Learned about Holt Collier in the safari thread. Now I have to find a book or two to read all of those stories. But, it got me thinking, how many other legends like Holt are out there that somehow have slipped through the cracks history and should be much more famous (or infamous.) So let's have a thread were we can share our collective knowledge on real life figures we should all know about, but probably don't.
I'll start:
This one is close to home. Like Holt, this legend is tied to Teddy Roosevelt. But my wife is a direct descendant of them.
The Abernathy Boys...
Catch em' Alive Jack Abernathy (Rancher, Wolf Hunter, and the Youngest US Marshall in History... All Around Badáss) My wife's great-grandfather
Louis "Bud" Abernathy (Jack's son, Adventurer, Judge) My wife's great uncle
Temple "Temp" Abernathy (Jack's youngest son, Adventurer, Oil man) My wife's grandfather
PBS The Abernathy Boys
Above is the link to a good 30 minute PBS documentary, but here's the TLDR if you'd rather read up a little before watching.
When Jack was in his teens, he was wolf hunting in West Texas on horseback. Jack was riding with a couple of his greyhounds whom he used for hunting. One of the wolves they were pursuing turned to slash at the dog that was gaining on him. Jack was riding close behind. That particularly dog was a favorite of Jack’s. Without thinking, he leapt from his horse and landed close enough to the wolf to thrust a fist toward the wolf and soundly landed his punch directly in the wolf’s snarling mouth. Somewhat to Jack’s amazement, his fist kept the wolf’s jaws from closing and caused the struggling animal to submit.
When a hunting companion caught up with Jack, he freed Jack’s hand, and they bound the wolf’s muzzle with wire. The wolf’s legs were tied, and he was packed on to the back of Jack’s horse. When they arrived back at the ranch, they weighed the wolf–130 pounds to Jack’s 127.
Jack went on to make a career of catching live wolves for a while and sold them for $50 to zoos, traveling shows, and the like. In 1905, after hearing about this guy catching wolves with his bare hands, Teddy Roosevelt made a trip to Oklahoma where Jack now lived to see for himself. The two became fast friends and Teddy named Jack the US Marshall for the Oklahoma Territory at the age of 28.
A few years after becoming Marshall, Jack took a trip to Santa Fe and met the Governor of the New Mexico Territory. Upon his return he told his boys Bud and Temple about all the sights and they wanted to go. Their mother had a passed a few years earlier and Jack was a single dad who caught wolves barehanded. So he let his 9 and 5 year old boys ride to Santa Fe on horseback... Alone to go meet the Governor of New Mexico. Why not I guess.
The next year, there was a big parade planned in New York City for Roosevelt upon his return from a year long trip to Africa and Europe. Jack told the boys he was going and they wanted to go to... But not by train like their dad. So at the ages of 10 and 6 they rode from Oklahoma to NYC on horseback... Again alone. This time they were becoming famous and ended up stopping in Ohio to hang out with the Wright Brothers and DC for a couple of nights to meet President Taft at the White House. Once they got to NYC, they were extremely famous and rode their horses with the Rough Riders in Roosevelt's parade.
Instead of riding back to Oklahoma, they bought a car and drove it home. At the time there were no paved roads, yet some how a 10 and 6 year old drove a brick on wheels 2500 miles. Every summer for the next few years they would take in adventures. They rode from Coney Island to San Francisco on horseback in 62 days the next summer. They were shooting for 60 to win $10,000 from some promoters. Then they rode a motorcycle to New York City one summer. By the time they were 14 and 10 respectively, the gig was up.
