Duchess SW Domain

Did you notice last week that you received two emails concerning "The OkieLegacy" newsletter. The first email listed last weeks newsletter as Vol. 11, Iss. 48 … My Bad! The second email was sent out after we made the correction to the correct Iss. 47.

The photo on the left is my friend and buddy, Ruff. He was the Thanksgiving Poker Judge, calling the family to the round table of friendly, hilarious, outrageous family poker play.

I am glad NW Okie took my "going on strike" serious, because she has cut me some slack. She has also got her nose out of the Ancestry.com for awhile and let me cuddle on her lap more. Now … How do I keep that Sadie Pug from encroaching on my territory? Oh Well! Sadie is a nice companion for me when NW Okie heads to town and about without me.

NW Okie made the traditional "homemade" flaky, melt-in-your-mouth pie crusts for the traditional cherry and pumpkin pies. We all know that you can not have Thanksgiving without some sort of pumpkin in the meal or desserts, huh! How was your Thanksgiving? Too much turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, homemade chicken & noodles, and desserts?

Also, this last weekend we watched as the Oklahoma bedlam between OU and OSU was played out in Norman, Oklahoma. The outcome was not what NW Okie would have liked, but she is torn between the two major Universities of Oklahoma. Her father graduated from OU Pharmacy school in 1937 and her oldest son graduated from OSU in the early 1990's.
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The Army In WWII: Thunderbirds

Roy and Pug say, "… the 45th Division, made up largely of men from Oklahoma and West Texas. … The men of Oklahoma were drawling and soft-spoken. They were not smart-alecks. Something of the purity of the soil seemed to be in them. Even their cussing was simpler and more profound than the torrential obscenities of eastern city men. An Oklahoman of the plains was straight and direct. He was slow to criticize and hard to anger, but once he was convinced of the wrong of something, brother, watch out."

The quiet men of the 45th, the newest division over here, have already fought so well they have drawn the high praise of the commanding general of the corps of which the division is a part. During WWII, The 45th division was relieved by the 3rd Division on the last day of July, after 22 days of hard and constant fighting. Then Came a brief breathing spell for rest and rehabilitation, repair and cleaning of the guns and vehicles and equipment. The Division would reorganize and receive replacements of its weapons and material in an assembly area near the city of Cefalu.

Following World War I, the National Defense Act of 1920 created the authority to form the 45th Infantry Division from the four states of Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. The division was organized in 1923, and Oklahoma members camped together for the first time at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1924.

In the period pre-dating World War II, the division was called upon to maintain order in times of disasters and keep peace during periods of political unrest. Governor John C. Walton used the Guard to prevent the Legislature from meeting when they were preparing to impeach him in 1923. Governor William H. Murray’s calls to duty included the enforcement of closing of banks and keeping open a free bridge on the Red River, in spite of a federal court order that it not be opened.

In September of 1940 the division was ordered into federal service for one year to engage in a training program. The division’s time in federal service began at Ft. Sill, and at the end of the first year they had participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers. By the end of the year the world situation had worsened, and the Thunderbirds continued their training and prepared for war.

The Thunderbirds trained at Fort Sill, OK; Camp Barkeley, TX; Fort Devens, MA; Pine Camp, NY; and Camp Pickett, VA. They had trained hard for their part in World War II, and on July 10, 1943 the division participated in their first of four amphibious landings. In all the division served 511 days in combat; fighting their way across Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany. The National Guard Division of the southwest became highly regarded by both regular army forces and the enemy for their valiant efforts and fighting abilities.

The 45th Infantry Division served with General George S. Patton’s U.S. 7th Army during the Sicilian campaign, and when the fighting was done, the commander had this to say about the division, "Your division is one of the best, if not the best division in the history of American arms.” -- The Army In WWII: Thunderbirds

45hdivisionmuseum.com is located at: 2145 N.E. 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73111, The Museum is just East of Marting Luther King Avenue on N.E. 36th street, South of Remington Park, Omniplex, and the Oklahoma City Zoo.
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Round Pond, Oklahoma Territory (OT)

"Just south of the Kansas border, in Indian Territory’s 58-mile-wide Cherokee Outlet (sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Cherokee Strip), they chose a spot about a mile north of the Salt Fork River, where, back in 1866, explorer James R. Mead had established a trading post that was known as Round Pond. By 1873 it had developed into a combination stagecoach station, supply store and cattle ranch called Pond Creek. Twenty miles farther south, surveyors mapped a possible townsite near a stagecoach station called Skeleton Ranch.

