The Semi-weekly leader., 1919-08-16
MADE BIG MONEY
WHILE OTHERS RAN
. \ from list page }


She was suing Eobbitt for divorce and
Il for one hair OF his estate, valued al
$424, 900. The jhry after hearing the
testimony gave4 verdict that the wo-
man was the Common law wife OF
Bobbitt. having. lived with him for
more than 80 years, and that she
was entitled to one half of his es-
tate. She was granted divorce from
the defendant.
Bobbit was one of the leading
businSss men of North Texas. He
has large Investments in may in
dustrial enterprises. 1t was in June,
1917, that Bobbitt, according to the
testimony of his common law wife,
wrote to her from Hot Springs, Ark,
that he had decided to quit.
MARRIED TO SHERMAN WOMAN.
On February 2, 1919, Bobbitt, was
married to Mrs. Rowena Smith Coov-
er, of Sherman, daughter of r. e.
Smith, wealthy citizen of his coun-
ty. A son was born to them a few
months ago.
According to the story told by the
first Mrs. Bobbitt she eloped with
the man with whom she lived as his
wife for so many years, on May 25,
1886. She was at that time living
with her father near Sherman, Texas.
Bobbitt took her to Louisiana, where
for many years he was a levee con-
\ tractor. She lived in the levee camps
in the swamps cooking for the out
| fits. Her story dramatically told, is
in part, as follows:
ST lived with Bobbitt from the
time eloped with him until he left
me in Natchez. And 1 worked, if
you have any idea of what working
| in Mississippi levee camp is. /
couldn't believe any woman in the
world could do the work did. But
l seemed to get fat on swamp air.
Bobbitt used to have chills before
we left Texas. He carried bottle
of quinine to the field with him and
used to eat it off his knife blade.
That made him deaf.
Before we started for Louisiana
in 1886 l raised a cotton crop.
Picked three bales and 700 pounds
myself. Bobbitt sold the cotton and
bought a pair of mules. That gave
us three teams. I used to break po-
nies he had. A nigger'd blindfold a
pony and bring him out. I'd stand
on high box and jump, snatching
the blind as lit in the saddle.
used Bobbitt's big Texas saddle,
which had two heavy girths. Some
times l fell but more often I landed
in the saddle. Them ponies'd rear
straight up, but / was strong and
wasn't afraid of nothing. / rode in
skirt, too.
THE ponies we sold or traded and
when we started for a levee camp
after working for Dan Carey in Fort
Worth, teaming, we had IL head of
stock, not all paid for. We went to
Hard Times, La, and our camp was
named Rough and Ready" Bobbitt
and | slept in tent which we call
ed the office and kitchen. We had
eight teamsters. They slept on the
cotton seed hulls in building. 1.
had a little oil stove and used to do
the cooking for all of us. Besides
that, / hauled water on a slide from
the river, cut the wood, tended the
chickens and pigs.
START TO FORTUNE.
II used to keep as high as 500
chickens at time. Our first COM
missary was little box in the tent
where kept tobacco. When a man
wanted tobacco / gave it to him and
marked down the price in a book.
That was my first bookkeeping and
that was our start to fortune. We
all worked hard. used to try to
have all the wood cut, because /
thought that when Bobbitt had drove
a team all day he'd be more tired
than me. But sometimes I used to
have to hold a lantern and get him
to cut wood for me at night. We
fought mosquitoes, malaria and high
water Sometimes onr homemade
levees would break. I'd take al
butcher knife, run to the corrall and
slash the ropes that held the mules
so they could swim out to high land
We wore high rubber boots and /
never knew days sickness till 1915.
When Bobbitt left for Hot Springs
l never had any idea that he was
leaving me for good. I packed his
Suitcase nice one it was, too
with his clothes, put in an extra
suit of underwear and the medicine
he needed. He looked sick and then
Earle and me went to the depot with
him and petted him because didn't
know whether the man would ever
come back alive again. cried, too,
just as any wife will when her hus-
bands going away, and he said;
Look here, Mary, if you don't quit
crying I'm never coming back
WIPED THE TEARS AWAY.
$50 wiped the tears away and
tried to stop, He wrote me regular
ly about the business and wrote
him. One day got letter as usu
al. 1t was no different from the rest
except that way down near the bot
tom, where the writing got crowd
ed, he said, I've quit And that was
all he said at that time. / couldn't
make it out at first, but afterwards
he wrote and said he wouldn't never
give me another dollaroand that he
was. through.
81 weighed It's pounds then. Il
you'd call we'll man, but he had
simply keep going and working. We
used to clear big money some years.
Once we made $50, 700 in five months
Another year we made only $500.
Bobbitt bought stock in -four mills
and kept building up. Whatever was
needed to pay on his stock was taken.
from the bank. He left me check
for $500 the day before he went to
Hot Springs. Told me to use $50 for.
myself and put the rest in the bank
for expenses of the camp. That's
the last money i got from him.
''Bobbitt was mighty good look
ing-young man. He shaved his mus
tache off since he got married again.
think he looked better with it. i
used to take pair Of scissors and
Lanr II trimmed ,aaaf and snr1a rn