Send The Light

Missionary work in the Ozarks in the early 1800’s was an idea that had taken root during the early revival fires of the Second Great Awakening. I had a Great, Great, Great Grandfather named Henry Nevil Wayland that was part of this movement. One of his primary goals was preaching the Gospel to the Indians in the Ozarks.

Henry Nevil Wayland Jr. arrived in Arkansas 1815 according to the Historical Journal of Lawrence County, Arkansas. Along with the Waylands, the Stuarts & Rainwaters are mentioned with respect to creating the first Protestant Methodist Church in the Arkansas Territory. The Walnut Ridge Methodist Church has drawn some if its most staunch Methodists and strongest leaders from pioneer families in the western district of Lawrence County. It will be remembered that the Spring River Circuit, which includes part of Western Lawrence County, was the first pastoral charge organized in Arkansas in 1815 by the Rev. Eli Lindsey. It was this same year that Henry Nevil Wayland came to Arkansas and his son, Jonathan Wayland. They, with Hugh Rainwater and Terra Stuart and their families, organized a Church on Flat Creek. Jonathan Wayland became a local preacher and so did Hugh Rainwater. To the present generation of Waylands and Rainwaters (many of whom have held membership in Walnut Ridge) belong the distinction of being descendents of the first Methodist Church organized in Arkansas.

Additionally, the Chronicles of Oklahoma also mentions this church as the first church founded amongst the Cherokees in Arkansas Territory, predating the better known "Dwight Mission" by 3 or 4 years.

Since evangelism to the American Indians was a goal of some of the Ozarks’ first pioneers, I have found a snippet from an 1844 newspaper with the same goal.

THE FAR WEST SEMINARY.—This is the title of an Institution, which the friends of learning and religion are endeavoring to establish, three miles from Fayetteville, Arkansas. This town is in Washington county, in the north-west corner of Arkansas, a district intersected by the Ozark Mountains, where there are few slaves, and where the people raise their own Wool and Cotton, and manufacture it for themselves. The Cherokees are within 25 miles, and the Choctaws are within 45. — It is a leading purpose of the Seminary to instruct the Indians. Arkansas, as yet, has no College, and we hope this effort will succeed.

Work Cited:
“The Far West Seminary.” Commercial Herald 2.49 (23 December 23, 1844) 2. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009. http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com.
“History of Methodism in Walnut Ridge.” Lawrence County Historical Journal 4.3 1 Sept. 1982: N. pag.

Shinn, Josiah H. Pioneers and Makers of Arkansas Vol. 1. Little Rock, Arkansas: Democrat Printing & Lithograph Company, 1908. Genealogical and Historical Publishing Company. n.d. http://books.google.com.

Arkansas Jayhawkers

I’m still searching for documentation for The War of Northern Aggression or The Civil War in the Ozarks. I have found this small tidbit.

 February 21, 1863

From Vicksburg - Arkansas Jayhawkers

New York, Feb. 16- Gen. Sherman arrived at Washington yesterday from Vicksburg.

An officer from Grant's army who has arrived here, reports our forces in full strength around Vicksburg, and work on the canal making satisfactory headway. The new channel has six feet of water and the rapid is increasing.

Refugees from Arkansas state that 300 Jayhawkers who defy the rebel conscription act were in the mountains of Ozark county, while a thousand more were in Montgomery county, openly defying the rebels. They are supplied with powder and lead by one of their number, formerly engaged in the rebel ordnance department.

Work Cited:
"From Vicksburg - Arkansas Jayhawkers." Burlington Weekly Hawk Eye  (21 February, 1863) 1. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009. http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com.

Mutilated by Wild Animals.

This is another story that comes out of my “Tragedy in Death” File.

Mutilated by Wild Animals.

SPRINGFIED, Mo., Jan. 24.—A private letter from Ozark county says: On last Wednesday Abner Herndon started from J. N. Thompson's to go to John Davis' to help kill hogs. He took his rifle with him to hunt on the way. By some means he shot and killed hmself, the bullet going through his head. Davis thought he was still at Thompson's, and Thompson thought he was still at Davis', so be lay there in the woods from Wednesday until Sunday, when he was found. The sight was beyond description. His eyes and nose, and, in fact, nearly the whole face ,was eaten off by animals. Mr. Herndon was one of the most respected young men of Ozark county lie leaves a widowed mother and many friends to regret his loss.

Work Cited:
"Mutilated by Wild Animals." Alton Daily Telegraph 23.198 (24 Jan. 1884) A1-1. Chronicling America. The Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. 11 Jan. 2008 http://www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/.

The Original Hound Dawg Man...Part 2

I would like to thank everyone for their comments & emails concerning the last post. I have heard of the “Houn’ Dawg Song” before, but I did not realize the scope this old tune carried. Concerning the inquires I’ve had over the past few days, I have found a few more articles. I will post these before I move on to something else. For those who have not visited the Max Hunter Database, please take the time and peruse its’ contents at their web address: http://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/.

This first 1912 article comes from Reno, Nevada, and it discusses how old the song may be. I really like this article because it uses language/verbiage not often used today.

In what perhaps a vain hope of ending controversy about the authorship of the hound dog song, we offer a solution of that growing problem. It is so simple that it will likely be rejected by scholars, theorists, and quidnunes of all sorts, who dote on esoteries. Yes, in essence, it is such aa many of that sort accept in other literary identifications.

