Tom Green County, TX - Bios:  Miss Mattie (Babe) Mather

TX BIOS:  Mather
   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
   
   Continuity
   
   Page one
   
   RANGE-LORE
   
   "My father (Mr. Mather) came from England with his wife and four
   children, settled in Louisiana, where two more children were born",
   says, Miss Mattie (Babe) Mather of San Angelo, Texas. "This wife died
   and he married Miss Sarah Parker Smith, who was twenty-one years of
   age and had lived in Louisiana since the age of twelve, when she came
   from Millageville, Georgia. My mother and father had two children in
   Louisiana, then moving to Texas where ten more children were added to
   the family while pioneering the wilderness and suffering hardships of
   that area.
   
   "My oldest brother Andrew was born in a tent/ in 1851, and was the
   second white child born in Williamson County. He died at the age of 78
   and was delivered back to his birthplace for
   
     NOTE: C.12 - 2/11/41 - Texas
     
   00022burial. That track of land had been converted into a cemetary/
   and the same location of the tent was chosen for the grave.
   
   "Our family became very prosperous, my father was a good manager with
   family as well as business. Father soon owned and operated a grist
   mill, flour mill, saw mill, blacksmith shop, post office and general
   village store.
   
   "When the Civil War broke out my father went to enlist but was not
   permitted but requested to stay at home where he could care for the
   little town, provide for the citizens, serve his country better at
   home than in the army.
   
   "In the early days Texas was some what made up of outlaws evading
   punishment in their own state. Their children would say, 'What did
   your father do that he had to come to Texas?' Then they would relate
   murder and criminal stories that had brought their fathers to Texas.
   
   "In those days Indians were still pilfering and pillageing the wooded
   sections of Texas. I remember one particular tragedy that happened to
   our friends that lived in Lampasas County near Williamson County.
   
   "Marcus Skaggs 16, Benton Skaggs 12 and a kid friend about the same
   age put their oxen to the wagon and went to my father's mill to have
   the corn ground into meal. On the return some Indians stopped them,
   the kids had no protection except the large forest on one side of the
   road and a small one on the other. The boys chose the large forest
   knowing the customs of Indians. The Indians emptied meal out of the
   sacks, killed the oxen but did not enter the forest. The 00033Indians
   disappeared and the boys wanting to see what had happened to the ox
   wagon, went across the road to the small forest. People were often
   fooled by the Indians imitating barking dogs and other familiar
   animals. They watched the boys enter the small wooded section and
   followed; here's where trouble began. The little friend was shot
   through the temple, and Marcus in the hip. It was left to Benton the
   12 year old boy to get aid. Night was drawing near, the two boys shot
   and the oxen killed, Benton started home. He [chose?] the nearest
   route possible; ran up the river where he came to the bodies of two
   neighbors. The Indians had killed them and taken their guns and that's
   what they used to shoot the boys. This gave Benton encouragement to
   run for life, soon he came to one of the dead [DEL: men :DEL] men's
   home; he was so tired that he drank a cup of coffee to give him
   strength to get home. He kept all of the trouble to himself, did not
   tell the lady of the house that her husband lay dead in the river
   bottom. Benton ran home, got the men and a wagon to go after Marcus
   and friend to bring them home. The friend died and Marcus soon
   recovered. The next morning they told the women of their husbands and
   brought their bodies home for burial.
   
   "Fort Croghan was an Indian trading post; they would come here from
   all parts of the wilderness to do their trading and begging. These
   Indians would venture down to our tents, a different Indian would do
   the talking and managing each day, pretending the others could not
   talk. The Indians 00044were very fond of my father, mother and baby
   sister. They would beg mother to let the baby go riding with them but
   were always refused, they would give her anything they possessed, she
   died at the age of two and had already collected about two yards of
   Indian beads. Mother was crazy about honey, they wanted to give her
   some, when she went after it she saw a green bag hanging on a limb of
   a tree, as she drew nearer she decided that it must be a swarm of
   bees, she could see something flying around, but was amazed when she
   found it to be a bag of honey put up in a deer hide and was covered by
   green flies. Father often went hunting with them and wasn't afraid he
   was bald headed and said, 'They wont scalp me I don't have any hair on
   my head. My father had a grind stone which caused much excitement
   among the Indians. They could not understand its use. They would watch
   my father grind his ax, then they would turn the stone with their
   fingers pressed against it until their fingers would bleed and a few
   times grind to the bone just to see what it was all about.
   
