The woman, who weighed nearly a hundred and thirty-five pounds, looked to be about twenty-five years of age and a little over five feet tall. With black hair and dark eyes, she appeared to be a good-looking man. The couple had stolen four head of horses, so we put them in jail at Quanah. The convict had escaped from the penitentiary after serving five years of a ten-year sentence for horse stealing. He was tried in Quanah for his latest thefts, and sent back to the penitentiary to finish serving his first sentence, with an addition of five years for his last crime. The woman got a change of venue from Quanah to Vernon and came clear. The ladies of Vernon felt sorry for her and dressed her up in woman’s clothing. Mrs. Wheeler was the only white woman I ever arrested. Mr. J. M. Britton, a Ranger, aided in making the capture.
XVI
The Arrest of Hollingsworth
I received a warrant from Austin, in 1891, to arrest O. N. Hollingsworth. He was then living eighteen miles west of Quanah, and seven miles south of Kirkland. Pick Gipson, the sheriff, and Lon Lewis went with me after Mr. Hollingsworth. Hollingsworth knew Lon Lewis and Sheriff Gipson, but he had never seen me; so, when we got within a half mile of Mr. Hollingsworth’s house, they proposed that I go down to the house and see if he was there, saying that if he was they would come on in a short time, and for me to remain until they arrived there. They told me not to try to arrest him, for they were pretty well satisfied, since the old man’s case was a bad one, that he would more than likely make a fight. When I rode up to the gate, I called out to the people, it being after dark, and a young man, who looked to be about seventeen years old, came out.
I asked him if he had seen a man pass there riding a grey horse and leading a black, or riding a black and leading a grey. I told him that this man was about six feet two and one-half inches tall, and had red curly hair and a heavy red mustache. I said that I wanted this man in Baylor County for the theft of these two horses. He said that he had not seen the man nor the horses. He asked me then to get down and spend the night with them. I told him that as my horse and I were very badly jaded I would like to stay there that night. I asked him if I would be imposing on the family, and inquired if his father and mother were at home. He said that they were in the house, and I told him that I would stay.
I led my horse up through the gate, and he remarked “Let’s go and put your horse up.”
I told him that I would have to have a drink of water before I put my horse up; that I was nearly dying with thirst. The water barrel was sitting right in front of the door, and I could see it in the light. He insisted very much on me putting my horse up before I got the water, but I could see the old man standing in the door, and I was satisfied that he would step out in the dark and I would fail to see him that night, as the lot was on the other side, in the rear. I went on up to the front door and spoke to the old gentleman and took a drink of water.
Then I asked the old gentleman if his name was Hollingsworth.
He said it was.
I said, “I have papers for you, Mr. Hollingsworth.”
“Where are they from?” he asked.
“From Austin.”
“Well, alright,” he said.
I turned my horse over to the young man and told him to hitch him. Then I stepped into the building, and the old gentleman, and I sat down.
Mrs. Hollingsworth was reading a book and never looked up nor spoke to me for twenty minutes, and, when she did, she asked if I had been to supper. I told her that I had eaten some cheese and crackers that I had with me.
She said, “You had better let me go and fix something for you; I have plenty cooked.” I insisted that she not put herself to any trouble, but she went, anyway, and fixed the table. I am satisfied that Mrs. Hollingsworth thought that I would leave her husband in the house while I went to eat. That would have given the old gentleman a chance to make his escape; so, when I started out, I told him to go out ahead of me. This little eating house was about twenty steps from the main building that we were in. I ate supper, and we went back to the dwelling and seated ourselves.
The old gentleman commenced crying and started to the bureau, where there was a double-barrel shotgun and a Winchester, one on each side. He was half way to the bureau, when the thought struck me that he might make a bad play with those guns, being stirred up as he was and crying; so I halted him, and told him to come back and take his seat. He told me that he only wanted to get the hairbrush and brush his hair and beard, but I told him that he could do that in the morning.
About that time Gipson and Lewis came up, and I was very glad to see them. I had been looking for them for some time; for they told me that if I did not return they would come to me in a half hour, as they would know that he was at home; but it was all of an hour and a half before they came to me. They put their horses up, and Mrs. Hollingsworth began to fix beds for all of us. This building had only one room. It was cut back in a hill and planked up on each side and in front, making a comfortable house. Mrs. Hollingsworth made us a pallet in the front part of the building. She and her husband slept in the back, and there was a curtain in the center of the house that cut them off from the others. She told me that I could lie down and rest easy; that she would be responsible for her husband; that there was no way for him to escape. I noticed two windows in the back part of the building; so I told Mrs. Hollingsworth that I made it a point to guard all prisoners, and for her and her family to fix and lie down, and I would pull the curtains back so we could guard the old gentleman.
It was seven miles from there to Kirkland, and eighteen miles from Kirkland to Quanah; so we ate breakfast the next morning and got off in time to meet the southbound train at Kirkland. Mr. Hollingsworth’s boy took him in the buggy to Kirkland. When we reached Kirkland, Pick Gipson, the sheriff, took him to Quanah on the train, and Lon Lewis and I rode through horseback.
When Mr. Hollingsworth separated from his wife and two or three little girls, it was such a sad scene to witness, that I never will forget it. His wife clung to his neck, and those sweet little girls held to his arms and legs. I thought I never would get away from the sound of his wife’s and children’s screams. This was, indeed, a sad morning to me, and the family had my deepest sympathy.
When we reached Quanah, I learned at our camp that Pick Gipson had turned Mr. Hollingsworth over to the Rangers, and he remained at our camp three days and nights before we sent him to Austin. While at camp, eating our grub, I asked the old gentleman one day if he would like to have a hotel dinner. He said he would, so I took him to the Quanah Hotel and gave him a good dinner. He asked me to walk up stairs with him, and he showed me some pictures of Jersey cows and calves, which were hanging on the wall. They were beautiful, and he told me that his grown daughters had drawn them. He cried, and said, “Sullivan, I am no thief. My children overdrew on me. They were high-livers and they got me behind with the state. That is the reason you have me arrested.” Hollingsworth was then about sixty-five years old, very straight and erect, and fine looking, and was highly educated. I am satisfied that he was no thief, but his children were expensive in their way of living, and caused him to fall behind and make this great mistake with the state. When he got into this trouble he was holding an office in Austin. Before that he taught school and bore a good name. He gave bond in Austin, but jumped it and made his escape. His wife sold her home, and his two daughters sold theirs—a section of land apiece—and paid the bond off. I have never heard of Hollingsworth since.
XVII