Brief are the words, they contain every letter of the name Francis Bacon, says the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. And these letters are not placed in consecutive order, showing the deep laid plan of the author not to reveal himself. This is practically the same plan which, according to the Baconian school, Bacon followed in the writing of Shakespeare’s works. Yet here, as in the plays attributed to Shakespeare, he was plainly inserting a key to unlock the mystery, but not until long after he should be dead. This theory applies even better here than it does to Shakespearean works. On reading Shakespeare, one marvels why a man capable of such work should be ashamed of it. But since, according to Baconians who stick to the cipher, Bacon really was ashamed of writing the hound dog song.

Still, with that far-seeing genius which again according to the Baconians, enabled him to see how posterity would find in plays a more supreme merit than contemporary criticism afforded them, he inserted in the song, as in the plays, a cipher to spell his name luridly across the front whenever the work should come to be acclaimed as a spark of the divine fire. Germany claims to have originated the song a century before Bacon was born, but she shows us no name blown in the bottle as the trademark. We stick to the Baconian cipher, as it has been elucidated by its most able advocates in the case of Shakespeare, in explaining the mystery of the identity of the writer of the hound dog song. Why he wrote it is a greater mystery and one which no mere cipher can ever explain.

End of Article

This next article discusses the use of the song in regards to Missouri soldiers. This information came from the Neosho Daily News, Neosho, Missouri, 1956.

The 2nd Missouri troops again were called out in 1916 by Pres. Woodrow Wilson and sent to the Mexican border .when Poncho Villa was leading his countrymen in raids on Texas communities along the Rio Grande. While they were stationed at Laredo, Tex., the boys from Missouri came in for considerable kidding, which gave birth to the ditty.

“Every time I come to town

The boys start kickin' my dog  aroun’."

Later two more lines were added:

“Don’t make no difference if he is a hound

You gotta quit kickin’ my dog  aroun’.”

Brig. Gen W. A. Raupp of Pierce City, regimental commander, sent the verse to a musician in New York who gave the words a "catchy" time, with band and orchestra arrangements. The song was adopted as the official regimental air, and the sad-eyed, lanky white and black hound became the official emblem of the Southwest Missouri "Hound Dog" Guard units. The rollicking tune and the Hound Dog emblem are now known around the world, wherever the fighting Southwest Missourians have gone.

The Second Missouri regimental band played the "Hound Dog" song as guardsmen —formed into the 28th, 29th and 30th Machine Gun companies—entrained in Joplin early one autumn morning in 1917 on their departure for World War I. The troops from Southwest Missouri bore the brunt of the intensive action in the Meuse-Argonne sector of France, where they helped stem the tide of the invading German army. The decisive battles of the war were fought in that area. Many Missourians were killed and others returned home wounded.

End of Article

The last article is a fun excerpt from The Oakland Tribune, Oakland, California, 1912.

Comments? Email me!

vincent.a@baxtercountylibrary.org

Works Cited:

“100 Years’ Tradition Behind Battery ‘A’.” Neosho Daily News 51.81 (24 April, 1956) 4. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009. http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com/.

“A Cipher in the Hound Dog Song.” Reno Evening Gazette 36.92 (April 16, 1912) 4. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009. http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com/.

“Shriners Have Real Missouri “Houn’ Dawg.” Oakland Tribune 77.52 (12 April, 1912) 3. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009. http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com/.

The Original Hound Dawg Man...Part 1

 I always thought of Elvis Presley as the “Hound Dog Man,” but apparently, there was The Original from Ozark County, Missouri.

  

Walsenburg, Colo., March 4.— “I’m it. The original hound dawg man.' 'I writ it and I'm running away."

Yelling like a Piute Indian on the warpath. "Lige" Spencer of Ozark county Mo., swung his team of mules off the Santa Fe trail into the main street of Walsenburg today and pulled up before "wet" cafe, with the announcement that he was the "poet of the Ozarks" and the man who wrote the famous "dawg song."

A piebald coon dog had ambled into town ahead of Spencer and his team and went to sleep in the roadway in front of the mules almost as soon as the team came, to a stop. "That dawg," and Lige pointed at the sleeping hound as he unfolded his six feet two of body to get down from his wagon seat, "that dawg was the inspiration of the most famous song that ever was written, for he is the best coon dog that ever chased a ringtail into a scrub oak. And still further, I can lick, out run, out jump or out wrestle any man who starts kickin’ him around."

As no one seemed anxious to take Spencer's challenge, he climbed onto his wagon seat, cracked his whip and with his mules and the hound disappeared in the direction opposite from which they entered town.

End of Article

Another Article a Few Weeks Later...

 

DENVER, -Col, March 23,—The man that "writ" the houn’ dawg song—or claims that he did—has escaped. He passed through Walsenburg, Col. The other day, according to a veracious account from that place printed in the Denver News. The houn’ dawg poet seems to have found life in Missouri a little too strenuous, both before and after he perpetrated the famous song which friends of Champ Clark are turning to political account at the forks of the creek. The author, it appears, couldn't make the boys “quit kickin' his dawg aroun” and after fighting until he was tired he hitched up and took the trail for the West. The Walsenburg story follows:

“I’m it—the original houn’ dawg man. I writ it, and I'm runnin' away." Yelling like a Piute Indian on the war trail, “Lige” Spencer of Ozark County, Missouri, swung his team of mules off the Santa Fe trail into the main street of Walsenburg on a recent afternoon and pulled up before the Greenlight saloon, with the announcement that he was the poet of the Ozarks and the man who wrote the famous "Dawg Song." A piebald coon dog had ambled into town ahead of the procession and went to sleep in front of the mules almost as soon as they came to a stop.

