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i
Optajn'Bill M-Donald Texax
|M TiKMl: J*>a »t-
HlMkHMf#1 •«
Mir wrttiin lew (ten
• iiM*! t«(vk. auk
atav** «»4 *Mfa <-■><*»
•M irtM righu. with
*4* Ml (lie l«ni e Km*
l« ai»d |uni |*4 4w(, .Willi
<M*B mm* aa* blfh waa
*«• H ik» kail |« (ho** day* • **
'■*•% Willi* ta JriM M< |IM»«I4 Hep
3 Wit falhef. Kbuck
* i.l Ik* |ru
M, fufid of lb# aha**.
0# Wide wrw a ltd half |
•U»o» whll* hi* grartdfa
ef uk> rlu McDonald ok hi* t«
•w hoath. vii m step hmi<x in ik*
Hayward .'lor. i<> aom* old laird wtw
W hk «««i In rolat*rlti« bum or In
tr%l amid ibe iimn bilU and In dim «t
i%*t was (inm! blond. and front kla mother,
•ho wan a Durham Kuril.-* Durham lb* III
*• •*«•» that waa on* day la b* a leader on
Ma nww account inherited aa clear a atraln.
*!%•• fawd.il hall In Mtaalaalppl. however. was a
Mk. «M plantation h»ua«. btiili of hewn logs
and H»«« board*, with woods and cotton Arid*
<n rrary baiul. with cabins for the slaves and
mlfcafldlnga of every sort That waa In K«n
9«r nuunijr. over near tbe Alabama tin*, with
Kjfc, th* county seat, about SO miles away.
H waa a peculiar rblldbuod that little •'lllll
Jaw" McDonald had It waa full of MMfe tMf
aa the homecoming of the hunters with a doer
or a fag-sometimes laud these were grand
vcciudaas) even with a bear. Then there wrrn
woaderftrl ball games played by the Rogue
thdta and Murkllutla Indiana; exciting shoot
tng inatrti. s and home rarea. Iona fishing and
swimming days with companlonH black and
whHe. and the cverre. irring chaxe. with the
hliHitfuwndii. of aone runaway alave. There
waa not much book-schooling in a semi-bar-
baric dilidho<><l auph aa that. There waa a
ndiooMiouae of course, which waa used for a
•litircfi and gatherings of any aort, and some-
times the children had lessons there. But the
Kemper county teaching of that day waa
mainly to ride well, ahoot atraight and to act
quickly In the face of danger. That waa the
proper education for the boy who waa one day
to roak/i the Texas Panhandle and No-man's
Land hia hunting ground, with men for hie
quarry.
Presence of mind he had as a gift, and it
was early manifested. There was a lake not
far away, where fishing and swimming went
on almost continuously during the summer
days, and sometimes the small swimmers
would muddy the water near the share and
fchen catrh the fish In their hands. They were
doing this one day when Bill Jess was heard
to announce, excitedly. "I've got him, boys!
I've got him! You can't beat mine!" at the
sacac Inntaut swinging his catch high for them
to soe.
• Tfcart was a correct statement. They
couldn't beat his catch and they didn't want
to. What they wanted to do was to get out
•f his neighborhood without any unnecessary
dc4ar. for the thing he held up to view was an
tanaeage. deadly moccasin, grasped with both
hnad« by the neck, the rest of it curling in-
stawtfy around the lftwer arm. His hold was
so tight and so near the head that the snake
cooid not bite him, but the problem was to
turn It loope. His friends were all ashore and
at a safe distance. He did not lose his head,
however, but wading ashore himself he invited
then one after another to unwind that snake.
Nobody cared for the Job and he told them in '
turn and collectively what he thought of them.
Then he offered the honor to a little slave boy
•on attractive terms.
"Jim." he said, "ef you-all doa't come an'
unwind this heah snake, I'll beat you-all to
death an' cut off yo' ears an' skin you alive
and give yo' cahcass to the buzzards."
Those were the days when a little slave-
boy could not resist an earnest entreaty of
that sort from the son of the household, and
Jini came forward, his face gray with grati-
tude, and taking hold gingerly he-unwound a
yard or so of water-moccasin from Bill Jess,
wlio, with the last coil, flung his prize to the
ground, where it was quickly killed, it being
well-nigh choked to death already.