Jack got pissed off having to wait on a meeting after getting called to DC about something and resigned as Marshall. He worked for the Secret Service for a while, but eventually became an oil wildcatter in Wichita Falls. Bud went on to become a lawyer and judge. And Temple, my wife's grandfather, followed Jack into the oil business. He died when my wife was little (her mom had her in her 40's so she barely new her grandparents), but the stories all lived on. Her grandmother Alta, wrote a very good book called Bud and Me that covers all the stories. Here's a great example
the Santa Fe trip had been riddled with near-disasters. Bud’s horse Sam Bass, borrowed from his father, and the Shetland pony mix named Geronimo were sure-footed. But Temple contracted diarrhea by drinking gypsum water and sprained both ankles trying to dismount. Bud was forced to lie awake one night, firing his shotgun into the darkness toward a pack of wolves that circled while his brother slept. The boys ran out of both food and water between stops, and were saved by the kindness of strangers.
The most chilling episode was a note scribbled by the point of a lead-tipped bullet on a brown paper sack, addressed to “The Marshal of Oklahoma” and delivered to the Abernathy home. “I don’t like one hair on your head, but I do like the stuff that is in these kids. We shadowed them through the worst part of New Mexico to see that they were not harmed by sheepherders, mean men, or animals.” It was signed A.Z.Y., the initials of a rustler whose friend had been killed in a shootout with Abernathy.
Anyhow, it’s awesome that my kids have such a personal connection to something so cool. It's definitely on their radars too...
I don't know much about Bud's side of the family, but of all the descendants of Temple, my boys are probably most like he and Bud. Temple and Alta had nothing but girls and all his grandchildren except for one were girls. Our boys are the same age spread of 4 years and are now the same age as Bud and Temple when they went to see Roosevelt. My oldest (the smart, responsible one) has really gotten in to the history of it all and is trying to follow in the family legacy. I am having to take them to a wolf trapping class in September and he wants to go set traps this fall with his little brother (the fearless wild-man) like his great grandfather would have. The state reimbursed a local rancher $18,000 for hiring contractors to kill 4 wolves earlier this year. The oldest heard about it and want to get certified to trap/kill wolves and see if any of the local ranchers will pay them if they kill any more wolves... The oldest is planning on telling them all how he's the direct descendant of the greatest wolf hunter in history... Catch Em' Alive Jack. And the youngest wants to start catching them by hand when he's a little bit older... They even have their dog. We got them a silver lab puppy this spring from Leighton Vander Esch's parents. His dad Darwin is a professional wolf hunter/guide, so the labs must be bred for wolf hunting according to the kids.**
I'll start:
This one is close to home. Like Holt, this legend is tied to Teddy Roosevelt. But my wife is a direct descendant of them.
The Abernathy Boys...
Catch em' Alive Jack Abernathy (Rancher, Wolf Hunter, and the Youngest US Marshall in History... All Around Badáss) My wife's great-grandfather
Louis "Bud" Abernathy (Jack's son, Adventurer, Judge) My wife's great uncle
Temple "Temp" Abernathy (Jack's youngest son, Adventurer, Oil man) My wife's grandfather
PBS The Abernathy Boys
Above is the link to a good 30 minute PBS documentary, but here's the TLDR if you'd rather read up a little before watching.
When Jack was in his teens, he was wolf hunting in West Texas on horseback. Jack was riding with a couple of his greyhounds whom he used for hunting. One of the wolves they were pursuing turned to slash at the dog that was gaining on him. Jack was riding close behind. That particularly dog was a favorite of Jack’s. Without thinking, he leapt from his horse and landed close enough to the wolf to thrust a fist toward the wolf and soundly landed his punch directly in the wolf’s snarling mouth. Somewhat to Jack’s amazement, his fist kept the wolf’s jaws from closing and caused the struggling animal to submit.
When a hunting companion caught up with Jack, he freed Jack’s hand, and they bound the wolf’s muzzle with wire. The wolf’s legs were tied, and he was packed on to the back of Jack’s horse. When they arrived back at the ranch, they weighed the wolf–130 pounds to Jack’s 127.
Jack went on to make a career of catching live wolves for a while and sold them for $50 to zoos, traveling shows, and the like. In 1905, after hearing about this guy catching wolves with his bare hands, Teddy Roosevelt made a trip to Oklahoma where Jack now lived to see for himself. The two became fast friends and Teddy named Jack the US Marshall for the Oklahoma Territory at the age of 28.