BEST COON DAWG IN OZARKS.

"That dawg,” said Lige pointed at the sleeping hound, as he pulled up his 6 feet 2 of cadaverous body—"that dawg, gentlemen, was the inspiration of the most famous song that was ever writ, and further-he is the best and onlyest coon dawg that ever chased a ringtail into a scrub oak, and still further, I can lick, outrun, or out jump, or out wrastle any man -who starts to kickin' him."

A crowd quickly collected around Spencer and his outfit. One of the bystanders asked him how he came to write the dog song. Spencer looked in a tired way at his questioner, "Sah, ther's just one thing that will make a man from the mountains of Missouri talk straight, and that is squirrel whisky, and inasmuch as I've not seen any around this holler. I fear’ that the story must remain untold."

Half a dozen drinks were quickly pressed upon Spencer, and he began the following story: "Gentleman, it is like this: Down in our country there is three things that a man is proud of, his family, his stummick for squirrel whisky, and his coon dawgs. Well, me and ‘dawg’ thar, in the last few years have become the most famous individuals in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. Every dance, coon hunt, or feud palled off in that neck of the woods for years has ended up with tales of how me and ‘dawg’ there fit bars, coons, and catamounts. After awhile every one got jealous of us. Yes, sah, my old neighbors would hardly look at me, and when ‘dawg' came around they would jist natcherly quit whittlin’ and go off indoors.

GOT TIRED OF FIGHTIN'.

"Then one day last spring a feller by the name of Lem Andrews, who runs a store down at the county seat, became so jealous of me and 'dawg' that he coaxed ‘dawg' into his store and just about kicked the life out of him. Now 'dawg' is sure funny. He'll fight any varmint from a treefrog to a polar bear, but he just natcherly seems afraid of humans when they begin gettin' rough. Won't fight or anything, just duck his tail between his legs and howl. No, sah, he'll not run away, but just lay there and bawl three times for any kick.

"Well, it was a month before I heard about Lem kicking my dawg around, and then I went down. That fight was a classic, gentlemen, from the time the sun stood straight above the Court House until it was fadin’ behind the trees it took me to convince Lem that he had to ask the dawg's pardon.

But it wasn’t no use. Everybody knows about ‘dawg’s fightn’ after that and the poor fellow was kicked by every dawg owner in Ozark County. I fit every man that I could get to, average five a week, but it wasn't no use. Why, even ‘dawg’ got discouraged and didn't want to hunt coons any more.

SIMPLY HAD TO MOVE.

"I finally writ to the Governor about it: thought maybe he could make ‘em stop kickin’' my dawg around, I was feeling kind of blue and the rhyming part of the letter just came natcheral.

That's all of how the song came to be writ. But after that, it was worse than ever. Everybody got to singin' about me and dawg. Then he got discouraged and so did I. About a month ago I jest natcherly couldn't stand it any longer and hitched up the mules, whistled to the dawg, and struck out for Colorado. Told the wife and kids I'd locate, and then come back for 'em. Now, b'gad, gentlemen, I'm goin’ out and set down on a piece of Uncle Sam's land, and this kickin' about of 'dawg' is going to stop.”

Somebody in the crowd asked Spencer the name of his dog. "Just ‘dawg,’" answered Spencer as he climbed to the seat of his wagon and clucked to his mules. The piebald hound woke up, stretched one left out behind him and ambled off. Spencer arose in his seat and announced to the crowd that as he had left one state because they were kickin' his dawg around that hereafter he expected to have his dawg respected, and, furthermore, he would scalp the first man he caught kickin' him. Spencer yelled to his mules and the wagon rattled out of Walsenburg in the direction of the Spanish Peaks.

End of Article

How Popular was the Song?

How Old is that Tune?

Name That Tune
There is now a great resource that holds over 1600 Ozark Mountain Folk Songs on the internet. These songs were thankfully recorded by a gentleman named Max Hunter, between 1956 and 1976, from Springfield, Missouri. Max, a traveling salesman, took his reel-to-reel tape recorder into the hills and backwoods of the Ozarks, preserving the heritage of the region by recording the songs and stories of many generations of Ozark History. As important as the songs themselves are, the voices of the Missouri and Arkansas folks who shared their talents and recollections with Hunter are priceless. The web address is: http://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/.

I would like to thank Dr. Michael F. Murray, editor of the Max Hunter Database, of Missouri State University, for his permission to place a link from this blog to this valuable resource. In this database, the Hound Dog song can be found sung by Ollie Gilbert of Mountain View, Arkansas, on March 11, 1970.
You can listen to the song by clicking your mouse HERE.