"By the summer of 1888, the Rock Island’s subsidiary, the Chicago, Kansas & Nebraska Railway, had laid track from Caldwell, Kan., to Pond Creek, and by 1892 the line reached Texas. At the proposed townsites of Round Pond and Skeleton Ranch, the railroad had put in sidetracks, water tanks and small depots, even though the Cherokee Outlet still belonged to the Cherokees. Ownership, however, was about to change.

In early 1893, the federal government yielded to growing pressure to open the Outlet for settlement by purchasing it from the Cherokee Nation. United States Secretary of Interior Hoke Smith quickly organized a public land opening, setting September 16 as the day for the land run. (For more on Oklahoma’s land runs, see the October 2007 issue of Wild West.) Smith named former Alaska Territorial Governor Alfred P. Swineford as inspector of surveys, a job that entailed locating land offices and county seats.

"Where the rail line crossed the Outlet, Swineford’s choice was easy. He platted land around the Rock Island’s depot at Pond Creek for a county seat town in what was to become “L” County (later Grant County). He called it “Round Pond,” the same name given the area by explorer Mead years earlier. Similarly, Swineford selected land bordering the Rock Island’s tracks near Skeleton Ranch for a townsite called “Enid,” the county seat of “O” County (later Garfield County). Available water and timber made both locations even more attractive, and although the Department of Interior initially accepted Swineford’s recommendations, the plan soon changed.

"A few days before the September 16 land run, ranking Interior officials rejected the two locations. The reason, although unclear at the time, apparently involved Indian land allotments, a right given the Cherokees by treaty. In his history of the Rock Island Railway, Iron Road to Empire, William Edward Hayes claimed the government’s last-minute rejection resulted from the discovery that “railway officials” had conspired with Cherokee Indian leaders to control property around the sites. Other historians blame U.S. Senator Robert L. Owen, a Cherokee lawyer, lobbyist and agent for the Five Civilized Tribes, who reportedly conspired “illegally” with tribal leaders to select the most valuable allotments.

"Ultimately, when U.S. Land Office Commissioner Silas Lamoreaux reviewed the townsite selections, he realized that Indians owned several large pieces of property adjacent to the Round Pond and Enid townsites. Believing that prospective settlers would not be “best served by townsites almost surrounded by Indian allotments” and suspicious of a railroad effort to exploit settlers, Lamoreaux recommended changes.

"Secretary of Interior Smith, an attorney who had made a career of prosecuting damage suits against railroads, was more than happy to preempt any chance of railroad skullduggery in Oklahoma Territory. Smith relocated the Round Pond and Enid townsites three miles south of the original locations, changes that would soon create havoc." -- historynet.com

Al says, "A friend of mine sent me these pictures of Round Pond, OT, that is currently Jefferson, OK. The townsite was officially moved three miles South and renamed Pond Creek sometime around statehood.(Oklahoma Place Names, 2nd edition.)"

Candace and I are in Rutherford County, NC, watching Autumn spiral over the landscape. Snug in our cabin, there's little to do but read and catch the local events. So far the Linville, NC caverns and the Spindale (mill town) arts and antiques show. Candace is a Florida girl, and fascinated by the snow and turning leaves. Snow is scarce here in the isothermal zone, but we saw it on New Years' day a couple of years ago.
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Photos of Enid, Round Pond & Wharton, OT

The link to this site has photographs of Enid, Round Pond, and Wharton, in Oklahoma Territory.

* Photographs of Enid, Round Pond & Wharton, O.T..
* Cherokee STrip: L. Wilson Saloon on C Street in Round Pond.
* Towns & Communities in Western History (photograph)
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Enid-Pond Creek Railroad War (1893-1894)

Wikipedia states, "The Enid-Pond Creek Railroad War (Oklahoma Territory, 1893-1894) pitted the citizens of two United States designated county seats against the Rock Island Railroad."

