Transcribed For Online by Geraldine [email protected]
Records Contributed by Vicki Bell-Reynolds [email protected]

father cleared his name of the crime and after Mrs. Howard told my father that the two Sams was the same man Sam changed his name to Howard but, when he married the Taylor girl under the name of Brown people there thought her name should still be Brown and not Howard but, it was changed to Howard and still goes by that name.

While my father was still post master there the full blooded indians would come to the postoffice after their mail and be around the post office and would be just as drunk as they could be and they would have a long bladed knife in their hand waving it around and would walk up to my father and wave their knives around his face and come within inches of his nose but, he wouldn't say a word to them about it, and they would be speaking their language, he could talk any of their languages, and could talk to all of them.

The Indian women would make some kind of gruel out of corn meal and that was the most delicious meal that you ever tasted, they would make a lot of it and bring some of it to us and it was certainly delicious.

My father died on July 26, 1907 at 9 PM at the age of 56 years. my brother Ben died July 26, 1948, 2 AM at the age of 56 years.  Just 41 years later and about 19 hours difference in actual time hours.

When the territory became statehood in April 1907 the home stead law was changed from 160 acres of land to 80 acres, that made us have 80 acres of land of government land under our fence.  There was a family there by the name of Frank Dowdy and his children were half breed indians and he placed a home stead on this 80 acres of government land under our fence for this child, because the government would permit indians to homestead land.

Dowdy was approved by the indian government and gave the permission to sell this 80 acres of land.  My mother after our father death decided that she wanted to buy this 80 acres tract so we would own all the land under fence.

By that time my brother Ben was of age, she sold to him the guardianship of the estate, he in turn went to the bank there at Woodville to borrow the money to buy this land, the banker there was a crook, he saw that by working the transtractions smoothly he would gain all of this farm.He wouldn't advance the money just on the 80   acres of land and let the 80 acres stand for itself he demanded and received a mortgage on all the 160 acres, and my brother Ben was igornt enough to sign for such a loan.  That fall when the note came due, the banker told Ben that he wanted all the money or the farm, the banker foreclosed on Ben and took the farm away from him.  And in the deal not a one of us realized a thing out of the farm. 

When a man there thought that another man had dealed him a wrong he would go to this man and tell him about the matter so to settle a dispute they or who ever was into it, the two men would take a 45 pistol would stand up and put their backs together and step off about fifty steps turn and fire at one another. the first one to shoot and killed his man he would win the argument and considered the best man the man that done the most killing was considered a hero among the men all the rest of the men would took up to him for they would be afraid of him because they knew that he wouldn't take any of their foolishness.  And when a man would kill another man he would cut a notch on his pistol handle and the more notches that he would have on his pistol handle the more of a hero he would be.  ever man in the terrritory would wear a pistol of somekind ever where he went. they clained that it was for protection to them.

When you wanted hay in the territory all you had to do was take your mowing machine out on the prairie and cut all the grass that you wanted when it cured take your hay baler and bale all that you needed.  That was the choice hay for that day in time.

The people in that country would fish, hunt, and dance.  they would have dances at nearly all the houses in the neighborhood,  I have gone to dances starting on monday night and dance until the early hours in the

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