Hound Dawg Song

VERSE 1

Ever time I go t' town

Th' boys 'er kickin' my dog around

Makes no difference if he is a hound

They got t' quit kickin' my dog around

VERSE 2

My ole Jim dog, th ole cuss

Just come along and follered us

An' as we drove by ole Johnson's store

A bunch of boys came out th door

VERSE 3

Ole Jim, he run behind th box

They pound on him, with a bunch of rocks

"Hey there, that's my dog"

Makes no difference if he is a hound

You gotta quit kickin' my dog around

VERSE 4

They tied a tin can to his tail

An' run him around th country jail

That just made us awful sore

Lem he he cussed an' ole Bill swore

VERSE 5

Me an' Lem an' old Bill Brown

We lost no time gettin' down

Here comes a man, stompin' the ground

I told him to take Jim down

VERSE 6

When ole Jim saw him there

He jumped on him like a bear

He sure did mess up things around

There was rags an' meat an' hair

VERSE 7

Makes no difference if he is a hound

You gotta quit kickin' my dog around

Comments? Email me!

vincent.a@baxtercountylibrary.org

Works Cited:

“Fame of the Ozarks.” Star Publications 12.36 (29 Nov. 1912) 6. Chronicling America. The Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. 11 Jan. 2008 http://www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov

“German Scrap Book.” Marion Sentinel 33.32 (11 Apr. 1912) 4. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009. http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com.

Gilbert, Ollie. “Hound Dog Song.” Max Hunter Folk Song Collection Missouri State University. 25 Dec. 2009. http://maxhunter.missouristate.edu.

“Houn’ Dawg Man Turns Up Again.” Indianapolis Star 9.293 (24 March, 1912) 52. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009. http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com.

“No one Ventures to Kick His Dawg Around.” Anaconda Standard (5 Mar. 1912) 3. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009. http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com.  

“Song’s Ancient Ancestry.” Syracuse Herald, 36, NO. 10,969 (22 Apr.1912) 36. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009. http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com.

“The Ozark Hound Dog Song." Algona Courier 28.13 (29 March 1912) 1. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009. http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com.

"Time to Dance." Lowell Sun Monday, (17 Oct. 1921) 18. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009. http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com.

Reunion

This weekend, April 17th, 11 AM, will be a big day for all of us…Andersons. We will gather at the Mammoth Assembly of God, in Ozark County, Missouri. If you are an Anderson or related to the Andersons in any shape or fashion, please feel free to make this your invitation to this reunion.

The church is located 9 ½ miles south of Gainesville on T Highway.

What do you need to bring?

Food…a covered dish. Please forget the diet & cholesterol for a few hours. My special request might be fried chicken & black-eyed peas.

Pictures & Family Artifacts you would like to show off. I will bring my computer & scanner. If you have an old picture, I may need to see it for about 2 minutes for a scan.

See you there!

If you have any questions, please email me at:

vincent.a@baxlib.org
or
hebrew613@yahoo.com

A Missouri Lover & an Arkansas “Dream” Girl…Part 5.

Wrapping It All Up...Somewhat.
In wrapping up this story from public records, this is the one of the last I could find.

Recalling a time more than seventeen years ago when he left Springfield for a ride around the world on horseback except where water could be used as an aid to travel, T. Allen McQuary of Chicago, head of a plant by that name which makes a specialty of rebinding county records, was in Springfield yesterday-visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. L. McQuary of Galena, Stone county.

McQuary left Springfield on July 4, 1897, for a trip around the world, taking with him some post cards and an English greyhound, a gift of the Springfield fire department. The dog was remembered by many of the pioneer firemen as "Old Dan."

McQuary made the trip in eighteen months, just fourteen days within the time limit. His success won for him a wager of $2,000, placed with a cotton planter of Little Rock.

In every city that he visited Mr. McQuary secured the cancellation of a stamp at the post office. This record showed positively that he had been in the cities designated at the end of his travels. From Springfield he went to New York, returning the westward route.

All of McQuary's journey was made on black' horses which he purchased at intervals along the route. He rode one horse from Springfield to New York. "Old Dan," the greyhound, was given at New York to a regiment just forming to go to war with Spain in Cuba. The dog was killed in Cuba.

Mr. McQuary returned to Chicago last night. He was formerly a resident of Galena, his parents being owners of Camp Clark, an attractive summer resort on the James River.

Mrs. McQuary, is a victim of a nervous breakdown and will be treated in local hospital.

End of Article

Introspection
So now the truth has been revealed, all facets of the heart have been exposed.
Is the Ozarks’ History unique unto itself?
No.
Is Mr. McQuary a fiend for all eternity…never to be forgiven or turn to repentance?
No.
He merely exposed the corruptible seed in our own hearts.
We all have the potential to let this seed spring up in our fallow hearts.
We all have the taint of sin & error in our hearts, and we are all doomed to repeat our past failures without a Deliver.

Let’s Review.
We have a man that was a beautiful lecturer & gifted orator.
His looks were uniquely dashing & charisma was flowing.
He was a wordsmith of diction and a crafter of fantasies.
His stories thrilled the passions and made the listeners yearn for noble aspirations.
His stories were moving, and the public embraced him as genuine.
His façade was a total package.
Yet, behind it all, money was the goal.
In advertising, this is called the “Halo Effect.” The perpetrator displays an image, the audience looks at him as an angel, and the halo encompasses his every move and being.
Sound familiar?
This reminds me of a verse I was taught as a kid in Sunday School.