But even the gift of presence of mind will
sometimes balk at unfamiliar dangers. It was
about this time that the civil war broke out,
and Enoch McDonald enlisted a company to
de#end the southern cause. The little boy left
behind waa heart-broken. His father was his
hero and when by and by the news came that
the soldiers were encamped at Meridian—a
railway station about SO miles distant—the
lad made up his mind to join them. He ar-
rived at Meridian one morning and began to
look over the ground and to make a few in-
quiries as to his father's headquarters. He
had never seen a railroad before, and he fol-
lowed along the track with increasing interest
tHi he reached the engine, which he thought
niMst be the most wonderful and beautiful
thir^ ever created. Then suddenly it let oft
3team, the bell rang and the air was split by
a screaming whistle. It was too sudden and
too strange for his gift to work. The son of
ail the McDonalds and of a gallant soldier set
out for the horizon, never pausing until halted
by tke sentry of his father's camp.
He was permitted to enter and was direct-
ed to the drill ground, where his father, who
had been promoted for bravery to the rank of
major, was superintending certain maneuvers.
TTie little boy in his eagerness ran directly
into the midst of things and Major McDonald,
suddealy seeing him. was startled into the
coDctaaion that some dire calamity had be-
fallen his family and only Bill Jess bad
<><x»ped to tell the tale. Half sliding, half
be dropped from his horse to learn the
Then gratefully be lifted the lad up
him and continued the drill. Eunice
MrOaaaid was only a day or two behind Bill
Jem*, for her instinct told ber where the boy
hart gone. They remained a few days In camp
then bade their soldier good-by They
aaver saw him again, for he was killed at the
of Corinth at the bead of his regiment.
1 faoe to the enemy, as a soldier should die.
Tke boy of 12 was now tba bead of the
Hf had bis mother and a sister,
art of the aevtroes still rewiaiaed; bat
Che Baa of ike house and was mature
!
I
UN
I pfwfaativ
kim mki 1
.» tW faint*. 1
)ml|<« ak*tw
ik* kfat
.•I.fat «
miummm'
Donald fortune
and rottoa wrra gone
Only a ronnant of land.
ntfblMNi. ramaln*4
Kunic* Mr Donald, aid-
owvd. alik two rhlldrrn.
b«r boma left desolate by
tba ravagoa of war. knaw
not whir ti any to turn A
barbalor brother with bis
fare ael T«-sasward of
fared to tnako a bouia for
ber In tba n«w laud Mha
arrapted the offrr and !u
IMK tbay r<-u< lu-d ««a»t
Texas and settled In Husk eounty. naar Ifan
darwin, the county seat. Here tba brother and
sister made an effort to retrieve their broken
fortunes, with moderate success.
But though still a boy In years, being not
more than 16. hia youth eama r««aily to an end
now. It was th»» period of reconstruction In
the south- a time of obnoxious enforcements
on the on>* hand and rebellious bitterness on
the other, with general lawlessness In the
black settlements. The military dominated
tho towns and there were continuous misun-
derstandings between the still resentful con-
quered and the aggressive and sometimes Inso-
lent conquerors. Young McDonald, with the
memory of bis hero father shot dead while
leading his regiment against these men In
blue, was in no frame of mind to submit to
any indignity, real or fancied, at their hands.
It happened just at this time that one Col.
Greene, a relative of the McDonalds, was mur-
dered by negroes, who, being arrested, con-
fessed the killing, stating that they had mis-
taken Greene for a mule-buyer supposed to
have a large sum of money. The men were
lodged In jail, but it was believed that under
the "carpet-bag" military law then prevailing
they would escape punishment. In later years
young McDonald was -to become one of the
niost strenuous defenders of official procedure
—one of the bitterest opponents of lynch law
the state of Texas has ever known; but he
was hot-blooded In 'sixty-eight and the situa-
tion was not one to develop moral principles.
When, therefore, a mob formed and took the
negroes out of jail and hanged them there is
110 record of Bill Jess having distinguished
himself in their defense, as he certainly would
have done In later years. Indeed, it is likely
that if he did not help pull a rope that night
it was only because the rope was fully occu-
pied with other willing hands.
