White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1932-10-20

Ting news Loving at Fort Sumner Good
night FASTENED there and learned that the day
after Wilson's departure for help the Indians
had left Loving's Bend, the place is now
called. Loving had dragged himself five miles
to narrow pass, where he remained five days,
and was eating a glove when some Mexicans
found him. He gave the Mexcans $3.50 to take
him the $50 miles in cart to Fort Sumner. AL
though Loving was walking about, the wound
in his arm was infected, and nine days after
Goodnghts arrival Loving died.
Goodnight went on up into Colorado and in
January returned. Exhuming the coffin, he
drove with it 600 miles to Weatherford, Texas,
where he delivered it to Loving's family. A
year later he turned over to the Loving estate
$4,000 gave his partner, Sheek, $4,000, and
with $4,000 as his own share, went his way
alone.
The second of the famous trails blazed by
the colonel was that known as the New Good
night trail, from Alamogordo, N. NJ, to Ora
NADIA, Colo
Colonel Goodnight found ten cents head
was being charged for all stock which passed
through Ration Pass, the only known passage
through the Ration mountains, in New Mexico,
by the famous uncle Dick" Wooton, the keep
er Of the gate through the mountains" The
colonel refused to pay. He struck another trail,
100 miles shorter through the mountains and
up to Cheyenne.
Goodnight was married on July &c, 1870, to
Miss Mary A. Dyer of Tennessee, and soon aft
erwards established ranch in Colorado But
the panic of 1873 ruined him financially and
he had just 1900 head of cattle with which to
make a start. He turned his face as al
ways toward the new country and the Pan
handle seemed to hold the greatest possibilities
with the fewest inhabitants, in fact, none but
Indian and buffalo. 1t held though, that great
Palo Duro canyon, with it's rim of Cap Rock, its
ragged depth Of 1900 feet, it's marvellous valley
Is miles wide in places a paradise for cattle.
Palo Duro canyon proper begins in the western
part of Randell county and extends approx
mately rs miles.
Colonel Goodnight took supplies for six
months, erected a four-room log house and re-
turned to Denver for Mrs. Goodnight.
At this time John George Adair of Wrath
dair, Ireland, was consumed with the idea of
a ranch in America. He was breezing about
in Denver, talking cattle and range and look
ing for man big enough to handle his prof
ect A few years previous John Adair had
opened q brokerage Office in New York city,
had met and married an American girl in 1869,
and they then divided their time between their
estate in Ireland and the joys of the New
world Mrs Adair was the daughter of Major
General Wadsworth and the young widow of
Montgomery Richie, attached to General Wads-
worth's staff.
John Adair and Charles Goodnight met in
Denver and made a contract which brought
the first development to the Panhandle. It is
there today, the j. A. Ranch, with its 100000
acres and its 19-room ranch house that was
built around the log home of Charles Good
night The ranch at one time comprised 1,30O,.
600 acres and more than 100000 head of cattle
The first contract made was to run five years
and specified that $4,000 acres should be bought
tbo with dd IN
acres. Affair." however, so respected the judg
ment Of Charles Goodnight that he gave him
personal authority to buy what he saw fit, and
at the end of the first five years ,629 acres
were on record.
Goodnight bought land at various prices al
we'll as in various places, paying an average
Of 25 cents to 35 cents an acre. He admitted
that he bought up every good water hole
every good range; every place a rancher was
likely to co. and that it was the livery devil tc
survey" This original section was called the
Old Crazy Quilt.
John Adair bought the land, gave Goodnight
a $500 yearly salary and at the end of the
five years one-third Of the land and cattle
but charged 10 per cent interest for the use Of
the money during that time 1t might seem
little salary, and a big rate of interest but
Charles Goodnight knew he would be rich II
the end, and incidentally the contract was
renewed for another five years.
From the j. A. ranch Colonel Goodnight mex,
laid off a trail to Dodge City, Kan, traversins
territory then inhabited only by Indians ant
buffalo It was $50 miles in length and known
as the Palo Duro-Dodge City trail This wa
the third of the great trails he had blazed
After partnership of ten years with Adair
Colonel Goodnight sold his third interest in tn,
property to his partner and together with
man named Moore from Kansas City Dough
the Quitaque ranch. Later he sold this propert,
and in 1888 purchased what known as tn
Goodnight ranch which he operated until recen
years. Mrs Goodnight died in 1926 and yea
later Colonel Goodnghts marriage to Mis-
Corinne Goodnight. twenty -six-year-old tele
graph operator and former nurse In Montana
attracted nationwide attention Although hear
ing the SAME name, the ninety-one- year-ol
plansman and his young bride were not related
their romance developing during a correspond
ence started by the similarity Of their names.
TO Western Newspaper uniona