WILLIAM (the adventurer) PERRY EARLES
The best biography of William Perry Earles was told to an interviewer by himself. In the “Indian Pioneer Papers – Western History Collection” 1 interviews were taken of people married to Native Americans or living on or near a reservation. William Perry Earles was interviewed in Ringling, Jefferson County, Oklahoma on May 16, 1838 by Ethel V. Elder. And so the story begins...
My mother, Caroline Jones, was born in the state of Tennessee and is buried there. My grandmother on my mother’s side, Nancy Jones, was born in the state of Mississippi and is buried in White County, Tennessee. I was born April 3, 1849 at Stagestand, White county, Tennessee. I never knew anything about any of my ancestors for I was never told anything about them.
There were three more children in our family older than I; my father died when I was a very small baby and mother could not take care of all the children as she was not able to care for us and make the living for us that she wanted us to have so she let Spencer Holder and wife have me to raise and I stayed with them until I was grown or at least old enough to start out to make my own way in life.
*In this section there are a few descrepancies: his birth year, surname of his mother and grandmother and three older children. According to the 1900 census, his birth month and year is given as April 1859.2 All the other census where he is found corroborate this year of birth (1860,1870, 1910, 1920, 1930)3. Jones has never been mentioned as a surname for Caroline or Nancy but the first names are the same as has been believed. As far as three older siblings, that is a possibility. On the 1860 White county, Tennessee census,4 Mary S. and Rachel F. were named in the same household as William, and the girls’ mother is as yet to be identified. We do know there were two younger siblings because on the 1870 White county, Tennessee census 5 William, Lawson and Evaline are named with their mother Elizabeth Caroline. In fact, on this census, William is living in two households: William P. age 11 in the household of Nancy and Caroline Earles (grandmother and mother) and William Earles age 11 in the household of Spencer and Elizabeth Holder.6 That evidence fits his description of his early years. The relationship of the Holders to the Earles is that Spencer and Elizabeth Spencer’s daughter, Tabitha, married William M. Earles who was the son of Martin Earles who was the son of Pleasant Earles by his first wife. Pleasant is William Perry’s grandfather.
I worked in Colorado one year 7 and nine boys came back with me and we started to gathering up cattle and horses to drive on south to Texas. We had fights with the Indians all the way back, and so many different tribes, too; the Kickapoos, Kiowas, Arapahoes and others. In the Freo Canyon in Texas we caught them stealing our cattle, horses and some sheep that we had in our herds and I know that I have killed a large bunch of Indians in my rounds. I never was captured by them, but have had some hot, hard battles with them.
One time when we were camped down on a river in Texas my partner and I heard our horses snorting and we saw something creeping through the bushes. At first we could not figure out if it was Indians or some kind of an animal coming to us. We were camped a little ways from our horses so we started to make for our horses and they started shooting from the bushes and ran us into the old corral of horses. They shot some of our horses all to pieces, stole eight of our good horses, caused the cattle to stampede and we had a hard time getting our cattle and remaining horses back together. After the battle was over some of the Indians came over where we were and wanted some beef so we cut out a beef and let them have it after which they went on their way and did not bother us any more.
Another time some of us had a herd of buffalo that we were to drive up on the plains and kill and when we came to a ravine we decided to pitch camp there for the night. We cooked some buffalo meat that we had with us, had our supper and then went to bed. The next morning when we got up we fixed our breakfast and when it was light enough to start on our way, we saw about one thousand head of horses over on the hillside not very far from where we had camped. We started on our way and when the Indians saw us they mounted their horses and away they came, but we did not have a fight with them. They followed us to the sand hills of Red River and we never saw them any more, but we were expecting them to start trouble any minute. We would kill the buffalo, sell their hides, use all the meat we wanted and leave the rest on the prairie.
After I came to Texas this last time I stopped in Denton county and worked there with cattle on the Texas range and then went to Montague County and worked awhile after which I went to Clay County on Red River and worked in Texas and Indiana Territory, too.
Later, I went to the Bayou in the Territory, lived there two or three years and bought cattle from the Chickasaw cattlemen. The Indians had put a cattle tax on all the cattle and when we cattle buyers refused to pay the tax we were arrested and taken to Fort Smith. They did not put us in jail but put the stripes on us and made us wear them as long as we were there, which was a long time. Judge Parker told us one day to get off those striped suits and get on our own clothes and start on our way so I cam back to the Bayou and lived there for awhile, then moved southwest about two miles to the Six Skillett Spring Ranch, where I worked for five or six years after which I moved over to Old Cornish Settlement where I live now, but not the same place.
When the first Government townships were opened up for sale I bought a place form the Government and built a frame house. I also built a log house over on the ranch and one when I lived on the Bayou. I still was in the cattle business and had to pay a permit of $5.00 each year to handle cattle. The Government wanted to raise the price but Judge Parker said he thought that $5.00 was enough to pay, so I sold out and went out of the cattle business on a large scale, only kept a few for my own use.
When I was living in Montague County, Texas, I met a very fine young lady who was the apple of my eye and I finally persuaded her to marry me and we lived there and moved all the rounds into Oklahoma and Territory. Her name was Fannie Roberts; she died in 1913 at the age of forty-seven and is buried in the Cornish Cemetery.
When the first man died here in Cornish in the early days I picked out the place for the graveyard to be started; that is where my wife is buried.
I married again about twenty-five years ago to Ada Williams and we now live at the old home place. There have never been any children by either marriage, but I have raised about fourteen orphan children with both my first and last wife helping to mother them.
