The FReeper Foxhole Remembers the Lincoln County War(1878-1881) - Mar. 10th, 2005

Wild West Magazine | December 2004 | Mike Tower

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

.................................................................. .................... ...........................................

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

Where Duty, Honor and Country
are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.

Our Mission:

The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.

In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.

The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer.

If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions.

We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.

To read previous Foxhole threads or
to add the Foxhole to your sidebar,
click on the books below.

Uncovering Myths of the Lincoln County War

He was by Billy the Kid's side when Sheriff William Brady was killed and when Alexander McSween's house was set on fire, yet little else is known about the one-time 'Regulator.'

The Lincoln County War was a lawless episode in New Mexico history that is best remembered today for having triggered the legend of Billy the Kid. On April 1, 1878, during that bitter business feud, the Kid and other so-called Regulators killed Lincoln County Sheriff William Brady. New Mexico Territory Governor Lew Wallace never got around to giving Billy a pardon for killing Brady or for his other Lincoln County War escapades. After more than 120 years of media attention, interest in the Kid remains so high that the current governor of New Mexico has been considering giving Billy a posthumous pardon. But the Kid's story has been so romanticized that it has obscured the truth about the Lincoln County War. For years historians have been trying to sort out fact from fiction through a concerted effort to track down each individual prominent in the conflict, to determine what motivated them. One such character is Big Jim French, a figure whose shadowy past has spawned illusive tales by writers more intent on relating a good yarn than accurately describing history. It's high time some of those myths were put to rest, to clear up the often cloudy picture of that 1870s fracas.

Billy the Kid

An uncomplicated explanation of the Lincoln County War is that it was a feud involving two competing groups, termed "rings," intent on monopolizing trade, politics and vast stretches of land in New Mexico Territory. One ring, known as "the House," was a firmly entrenched local commercial empire, so named because most of its business dealings were conducted out of a store that resembled a house, and because the name appealed to the men operating its various nefarious enterprises. The House, besides holding a monopoly on domestic trade, often fulfilled beef contracts for the military through purchasing beef stolen by a band of outlaws known as "the boys," and used this gang as enforcers when necessary. By all accounts, the passel of Irishmen associated with the House--originally led by Lawrence G. Murphy--was as ruthless a band of brigands as ever existed in American commerce, as ready to terminate their detractors and competitors as they were to fleece customers.

Attempting to usurp the stranglehold of the House was John Henry Tunstall, a young man with cold, hard cash supplied by his father, a London businessman. By hook or crook, Tunstall was determined to be a success in America, and he came prepared with a bag of tricks that included a combination of Machiavellian tactics and pure capitalism. Tunstall was supported by an able captain, Alexander McSween, an attorney not overly concerned with business ethics and bent on making his own fortune. Through McSween, Tunstall met John Simpson Chisum, a legendary cattle baron with a finger in many pies, who was willing to invest in Tunstall's plans because they held the promise of securing the borders of his empire and ending the rustling that was cutting into his profits. The trio formed a loose association, wherein Tunstall would anchor the territory around Lincoln; Chisum would supply beef, funds, men and the force and integrity of his reputation; while McSween handled the legal affairs of the group. With the formation of this ring, the stage was set for a conflict, one that should have been waged on ledgers, but instead eroded into as bloody a fight as ever hit the Southwest.


Alexander McSween

In the opening gambits, the Tunstall-Chisum group opened a bank and store to compete with the House. These economic challengers worked out agreements with the small farmers and ranchers, contracting for all livestock feed raised in Lincoln County. Then agreements were reached with various settlers that would provide Tunstall control of water rights--which in desert country provided the holder sway over pasture for miles around. As capitalism was practiced in Europe, such tactics would not have caused a ripple. But in the American West, economic advantage was largely a matter of forcing one's will on another, and the House quickly realized the danger of Tunstall's schemes and organized a resistance. Tunstall naively expected the battles to be fought in court, as economic wars were waged in Europe and Eastern America. He never dreamed that when his business acumen began to ruin his opponent that Murphy's forces would react so aggressively. By underestimating their resolve and methods, Tunstall wound up dead--shot to death on February 18, 1878, by a sheriff's "posse" composed of outlaws and minions of the House sent to attach livestock as bond for a lawsuit.

Immediately after the posse had shot down Tunstall, Alexander McSween gathered around him a cadre of the toughest men he could find. Some were already on the Tunstall payroll, some were sent by Chisum and some joined because they had a grudge against the House--all were bad men to mess with. Among the group was a drifter known as Big Jim French.


