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1 Notice of Copyright Published and unpublished materials may be protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code). Any copies of published and unpublished materials provided by the Western History Collections are for research, scholarship, and study purposes only. Use of certain published materials and manuscripts is restricted by law, by reason of their origin, or by donor agreement. For the protection of its holdings, the Western History Collections also reserves the right to restrict the use of unprocessed materials, or books and documents of exceptional value and fragility. Use of any material is subject to the approval of the Curator. Citing Resources from the Western History Collections For citations in published or unpublished papers, this repository should be listed as the Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma. An example of a proper citation: Oklahoma Federation of Labor Collection, M452, Box 5, Folder 2. Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma.

2 BILLS, ROfiXBT 0. (ER.) INTBflriW 6044 (58

3 BILLS, HOBEBT C. (DR.; IT^TERVIEW TISLD WORKER HAZEL B. GOTtEHE Indian-Pioneer History s-419 May 25, INTERVIEW W'?tt m. HOBERT C. BILLS/ Sopor, Oklahoma,./ ur. KObart C. bills. Physio Ian,-and Surgeon Soper, Oklahoma states : \ when I came to the Indian Territory in 1895, I had been out of Medical Collage just a little while. I had an uncle who was a doctor, under whoa I had studied, in addition to attending the university of Tennessee, at Nashville. I knew if I stayed with this uncle in Texas, and practiced with him, that I'd hare all the night calls o to make, and the hardest part of the practice to do and anyway, 1 just wanted to swing out by myself. I wanted to come to the Indian Territory. 1 was young and not married and did not know a thing about the Choctaw Indians, or iabout any other Indians. I landed at Crowder Springs; about ten miles south of what is now Boswell, and across Boggy from here, in 1895, with a horse, saddle, saddle bags, and twenty five dollars. Crowder Spring* was on the main big road from Garrets n '.uff on/red River to Caddo. There was nothing there but the 1 ( I /

4 BILLS, ROBERT C. (DR.) INTERVIEW springs «nd a nice camping ground. Travelers would camp there on their way to Caddo frou Paris, Texas> Honey Grove* and other places. Caddo was then the terminus of the M.K.& T. railroad. There were j people living around near, but not right at the springs. On the road toward Caddo, and about one and one half miles north of what is now Bannington, was what was called the Red Store; that was the only one between Garret's Bluff and Caddo. They handled no # medicines except chill tonic, castor oil, and just a few other simple remedies, patent medicines mostly. When a doctor got out of medicine he had to go to Paris, Honey Grove, or some other town in Texas for a new supply, it was easier to go over there than to Caddo* The roads were better. Even then they were mostly trails. The roads were nothing to brag &uout. Nearly every place I went I had to go horseback over trails. There ware lots of places that one could not get over in any other way except afoot or horseback.

5 \ BILLS, ROBERT C. (DR.) INTERVIEW I boarded at John Crowder*s, he was a Chootaw Indian, so the other Indians considered me as one of them, and treated me as*feuch. Old Dr. Brown was at the Red Store and Dr. John was at Atlas, about fire miles north of the present town of Soper. Atlas was the home of Judge. Tom Oakes, near New Spencer"Academy. We ware the only three doctors in the country, and we were kept pretty busy. We would usually find out in what direc~ "tlon we wanted to go and strike out across the prairie or woods. Sometimes we doctors would go a distance of twenty or thirty miles to make a call. I did all the practice around Lake West which was at the mouth of Blue Hiver, the mouth of White Grass River and in the forks of Boggy Creek and believe me, those old fullbloods oter in those wildernesses were dangerous, Tom Crowder was my guide and interpreter, and frequently the fullbloods would send for as and whoever they &ent»would act as my escort to and from the place I was going,*jy> as to protect me from unfriendly Indians, \ \

6 BILLS, BOBKRT C.(DR.) IHTSRVISW and to let their own friends know that I had their protection. Lota of times I would have to stay all night. They would always make me a good bed. In the winter my bed would be in the house and in the summer it * would be a pallet on the poroh, with the escort al-» ways near me. They would never leave me alone. Bven then I felt safer than I did with most of the white people here, because so many of them were renegades, horsethieves and worse. Once I was sent for in the night. i The guide told me we were going to one place and when we got there it was a aile or so ferther on. The road or, trail was so bad we had to leave our buggy and walk and the balance of the way, through brush, brlars/~over bocks.- We had a "buggy lantern, n We carried that, but even then.it was hard to see how to get through. Arriving there,i found a fellow with a wounded leg* H pretended that he had accidentally shot himself, and to carry out his bluff, suid he meant to

