Tom Green County, TX - Bios:  J. A. Joiner

TX BIOS:  J. A. Joiner
   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
   
   Range-lore
   
   Ruby Mosley
   
   San Angelo
   
   Page one Folkstuff - Rangelore
   
   RANGE-LORE
   
   J. A. Joiner of San Angelo, Texas was born July 15, 1855 in Itawamba
   County, Mississippi and came to Burnett County, Texas, in February,
   1870. The Joiner family is outstanding for longevity in life as well
   as their physical make-up. Mr. Joiner is proud of his physical
   strength and at the age of 85 he boasts of being able to run several
   blocks to the store and back, stating that he knows no one else his
   age who can compete with his actions. His favorite pastime is making,
   by hand, long butcher knives out of saw blades, finishing them with a
   pistol handle. He relates his experiences as follows:
   
   "I was out sparking one night when I killed a horse instead of an
   Indian. Back in the good old courtin' days we rode horseback and
   meandered through the woods. Me and my girl were riding out in the
   moonlight when I saw something walking in the
   
     NOTE: C12 - Texas
     
   00022Page two
   
   shadows of the trees. The object came nearer and nearer, rattling the
   brush. I fired, to kill, and that I did; we rode over to see the dead
   Indian but to our great surprise we found a dead horse.
   
   "Me and another kid went hunting one night; we carried our dogs and
   guns, walked and walked, through the woods, until we grew tired and
   cold. We were really afraid to build a fire as it might attract the
   Indians, then we became colder and braver until we had courage enough
   to build the fire. All that time we had one eye on the fire and the
   other looking for Indians. I looked around and saw two eyes shining
   through the darkness and fired my gun. When we inspected my victim
   that time it was my favorite hunting dog. We returned sorrowfully
   home, I discovered later that an Indian's eyes didn't shine through
   darkness.
   
   "When I was a young kid, I worked for the Bidwell family and my
   bedroom was in the rear of the house where I could easily see the
   barn. On bright moonlight nights I would sit on the side of my bed
   with my Winchester ready for an Indian raid on the horses. Night after
   night passed without disturbance. Soon the Indians came in
   midafternoon and got every horse on the place. The very best horse
   that we had, got away from the Indians and found its way home. That
   was the only horse of that bunch we ever saw again. The family never
   knew until then that I watched the horses at night, which was my own
   idea. 00033Page three
   
   "Some Indians found their way to my neighbor, Riley Harper's place,
   and stole his horses. Riley got on their trail and followed them from
   San Saba to the Brady section. He cut down on an Indian and shot his
   leggin's off and the Indian didn't stop to pick them up but kept
   running. Another Indian came by horseback and picked up the wounded
   Indian. We never knew if he died or not.
   
   "The Battle of Pack Saddle, fought in Llano County between Indians and
   ranchmen in 1873, marked the last battle with the Indians in that part
   of the state. The ranchmen were well prepared for the attack; when
   they came in and were not permitted to contact the horses. The battle
   lasted several hours in and around the Pack Saddle Mountains. No
   whites and only one Indian was killed. The Indians carried him behind
   the Pack Saddle Mountains and buried him with rocks.
   
   "Mr. Tedford had a little son by the name of Lum who was about four
   years of age and liked to play in the sand. One day Lum had ventured
   out into a little road that ran near the house. A band of Indians rode
   by, grabbed the child and rode for the bushes. A group of men formed a
   searching party and got on the Indians' trail. They were eating dinner
   when they were found. The party began firing and the Indians ran for
   the brush, leaving the child behind. The men called little Lum and he
   ran to safety.
   
   "Those old Indian days were days of dread and fear. I never want to
   see them again. I often hear the old fellows 00044Page four
   
   yelping about the present times and wishing for the good old days to
   return. Not me, I am well pleased.
   
   "John Smith, who was a relative of the Jackson family and lived at San
   Saba, told me that all of the Jackson family was killed by the Indians
   except two children that were captured and carried away. The Indians
   had gone about one hundred miles and camped where the children had
   escaped by some means and had started home. The men had formed a
   searching party and met the children as they were well on their way
   home. John Smith was a brother-in-law of the notorious Ketchums, of
   the San Saba and later of the San Angelo sections.
   
   "One time, an Indian boy about sixteen years of age got lost from his
   tribe and was about to starve to death. He went up to old Daddy
   Brown's house in Richland Springs and begged for food. Of course the
   Indian could not speak English but when one is starving, signs can be
   well interpreted. Daddy Brown fed him up a few days and sent him on
   his way.
   
   "The government made some kind of a treaty with the Indians in 1873
   which stopped their depredating.
   
   "Llano and San Saba Counties had their share of outlaws and
   under-world characters. The rough element was feared by a little
   German settlement in Llano County that decided among themselves that
   they needed protecting. They planned a little trap that caught one of
   the most dreaded crooks, Mose Beard. They were glad to put this rough
   character under earth.
   
   "John Beard, a brother of Mose, had been running wild 00055Page five
   
   with him and felt it his duty to get his man. There were about twelve
   in the little gang that killed Mose. John went in and killed every one
   of them and skipped out. The friends and enemies left behind heard
   that John was killed at a fandango, in Old Mexico. Later I met up with
   a friend that had visited John and said that he had become a
   successful rancher in Old Mexico.
   
   "Frank Cooley, George Gladden, and John Ringo were killers but I never
   knew their outcome. There were many more outlaws of that section that
   I can not safely mention." 0006Range-lore
   
   Ruby Mosley
   
   San Angelo
   
   BIBLIOGRAPHY
   
   J. A. Joiner, 80 East 18th Street, San Angelo, Texas, interviewed
   March 23-28, 1938.

************************************************************************
USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE:  These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced 
in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or
persons.  Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must
obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative
of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of
this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives
to store the file permanently for free access.

http://www.usgwarchives.net/

Thanks to the Library of Congress
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/txcat.html
***********************************************************************