John Simpson Chisum

Exactly why Big Jim was in New Mexico Territory and how he managed to get involved in the Lincoln County War has never been clearly understood, but the evidence points very strongly to happenstance. Old-timer Frank Coe, who fought in the war, said in the 1870s that French had been a drifter from Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) who had begun working for Chisum. Coe added that he suspected Chisum had sent French along with several others to support the McSween faction. No other participant ever made a statement to explain French's presence. Chisum was known to purchase cattle and horses throughout Indian Territory and Texas to fulfill contracts, and some writers have asserted that in December 1877, Tunstall went with Chisum to purchase horses that were to be delivered to Chisum and held until Tunstall was ready for them. If such a buying trip did happen, it's possible that French was one of the riders hired to escort the herd and that he gained temporary employment with Chisum before being sent to Lincoln. The theory is plausible and fits the timing of French's entry into Lincoln. As to why the man got involved in the fighting, old-timers have hinted that McSween hired men to protect himself and his family. As French's movements during the war can be traced by following the movements of the McSweens, it's probable that French began his career in Lincoln as one of those paid bodyguards. It has also been speculated that McSween offered a bounty for the elimination of the men responsible for Tunstall's death. This bounty and the need for revenge seem to be the reasons the self-styled Regulators began operating in the area. French attached himself to this group. The two killings he participated in during the war were both rumored to be assassinations based on the promised bounty offered by McSween. French was probably in the dangerous game simply for the money.


John Henry Tunstall

Florencio Chaves was a member of the Regulator posse that captured Frank Baker and Buck Morton, two of the men responsible for the murder of John Tunstall. After the posse captured the pair, according to Chaves, posse member Bill McCloskey aroused the ire and suspicion of several in the party because of his refusal to allow any harm to befall Baker and Morton. Chaves said that a plan was devised to kill McCloskey. It seems the Kid, Jim French and Fred Waite were riding ahead of the prisoners on March 9, 1878, while Doc Scurlock, McCloskey and Henry Brown were riding behind. Waite dropped back beside Scurlock and asked McCloskey, "How's the best way to kill those sons a bitches?" By insisting the pair be taken to the sheriff, McCloskey sealed his death warrant, because French immediately dropped back, placing his horse in McCloskey's path, effectively boxing him between Waite and Brown. Without a word, Brown pulled out his six-shooter and shot McCloskey, killing him instantly. The prisoners, according to Chaves, now knew for sure what was in store for them, so they tried to make a run for it and were shot to doll rags. Chaves' version makes more sense than the cover story that McCloskey was shot by the prisoners and Baker and Morton were shot trying to escape.




The second killing French participated in was a premeditated murder, for French and several others opened up from concealment, with Winchesters, on Sheriff Brady's party as it passed down the street of Lincoln on April Fool's Day. The excuse used to justify this act was that Brady was thought to be in cahoots with the House, and Deputy George Hindman was a part of the posse that had eliminated Tunstall less than two weeks earlier. During the fighting, Billy the Kid and French ran out to rifle the bodies of the victims, and each was wounded in the hip. French's injury was serious enough that he could not ride. He was given first aid by the Rev. Taylor F. Ealy. Clerk Sam Corbet, who had been one of Tunstall's staunchest supporters, then hid French beneath the floor of the Tunstall store while men searched the building.

[snippy_about_it]

The fine print:

Oregon City - Steve Mroz used to be a computer programmer, Susanne Wing was a business analyst. So naturally they went into retailing for the wild bird crowd.

The business partners recently advanced from hobby birding to opening Wild Bird Center at Trails End Market Place at Oregon 213 and Meyers Road. The store is the first franchise in Oregon of Wild Bird Centers of America, which began on the East Coast in 1985 and has almost 100 outlets in the United States and Canada.

"I got into bird-watching 15 years ago when I lived in Illinois,"

Mroz, 55, said. "It's a hobby you get sucked into."

"Last summer we talked about starting a business together. We didn't want to do anything like a restaurant. We thought about a hobby shop. We're both interested in birds, and there wasn't a store like this nearby," he said.

"We decided we needed help getting started, so we went for a franchised store. We picked Wild Bir4d Centers because they give more leeway in what merchandise we can carry."

They stock a full range of birding and nature products, including feeders, baths, seed, field guides and other nature books, binoculars, and accessories such as rain and squirrel shields for feeders.

Gift items with a nature theme include wind chimes, candles, T-Shirts, playing cards and wall sculptures.

"We aren't restricted on what we can sell. We have locally made birdhouses, for example," Wing, 50 said. "If our customers ask for them, we could carry lawn chairs and dog food. But we don't want to sell the same things you can get at big box stores."

Mroz and Wing are allowed to insert two pages into the company-wide newsletter that is distributed locally. The headquarters staff provides scientific information that boosts marketing, she said.

"We were surprised to get customers from Molalla and Mulino asking for bird boxes and feed for deer, quail and squirrels. They say they're glad they don't have to go all the way to Clackamas for those things," Wing said.

"We have seed in bags from 1 pound to 50 pounds," Mroz said. "Some people aren't aware of all the different kinds of seed available, so we give them samples to try. They Might not know, for example, that woodpeckers and chickadees like peanuts in their feed."