A few years after becoming Marshall, Jack took a trip to Santa Fe and met the Governor of the New Mexico Territory. Upon his return he told his boys Bud and Temple about all the sights and they wanted to go. Their mother had a passed a few years earlier and Jack was a single dad who caught wolves barehanded. So he let his 9 and 5 year old boys ride to Santa Fe on horseback... Alone to go meet the Governor of New Mexico. Why not I guess.
The next year, there was a big parade planned in New York City for Roosevelt upon his return from a year long trip to Africa and Europe. Jack told the boys he was going and they wanted to go to... But not by train like their dad. So at the ages of 10 and 6 they rode from Oklahoma to NYC on horseback... Again alone. This time they were becoming famous and ended up stopping in Ohio to hang out with the Wright Brothers and DC for a couple of nights to meet President Taft at the White House. Once they got to NYC, they were extremely famous and rode their horses with the Rough Riders in Roosevelt's parade.
Instead of riding back to Oklahoma, they bought a car and drove it home. At the time there were no paved roads, yet some how a 10 and 6 year old drove a brick on wheels 2500 miles. Every summer for the next few years they would take in adventures. They rode from Coney Island to San Francisco on horseback in 62 days the next summer. They were shooting for 60 to win $10,000 from some promoters. Then they rode a motorcycle to New York City one summer. By the time they were 14 and 10 respectively, the gig was up.
Jack got pissed off having to wait on a meeting after getting called to DC about something and resigned as Marshall. He worked for the Secret Service for a while, but eventually became an oil wildcatter in Wichita Falls. Bud went on to become a lawyer and judge. And Temple, my wife's grandfather, followed Jack into the oil business. He died when my wife was little (her mom had her in her 40's so she barely new her grandparents), but the stories all lived on. Her grandmother Alta, wrote a very good book called Bud and Me that covers all the stories. Here's a great example
the Santa Fe trip had been riddled with near-disasters. Bud’s horse Sam Bass, borrowed from his father, and the Shetland pony mix named Geronimo were sure-footed. But Temple contracted diarrhea by drinking gypsum water and sprained both ankles trying to dismount. Bud was forced to lie awake one night, firing his shotgun into the darkness toward a pack of wolves that circled while his brother slept. The boys ran out of both food and water between stops, and were saved by the kindness of strangers.
The most chilling episode was a note scribbled by the point of a lead-tipped bullet on a brown paper sack, addressed to “The Marshal of Oklahoma” and delivered to the Abernathy home. “I don’t like one hair on your head, but I do like the stuff that is in these kids. We shadowed them through the worst part of New Mexico to see that they were not harmed by sheepherders, mean men, or animals.” It was signed A.Z.Y., the initials of a rustler whose friend had been killed in a shootout with Abernathy.
Anyhow, it’s awesome that my kids have such a personal connection to something so cool. It's definitely on their radars too...
I don't know much about Bud's side of the family, but of all the descendants of Temple, my boys are probably most like he and Bud. Temple and Alta had nothing but girls and all his grandchildren except for one were girls. Our boys are the same age spread of 4 years and are now the same age as Bud and Temple when they went to see Roosevelt. My oldest (the smart, responsible one) has really gotten in to the history of it all and is trying to follow in the family legacy. I am having to take them to a wolf trapping class in September and he wants to go set traps this fall with his little brother (the fearless wild-man) like his great grandfather would have. The state reimbursed a local rancher $18,000 for hiring contractors to kill 4 wolves earlier this year. The oldest heard about it and want to get certified to trap/kill wolves and see if any of the local ranchers will pay them if they kill any more wolves... The oldest is planning on telling them all how he's the direct descendant of the greatest wolf hunter in history... Catch Em' Alive Jack. And the youngest wants to start catching them by hand when he's a little bit older... They even have their dog. We got them a silver lab puppy this spring from Leighton Vander Esch's parents. His dad Darwin is a professional wolf hunter/guide, so the labs must be bred for wolf hunting according to the kids.**
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