- 8 - Fonii A-.(S-140) ;UGV;R/U ) HT VCRM. : AAA ix{0gi<bs3 AD: l^isiiikpiok -- '.r Hi.story Iroj.ct fo/ Oklahoma SWING, PRANK. INTERVIEW. ' 8819.

Transcription

1 KWING, FRANK ' INTW/IEW 440

2 - 8 - Fonii A-.(S-140) ;UGV;R/U ) HT VCRM. : AAA ix{0gi<bs3 AD: l^isiiikpiok -- '.r Hi.story Iroj.ct fo/ Oklahoma SWING, PRANK. INTERVIEW. ' Fitld Worker'i name " Linnaeus B. Ranck. JThis rcjiorb made on (dito) October ' 193 i. -Name Frank Siring. 2. Poet 0"n?o I\ddruso Higgins, Texas. 3. RoGidcncc oddrcec.(or loc.tion) 4. DATE OF RIl-lTH: Month"; Day _^ Yuar Plaoe of birth Missouri. 6. Name of Father "/.?. Swing. Place of birth J r Other Jtii 1 onnat ion P.tout father 7. Nami of Mother ; * Place of birth Ot v.er information al^ut moth r itfotec or comaluto narritivc by the i\z\.& worker d^-alin;' v/ith the life and story of the \_erl-on ir.l-rvicwod, Ro-f.r to Iv'ai.u-il for su'-vott'jd subjects j and que.-.tioncw Continue on blank she-t:- il necjss.'iry and attach firmly to' this form. N^xber of bracts att'.ohod 10,.

3 442 SWING, FRANK. nitkrview Linnaeus B. Ranok, Field i7orker, October 5, An -Interview With Frank Ewing, Higgins, Texas. K EV/ING AND SOME HISTOHy OF THE LATE WILL ROGERS. Frank Ewing is a native of Missouri. His father, K. P. Bwing^left Missouri with the family in the»80«s and settled in the Peoos River.country in New Mexico near the town of Rttswell and there went into the cattle business. Inaident to the opening of the Cheyenne-Arapaho country the.ewings Territory. prepared to move with their cattle to Oklahoma The spring of f 93 they left their New Mexico location and with a large herd of cattle started trail to a location they had selected in the extreme west part of the Cheyenne-Arapaho country. They were*5ver four months on the journey. The country over which they traveled was so raw and open that only two fence lines were contacted along the entire trail from the Pecos River to Oklahoma Territory. In coming over'the plains the passed through the west line of the old X T T"Ranch of

4 WING/FRANK. INTERVIEW. ' ,1 the Texas Panhandle and through another and last fonoo line when they left the X. I. T. on their eastward course, W. P. f Swing, the father of Prank Ewing, filed on a homestead near the mouth of Utterobe Creek in what is now the southwest corner of Ellis County"and there the Ewings established a cattle ranch. This section then was all open oountry, and moccupied except by a few cattlemen. Free range prevailed fpr everybody. ' On his father's ranch on Littlerobe Creek, Frank Ewlng,.then a boy, spent a number of years. North of the Swing Ranch Headquarters a few mile s^ was and still is^a large spring of water and near it an attractive little valley, and this particular location became a favorite attraction for M aquatters M. It^ was the practice of Mr. Swing's father to rt buy off" those who established themselves at the spring on the Swing range for sums of cash ranging from $20.00 to $ It seemed that no sooner had one "squatter" been induoed to leave than along would come another one. This became an aggravation and excessive expense to the Swings. They concluded that soon the settlers would crowd them out of the oattle business in

