country I met up with four other men who were also interested in the developement of Lubbock County." Judge Crump continued. "Three of these men were together, they were Judge D. F. [Goss?] of Seymour, Uncle Henry Bedford, an old gentleman from Benjamin and H. M. Bandy, a Christian preacher of Marfa and Alpine. We were all enthusiastic and decided to do what we could to promote a town here, so we made our plans to meet at Estacado in a couple of months and return to Lubbock County. Then we met up with W. E. Rayner of Amarillo, he had just started a town in Stonewall County and we asked him to join our party and help found the new township. This preposition seemed to please Mr. Rayner, but he would not commit himself. Therefore we felt that we could not count on Mr. Rayner's support and the four of us parted with an agreement to meet the First of May at Estacado." "I was in Estacado at the appointed time, but the other men had been delayed in getting there, so while I waited for them I went out and visited at the I.Q. A. Ranch, which was at this time being [DEL: [run?] :DEL] by Rollie C. Burns and F. C. Wheelock. On the 20th of May the other members of our party reached Estacado and we all came on to Lubbock together[ [DEL: ? :DEL] ] "[Things?] [began?] to happen in Lubbock County then", Judge Crump said. "Rollie C. Burns and F. E. Wheelock wanted to get a townsite laid off across the Canyon, this was north of the present business section of Lubbock, but W. E. Rayner turned up about this time and 00022he wanted to locate the town about two and one-half miles south of the location that had been selected by Mr. Burns and Mr. Wheelock. Confusion reigned for a while, but after some [ [DEL: ? :DEL] ] with Mr. Rayner the other men, seeing that they could not compromise with him, went ahead and started the town where they had planned to. Mr. Rayner then went off by himself and began to build a town of his own". "Now at this time claims were being on some of the land around Lubbock," Judge Crump explained. "I selected a section of land that was located next to the townsite [DEL: that? :DEL] was laid off by Rollie C. Burns and F. E. Wheelock, which was known as the "North Town", My claim was filed on Section 10, Block A. I went right to work and built [DEL: [?] :DEL] a pretty nice house over there and then I moved my family to Lubbock from Dallas". "By September a number of other families had moved to Lubbock, and though it was just a village, it was a wonderful place to live. The two towns did not continue in their separate states long. The organizers saw the [?] of continuing the dispute and settled their difficulties by selecting a new location between the towns and a general reorganization took place. Resident lots had been given in each town to certain people to encourage the settlement. These lots were large, full sized lots, but when they were exchanged for property in the new town, the lots were found to be much smaller. When a protest was made, it was pointed out to the complainants that this property was more valuable because of the consolidation of the townships. The promoters received a percentage of the town as their equity. Judge D. F. [Goss?] and H. M. Bandy each received [1 / 15 /?] of the town and I received [1 / 20?] as my share." "A court house was erected in the new town and officials were elected to fill the various offices. Col. George W. Shannon was the First County Judge, Judge P. F. Brown, who had been teaching school here was our second County Judge. I spent my time teaching school and doing what I could in educational and religious work for our fast developing community and in 1898 I was elected County Judge and served two terms in that office." 00033[DEL: ["Some of?] :DEL] The newcomers to Lubbock County have little conception of what the country was like in these early days," Judge Crump stated. "One of the first things that attracted my attention when I came out here was the grim evidence of the "Big Die Up". Thousands and thousands of cattle died during that terrible blizzard of"89", and when I came out here in 1890, the bones were piled high all along the fence rows of the big ranches where the poor cattle had huddled together and froze and starved to death[ [DEL: ? :DEL] ] - Johnson at that time owned the Dixie Ranch south of Lubbock and his cattle drifted over to the south fence[ [DEL: ? :DEL] ] Hundreds of them died there and the next summer the freighters were picking up the bones and hauling them to Amarillo[ [DEL: ? :DEL] ] and other markets for sale. It took only a short time to lead a wagon with them. I sold two wagon loads of bones [DEL: [myself?] :DEL] from the Dixie Ranch. The drouth of "84" [?] had cost the lives of many [DEL: [large herds of?] :DEL] cattle and left a scattering of bones over the Plains , which had not up to this time been marketable". "Quails were plentiful in these days and when I was out here on my prospecting trip I saw an unusual sight", Judge Crump related. "There were two fellows in a wagon camped just below the Cap / rock. They had come out here from the east and were trapping quails and selling them to eastern markets. They had a net fastened around their wagon and had about 1500 quail in this enclosure when I met them." "The country was full of rattlesnakes then too. One day when I was making a trip to Colorado City a snake [DEL: [?] :DEL] was about seven feet long crossed the road in front of me[ [DEL: ? :DEL] ] I did not have anything to kill it with but a hammer, but I used the hammer and [made?] a good job of it.