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14 KJVR)

Now I ask you, Dear Reader. Have you used the “Halo Effect?”
Has it ever been used on you?
Or, is it occurring in your day?

I fear its’ deadly & numbing effect has slowly encompassed our nation over the past decades, and we have sold ourselves to an angel whom holds no allegiance to our values & morals. Unfortunately, we walk to the tune of the piper, death vexing our souls, while we believe ourselves enlighten.

Am I talking about a fallen man or fallen angel?
You be the judge.

No Party will save us. If you're thinking it will, you’re too late.
Only true repentance will bring about the cure.
There is only one Savior who has triumphed over this enemy.

WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS

Written by: Isaac Watts, 1707

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,

Save in the death of Christ my God!

All the vain things that charm me most,

I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down!

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,

Spreads o’er His body on the tree;

Then I am dead to all the globe,

And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were a present far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all.

To Christ, who won for sinners grace

By bitter grief and anguish sore,

Be praise from all the ransomed race

Forever and forevermore.

Works Cited:
“Trip Around World Recalled.” Neosho Daily Democrat 11.259 (24 Nov. 1915) 1. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009 http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com.

Watts, Isaac (1707). When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.

A Missouri Lover & an Arkansas “Dream” Girl…Part 4.

And The Truth Slips Out!

T. Allen McQuary, who eloped with Maggie Swan, admits that the story of the Arkansas girl for whom he circled the globe, is a myth. In a letter to the "Star" from Carthage, Mo., he says:

"Knowing that all the world loves a lover." said McQuary at Carthage recently, "I invented an Arkansas girl with a fortune of $5,000, who was to be mine when I made the tour in eighteen months. By proper advertising and keeping my name in the newspapers, I made a very successful lecture tour to the Pacific coast, starting from Springfield in July, 1897. On this trip I sold pamphlets and lectured on what I intended to do, and on the charms of that hypothetical girl.

"I shipped as a stowaway and worked my way as a sailor to Japan, lectured there and worked my way back to the Pacific coast. From there home I had something else to talk about than girls—I had seen the Orient.

"My travels and schemes are now over: I am ready to settle down for life, and admit that the Arkansas girl was very useful to me for a time, but never had any real existence. The report that I intended to again enter the lecture field and pass my wife off as the girl for whom I made trip is absolutely false."

So the bride in hand being worth two in the imagination, the world of romance has lost a man who needed the money and knew a good way to get it.

End of Article.

There's More to Come of...

A Missouri Lover & an Arkansas “Dream” Girl…Part 5.

Comments? Email me!

vincent.a@baxtercountylibrary.org

Works Cited:
“Something of a Fictionist.” Emporia Weekly Gazette 10.43 (7 June, 1900) 3. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009 http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com.

A Missouri Lover & an Arkansas “Dream” Girl…Part 3

Here are a few more articles of a Missouri boy & his bragging rights of an Arkansas "Dream' Girl. 

“Imitates Don Quixote.” Naugatuck Daily News

The modern Don Quixote is F. Allen McQuary, of Neosho, Mo.

To win the pretty 16 year-old daughter of an Arkansas cattle raiser he is making a tour of the world in a suit of armor. He is accompanied by two dogs and wears a silver sword, which must never leave his side except when he is asleep. This is the eccentric cattle raisers plan to prove of what sort of stuff his prospective son-in-law is made.

McQuary, says the Chicago Tribune, was editor of the Neosho (Mo.) Hustler in 1896. Last spring he sold out and went south. He arrived in Mountain Grove, Mo., and promptly fell in love with the daughter of the cattle man.

He proposed, was accepted, and proceeded to lay the matter before the old gentleman, when the latter called a halt. He had no objection to the young man, he said, but wished to try his fidelity, and in order to get his permission to the marriage McQuary must agree to certain conditions which he would lay down. Then a paper was drawn up, attested by the president, of the Little Rock national bank, and signed by the principals. In it McQuary agreed to make a tour of the world in 18 months dressed in a suit of armor and accompanied by two large dogs belonging to his romantic father-in-law. He was to start from Mountain Grove penniless, earn money for his medieval outfit, proceed to New York, thence to Cuba, and after that east or west around the world. He must get an impression from the postmaster's date stamp in all the towns he enters, procure the signatures of the governors of all the states through which he passes and those of the rulers of all the foreign countries whose border he crosses. From Cuba lie must bring the autographs of Weyler and Gomez.

If he returns within the time specified with both dogs he is to receive $5.000; with one dog, $4,000; with neither, $3,000. But he gets the daughter in any use. He will be met in New York by the father and daughter and again in San Francisco when he returns from his travels. A triumphal progress to Mountain Grove will then be made and the wedding celebrated with a week's festivities regardless of cost.

McQuary started to fulfill these strange conditions May 20, and so far has done well. He worked in a newspaper office for the money necessary to buy his outfit and then went starring through Missouri towns. He arrived in St. Louis the other day. In all towns passed through he is entertained by the leading merchants, who appreciate the crowds of sight seers he attracts.