5 444 SWING, FRANK. INTERVIEW Oklahoma Territory and it was best'that they prepare to move. The fall or t 98~they"-looated in Texas to the northwest of where their ranch on Littlerobe Creek had been and about eight' miles northwest of the present town of Higgins. j Higgins and vicinity Frank Ewing has lived continuously in the meantime. Higgins is only a mile or two over the Texas-Oklahoma boundary line and consequently Mr. Swing knows much of the early history of this section of Oklahoma and has considerable historioal data and information about old Day County.and old Grand which for a of years was the de facto oounty seat of old Day County, Oklahoma Territory. For a time after the Swings established the ranoh on Littlerobe Creek the family, including Frank, maintained a residence in Canadian, Texas^then known as Canadian City, Texas,anu.(Frank attended school in Canadian a 'number of terms. While in Canadian he became a schoolmate and boyhood ohum of Will Johnson,whose family then resided in Canadian. Later, Will Johnson attended sohool at the Kemper Military Institute at Boonville, Missouri,and while a student at Kemper, Will Johnson beoame acquainted with"

6 445 SWING, FRANK. INTERVIEW., ' ' Will Rogers,who was a student at Kemper.school at that time,also. It seemed that Johnson, a close friend and former sohoolmate of Frank Ewing, became 6ne of Will Rogers? more congenial frieitis and oeoause of this Will Rqgers came to Higgins, and had experiences in those parts as well as in the Texas Panhandle.,, Will Rogers.even as a boy,was restless, roving fellow by disposition, he remained in no one place very long. Also as a boy Rogers was intent on all manner of i harmless misohief; pranka, tricks and wit and humor. Rogers was a boy of splendid personal habits, a bright and % good ohap; as a student in school, however,, he could not, get along for any great while because of his persistent harmless misohief-making.. Time on end Rogers was expelled from one school and another. While he was attending Kempejr Sohool at Boonville, Missouri, with Will Johnson of then Canadian, Texas, as a olassmate he learned of the Texas Panhandle. Will Johnson told him of the ranoh on Littlerobe Greek in the old Cheyenne-Arapaho country belonging to W. p. Swing,the father of Johnson's friend,frank Swing. At that time Rogers was being threatened with expulsion

7 446 WING, FRANK. INTERVIEW frora Kemper sahool and deoided to leave the school before he was expelled. He was interested in blazing some new / trail and,exploring some new oountry and was' interested in the region Will Johnson hailed from. The Swings were all teetotal strangers to Rogers and the country where they lived was strange to him as well. However, Will Johnson, the" close friend of Frank Ewing., having become quite attached to Will Rogers.persuaded the latter, when" it appeared oertain that Rogers was going to be foroed to leave Kemper school,to journey out' to the ranch of Frank Swing's father southeast of Higgins, Texas,on Littlerobe Greek in Oklahoma Territory. Without any previous notioe to the Swings of his ooming,will Rogers departed from Hamper sohool suddenly with the Ewing ranoh near Higgins, Texas, as his destination. During the.month of February, 1898 ; Will Rogers arrived in Higgins^ fcnowi-ng not^a single soul and knowing only of the Swings. There being no means of communicatioj^ln^the days exoept by mail or through a third party it was several days before the Ewings on the ranch knew that Rogers was in Higgins wanting, to get out to their ranoh home. A

8 447 SWING, FRANK., INTERVIEW number of people in ^iggins during the first several.days immediately after Will Rogers arrived ^rho happened to oonta,ct the Swings on their ran oh reported to Mr. Frank Swing's father that there was a "strange" boy in Higgins wanting to get out to their ranch. Naturally the Ewings oould not imagine who the "strange boy" oould be and made no particular effort to get to Higgins very soon to receive him. It seems though that Rogers was well able to take care.of himself, for a few days prior to his getting out to the ranch of Frank Ewlng's father, Rogers had succeeded in locating a sister of Frank Ewin^'s then resident in Higgins and this sister extended to Will Rogers the hospitality of her home for a few days and until those on the ranch on Littlerobe Creek could, come to Higgi ns after him. It followed that Frank Swing's father drove to ^iggins from his ranch in a buokboard and team and took to^the ranch their-strange and surprising visitor and guest, Will Rogers, never imagining that this boy who had been directed to the hospitality of the Ewing rancfevhome and the companionship of the Ewin^ boys was destined to become a man of world fame and distinction.