   "The Mexicans would often come over and take the Indian squaws and
   rush back to Mexico, then the Indians would go over and get their
   wives some Indians and some Mexicans, this caused a mixture of the two
   races. There was a big old Comanche Chief named Yellow Wolf, they
   called him this because he was half Mexican. Old Yellow Wolf had a big
   sore on the side of his stomach he would say, 'This side 'No bueno'
   Mexican, this side 'Mas bueno', Indian. 00055"When I was a little girl
   no womans dress was complete without hoops. At eight years of age I
   decided that I too must wear hoops. My desire became so strong that I
   consulted mother, she sent me to the store I had to beg and cry before
   my uncle, salesman in fathers store would agree with me. I put them
   on, pranced up the street and struted before my little friends. They
   were much too long and I was teased by the observers which brought
   tears again. Old Granny our nurse negro slave cut them off to fit, I
   dried my tears and strutted until I became tired then decided to sit
   down and when I did the hoops flew up and gave me a lick on the nose
   that knocked me over and again I cried. Old Granny came to my rescue
   as usual and taught me how to pull the hoops up in the back before
   seating myself.
   
   "When I was a little school girl 11 years of age paralysis struck an
   optic nerve which caused me to be blind. I suffered and worried until
   we found that I could continue my education by entering the Institute
   for the Blind, Austin, Texas. I entered this institute in 1873 and
   received my diploma in 1881. I remained there a year longer continuing
   my music which proved to be helpful and entertaining throughout these
   many years.
   
   "In October, 1900 I came to San Angelo. My sister and brother kept
   insisting that I come out and claim some school land by paying a small
   fee. Guides were located in San Angelo, as new comers arrived these
   guides would help them get located for $100.00. The confusion began
   when more people came than land was available. In order to get the
   usual $100.00 [?] 00066for location they would locate a new comer on
   another man's property and go on the next. Of course this confusion
   caused much trouble many times killing. I decided to buy my land.
   
   "My sister Ada and I each bought twenty acres of the old Jim Farr
   Ranch where we now live. She lives over there in the next house, she
   only has two acres of land left she traded eighteen acres of this city
   land for two-hundred acres out on Grape Creek where they are expecting
   an oil boom, they have some oil near her place.
   
   "You go over and let Ada show you her two acre farm, she is an old
   maid also, you know I am 80 years old and she is a few years younger.
   We don't live together it takes the entire house for each of us as you
   know I'm blind and when I place something I want it to stay there
   until I move it.
   
   "If I were to go over she would start the chicken feud again. She is
   really sold on Barred Rock chickens and white turkeys. She will also
   show you a shoe box full of prize ribbons that she has won at
   different fairs. I always liked the game chickens something that will
   stand up for its own rights, they caused so much confusion that I sold
   them.
   
   "I read and write for most of my past time. I use the paint and
   braille system to read and correspond with my blind friends. I bought
   a typewriter and learned to write to my seeing friends.
   
   "I am very independent even though some people say I'm handicaped. I
   do not get a pension, I didn't ask for it, and don't want it. I am not
   like those people begging for relief. 00077>"It is about time for my
   exercise, (reaching up to touch her braille clock. You see I have the
   chicken wire all the way around the porch, I walk up and down for
   exercise. (She walked briskly up and down the porch still reminiscent
   of the corset and bustle days of long ago).
   
   "My real name is Mattie or Martha. When I was a child about three
   years of age I took a sudden dislike to my name because so many people
   called me (Marthie) instead of Martha. I like the name of Babe and
   would not answer when called otherwise, so you must call me Babe
   instead of Miss Mattie.

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