Of course the military descended on Hen-
derson and set in to discipline it for this con-
certed lawlessness. The townspeople as a
whole, and the relatives of Col. Greene in par-
ticular, resented this occupation. Charley
Greene, a brother of the murdered man, in
company with Bill Jess, presently got into
trouble with some soldiers who were deporting
themselves in a manner considered offensive
and the result was a running fight with the
military in the lead. The soldiers made for
their quarters in the courthouse. It would
have been proper to leave them alone then—
to retire flushed with victory, as the books
say, and satisfied. But Greene could not rest.
He persuaded Bill Jess to stay with him and
they rode up and down in front of the court-
house, occasionally taking a shot at the win-
dows, to punctuate their challenge to warfare.
Finally Greene decided that .they could
charge the courthouse and capture it. He
primed himself with liquor for the onset and
refused to heed his companion's advice to
abandon the campaign. The two ascended the
courthouse stairs at last with pistols cocked.
. Greene had one in each hand and with them
shoved open the double doors at the head of
the stairs. That was another mistake. The
soldiers were "laying for him" just inside and
in an instant later his arms were pinioned and
he was a prisoner. The doors swung to. then,
and Bill Jess stood outside, wondering whether
he ought to charge to the rescue, wait there
and be captured or retire in good order. With
that gift of logic and rare presence of mind
which would one day make him famous he
decided to get out of there. No attempt was
made at the time to arrest young McDonald,
though soldiers frequently loitered about his
home premises and with these he had many
collisions, usually coming off victorious.
Still, he was laying up trouble for himself,
for Greene's court-martial was coming off and
Bill Jess, who went over to see if be could be
of any assistance, was promptly arrested while
nosing about the stockade and landed with his
reative on the inside. This was a serious mat-
ter. The boy realized that, as soon as the
gates closed behind him. He realized it still
more forcibly when a few days later he and
Greene were led into the courtroom for mili-
tary trial and he took a look at the men who
were to prosecute him for aiding in the crime
of treason. Nor was he reassured when one
of the lawyers present announced that he
would "defend that boy's case." For there
was nothing inspiring about this champion's
appearance. His eyes were half-closed and he
bad a general air of sleepy indifference which
did not disappear until it came his turn to
take part In the proceedings Then suddenly
the sleepy eyes became alive, the shaggy hair
was tosse I back, the clay pipe waa laid on tba
table and Dave Culberson, afterward known aa
an emlaent lawyer and atataeaman. arose and
made sorb a plea In behalf of the boy wboae
father bad died at Corinth and wboae mother
and aiat«r relied on him today for protection,
tba? oaly oaa verdict remained la tke mlnda
of feU fc*arers wken ke closcd. BUI Jeaa vta
latgar
-r way
1 M taenia
1 camped.
* U N
la
H<taf| at
»uM<**4 aM,
» at gaad ke
i»# waa |ak*a
ke plaadrd
Tk*a ke kok
Btampfo af •
area a*t do*a
1 ii«4ii today
I* altar tkat
rat Irsiaat. to
kla owa d«a»
da etprrraar* **•
t,r all. <»aipar*d la
Mktwwd. aad la oaly .
•• it mark* ibe begin •
I ml red an episode
i.ata wa» already ua 1
1 linker fy'n* adjacent'
soma Sou tla > utirr* War*
•upplytng rruaa Ilea far thai
road They ware a drink
» lot and nn Saturday I
prop.
In th
DOCTORS fAIUD.
RESTORED BY
Catarrh of tho Lungs
Threatened Her life.
M>*a XI aril* haw, (fatal***, Var-
■»•*!, write* 1 -1 k*»* Ua aani kf
l*»«eaa.
• I bad wwnl k«nnrrtM|si af Ilk*
laaga. Tke duatova did kul k»!p Ma
•ua k aad wvaid a*v*v kav**tir*d a*.
"I saw a I.atira»aiaj la a l'«rwaa
HWMl of a eaaa similar to mla*, aad
| roammnd a*tag It,
••I waa ao« aM* to wait on myself
«k a I begaa oslag II. I gaia*d v*ry
. « i r *1 first, but I coald mm Ibat It
waa k*l|<tag taa.
