The Turnbo Manuscripts
by Silas Claiborne Turnbo
1844-1925
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HOW A WOMAN PUT TWO ROBBERS TO FLIGHT
By S. C. Turnbo
The writer has mentioned the Bull Bottom in these sketches on several occasions.
As is well known in Marion County, Arkansas, this bottom is situated on
the left bank of White River in Cedar Creek township. I am informed that
George Weaver made the first settlement here. Weaver sold the improvements
on this land to old man John Terry, the first settler on the Asa Yocum place
and Mr. Terry gave the improvements to his eons Tom and Ron Terry. After
Tom Terry’s wife died and Wilshire Magness died Mr. Terry and Wilshire’s
widow were married in 1860 and lived in this bottom until the ravages of
cruel war forced them to abandon their home here. When Mr. Terry enlisted
in the union army his wife whose name was Elizabeth was left alone with
the children to contend against the hardships, theives and robbers. There
were 6 children, Joe Magness and Bob Magness, children by her first man
Wilshire Magness, and Joe Terry, Dump Terry and Mary Terry, which were Tom
Terry’s children by Mr. Terry’s first wife who was a sister to
Wilshire Magness, and Tom Terry an off spring of the marriage between Mr.
Terry and Mrs. Magness, the latter child was 6 months old. Mr. Terry’s
wife in describing the hardships she encountered in this bottom while her
and the children were staying there alone said that one day two men who
were horseback and well armed approached the house and rode up to the yard
gate and stopped and demanded to know if she knew where any rebels were.
She told them that she did not know anything about them. After they had
repeated the inquiry a few times they reversed the questions put to her
and they wanted to know if she knew where any feds were and she answered
in the negative. They were very inquisitive and continued to ask her questions
until they found that they could not obtain any information from her. They
then backed their horses from the gate and reining them around as if they
were going to ride off and stopped and held a whispered conversation and
then they started off down to-ward the lower part of the bottom. I was convinced
that they had gone off to procure help to rob the house and drive off the
stock, I and Mr. Terry owned more than 100 head of cattle which Terry kept
on the range in the hills of Music Creek, This was just after we were married,
but in 1862 the land pirates taken all but a few of them and disposed of
them. Mr. Isaiah Wilkerson who lived on Music Creek just above the mouth
noticing that the principal part of the cattle had been stole he gathered
up the remainder which included a few milk cows and drove them across the
river where we could find them. The cows were giving milk and the milk from
the cows kept the children from starving. After the two men had left I went
to work with a determination to save my stuff in the house and my milk cows
if I had to fight for the property and with the help of the children that
was old enough to do anything I went to work and carried all our household
stuff into the house that had only one door. I forgot to mention that there
were two houses with a hall between them. Then I armed myself and the oldest
children with something to fight with such as the chopping axe, hatchet,
butcher knives, clubs and so on. Then I and the children sit down and waited
for the return of the bandits and in a little while I saw the same two men
coming back driving the milk cows before them. I saw at once that it was
their intention to steal all we had and I says, "Children, let us not
let them scoundrels have an easy job taking our stuff from us." When
they had reached near the cow lot gate with the cattle the calves began
to bleat and the children began to cry for the little innocent and helpless
children depended on the cows for a living and when they realized that the
robbers intended to take the cattle from us we would all have to meet starvation
and distress. My heart seemed to sink in despair for I knew they had the
power to drive them off but I had set a resolution that I would fight to
the last moment to save the cows and my household. But what could I do to
help myself, they would take all we had in spite of all the efforts I could
do to prevent it. The robbers were preparing to let the calves out to the
cows to make ready to drive them off and about the moment I was ready to
interfere with their theivish plans a thought come into my mind that I might
get rid of them before they had time to ride roughshod over me and the children
and I put it into execution at once by snatching the dinner horn from where
it was hanging on the wall in the hallway and blew a loud blast with it,
then stopped a moment and blew it a second time and then I hallooed at the
top of my voice and used these words, "Here they are, come quick."
Then I repeated the blowing of the horn and yelled out the same words. The
two marauders seemed to be awfully surprised and remounted their horses
and urging them into a gallop and run to the river bank and down it to the
waters edge and plunged into the river and swam across to the opposite shore
and up the bank they went beyond my view. As they were getting away I blew
the horn and kept repeating the same words as loud as the strength of my
lungs would admit. I had succeeded in bluffing them and saving my property
from the rascals so far. No doubt they were fully convinced that a body
of federal soldiers were nearby ready to pounce on them. I learned afterward
that these men never stopped until they reached the John Knight cabin in
the range of the Short Mountain which was used as a gathering place of a
number of southern men in war days. In a short time after this I moved out
into Missouri where I received better protection from the unwelcome bandits
and guerrillas. Mrs. Elizabeth Terry, who after the death of Mr. Terry,
married Henry Clark, died at her old home in the southeast part of Taney
County, Missouri, February 13, 1907, and was buried in the graveyard at
Protem on the following day.
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