McQuary is clad in full armor of uncertain date over a suit of purple plush. He wears a silver-sheathed sword and an ax swings from his saddle bow. The dogs follow him everywhere. His face is half veiled in knightly guise, and for 18 months at least he intends to display d him the essence of gentle chivalry and courtly courtesy. His suit of his fits him like “custom-made” plated as he has done growing. He does not anticipate any trouble. He’s considerably happy because there are no parts to fall off, though he has to keep an eye on the nuts and bolts by which it is kept together. Besides his other weapons he carries a monkey wrench and oil can in the pocket of his gabardine.

End of 1st Article.

Click on this link and read The Daily Argus News and read the story below, “All For A Girl” The Daily Argus News , from the Google Newspaper Collection.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nh8nAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iAMGAAAAIBAJ&pg=2189%2C6387466

“T. Allen McQuary.”Kansas City Journal

“Springfield Zoo Park Visit.” The Neosho Times

“Fairytales.” The Kansas City Journal

“Hard-hearted Globe-girdler.” The Kansas City Journal

There's More to Come of...
A Missouri Lover & an Arkansas “Dream” Girl…Part 4.

Comments? Email me!

vincent.a@baxtercountylibrary.org

Works Cited:
“All For A Girl.” The Daily Argus News 14 (17 June 1898) 5. Google Newspaper Collection. 04 April, 2010. http://news.google.com/newspapers.
“Fairytales.” 150 Kansas City Journal. 41.147 (4 Nov. 1898) 4. Chronicling America. The Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. 11 Jan. 2008 http://www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
“Hard-hearted Globe-girdler.” Kansas City Journal. 41.252 (17 Feb. 1899) 4. Chronicling America. The Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. 11 Jan. 2008 http://www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
“Imitates Don Quixote.” Naugatuck Daily News 2.393 (13 Oct., 1897) 2. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009 http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com.
“Springfield Zoo Park Visit.” Neosho Times (28 June 1917) 1. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009 http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com.
“T. Allen McQuary.” Kansas City Journal. 41.8 (18 June 1898) 4. Chronicling America. The Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. 11 Jan. 2008 http://www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.

A Missouri Lover & an Arkansas “Dream” Girl…Part 2

The journey continues as other newspapers chronicle the selfless trek across the world to win the hand of a girl that claimed his heart.

News Snippet...

The man dressed in the velvet costume of a knight, with sword at his side and wearing a mask, mounted on a fine steed and two large hounds at the horse's side, that passed through our town about 9 o'clock last Monday morning, was T. Allen McQuary, who is making a romantic ride around the world, for an Arkansas girl, and $5,000. He started from Springfield, Missouri, July 10, and must complete his trip in eighteen months. Of the 25,000 miles to be traveled, 20,000 is to be made on water by steamer. He started without a penny and must earn his expenses by his own labor, selling books, &c. He must wear his knight uniform from 6 o'clock in the morning until 8 o'clock at night. If he only brings one of the dogs back he gets $4,000. Should both dogs be missing on his return he only gets $3,000. He is an Odd Fellow and a member of the Christian church in good standing, and is required to attend religious services at least once every Sunday.

End of Article.

(From Mountain Grove Plain Dealer.)

T. Allen McQuary, who left Mountain Grove, July 4, '97, on his trip round the world for an Arkansaw Girl and five thousand dollars, returned here Thursday, November I7, having successfully made the trip and conformed with all the requirements under which he undertook it, arriving two days ahead of time. Saturday evening he delivered an interesting lecture on the trials and incidents of his 28,000 mile journey, to a large and appreciative audience. He met with numerous difficulties and dangers, but says that the knowledge of the world thus obtained was itself a sufficient recompense for the hardships endured. He possesses many credentials, relics, etc., which are conclusive evidence that he actually made the trip, and as he will be here for some time, anyone may see these articles which are well worth examination.

Among the most interesting of them are the signatures of postmasters from Mtn. Grove to the Atlantic coast, of the governors of Missouri, Illinois, etc., a special passport signed by John Sherman, a letter of recommendation and certificate of passage from Capt. Theopholis Trotter of Liverpool, on whoso ship, the Indrani, McQuary was carried through all the foreign countries of note; letter and souvenirs from the English governor of Borneo; postmarks of Spanish, Egyptian, and Japanese and other foreign ports when he went on land a week or two to view historic places of note, and study the customs and conditions of the natives; a certificate signed by the ship's crew; a letter of recommendation from the English foreman of the Japan Gazette office, in Yokohama, where McQuary set type alongside the tiny-fingered little Japs; a certificate of date of arrival and departure from Japan, signed by our consul-general at that place; and finally the signatures of postmasters from the Pacific coast back to Mountain Grove. After resting himself a few days, Mr. McQuary proceeded on down to the old plantation in Arkansaw where he first met the little girl who was afterwards the cause of his peculiar and perilous journey round this big old world.

Just what took place upon the young traveler's faithful return is known only to a few intimate friends of the two families concerned in this modern romance in real life; but the publisher of McQuary own story of his trip round the world, a book or over 200 pages, fully illustrated, in his advertisement now being placed before the reading world, announces that the book will foot only tell what occurred at the close of his trip, that will also publish to the whole world the inside story of his engagement to the girl, her name, residence, her relations, character, accomplishments, southern peculiarities, etc.; and certain things of interest about the contract, the dogs, and the $3000, which have never been told yet. However, all these little secrets, as interesting as they are bound to be to a public that has heard so much about this affair during the last 18 to 20 months, are but a drop in the bucket compared to the real history of the trip; not that others have not made just as long journeys over the world, but never has this globe been circled by an American youth under such trying and peculiar circumstances—consequently, it is matter of interest to all patriotic citizens of America to know how he was received by the leading nationalities of the world; and the more interesting yet because McQuary is a highly educated, refined and practical writer, knowing how to tell his story in a sensible and pleasing style.