-Afirr | bs I take* It a wkUa !«•*»•
UKD-al to rslaa up a atrtagy. sticky
»tii*lane* from lay luaga. Tbla grew
|.*a and l*as la quaaUly as 1 owoliaaad
|k* treatment.
»| grew more fl»»Sy than 1 had hsi a
far a lung ume, aad now 1 eali mjraalf
, .1 '
COULDN'T WAIT.
ern prison many y«ars before be was finally
releaaed l»ave Culberson afterwarda repre-
sented bis district in congress and llie boy he
defended eventually served the son. Charles
IS. Culberson then governor now I'nlted
States senator from Texaa.
It Is likely this bit of experience with hot-
headed lawlessness and the reault thereof
proved of immense value to young McDonald.
From that time forward we find him a peace-
maker. a qucller of disturbances, a separator
of combatants, even at great personal risk.
After a brief sojourn at l^>ngvlew he ea-
tablislied himself in Wood county, at Mlneola,
thtyi a newly eatablished and busy railway ter-
minus. This was in l!*7.r> and his venture was
a success. Soon be was considered the lead
ing grocer of the town.
It was during this period that McDonald
made the acquaintance of James S. Ilogg. who
in later life, as governor of Texas, was to con-
fer his most useful official position—that of
ranger captain—thus enabling him to do much
of the work which has identified his name
with the state's constructive history. Hogg,
then a young man, was Justice of the peace at
the county seat, Quitman, a few miles distant
from Mlneola. and was also conducting a pa-
per there. He bought his groceries of Mc-
Donald and the account ran along in a go-as-
you-please sort of a way. They were good
friends and courted together and it was
through Hogg that young McDonald met Miss
It hod a Isabel Carter, a young woman with tine
nerve and force of character- just the girl for
a Texas regulator's wife. And such, in due
time, she was to become, for he married her
in January, 1876. His friendship for Hogg
continued for some time after that, but caiue
to a sudden end one day, when Hogg, who had
been elected county attorney, with character-
istic conscientiousness prosecuted McDonald
and others for carrying concealed weapons -
McDonald's possession of such a wapon hav-
ing been revealed by his aiding in the capture
of a gang of boisterous disturbers of the peace.
McDonald rose and defended his own case, de-
claring he had quit business to do his duty as
a good citizen and that he would stay in jail
the balance of his days before he would pay a
fine.
With his usual frank fearlessness, he said
some hard things to Hogg in the presence of
the court, and (hough discharged the two were
estranged for a considerable period. Then a
truce was patched up, but only for a time.
But now came Bill McDonald's first official
appointment and service. Living just outside
of Mineola was a man named Gordon, of hard
character and the owner of several bull-dogs,
similarly endowed. Man and dogs became a
menace to travel in that neighborhood, as they
lived near a public road and were allowed at
large. The man was particularly quarrelsome
and ugly and was said to have killed several
more or less inoffensive persons. He always
carried arms — the customary pistol and a
bowie knife, the latter worn in a scabbard
"down his back." He was an expert at throw-
ing this weapon and altogether a terror to the
community. Bill McDonald would naturally
resent the domination of a man like Gordon
and when one day the latter came to town
with one of his unruly dogs and the dog set
upon and injured McDonald's prized pointer
there was trouble active and immediate. Mc-
Donald's reputation as a good man to let alone
was already established at Mineola. He was
known as a capable marksman—fearless, reso-
lute and very sudden. When, therefore, he
produced a six-shooter for the avowed purpose
of killing the bulldog, its master, who. like
every bully by trade, was a coward at heart,
interceded humbly for the dog's life, promising
to take the animal home and leave him there
McDonald agreed to the arrangement, but for
the benefit of the community at large he
promptly applied to Sheriff Pete Dowell for a
commission as deputy, in order that in future
he might restrain officially the obnoxious Gor-
don and others of his kind. The commission
was promptly conferred and thus Bill Jess Mc-
Donald, quietly and without any special mani-
fest, stepped into the ranks of Texas pfficiai
regulators, where, in one capacity or another,
he was to serve so long and well.
ulghls the Mlneola streeta were Oiled!
with rloi and disorder Th* Hty mar-.
stml, lleorge Hecvea, and Depuly Me-1
Donald bad on several occasions made j
arrests and such mfarrement «d 'b«j
law bud been regarded by Ibe tie gang
as an affront la all Tbey sent word 1
to Ibe officers, al last. Ibat they would
l»e on hand In full farce on lha fob.