In the late 1880s, the Rock Island Railroad built a rail line into Indian Territory, entering near Caldwell, Kansas, and following the Chisholm Trail. At part of the infrastructure, the company established railroad stations near several of the existing stage stations along the trail. Two of the stations, Pond Creek, built at Pond Stage Stand on Round Pond Creek, and Enid, built at Skeleton Station near the Skeleton Ranch headquarters, would became involved in a controversy between the railroad and the Department of the Interior.

The troubles began when the Interior Department set about opening the Cherokee Strip to settlement. Hoping to lessen the problem of county seat wars, a common event in newly settled areas of the American West, the Department divided the strip into counties and assigned them county seats. They picked Pond Creek in "L" County and Enid in "O" County. Following the Interior Department's announcement of the official county seats, several citizens of the Cherokee Nation exercised their options to select their land allotments in the Cherokee Outlet, and chose them at the two town sites. Railroad officials were accused of conspiring with the Indians to speculate on town development, so officials in the Interior Department moved the government approved towns to different locations nearby.

A land run opened the Cherokee Outlet in 1893, and settlers, mainly from Kansas, occupied all four town sites; railroad Pond Creek, government Pond Creek, railroad Enid (North Enid), and government Enid (South Enid). The Rock Island responded to the government's action by refusing to stop trains at the government towns. Citizens in the government towns at first applied political pressure to get the railroad to provide service, and the Oklahoma Territorial government and U.S. House of Representatives backed them up. But the U.S. Senate took the railroad's side and refused to act. Government officials then notified the Rock Island that they had to furnish mail service to the two government towns. Rock Island responded by installing a hook to pick up and deliver mail, without slowing their trains. When the mail pouches broke open, citizens accused the railroads of purposely strewing their mail along the tracks.

With the stalemate in Washington and intransigence by the railroads, citizens of both government towns began direct actions. Enid passed an ordinance setting a speed limit on trains passing through town; the Rock Island ignored it. Citizens in both government towns began attempting to flag down trains, placed dummies on the tracks, and then left wagons and debris across the rails.

With no relief by Washington or by the railroads, citizens began direct action. In June 1894, citizens of Pond Creek tore up about a hundred yards of track and wrecked a freight train. No one was killed, but by then citizens of both South Enid and Pond Creek were taking potshots at trains passing through. By July citizens were placing bombs on the tracks, and, in the most drastic action of all, unknown persons sawed partially through a number of supports on the trestle near Enid, wrecking an unscheduled freight train preceding the scheduled passenger train.

U.S. Marshals and troops from Fort Reno and Fort Supply were sent in to restore order and patrol the railroad right-of-way, but violence continued.

Finally the U.S. Senate decided to move and on August 8, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed an act (28 Stat. 263) requiring railroads "to establish and maintain passenger stations and freight depots at or within one-fourth of a mile of the boundary limits of all town sites established prior to August 8, 1894, in said Territories."

Aftermath … Railroad Pond Creek was renamed Jefferson and relocated to higher ground; government Pond Creek (often called Round Pond by the Rock Island) remained but the Grant County seat (formerly "L" County) was eventually moved to Medford.

Railroad Enid became North Enid; government Enid, or South Enid, became simply Enid, the county seat of Garfield County (formerly "O" County).
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Seminole Burning: A Story of Racial Vengeance

The information to follow was found in "Seminole Burning: A Story of Racial Vengeance" by Daniel F. Littlefield.

On page 104 is mentioned about claim jumpers on notice at Cross, Kemlin and Round Pond. The townsite officer and the mayor of Round Pond were ordered out of town. Also, A vigilance committee was organized at Enid to fight cattle and horse thieves.

The story goes on to state, "When there was an attempt to suppress vigilante activities near Round Pond, the reaction was predictable because, said the Watonga Republican, 'There are many protective associations in the strip.' Elsewhere in Oklahoma, reports of vigilance committee activities came from Choctaw City in 1894, Edmond in 1895, and Perry in 1896.

The Territorial Governor Cassius M Barnes reported that the SEminole burning was the first lynching in Oklahoma. Barnes was either ignorant of the territory's history, was glassing it, or had an unusual definition of lynching. Oklahoma Territory had experienced its first lynching on the day after the land rush opened the territory in 1889. From then until 1898 there were at least nine other reported lynching involving eighteen victims. The most striking statistics regard the race of the victims: two whites, two Mexicans, five blacks, and ten Indians.