9 i 448 SWfENG, FRANK. INTERVIEW I I Frank Ewing's father immediately sought to learn of Will Rogers' parentage and the location of hi«home. Having ascertained these facts W. P. Ewing immediately comimiflicated with the father of Will Rogers advising him that his son had left Kemper school in Missouri and had wandered west to the Ewing ranch. According to Frank Swing's impression, Will Rogers 1 'father had little or no oon^rol over his son,will and realized the fact. At any rate Rogers' father wrote back to Frank Ewing's father asking him to keep Will on the ranch as long as he wish-ed to stay with them or as long as they cared to keep him and stated that in case Will needed money or that the Ewings felt that-will needed money, Mr. Swing, the elder should draw a draft on the Mr. Rogers for whatever sum was s needed. Will Rogers, however, was far from being a spendthrift at that time even, and it was never necessary to ask his father for money as long as Rogers was with the Ewings. Having b«en raised on a ranch, of course, Will Rogers knowingly knew set the to life work of there. Ewing After ranch a period and eagerly of time and Mr. Ewing offered Will Rogers 20T00 in-oa*h in payment for

10 ". 449 SWING, FRANK. INTERVIEW the work he had done on the ranoh which Rogers in a gentlemanly but positive manner refused to accept, olaiming that he had not earned anything in spite of the fact that Rogers had from the first made a splendid cowhand on the ranoh and had worked every day he had been there. Rogers remained on the Ewing ranch from the time he arrived in -February,1898,till the fall of that year and helped them when they moved their ranching operations from Littlerobe in Oklahoma to a place in Texas northwest of Higgins. That fall Will Rogers was with the Ewing outfit when they trailed a herd of some six hundred head of cattle to Medicine Lodge, Kansas, oamping with the herd a few days at the mouth of Wolf Creek a few miles east of Fort Supply. Late in the fall of»98 Rogers' roving spirit got the better of him and he left the Swings and went to Amarillo, Texas. At Amarillo he connected with a large trail herd enroute from the Mule Shoe aountry of Texas to Kansas and hired out to go with the herd as one of the oowpunchers. Within a few months he returned to the Swing ~h^mib~b3td y«ffiainfid on_their ranch for awhile again. Will Rogers was with the Ewings at intervals of a few months

11 450 UNG, FRANK. INTERVIEW and' during his very few years in the western oat tie country he always made the Ewing ranch home his home and headquarters. Mir. Ewing declares that he was with Rogers in the Texas Panhandle more than any other one man and oame to know him better than any other one man of the Panhandle country and affirms that Rogers never worked e day on the Box T. Ranch. Ewing declares.too,that Rogers \was not in Texas, that is the north Panhandle,iearly so Long as it has been represented to the public generally. that he punched cattle in that section. Ewing s< emphatically that dill Rogers was not in the west tes tharn three years at the most fj.'om the ti:ae he came to the Ewing\ ranch in February, 1898; and that after a period not exceeding three years he was never back in the Panhandle but a few times during the remainder of his life when he paid Ewing,who had become a very close friend, a few visits at Higgina. published aw Ewing declares,too,that many things and events told pf and concerning Will Rogers purportedly, while he was\ punching cattle in the Texas Panhandle are pure, fabrications A Frank Swing positively declare that Will Rogers

12 . 451 EWING, ^RANK. INTERVIEW \ \ was never 'even 30 much as on the Turkey Track Ranch. Mr. Ewing kq>t in constant and quite close touch with Will Rogers up until about the tine of Rogers' tragic end. He says that he had correspondence with Rogers when the latter was abroad. Ewing stated to me that Yfill Rogers as a boy and as a young man regardless of the character of his associates^.'as a fellow of most exemplary and clean habits of life. According to Ewing, Rogers developed his artful rope tricks after he left the Texas Panhandle.