Weighing all these points in the proper light, we must acknowledge that the book will prove not only an interesting story of love and romance, but a truthful compendium of historical information on various subjects and places all over the world. The book is being put on the market by Michael & Glenn, a popular and responsible publisher of Mountain Grove, Mo. And while the regular subscription price will eventually be $1.50 per copy, he is making a run on the first edition at 50 cents per copy, by mail, postpaid, direct to purchasers. It is predicted that 100,000 copies will be sold during the next six months, owing the great interest already shown. (It will pay you to order a copy at once in order to get in on the 50c deal. Simply address as above, and enclose the proper amount.)

End of Article.

Stay Tuned for A Missouri Lover & an Arkansas “Dream” Girl…Part 3.

Comments? Email me!

vincent.a@baxtercountylibrary.org

Work Cited:
“For a Girl and $5,000.00.” Daily Republican. 27.268 (11 Feb., 1899) 3. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009 http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com.
“Velvet Costume of a Knight.” Cambridge City Tribune 33.28 (14 Oct., 1897) 3. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009 http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com.

A Missouri Lover & an Arkansas “Dream” Girl…Part 1

Love or Notoriety
How far would someone go to prove their love?
How far would someone go to make an easy dollar?
How far would the public go to believe a story in 1897?

In the next few stories, a young Missouri boy falls in love with a soft, tender, and delicate treasure. Yet, I ask you, Dear Reader, look beneath the veneer and ask.

Did he fall in love with an Arkansas girl?

Or, is it his self-preservation?

Is it the money?

Is it a scheme?

Or, is it true love?

Only time and a few newspaper articles will tell.

Nevertheless, when true love comes, the multilayered façade can quickly fade to expose the genuine and unadulterated motives of the heart.

In evidence of the profound truthfulness of the remark once made by the illustrious Sir John Lubbock, that "love defies distance and the elements," we have but to call attention to the case of one of the most ambitious, heroic young men of America—Mr. T. Allen McQuary, a resident of the state of Missouri, says the veracious Post-Dispatch of St. Louis.

This young lover hero has taken upon himself the arduous task of making a trip on horseback around the world for the privilege of marrying the girl of his heart's choice—the beautiful young daughter of a rich planter of Arkansas.

Mr. McQuary is now at Mountain Grove, Mo, a quiet, thrifty town of Wright county. It is here probably he is making the longest stop of any place through which he will travel while making the circuit of the world, from the fact that he is obliged to earn by "honorable means" sufficient funds with which to purchase a horse, saddle, bridle and quite an extensive costume for himself, as per the stipulations of the conditions to which he must comply before he can make the trip In the prescribed manner.

The origin of this unique project of, which Mr. McQuary finds himself the central figure of attraction is of a very romantic nature.

In the spring of 1896 Mr. McQuary disposed of The Rustler printing plant in Neosho, Mo., where he had lived for 14 years, seven of which had been spent in the printing business, and went south for his health as well as to look up a new business location. At a small place about 45 miles from Little Rock he became acquainted with the young daughter of a wealthy planter, and as time went by the two became everlastingly and irretrievably infatuated with one another, and concluded that the best thing to do under the circumstances would be to get married. The young lady was the only child of this planter, and what made her more than ever dear to him in his old age was the sad fact that the mother died when the girl was born.

When he was asked to consent to the match, he sternly though kindly refused to listen to such a proposal. Why? Because his child was only 16 years of age, and the two lovers, he said, were not well enough acquainted. He did not absolutely refuse them, but sternly gave them to understand there was ''time enough yet." The couple, of course, were yet encouraged, despite the father's refusal to consent to a speedy marriage, and as time glided by Mr. McQuary became more intimately acquainted with the old gentleman, and ofttimes he would spend hour after hour in the old gentleman's reading room talking and reading about bygone days. The old gentleman would often on these occasions throw out the idea that the young men of the present generation were not as brave and heroic as were those of his earlier days. Mr. McQuary, of course, stood up manfully for the boys of today by assuring the old fellow that no such opportunities now presented themselves for our boys to show their grit, and finally one day clinched his argument by asserting that he would gladly avail himself of any such opportunity o exhibit his heroic propensities if by so doing he could only get permission to marry the girl he was so anxious to make his wife.

He realized later the expense of the remark when the old gentleman confronted him with a written document and stated that he was going to test his earnestness in the matter. It was then he told Mr. McQuary he could marry his daughter in 18 months, provided that he would in the meantime carry out the conditions stipulated in the document, of which the following is a true copy:

Conditions by the exact fulfillment of–which you shall be rewarded by the hand of my daughter in marriage and the sum of $5,000 on your return if the trip be made within the limited time—18 months, commencing May 19, 1897.


Your mode of traveling shall be upon a black horse by land, not less than 15 hands in height and not more than 8 years of age. You are to be accompanied by two of my large dogs. Should one of them die on the trip, you will only receive $4,000 on your return. Should both be missing, you will only receive $3,000 on your return.


