A Night to Remember

By Carol Campbell
Motley County Tribune

More than 160 residents and out-of-town guests, consuming 240 chili-cheese dogs with all the trimmings, attended a “donation only” fundraiser for the historic 1891 jail on Saturday, October 16, 2010.

Two former residents of Matador played characters at the jail. Events included jail tours to meet Digger Dansby, a “diviner” played by Jesse Perkins who could find “water in the desert.” It is reported that Digger used to “witch” for water for the torrential tide of settlers coming to Motley County by wagon in the early 1890s — he escaped death row on one of his outings. Also featured at the jail was the “Crazy Lady,” played by Melanie (Brown) Camp.  She sat in the shadows of the cell for “women or the criminally insane.”  Some residents posed behind the bars for a photo shoot with Digger, while the ghost of “Rose” floated in and out of the “crazy cell.”

The crowd was entertained on the east side of the jail by the Windy Ridge Posse, a re-enactment group from Plainview, consisting of 14 actors.  The group was decked out in early-day regalia, complete with Stetsons, Winchesters and six-shooters.  The characters re-told the story of the early day struggles of the county when arguments were settled by the gun.
The first sheriff of Motley County, Joseph Preston Beckham, was played by Jared White. He captured the spirit of this colorful early-day sheriff – young, daring and bold, and according to Beckham, “falsely accused of absconding with county tax collections.”

Beckham killed the fourth sheriff of Motley County in an ambush at a train station in Seymour. “Commissioner George Cook vowed he was going to kill me,” Beckham said. “Told it right in public and he tried and missed once in Childress. The second time Cook pulled a six-shooter on me was his last day on earth.” Beckham was killed in Indian Territory in 1895 by the Texas Rangers.

The re-enactment was about 30 minutes long, with six “shoot-outs,” (with blanks) ending in a blaze of bullets when Beckham was killed.  Following the re-enactment, three tractor-drawn trailers, loaded with hay and about 75 adventure-seekers, left the jail to negotiate the back country to the historic East Mound Cemetery.

Ten actors decked out in costumes of the day, performed at the cemetery behind the tombstone of their featured character. Each tombstone was outlined in 10 luminaries, offering a pleasant glow to the performances as the night sky advanced.
An introduction to the cemetery was given by Marisue Potts-Powell, who played District Judge Billy McGill, an outspoken judge who held court when Joseph Beckham and his replacement John L. Moore both claimed the sheriff’s badge in Motley County. He ruled that Moore had been appointed illegally to the office, but instead of re-instating Beckham to his elected position, he appointed the 3rd sheriff of Motley County, Billy Moses.

Judge McGill introduced the crowd to the first person buried in the cemetery, Jeff Varner, a wagon boss with the Matador Land and Cattle Company. Varner was killed in 1891, shortly after the county was organized.  His death resulted in the speedy construction of the little sandstone jail.

“The hasty construction of a jail followed the first murder in the newly-organized county of Jeff Varner,” McGill said.  “Varner was a Matador Ranch wagon boss who was killed by J. B. McLeod. McLeod galloped over the hill from the Dewdrop Saloon and Matador’s General Store on Ballard Creek Draw. He jumped off his horse, mumbled something about money, and pulled his Winchester rifle out of the scabbard on his saddle. He blazed away and Jeff Varner fell fatally wounded. While he attempted escape, he was soon captured and held in a small room with the body of the man he had gunned down. He was guarded day and night until the circuit judge showed up and ordered a change in venue to Seymour, Texas.

“Varner was buried, none too soon, first in Boothill and later reburied at East Mound Cemetery, land donated by Matador Land and Cattle Company. The citizens were so irked at having to guard the murderer that they decided to build the Motley County Jail.  Motley County Jail was built in 1891 by Pat Cornett and Jube Aiken from rock quarried about three miles west of Willow Creek on the H. H. Campbell ranch.”

Pat Cornett, “an Irishman by birth, a Texan by choice, and a stonemason by trade” was played by Rusty White, who wowed the crowd with his portrayal, complete with an Irish brogue.

“J. E. Aiken and I were awarded the construction contract on the Motley County Jail in 1891 for about $3,000. I did all the original stonework on the jail, which is still standing today after 119 years.  We hauled that stone by wagon from a quarry five miles west of Matador on the H. H. Campbell ranch. I was known as the “Stonemason of West Texas.”

The next featured sheriff was Henry Black, the ninth sheriff (1905-1910) of Motley County, played by local resident Bobby Klodginski. “My main claim to fame was as the Master (Chief Officer) of the Matador Masonic Lodge Number 824 when the Matador Land and Cattle Company deeded land to the Matador Lodge to be used for a cemetery in Matador.  Black also served as the Townsite Agent for Roaring Springs in 1912.

The great-grandson of Sheriff Jonathan Edward Russell was played by J. D. Russell, a cattle manager at Matador Land and Cattle Company. Sheriff Ed Russell was the 10th sheriff of Motley County, serving more than a decade (1910-1923) while “protecting the citizens of this county and making this country free from lawlessness.”
Ed Russell started his career as a Matador Ranch cook on the chuck wagon.  J.D. told a humorous story about how Sheriff Ed got his nickname, “Mud Turtle.”

“One day I had the chuck wagon pulled up to a tank the cowboys were cleaning out. Since I had a wagon to also clean out, I had cooked soup for dinner. Well, some prankster dropped one poor little turtle in the soup pot, and from then on, some people called me “Mud Turtle” or just plain, “Mud.”