7 BIL-S, ROBERT C. (DR.) INTERVIEW throw away that old pistol, a 38, just as soon as he got we.ll* I knew that the bullet 1 out out was not a 38, but it was not a fitting time for ma to say anything* However, I told him that he need not throw the pistol away; that I'd feel mighty good to have it along with me on my return home* He didn't give It to me* There were fifteen or more men gunged up there in that house. Tfcey all looked like cut-throats* They had the women fix us some supper, after I had dressed the wound* Then we left* This fellow had paid me for my servloes and my interpreter was so afraid/that the^ would follow us and rob us of that money, that he would not let me light our buggy lantern» till we had gone a long way from the house* Of course they oould have followed us that was the way he felt about it* So made our way as best we oould back to the buggy to his intense relief* Once a fullblood Choctaw Indian woman sent for me to come to attend her in confinement. She

8 BILLS, ROHBRT C. (DR*) INTERYIBir. ' 5944 would not l e t m examine her. I k«pt on wanting to help her and she would not Let me. After several hours I had ay interpreter tell her that if she did not mean to let me help her that there was no use for us to stay, and that I was going home* She insisted that I stay, that she had the money to pay ma, to stay, and that she wanted me to, but still she would not let me touch her. Finally, I went out under the shade of a tree and made a pallet and rested. (>About mid-afternoon the baby was born and they sent for me to come into the house. I went. She wanted me to remove *ihe^ placenta. A sister of hers had died about two weeks before, because the placenta had pot passed and that was all she wanted me for. I removed it. ' She paid me the I charged and everybody was pleased. It was no unusual thing for fullblood Indian women to make pallets out in the yrd or on-the porch till after delivery. Ifcey frequently went down on a branch, or creek, and almost always wanted to be alone, * * ' ~ - -

9 BILLS, ROBKRT C.(DR.) mmwikfi They would oare for the babies themselves. There was plenty of all kinds of game in this country. Turkey, deer and other things.turkey hunting was my big hobby. I lored it. The main big road in this country was the one from Garrets Bluff, past Crowder Springs, aoroes Crowder Prairie, which joined the one from Doakorille, at Browne Red store, and vent on past Governor Wilson K. Jones ranch, orer Sugar Loaf hill and on into Codtfo. Cade is on that road* Hunters were not supposed to come oter ir\to this Indian country without a special permit, but lots of them did. Lots of times, when the Indians would hear hounds running a deer, they would find the hunters and shoot them, instead of the deer* The hunters did not dare protest, because they knew that those white aen from., other states were invading the rights of the Indians. Old man Crowder kept spying he wanted another dog. 50 ODce when I saw a likely locking fellow, I Just stole him and took him home to Mr. Crowder., \ ' A

10 BILLS, ROBERT C. (DR.) INTERVIEW That was only dog I ever stole In my life. The only fine I ever paid in ay life was for shoting a turkey out of season. Paul Harris was game warden an& it cost me $ I got no jail sentence. When I first came to the Indian Territory, one could kill all the gone he wanted to at any time, and not violate a law. 1 hare «or.o mounted horns off deer that I killed. But we would not just kill wastefully. Once a bunch of us went on a pig hunt, and made it a law among ourselves to "board" any man who brought in a turkey before we had eaten up the supply that we had on hand. * Crowder Springs got to be quite a health reaor*.?&e springs had no mtdleal qualities That was after statehood. especially, so far as I know, but lots of folks thought so and lots of folks just like to go canping in the summer anyhow. Lots of camping grounds were social gathering places, as well ^s church grounds or court grounds.

11 BILLS, ROBERT 0. (DR.)." IHTKHV3I By that I nean people made a aoolal gathering of camping out even if they were ooofoplled to be there on business. And lots of then went, just for the sooial side* 1 hate seen * thousand people oanped on the "Forks of Boggy Court Ground" when court was going on. it w>8 the oourt ground for throe districts of the Choctaw Nation, and Joel W. jsveridge was District Judge for years. Enterprising individuals would set up stands and sell foods and lots of other necessities to the people who would sometimes be eanpe* there for weeks, sometinea oourt lasted for weeksj 4 ue * * na fac<t tna * there might be lots of oases or some long drawn out. Garrets Bluff is on Bed River,Aibout eight miles south of Soper* *