[ [DEL: ? :DEL] ] The snake had fourteen rattles. Another time when H. V. Edsall and I were hauling wood to Colorado City in the early "90's", we found a big snake and killed it, but it dig not have many rattles. For a long time I ran my own private freighter from Lubbock to Amarillo, to Colorado City and back to Lubbock, and on these trips across the country I often saw large herds of buffalo, antelope, some deer and other wild animals that roamed 00044the prairies at this time." "The nightmare of these early days was prairie fires," Judge Crump said. "We had some pretty bad fires too. I / remember a fire that started up near Grovesville one morning[ [DEL: ? :DEL] ] Mrs. G. O. Groves had started a fire around her wash-pot to heat the water preparatory [DEL: [?] :DEL] [?] doing the family laundry. All at once a sand-storm blew up, which is of / course typical of the weather on the South Plains. The wind was blowing from the West and it [DEL: [blew?] :DEL] [?] some of the fire from Mrs. Groves wash-pot [DEL: [out?] :DEL] and set some grass on fire. This started the fire rolling across the prairie[ [DEL: ? :DEL] ] Nick Beal, who lived East of the Groves was right in line of the fire. When I saw the smoke, I hurried ever to Mr. Beal's house. It was looking pretty bad and when I got there I told [Beal?] that he had better start praying for rain". "That is just what I am [DEL: [?] :DEL] he said. We could not tell what was overhead with all the sand and smoke that filled the atmosphere, but all [atence?] it began to rain, it simply poured down and in a few minutes the fire was all out." "We faced a few hardships in those early days out here," Judge Crump said slowly, [?]But the [DEL: poineer :DEL] pioneer life was nothing [DEL: [?] :DEL] [DEL: compare :DEL] compared with the life that we lived during the Civil war. I was born in Louisville, Kentucky on August 21, 1844, and when the war broke out I went right into service. I was in Company C. 3rd Kentucky Cavalry under Commander Morgan of General Johnston's Brigade." "My Company had been stationed at [McMinnville?], Tennessee, when we received orders to break camp and proceed north. We left there on the 2nd day of July , and headed for Iowa. We had several fights with the Yankees while going through Kentucky[ [DEL: ? :DEL] ] When we reached the Ohio River we crossed at Brandenburg, our Commander had detailed a squad to go ahead and capture some boats for [DEL: [?] :DEL] on the Ohio[ [DEL: ? :DEL] ] The squads managed to get two boats, but our [DEL: [?] :DEL] Company ran into a Regiment of the Northern Army on Buffington Island in the Ohio River and we were taken prisoners. For awhile we were kept at Camp [Morton?] [DEL: [Indianoplis?] :DEL] , Indianna. Later we were transferred to Camp Douglas, Chicago. There were about 10,000 prisoners in 00055this camp. We were not physically mistreated here but they half starved us. Our rations consisted mostly of light bread and beans. The beans were cooked in a big pot with very little seasoning in them. We could not relish such food as that, it was merely a sustenance, something to ease the gnawing hunger, but it did not [DEL: satisify :DEL] satisfy our appetites. At times we craved a change of fare [DEL: untill :DEL] until we were almost desperate. Some of the men could hardly control their desire for meat and when they could catch rats and cats, they ate them veraciously. We were allowed very few visitors, but I recall one man who came to the Camp with a dog following him. The visiter was somehow granted permission to see one of the prisoners, and when he entered the confines the dog came in with him - but he did not leave with him. The man could not find his dog when he was ready to go and he created somewhat of a disturbance looking for him. Captain Spenable ordered a [DEL: serch :DEL] search to be made through the Camp for the dog, [DEL: [?] :DEL] [?] developed that it had been killed and was being eaten. The prisoner who had [DEL: succumb :DEL] /[succumbed?] to this madness for meat was cast into solitary [DEL: [conefinement?] :DEL] confinement ". "As I have previously stated we were not allowed to have many visitors", Judge Crump reiterated. "I was held a prisoner for 19 months and by [adroit?] management my father got to see me twice and my mother once. My father's first [visit?] was made while I was at Camp Morton, in [DEL: [?] :DEL] [Indianapolis?]