lowing Saturday snd tlmt th* rala-j
boose might as well go out of com ]
miMum so far as they were concerned Tailor-! cannot make you a
Hafarday night came, and according to j rult until you huf paid far your
nmmlaa the tie-cutters were on the slreet. nu- one, yet.
merous and uolsy Seeing a commotion at the i Mr. Nopay-But I can't wait so long
™ur of a cheap hotel, where a number of tha j Winter Is hero and I need something
last
But however quiet his enlistment, his ser-
vice was to be of another sort. Those were
not quiet days, and the officer who set out to
enforce the law was apt to become a busy per-
son. Gordon very soon app«ared again in
Mineola. and after investing in a good deal of
Lad whisky went on the warpatb flourishing a
pix-shooter and giving out tbe information that
nobody could arreat blm. He was In tbe very
midst of a militant harangue when Deputy
McDonald suddenly appeared on the scene and
before Gordon could gather himself be waa. by
men hud gathered. McDonald went over there
and found Reevea surrounded. Without hesl-1
tation he shoved a way through with his pistol
until he stood by Reeves' side. Reeves had
arrested a man and a general riot was Immi-
nent The prisoner was very drunk and dis-
orderly and demanding that he be allowed to
go to his room. Catching the drift of matters,
McDonald said:
"AH right, take him to his room. If he's
got one; I'll take care of this crowd."
There was something in the buslness-llka
confidence of that statement which impressed
the crowd. And then he had such a bandy
way of holding a six shooter. Nobody quite
wanted to die first and Reeves sturted for the
back entrance of the hotel with his man. Aa
they entered the door the fellow reeled against
the casing and fell to the ground. Then a
general stampede started, for It was called out
that Reeves had struck him. McDonald said:
"Stop, you fellers! The fool fell down.
I'll kill the first man that interferes!"
That was another discouraging statement
from a man who had a habit of keeping his
word. It seemed to the crowd that an officer
like that didn't play fair. He didn't arguo at
all. Somebody was likely to get hurt if they
didn't gel that gun nway from him. Movements
to this end were started here and there, but
they didn't get near enough to the chief actor
to be effective. Finally, when Reeves and his
prisoner set out for the calaboose, the crowd
moved in that direction, timing their stepB to
a cho.-us of threats and profanity. . Reevea
and McDonald made no reply until they ar-
rived Pt the lock-up; then, the disturbers being
there handy, the officers began gathering them
in, a dozen at. a time. It was a genuine sur-
prise party for the tie-inen. They were too
much astonished for any concerted movement,
and when invited at the points of those guns
to step inside and make themselvafi at home
they did not have the bad taste to refuse.
The turbulent tie-men were sober and sen-
sible by Monday morning and allowed to go,
under promise of good behavior.
Mineola suddenly became a moral town.
Amusements of the old sort languished.
But by this time Deputy Bill Jeess was not
satisfied with the quiet life. He had found
his proper vocation—that of active enforce-
ment of the law and he-was moved to pursue
it in remoter places. A certain desperate ne-
gro outlaw by the name of Jim Bean had com
mitted crimes in Smith county, whence he had
escaped to Kansas. There he had killed a
city marshal and returned once more to Smith
counly, which adjoins Wood on the south.
This was the kind of game that Deputy
Bill always enjoyed hunting. It was worth
while. He made frequent still-hunts along the
Sabine river, the dividing line between
Wood and Smith, hoping to locate his quarry.
He had heard a rumor that a certain
family of swamp-dwellers were in league
with the men, and, reflecting on the mat-
ter, he concluded to visit this house, both
for the purpose of investigation and to borrow
a shotgun, which he thought might be more
useful in a man-chase than his rifle. Arriving
at the suspected bouse, he told in his mildest
manner a tale of a wounded deer not far away
and borrowed a shotgun as well as the infor-
mation that the men and dogs of the place
were in the brakes. He now began a careful
still-bunt for his game and presently came full
upon Jim Bean, who was on a horse, with a
shotgun, guarding some stolen hogs.