Your dress shall be like that of an ancient knight, plush or velvet black or purple, as you prefer. You shall wear a blade about your loins, never to be removed only when you retire. You shall wear a black mask over the upper part of your face, never to be removed until 8 o’clock, p.m., and to be replaced at 6 o’clock in the morning.


Day rules: You shall rise at 6 o’clock each morning, feed and care for your own horse and dogs before your breakfast. You shall not beg or borrow money of any description. You shall obtain the signature and date stamp of the postmaster of each town or city through which you pass, signature and seal of the governor of each and every state, signature and seal of each and every president, king, queen or emperor through every country you may travel. You shall attend some religious service every Sunday.

Direction of travel shall be from your starting point to New York city to Cuba, where you shall obtain the signature of the commander n chief of the insurgents, also the Spanish chief. There I release all restrictions as to your course; you may travel through any country in Europe or Asia that you may wish.


In entering upon your trip you are to begin penniless and begin by your own labor your horse, saddle, bridle &c. in an honorable way. All debts must be paid in each and every town or city before you leave.


Thing to be remembered—you shall never mention my name during the entire trip. A violation of this condition will cause you to lose all.


Wishing you success, I am respectfully,


Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 18th day of May, 1897. (My commission expires March 11, 1901.)


(Signed)


(Seal) Notary Public

A very careful perusal of the last clause of the above conditions will explain why the public will necessarily have to remain in ignorance of the planter's and notary's names, as well as their places of residence.

Mr. McQuary, having previously selected Mountain Grove as his "starting and quitting point," arrived in town on the 19th of May and at once made known to the newspaper reporters his business. The following morning he formed the acquaintance of M. S. Glenn, editor of one of the local papers, to whom he delivered what cash he had, thus launching himself boldly among strangers in a penniless condition. He went to work the following day, however, as compositor on Our Country, which position he still holds.

Mr. McQuary is about 23 years of age, 5 feet 6 inches in height, weighs 145 pounds, is light complexioned, refined, unassuming, reserved in disposition, and, all in all, a gentleman worthy of the acquaintance and friendship of every loyal, ambitious, honest and respectable, citizen of the land, as described by The Post-Dispatch.

Mr. McQuary has a press agent in the person of Editor M. S. Glenn of Mountain Grove, who will see that the traveler's progress is duly advertised, and may succeed in giving him sufficient notoriety to make his journey an easy one financially.

McQuary tells a pretty story of his sweetheart at the old well on her father's plantation:

"I had bid her 'good night' several times, when she deliberately and calmly drew from the folds of her dress bosom a piece of glittering steel, and I beheld a beautiful specimen of a Spanish dagger. 'Allen,' she said, 'do you see this knife?' To which I replied in the affirmative as I took the weapon from her. 'Should anything happen to you on your journey,' she continued. 'I'll be with you in a world we can love each other always, and I intend to carry it until your return, for to me it is liberty from any earthly confinement, and if we can't live together in this world we can in the next.' "

All of which goes to show that the spirit of romance and chivalry has not perished from the earth.

 End of Article.

Stay Tuned for A Missouri Lover & an Arkansas “Dream” Girl…Part 2.

Comments? Email me!

vincent.a@baxtercountylibrary.org

Works Cited:

“Missouri Don Quixote.” Daily Herald 4.14 (29 June, 1897) 8. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009 http://www.access.newspaperarchive.com/.

Kick by a Mule

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Additionally, I believe an old advertisement should be worth $8,000.  At least that’s what a local bank thought about 100 years ago.  This may also fit into my "Bunkoed File."

Click to enlarge story.

Work Cited:

“An $8,000 Kick by a Mule.” Cotter Courier: Advertisment 4.30 (14 June 1907) A1-1. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 1 Dec. 2009.

Bunkoed & Robbed

When’s the last time you’ve heard of somebody that had been Bunkoed?

Bunkoed is an old term used for swindling or cheating someone unsuspecting of their fatal out come. This is what can happen to those innocent & gullible folks who are ever trusting.

That would be probably me.

Personally, I have played the part of the one receiving the trick by palcing my confidence in those I thought I knew.  In the past I have been naive & green…ever looking for the good in everyone’s heart.
We can probably all relate in some way or another.
Below is an article about a gentleman who had a taste for prosperity that turned to bitter results.
By the way…This is not a gag story for April Fool’s Day.
 

His Winter's Supply of Green Goods.

A farmer named Springston, residing in Ozark county, Missouri, has just been bunkoed and robbed out of $500 by the old green goods swindle. Springston received a crisp new $1 bill as a sample a few days ago from a New York firm, who offered to express him $2,000 in like bills for $500 ordinary currency. The farmer mortgaged what property he possessed and left immediately for some point between here and New York. The exchange was accomplished and in order to be on the safe side Springston allowed his package to be forwarded by express. When the package was opened it contained brown paper.

Work Cited:
“His Winter's Supply of Green Goods.” Xenia Daily Gazette & Torchlight. 16.7 (16 Feb.1897) A1-1. Access Newspaper Archive. Baxter County Library, Mountain Home, AR. 25 Dec. 2009 www.access.newspaperarchive.com