Wing and Mroz are available to speak at schools and clubs on birding. They also expect to begin offering Saturday morning walks to look for birds, she said.

[SAMWolf]

Morning E.G.C.

Another beautiful summer like day coming today. :-)

[Professional Engineer]

We aren't restricted on what we can sell

Ya'll put up the Remington shotgun display yet?

[SAMWolf]

"Rabbit Hole Christians" I like it, just as good a termn as "ChrEasters"

[SAMWolf]

Morning PE.

A better sight than this Ironside. ;-)

[SAMWolf]

Morning alfa6.

"Chisum" was a good John Wayne flick like "Big Jake"

[SAMWolf]

Morning Feather

[Mudboy Slim]

"Treason and High Crimes"
(To be sung to the Outlaws' "Green Grass and High Tides")

It's a place your children dream of, where great men once led the free...
Ol' Abe Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Washington each graced the seat...
FDR, Kennedy, and Jefferson once served the office with pride!
But now we've got Slick Willie bangin' young interns...
Left-Wing tells us, "Let it slide..."

Well, Clinton's been a damned disgrace, spy stories all ring true...
If you say, "It's all Okay!", what does that say 'bout you?!
Med'yuh refuses to ask tough questions, as though Slick were King.
But patriots cannot believe in Bill,
'Cuz Slick's sold his soul to Beijing!! Left declares...

"Treason and high crimes don't matter!"
Good DemocRATs fallin' from glory...
Still, Lib'rals say, "We adore you!"
Left's King's a freak...good folks abhor you-oouu!!

(Guitar Jammin')

Those who don't fight Evil find their souls have been sold cheap...
Numb poltroons can't see how Power has warped Ol' Slick Willie!
Crimes and Slime define Left's WHORE, they take up all his time.
We'll next CONVICT, then Slick will do his prison time...
Right'll force him there!!!

Treason and High Crimes will be proved...
Will DemonRATs follow Slick blindly?!
The Left-Wing says, "We adore you!"
Election's soon...voters will show you-oouu!
Yeah...the Right'll slaughter you-ou-ou-ouuu...!!!

(Mo' Guitar Jammin' to fade)

FReegards...MUD

[SAMWolf]

1998 Lloyd Bridges, actor, died at 85 (Seahunt)

Used to watch that show and had many fun times playing "Seahunt" in the bathtub and wading pool with my plastic frogmen.

[Soaring Feather]

Coming soon to: "Wild Bird Center" at Trails End Market Place at Oregon 213 and Meyers Road, My Dragon Fly and Me -A book of poetry authored by: Leona M. House...

A grand opening gift to snippy and Sam.
HUGS to Oregon!

[E.G.C.]

We have some pretty nice weathere here. It's in the lower 60's.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks PE.

[SAMWolf]

Who else can get quoted as saying "sucked" in the paper?

[SAMWolf]

Morning Mud.

[SAMWolf]

AWWWWWWWW! Thanks Feather.

Maybe we can get some Left Coast interest in your book. :-)

[GailA]

Good afternoon, I've got my camera ready to go for tomorrow. Doors open at 6:30 am. I plan to be there before then.

[Mudboy Slim]

It's afternoon here, sir, but I hope yer having a good one nonetheless...

"The House of the Vile Clinton!!"
(To be sung to Bob Dylan's acoustic version of "House of the Risin' Sun")

In our White House down in ol' DeeCee...
There lived the Vile Clinton!!
And he's been the hero of many Lib'rals...
But Slick's a Bag O' Scum!!

Bill Clinton is a TRAITOR...
He sold our nukes fer cheap!!
Our FReedoms are endangered, folks...
'Cuz good Sheeple sleep!!

Now, good folks, the thing Slick Willie needs...
Is fer his TREASON to be judged!!
'Cuz the only way we'll stop his lyin'...
Is when we string him up!!

Slick killed them lasses down in Texas...
He Torch'd that Waco Compound!!
Folks, the only pleasure Bill gets outta life...
Is when he's Abusin' his Power!!

I tell ya, Nation, listen...
We gotta do what must be done!!
Must show the Powers in ol' DeeCee...
That Justice is fer everyone!!

Folks, it's time to take on Left's Whore!!
Yes, we must remove Slick's stain!!
We're marchin' back to ol' DeeCee...
Let's put that boy in chains!!

We're a'marchin' back to ol' DeeCee...
Slick's place is in Prison!!
We're goin' back to force Congress...
To Re-Impeach Clinton!!

It's our White House in ol' DeeCee...
We shan't condone TREASON!!
Must sing this tune of Justice, dear Lord...
Yes, We'll DETHRONE CLINTON!!!!

Mudboy Slim (07/08/2000)

[SAMWolf]

We're having a Spring Sale on this. ;-)

[snippy_about_it]

Camera ready? So they are letting you take pics, great!

[snippy_about_it]

Wow, thanks feather. Now we need you out here for a book signing!