Before Bean could move now Deputy Mc-
Donald had him covered and commanded him
to get off his horse or he would shoot him
dead. Bean obeyed and McDonald threw bis
leg over his saddle and slid to the ground,
still covering Bean with his gun. Suddenly
Bean made a dash for a large tree, turning
to shoot Just as he reached this cover. Mc-
Donald was too quick, however, and let go
with a load of buckshot, which struck Bean
in several places, causing him to make off in
tha direction of a slough toward thick hiding.
McDonald now mounted bis horse and started
In pursuit of the wounded Jim Bean. Blood-
stains made the trail easy to follow.
Soon a powder horn and then a pair
of boots lay in the path of flight. McDon-
ald followed six miles to a cabin occupied by
negroes. Bean was not in the cabin, but bara-
foot prints led Into the woods. Tbe man-
hunter followed them and finally overtook
warm. ___________
A BURNING ERUPTION FROM
HEAD TO FEET
"Four years ago I suffered severely
with a terrible eczema, being a maas
of sores from head to feet and for all
weeks confined to my bed. During
that time I suffered continual tor-
ture from itching and burning. After
being given up by my doctor I was ad-
vised to try Cuticura Remedies. After
the first bath with Cuticura Soap and
application of Cuticura Ointment I en-
joyed the first good sleep during my
entire illness. I also used Cuticura
Resolvent and the treatment was con-
tinued for about three weelu. At tha
end of that time I was able to be
about the house, entirely cured, and
have felt no 111 effects since. I would
advise any person suffering from any
form of skin trouble to try the Cuti-
cura Remedies aa I know what they
did for me. Mrs. Edward Nennlng,
1112 Salina St., Watertown, N. Y..
Apr. 11, 1909."
Her Bright New Cook.
Mrs. Blank prided herself on her
ability to train her servants, and she
had Just been bragging about the
treasure she had in her new colored
cook when the following dialogue oc-
curred:
"Now, Amaranth, 111 come out and
fry the chicken, but I want you to
have it all ready for me. Dress it
carefully and be sure to singe off
every hair."
"Yas'm."
"Then cut it up just as I showed
you the other day. Do you remem-
ber?"
"Vas'm."
"Wash and 6rain it well. You un-
derstand?"
"Yas'm." Then, as an afterthought,
"Shall I kill it?"—The Circle.
Not a Model Family.
"Your father doesn't think you have
been especially well behaved," said
the small boy's uncle.
"I know that," answered the preco-
cious juvenile. "But things I have
heard mother say make me think he
isn't any great judge of high class de-
portment."
Just the Place.
"Save me, save me!" shouted a man
dashing into the first open doorway.
"They're coming to kill me!"
"H-m-m-m!" calmly remarked the
proprietor. "You've picked out a good
place fer 'em to do It. This is an un-
dertakin' establishment."
A WOMAN DOCTOR
Quick to See that Coffee waa
Doing the Mischief.
their
bad t*
puraw
iwner. It
fb tricked
twist of tke
ruied.
>. He
dark bow
Next moi
tot Bean. The officer
bad eacaped while hia
in« this fai»e lead. It
tber search was hope-
outlaws had vanished
y aevtr returned and
A lady tells of a bad case of coffee
poisoning and tells it in a way so sim-
ple and straightforward that literary
skill could not Improve it.
"I had neuralgic headaches for 12
years," she says, "and suffered untold
agoay. When I first began to have
them I weighed 140 pounds, but they
brought me down to 110. I went
to many doctors and they gave me
only temporary relief. So I suffered
on, till one day a woman doctor told
me to use Postum. She said I looked
like I was coffee poisoned.
"So I began to drink Postum and I
gained 15 pounds in the first few
weeks and continued to gain, but not
ro fast as at first. My headaches be-
gan to leave me after I had used
Postum about two weeks — long
enough to get the coffee poison out of
my system.
"Since I began to use Postum I can
gladly say that I never know what a
neuralgic headache is like any more,
and it was nothing but Postum that
made me well. Before I used Postum
1 never went out alone; I would >ret
bewildered and would not know which
way to turn. Now I go a.ooe and my
head is as clear as a belL My braia
and nerrea are stronger than they
have been for Tears" »
Read th* IHH* book, "The Road to
s a R«
m
i» r»
TV war
■M
•*td