Through the years, only the Langston City Herald, published at the all-black town of Langston, had consistently printed editorials against lynching and supported Anti-Lynch League organization.

The citizens of Pottawatomie County differed little from other territorial residents in their attitudes toward vigilantism and lynch law. Their propensity for vigilantism had revealed itself in recent times in the organization of local Law & Order Leagues in 1895 and late 1897 and white capper activities in 1896.

Pottawatomie County residents also tended to view lynching and mob law as a social corrective. In early January 1896, someone murdered and robbed two elderly bachelor brothers named Mountz. Evidence indicated that four men were involved, and circumstantial evidence led to the arrest of Israel C. McClothlin. While he was in jail at Tecumseh, six masked men overpowered the jailer, broke open the cell door, and took McGlothlin to the city park, where they strung him up three times, nearly killing him in an effort to make him reveal his accomplices.

The local newspaper lauded their efforts, "While nearly every body condemns mob law yet in this case the perpetrators were merely trying to bring the evidence out so the law could get hold of the murderers."

Despite the frequent activities of small terrorist mobs and the editorial support for lynching, Pottawatomie County and the territory had not experienced lynching by a mass mob like that at Maud appeared to be.

The climate of opinion back then would have the county residents expecting little else than an editorial defense of the burning of Lincoln McGeisey and Palmer Sampson.

J. E. Doom of the Tecumseh Leader justified the lynching and burning by making the timeworn "what-it-it-had-been-your-wife/daughter/niece" question. Doom asked his readers to think of the mother with the nursing babe, her alleged violation by the two fiends, and the hogs devouring her corpse.

The action of the mob, he argued had its origins in the nobler feelings of outrage. BUT … Doom failed to mention that it took more than a week for those nobler feelings, as he called them, to find their way tot he surface and transform themselves into mob action. But Doom did not know that the lynching was not spontaneous. Leard, Martin, Pryor, Roper and others had had to recruit numbers by sending out news of a planned burning. That most who responded to the call went out of curiosity, not out of a desire to see "Justice" done.

To build his case for the nobility of burring, Doom published what purported to be a signed confession by McGeisey and Sampson, which he copied format he Shawnee Quill. It read:

"I came here on Thursday to Okffsto: I saw his wife; I came then to George Wolf's, I saw him and one man and one woman go to Eurka Sile. I saw one woman, she came out and talked to me then to Cayitolar. From there to McGeesy, fromthere to Salt Creek. I met with Lincoln McGeesy. I asked him for money, he asked me what I wanted with it. I told him I wanted to get some whiskey, he said he had some whiskey. He said to me: "Lets of to Jules Laird." I asked him what for, he said, "to borrow his saddle," We came up in about 300 yards of the house. I asked the woman where the man was and she said he had gone to the store. I said to her I wanted to borrow saddle she said there was saddle there but it was not Mr. Laird's."

Early Oklahoma & Indian Territory Maps

You can find this early Oklahoma and Indian Territory maps over Oklahoma State University's site:
* Preliminary geologic map and sections of Oklahoma Territory.
* Oklahoma Territory
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Women In History: Suffragettes

Joel sent us the following story concerning the 80th Aniversary of the Persons Case in Canada."

This is the story of women who were ground-breakers. These brave women from the early 1900s made all the difference in the ives we live today. Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.

The women were innocent and defenseless, but when in North America, women picketed in front of the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote, they were jailed. And by the end of the first night in jail, those women were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.'

Lucy Burns -- They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air.

Dora Lewis -- They hurled dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards barbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, picking, twisting and kicking the women.

Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on November 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote.

For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food -- all of it colorless slop -- was infested with worms.

Alice Paul -- When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and pouted liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the pres.

All women who have ever voted, have ever owned property, have ever enjoyed equal rights need to remember that women's rights had to be fought for in Canada as well. Do our daughters and our sisters know the price that was paid to earn rights for women here, in North America?

2009 is the 80th Anniversary of the persons Case in Canada, which finally declared women in Canada to be Persons! Women … Remember to celebrate the rights we enjoy! "Knowledge is Freedom: hide it, and it withers; share it, and it blooms." -- quote by P. Hill.
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