Charlie Goodnight, upon whom Captain Woodrow Call was loosely based, was born this day, in 1836.
If you're not familiar with Charlie's life and accomplishments, you can read more about him here. In 1867, when he and his friend Oliver Loving were taking a herd to New Mexico, Loving rode ahead with one of the scouts to negotiate a price before their arrival. He was reckless, though, and travelled during the daylight. Mortally wounded by Comanches, he managed to make his way into Fort Sumner, and died there, of gangrene poisoning. Loving made Goodnight promise to bring him back to Texas for burial. Leaving Loving's body there to winter while he drove on ahead to Denver with the herd, he fetched him in the spring, and kept his word.
It's also said that the gravestone that Captain Call carved out for Deets is based on one that Charlie carved for one of his riders:
JOSH DEETS
SERVED WITH ME 30 YEARS.
FOUGHT IN 21 ENGAGEMENTS WITH THE COMMANCHE AND KIOWA.
CHERFUL IN ALL WEATHERS, NEVER SHERKED A TASK.
SPLENDID BEHAVIOUR.
Yep. Best not start thinking about old Deets.
J. Frank Dobie said that Charlie Goodnight was the greatest of all Texas cowboys. In the parlance of my Granddads time, that's a lotta country. Perhaps it's symbolic that he came into this world while El Deguello was drifting over the Alamo walls, making the fitful sleep of our boys there, their last night upon this earth, more mournful, still.
175 years ago, today.
If you're not familiar with Charlie's life and accomplishments, you can read more about him here. In 1867, when he and his friend Oliver Loving were taking a herd to New Mexico, Loving rode ahead with one of the scouts to negotiate a price before their arrival. He was reckless, though, and travelled during the daylight. Mortally wounded by Comanches, he managed to make his way into Fort Sumner, and died there, of gangrene poisoning. Loving made Goodnight promise to bring him back to Texas for burial. Leaving Loving's body there to winter while he drove on ahead to Denver with the herd, he fetched him in the spring, and kept his word.
It's also said that the gravestone that Captain Call carved out for Deets is based on one that Charlie carved for one of his riders:
JOSH DEETS
SERVED WITH ME 30 YEARS.
FOUGHT IN 21 ENGAGEMENTS WITH THE COMMANCHE AND KIOWA.
CHERFUL IN ALL WEATHERS, NEVER SHERKED A TASK.
SPLENDID BEHAVIOUR.
Yep. Best not start thinking about old Deets.
J. Frank Dobie said that Charlie Goodnight was the greatest of all Texas cowboys. In the parlance of my Granddads time, that's a lotta country. Perhaps it's symbolic that he came into this world while El Deguello was drifting over the Alamo walls, making the fitful sleep of our boys there, their last night upon this earth, more mournful, still.
175 years ago, today.
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