Looking back now it seems that Providential guidance has been instrumental in my living through the many harrowing experiences of the early days, when Indians roamed the country, and later, especially after the war, when outlaws gave so much trouble to the pioneers of the Southwest. It gives me much pleasure and consolation in having been spared to see the great Southwest transformed from pioneer to the modern stage; where folks mingle with one another in security and all friendliness, and where now exists a spirit of democracy and helpfulness that makes the country a desirable place to live, grow and prosper. I do not say boastingly, but there is a great deal of personal satisfaction in knowing that I was permitted to have a part in the upbuilding of this section of our wonderful state. FIFTY YEARS A POLICEMAN After pacing his "beat" for fifty years, faithfully and true, John Fitzhenry, the oldest policeman in San Antonio, has retired. JOHN FITZHENRY 1870 The veteran lawkeeper has served under 11 Mayors. He has made so many arrests that he has long since lost count, and he has been instrumental in bringing to justice some of the worst criminals the Southwest has ever known. He removed the uniform of his country, which he served from '64 to '71, to don the uniform of an officer of the law, and this he has worn continuously for half a century. His retirement brings to a close one of the most interesting and thrilling official careers in San Antonio's past history. John Fitzhenry has lived the life of the great Wild West. In his book of life have been written hundreds of chapters of range and pioneer life as intensely thrilling and exciting as the boldest adventures of "Diamond Dick" or any of the other great Wild West heroes. "It was a border town, rough and woolly." With these words the veteran officer begins his narrative of early San Antonio history. "It was the jumping off place for all the desperadoes in the country, when I came down here in '64. San Antonio, 50 years ago, was a cow town of 8,000 souls. The only railroads in Texas were one from Bryan Station to the coast and another from Victoria to Port Lavaca. No one dared live farther west than Fort Clark, about 150 miles west of San Antonio. Beyond there the Indians and such scouts and soldiers as the government saw fit to station on the frontier lived. San Antonio in those days was a rendezvous for Mexican bandits as well as frontier outlaws. The bandits used to hold up a town just as they have done in the past few years, and come up to San Antonio to spend their money. It was so wild in those days we couldn't wear uniforms. The six day policeman wore the clothes of a civilian. If we had worn uniforms of the law there would have been a shooting as soon as we came in sight. A policeman didn't make an arrest, either, as he does today. None of the boys in those days would have stood while a warrant was being read to him. We had to throw them down and tie them, and then read the warrants for their arrest." Mr. Fitzhenry holds this remarkable record of serving for 50 years as law enforcement officer without having shot a man, or having been shot. Desperadoes and Wild West bandits, famous in early American history, were often seen about San Antonio. The Yeager boys, Pitts, one of Jesse James' former lieutenants, the Suttons and Taylors, of the famous Sutton-Taylor feud, Sam Bass and others used to disguise themselves, dash into town, frequent the various drinking and dancing places and dash out before the law could touch them. "Those fellows used to have lots of friends," he said. "It was mighty easy for a fellow to get out of a killing scrape here if he had some friends. Pitts and the Yeager boys lived for a time between San Antonio and Boerne, up in the hills." Mr. Fitzhenry was a pal of Marshal Gosling, who was shot while escorting Pitts and one of the Yeager boys to the penitentiary. "Marshal Gosling was warned," he said, "that the boys were desperadoes. He permitted, however, the sister of one of the boys and another woman to come aboard the train with a basket of provisions. Yeager reached into the basket, apparently for a piece of fruit, drew out a six-shooter and shot Gosling dead. A guard on the train and the woman were killed during the fight." Billy Taylor was in jail at Indianola, awaiting trial, when a great storm came up and the lives of hundreds along the coast were in peril. Taylor was released from jail, and, with courage characteristic of these men, he dashed to the rescue of the drowning and saved dozens of lives. When he was tried before a jury some time later for his crime, he was found "not guilty." Mr. Fitzhenry was born in Ireland in 1844. He removed with his parents to Quebec, Canada, when he was seven years old, and later the family came down into the states, locating in Massachusetts. He attended school in Stetson Hall, Randolph, Mass. and was 20 years of age when he enlisted in 1864 on the side of the North. He was sent to New Orleans as a train master and later to San Antonio. He was in charge of mule trains which bore provisions to the frontier posts. San Antonio was then but a supply and distributing post. The government reservation was a 10-acre plot fenced in between the Austin road and the Post proper, and was used as a mule corral. The famous Alamo was used as a store house for grain, and feed for the mules, oxen and horses was piled to the ceiling. "When General Merritt and General Custer came to San Antonio in 1865, they were accompanied by 10,000 cavalrymen, the largest number of soldiers ever stationed here prior to this date," Mr. Fitzhenry said. They were en route to Mexico to drive out the French, who, in defiance of the Monroe Doctrine, had established an empire and enthroned Maximilian. The scheme, however, history relates, was abandoned and Maximilian was shot some time after that. Mr. Fitzhenry loved the early days, but he says that the people of today have a better sense of fair dealing as well as a greater respect for the law. "I do not believe the world is growing worse," was his optimistic assertion. "Just because we have all the crimes that are committed in the country, and all the wrongdoing dished up to us in the newspapers, makes us think the world is pretty bad. But in years gone by, a life wasn't worth a farthing in this part of the country, and news traveled so slowly that it was forgotten before it got in or out of the State." Mr. Fitzhenry has seen the wild pigeons and the buffalo disappear from wild life in Texas. And he has seen the building of railroads and the steady advance of civilization that has made San Antonio today a law-abiding town. He has seen outlawry disappear and culture take its place. He has witnessed the passing of the "bandit,' and watched wild days fade into the background of Texas history. "San Antonio has been my home for over 50 years,' said Mr. Fitzhenry, whose appearance defies time and who might pass as a middle-aged man. "And I'll stay on here till the end." He has never married and has not a relative living. He makes his home at 239 Garden Street.-San Antonio Evening News, January 24, 1921. TAILED 'EM ACROSS RED RIVER Gus Staples, Skidmore, Texas One beautiful spring morning in 1876 our bunch pulled out for Dodge City, Kansas, with a herd of cattle. Bob Jennings and George Lyons were the bosses. After we had been on the trail about three weeks we encountered a severe cold spell during which my saddle horse froze to death. The blizzard was accompanied by rain which froze as it hit our slickers, and we suffered from the extreme cold. We stayed with the cattle as long as we could and finally the boss said, "Let 'em go to hell, boys, and we'll go to the campfire." We rustled all of the wood out of the creek bottom and kept busy roasting first one side and then the other. When we reached Fort Worth the weather had moderated considerably. That is where I saw the first railroad. We renewed our supply of grub here and went on our way. When we got to Red River it looked to me to be more than a mile wide, and I did not fancy going across, but I was six hundred miles from home, and it was either turn back or grab an old cow by the tail and let her pull me across, so I tailed her and reached the other side safely. When we were in Indian Territory we experienced many thunder storms and heavy rains. Saw many Indians, too. While we were passing through Valley Mills George Lyons and I traded our pistols off for horses, and as we were in the Indian Territory where Indians were numerous I often wished for my pistol, and was ready to swap jobs with the cook. WAS IN A RAILROAD WRECK John B. Conner, Yoakum, Texas When I was three years old my parents came from Mississippi to Texas in an ox-drawn schooner, arriving |