. Father had been to St. Louis and was returning to our home in Louisville , when news reached him of the capture of Company C. under Morgan's command, so he came by Camp Morton to try to find out if I was among the prisoners that [DEL: [were?] :DEL] had been taken. It so happened that I was not far from the gate when my father was passing and I whistled to him and ran to the gate to talk with him, but the guard would [DEL: [?] :DEL] allow us but five minutes conversation together, then he reminded me that it was against the rules to talk with anyone on the outside. However I was so eager to see my father after our long separation that I only went a short distance from the gate and stood watching him. Presently the guard came ever and told me that my father wished to know if I wanted [DEL: [anything that?] :DEL] 00066[DEL: [he could send me?] :DEL] [????]. I sent word back that I would like to have a pipe and some tobacco. When father received this daring request, he turned around and shook his fist at me. I had not smoked when I was at home, it was strictly against my parent's wishes, but father sent me the pipe and tobacco [DEL: [?] :DEL] anyway". "When my mother arrived at the Camp they at first refused to let her see me, but she out-talked them and got in", Judge Crump said with a twinkle in his eyes. " [DEL: [?] :DEL] After I was transferred to Camp Douglas in Chicago. Father and two of my sisters came up there and the [Prison?] officals would not let them see me. McLennan was Democratic nominee for resident and the convention was being held at this time, [DEL: [?] :DEL] father went to Governor Seymour and appealed to him to intervene in his behalf with the War [Depattment?]. So Governor Seymour telegraphed the War Department and requested a permit for father to see me. He got it alright, but father had been so upset that he neglected to have the girls[ [DEL: ? :DEL] ] names included in the request and [?] no mention was made of them in the order , and the stubborn officials at the camp would not allow them to accompany [DEL: [with?] :DEL] [my?] father, so I did not get to see my sisters at all while I was a prisoner". "I was offered my freedom once, on condition that I renounce allegiance to the South, but I refused", Judge Crump said in a vehement voice, trembling with age and emotion. "Robert E. Lee was one of the finest men that ever lived and I would have died in prison before I would have gone back on him and the South. But I was given my freedom about a month before the war closed when the North and the South exchanged prisoners. I was one of the men included in the exchange, and in this [war?] I was sent back south and set at liberty". "There was nothing in my war record that I ever looked back on with regret," Judge Crump said thoughtfully. "Some of the country [DEL: [that we passed?] :DEL] through [which we passed?] had been devastated by General Sherman's armies, but the Southern troops never ravaged the country 00077and needlessly burned houses that lay in [their?] path. My company burned one house, that was while we were up in Indiana and it was utterly unavoidable". "In 1874, I took a notion to come to Texas", Judge Crump said. "Dr Hobson, paster of the Christian Church at Louisville gave me a letter of introduction to General R. M. Gane, who lived twelve miles from Dallas. When I got to Dallas I learned that General Gane had just gone back to Kentucky, so I looked around Dallas awhile by myself and finanlly located at Lisbon, which was near the present location of Oak Cliff and about five miles from the main city of Dallas". "On March 1, 1877 I was married to Mary King of Dallas [DEL: [? we made our home in the?] :DEL] [DEL: [city.?] :DEL] General Gane performed our ceremony. We made our home in Dallas until our removal to Lubbock in 1890, where we continued [?] reside until 1917, when we moved to Shallowater. I operated a little ranch here. It [DEL: [was?] :DEL] [?] about six sections of land and I kept 150 head of registered [DEL: [?] :DEL] [Herefords?]. My brand was [DEL: [?] :DEL] [??]. During the blizzard of 1918 I lost 45 cows. I had them in a field up about six miles north of my place and was unable to get them home in time to save them". "Judge Crump is now 92 years old and still keeps [DEL: [?] :DEL] busy. He has charge of the County Library at Shallowater, where he makes his home with his two [DEL: [?] :DEL] daughters. Miss Mamie and Miss Katie Belle. Miss Mamie keeps the home and looks after her father, while Miss Katie Belle teaches school in Lubbock during the school term. She spends the remaining months of the year at home with her sister and her dear old father. Judge Crump's wife has been dead several years, but she left him devoted children to comfort and cheer him in his declining years[.?] Judge Crump is one of the few remaining Confederate Veterans and he is one of the most highly respected pioneer citizens of the South Plains. "Lubbock could not have gotten along without him," said Judge P. F. Brown, speaking of Judge Crump. "He was a men who 00088knew how to take hold of things and keep them going. He was a good mixer with people and was always ready to take part in anything for the betterment of the community. He was a handy man I might say at anything that [come?] up. Judge Crump did much in a big way that helped to build Lubbock"