Sheriff William Thomas “Billy” Cloyd was the next featured character, played by Howard Limmer.  Carolyn and Howard Limmer both serve on the board of the Friends of the Historic MC Jail. Cloyd was the sixth sheriff of Motley County, voted in by a landslide in 1896. He was a Matador Ranch cowboy, starting with the Matadors in 1887 with his brother, Jim, when he was only 17-years-old.

“I thought the cowboy life would be a romantic kind of job, but there was no romance on the range. No siree, I worked from daylight to dark. A lot of hands didn’t have work, but Jim and me, we had a specialty. We was the chuck wagon cooks for the Matadors.” It is reported that the Cloyd brothers fed 140 men for dinner one time, he said. Cloyd was only 34 years old when he died of pneumonia. His five children were raised by the Masonic Home and School in Fort Worth.

The most poignant moment of the evening came with the performance of Roy Hobbs who played Jalmer “Jinks” Wilson. Jinks served in law enforcement in Motley County for more than 20 years until his untimely death on November 12, 1976.
Jinks and his wife Geneva, and son Dink and daughter Nelda, lived in the jail for about 10 years. Jinks served as jailer and Deputy Sheriff; and “my wife cooked two meals a day for the prisoners. The county paid her $1.50 a day.

“I was elected Sheriff in 1956, serving two terms until 1964. After a few years in the ranching business, I ran for office again, and served as Sheriff for almost four years before being killed in the line of duty in 1976 by two sawed off shotgun blasts at close range. I was 61 years old,” he said.  It was reported there were an estimated 1,000 people who attended the funeral of this beloved sheriff. Geneva and Dink both serve on the board of the Friends of the Historic MC Jail.

Located on the north side of the cemetery, Judge Ed D. Smith portrayed his father, William Earl “Ed D.”Smith lived in the jail as a Deputy under Sheriff Jinks Wilson.  Big Ed was a colorful character, well loved in the community, and remembered by many.

“Back when I was livin’ and breathin’, I did like to talk and that ain’t changed. I was born in Childress, Texas, February 4, 1895. I grew up around Childress and worked on several ranches before headin’ out to Matador horseback in May 1913. I was headed to the Matador Ranch to try to get a job. I was eighteen years old at the time.
Smith retired from the Matadors after a heart attack in the fall of 1957. “I shore did love the Old Matadors,” Ed D. deadpanned.

“Why when the Scotsmen sold out in ’52, for 35 years of continuous service they gave me a new pair of levis and a carton of Camels.”

Jim Childers of Paducah not only participated with the Windy Ridge Posse group at the jail, he also played a character at the cemetery. Dressed in all-black with a vest and fob watch, a duster, and of course, his trusty six-shooter, Jim played John L. Moore, the 2nd sheriff of Motley County, appointed following the arrest of sheriff number one, Joe Beckham.

“I was appointed sheriff by the Commissioner’s Court in 1893 following an arrest warrant issued against Sheriff Beckham for the felony offense of embezzlement of public funds.  In 1893, Motley County ‘teetered on the brink of civil war’ – the settlers versus the Matador Ranch.  The settlers were supported by Henry H. Campbell, a Confederate army veteran and pioneer Texas Cattleman; one of the founders of Matador Ranch. Campbell later became the first county judge.

“Later, I ran for Motley County Commissioner (1894) and was successful, serving three terms.  I also served as Mayor of the City of Matador from 1913 to 1914.

“I outlived a lot of my peers who died with their boots on.  During my long career I was a merchant, mail carrier, Justice of the Peace, and served as a Deputy Sheriff under two sheriffs.” Moore died April 5, 1938, at the ripe old age of 86. He is buried by his wife of 53 years.

The ninth performance of the evening featured Barbara Waybourn West, the great-granddaughter of John Wesley Waybourn, a former Texas Ranger.

Barbara gave a flawless performance, dressed in a brown leather jacket and white hat, sporting a Texas Ranger badge.
“In 1861, John Wesley joined the Minute Men of Clay County, working to bring law and order to Clay County.  These county groups were established as part of the Texas Rangers. He served in the Confederate Army along with his father and brother. In 1897, when the west opened up, the Waybourn family moved to Motley County to purchase land.

Lastly, Janie Campbell performed the character of Elizabeth Cook, the wife of Sheriff number four, who was killed by Joe Beckham.

“George was elected Sheriff of Motley County in 1894, only a few short months before he was killed. On May 27, 1895, Joe Beckham ambushed my husband and killed him in cold blood at the train station in Seymour, Texas, on the very day he was there to testify against Beckham at his trial. George Cook died defending the honor of Motley County,” she said.
This concluded the program at the cemetery. The trailers started their return journey to the jail, and the crowd dispersed. The cemetery became eerily quiet with the luminaries glowing in the dark. A shadowy moon peeked from behind the clouds. It was a night to remember, one woman said.

To join the Friends of the Historic Motley County Jail, please send a one-time only membership fee of $25.00 to Friends at P.O. Box 582, Matador, 79244. New members will receive the latest Friends Care newsletter and a frameable picture of the jail. Quarterly newsletters on the progress of the repair will keep members posted. Donations to the jail project may be sent to the above address.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the public for the support of this worthy project,” Carol Campbell, chair of the 10-member board said. “Our motto is: “We all get by with a little help from our friends …”