I never attended school very much, about three months in Tennessee and then after I came to Texas I went a short time and quit.
Fort Supply, Fort McKavey and Fort Elliott in the Territory and Texas were the places where I used to do a great deal of my trading for provisions and other supplies that were needed.
BATTLEFIELDS
There is an old battlefield ground out this side of Ardmore on Little Hickory, between Big and Little Hickory, which had all the breastworks, fortifications, and also everything.
BUFFALO
For one year I hunted and herded buffalo in Texas an the Indian Territory on the Pease and Arkansas Rivers. I have been where there were hundreds of head killed and skinned for their hides to sell to the shippers of hides and furs; the horns were also sold at a good price. After the buffaloes were skinned and everyone got all the meat that they wanted, the buffalo were piled up in large stacks like hay stacks for half mile in length and sometimes longer, then burned and after the bones were bleached they were collected and ground into fertilizer and sold to fertilize the land.
RANCHES
Joel Gunter was here before Bill Washington came to this part of the country to take his place, then came Bill Sappington, Tad Wilson, Newt Jackson, Wade Suggs, Addington Waggoner, Burntee and some others whose names I cannot remember.
DEPUTY UNITED STATES MARSHALL
Some of the United States deputy marshals that I knew were Heck Thomas, John String, George Steward, Loss Hart and George Tuck. Loss Hart killed one of the well known outlaws, Bill Dalton. Bass Reeves was a negro marshal who was down in the Choctaw Nation and I knew him very well.
OUTLAWS
Emmitt Dalton, a brother of Bill Dalton, was killed in Kansas robbing a bank. I was personally acquainted with Frank and Jesse James and they used to stay where I did a long time. I knew Cole, Bob and John Younger, have been with them a great many times and knew their hiding places. Billie the Kid, Sam Bas, and John Wesley Hardin were some outlaws whom I knew, in fact, I have been with all these that I have mentioned on many of their rounds and in their hiding places in the day time. Frank James gave himself up to the law in Missouri.
INDIANS
The Tonkawa tribe of Indians were kept on the 101 Ranch for a long time guarded by the soldiers to keep the other Indians form killing them, because they would not help to kill out the white people; they thought the white man was their friend and for that reason they were hated by the other tribes.
CATTLE TRAILS
The Chisholm Western and the Plains Trails are the most important trails that I have had any experience with. I have been over all them and others many times driving cattle to the market centers.
OX TEAMS
I have used oxen for all purposes of hauling, plowing, freighting. I have had from eight to ten yoke hitched to the large freight wagons many times, sometimes more and sometimes less. We used them mostly to plow where there were large trees to plow around when we would be clearing off the timber land. I brought sixty yoke into this country and sol them when I first came here.
EMIGRANT TRAILS
Fort Smith to McAlester, Fort Belknap and Fort Sill to Gainesville, Texas, were some of the emigrant trails that I was familiar with.
EPIDEMICS
Down on the Bayou one time while they were having a big dance celebration for three days and nights and the Spotted fever broke out and people died by the hundreds; about one hundred babies died at that time, not one was left under two years old. I think they later decided that the fever was as form of meningitis.
CEMETERIES
The Indian custom of a graveyard or cemetery was just bury the dead any place in the yard where they lived; it did not make any difference ifit was the front or the back yard.
POST SITES
Fort Stockton, Fort Sill, Graham on the Washita, and Camp Supply were some of the post sites that I knew about.
Copper mines used to be in this country and would have amounted to something fi the industry had been properly handled.
This is the end of the interview.
And, finally, just to give a little extra insight to his later years, the following newspaper clips were found about William Perry Earles.
The Ringling Eagle Jefferson Co., Oklahoma
Feb 1922 W.P. Earles, orchard and garden expert, is pruning and dressing J.H. Dillard's orchard and vineyard near Ringling.
The Cornish News October 4, 1912 Hewitt News
Mr. and Mrs. Perry Earls are attending the state fair
Mr. and Mrs. W.P. Earls returned from Ryan where they were awarded several cash prizes on different farm and garden produce. They received premiums $27.50
And so we see that the William Earles had a full life filled with true wild west adventure and he lived long enough to tell about it.
1. Indian Pioneer Papers 1860 – 1935 – Western History Collection volume 27 p. 57; Interview # 10654 (Family History Library Salt Lake City, Utah microfiche 6016892)
2. 1900 United States Federal Census: Cornish, Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma; Enumeration District 173
3. 1860 United States Federal Census: White County, Tennessee (b. 1859)
1870 United States Federal Census: White County, Tennessee (b. 1859); Enumeration District 5; Page 336
1910 United States Federal Census: Earl, Jefferson, Oklahoma; Enumeration District 152; Page 20B (b. 1859)
1920 United States Federal Census: Earl, Jefferson, Oklahoma; Enumeration District 203; Page 6A (b. 1870)
1930 United States Federal Census: Cornish, Jefferson, Oklahoma; Enumeration District 238; Page 2B (b. 1859)
4. 1860 United States Federal Census: District 4, White County, Tennessee, page 32. Post Office Cave
5. 1870 United States Federal Census: White County, Tennessee (b. 1859); Enumeration District 5; Page 336
6. 1870 United States Federal Census: White County, Tennessee (b. 1859); Enumeration District 4; Page 323
7. Leadville, Colorado City Directories, 1882 - 90 (database on-line) Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network., 2000.
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