Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-03
ANDREW JACKS0NPOTTER
The Fighting ParSOn of the West After
Years of Frontier Ministerial Life
Is Now Confined at his Home Sick, and Worn
Out at San Angelo, Textile People of His
Own City Remember Him.
SAN ANGELO, TEX. March IS, 1890.

new MEXICO ana ATlZOnd IS laInlllhT
with the name of "Andrew Jackson
| Potter, the fighting parson of the
! West. The daring deeds, hair breadth
| escapes and personal encounters with
savage Indians and desperadoes on the
| frontier while bearing the glad tidings of
| the gospel, is often discussed around the
| camp fires, on street corners and in
barrooms in this western country
The old parson was remembered
in substantial way by the various con-
gregations of this city last Thanksgiving
day by presenting him with a purse of
$40 90 and a load of wood Mr.. Pot
ter's extraordinarily eventful and TO-
mantle life is now more than ever be-
fore exciting interest among the people
of Texas. Indeed the state is justly
proud of such living hero, who is so
identified with its most thrilling history.
At the age of ten years our hero entered
upon the life of race rider and followed
that occupation six years. How little
did the thousands of light-minded people
and gamblers who bet on the steed
he sped around the race track
think that in future years
Andy would become the stalwart fight
ing parson of the wild west.
At sixteen he entered the service of
the United States in its war with Mexico.
During this service he traversed the
plains several times between Fort LeaVen-
worth and Santa Fe. During these trips
across the great American desert, only
inhabited by the wild savage Indians,
Mr.. Potter's party was often attacked
by bands of these blood-thirstY savages
I, ,xlNI,
while others fell at his side victims of
their quaint missiles of death. Our old
hero knows the lovely spot where rests
the remains of many an unfortunate,
hayward boy who fell by the wayside.
In 1851 Potter accompanied q band Of
Olive Branch MormOns near Santa Fe,
on their journey TO the mouth of the
Colorado, in Lower California, and con-
tracted to do their trading with the
Mexicaus. We copy the following from
Mr.. Potter's book: ''We crossed the
Pecos river at a little town called Anton
CHICO, on the west side. We encamped
on the east bank, opposite the town.
Next morning my mule was missing. l
borrowed horse and rode over into the
town. 1 looked back across the river
and saw several Mexicans on foot trying
to rope my mule. 1 spurred my
horse, running through gardens and
fields, and plunged into the river.
1 soon dashed in among them with a
pepper revolver. The Mexicans
drew their butcherknives. AS one of
them ran at me l shot him in the breast
and he fell to the ground. The others
cut at me, but my horse would jump out
of their reach. Just as L was drawing
trigger at another of the thieves they
rp off 7 nf
them
Many such daring deeds and narrow
escapes from desperadoes and wild In
dians are chronicled in his thrill
ing book. Even after Mr.. Potter
became q preacher of the gospel
he was forced to fight for his life. On
one occasion while preaching to
boisterous crowd of gamblers and des-
peradoes on the frontier of Texas Mr..
Potter saw that he would be compelled
to retreat from his pulpit and leave his
hilarious audience to hold high carnival
on the temporarily cOnsecrated spot or
take the law into his own hands and
demand respect for the gospel he
preached. He resolved on the lat |
ter course, and deliberately laid |
pair of revolvers on his tenn
porary book-b board and informed !
his audience that he proposed to finish
his discourse, and that any further dis |
turbance would be resented promptly. |
The positive manner in which this an
nouncement was made, backed by Mr.. |
Potter's record, quelled the trouble, and |
he says that he never had more attentive |
hearers as he finished his sermon. Mr.. |
Potter served as chaplain of Debrey's |
regiment in the Confederate army, and |
many are his deeds of valor and kindness |
well remembered by his comrades, many |
of whom still survive and live in this |
state.
After the war he returned to his mis- |
sion work on the frontier of Texas. All |
who were with Mr.. Potter on the border |
of civilization at that time remember |
well the savage warwhoop of the red |
man, while many fell victims to their |
scalping knife. (The writer's grand |
parents were massacred by the Co !
manches during the war in Burnett !
county, Tex. tSsssEs
FIGHT WITH -FOUR INDIANs.A
We again copy from Mr.. Pottsr's
book. "Having crossed Cherry creek, |
suddenly his keen watchful eye saWs
something moving along the deep ravines I
and on close inspection he knew they |
were INDIANS, aiming 10 intercept him IN Z
the valley below. Instantly he saw that /
a fight was perhaps his only chance TO
save his scalp, knowing that if he tried |
to return TO the settlement he had just |
left, that they could overtake him, and |
that perhaps band was already |
there to cut off his retreat, a fight won
the only chance. Wishing to bring on |
the contest far enough from
his ambulance not to frighten
his team, he refined them
up to thicket mot and made them fast
He then took his rife in hand, and, |
placing himself so that mot should, he
ceal his motions from his willy foe. he
fastened to reach the mot unperceived /
by them. Reaching the mot in safety
he cautiously crept through it to the
other side, when he discovered the four
savages about fifty PAGES off, standing
near TO the road, awaiting the arrival of |
the ambulance which they expected to
capture, driver and all. The noise of the
hammer called their attention to him
and the two having citizens rifles fred
at him, the bullets passing near to his
right arm. Mr.. Potter fired at the same