The Turnbo Manuscripts
by Silas Claiborne Turnbo
1844-1925
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SCRIMMAGE WITH WOLVES
By S. C. Turnbo
Elisha Herndon who lives on the old Doctor Randolph Lawrence farm ½
mile north of the town of Rome, Douglas County, Mo., furnished the writer
a few items of interest. Elisha is a son of Isaiah Herndon and was born
near where the old village of Rockbridge in Ozark County once stood. The
year of his birth was in 1854. His father was killed near the close of the
war and was buried in the McMahon graveyard near Seymour, Mo. Mr. Herndon’s
(Elisha) mother’s maiden name was Sarah Daves, a sister of Goodman
Daves, who was a prominent citizen of Ozark County. Elisha Herndon married
Clarissa Lawrence, daughter of Doctor Lawrence. As the Lawrence family were
a noted one on Beaver Creek Mr. Herndon gave the writer a brief history
of them and their settlement in Douglas County, Mo. "Randolph (Doctor)
Lawrence settled on Little Beaver Creek in 1844 and began the practice of
medicine in 1848. In the year 1850 he settled the farm where I live now,"
said Mr. Herndon. "Dr. Lawrence married his second wife and was the
father of 18 children. Billy Lawrence, a brother of the doctor’s, built
the mill on Beaver Creek which bore his name many years. Henry Lawrence,
another brother, built a mill at the mouth of Little Beaver. These transactions
occurred years ago. After the death of Doctor Lawrence and his brother Billy
their bodies received interment in the William Barnes cemetery two miles
northeast of Rome. As regards my experience with the beasts of the forest
I am not able to give you much for I never met with any serious adventures.
I did meet a panther one night which I have not forgot. If it is worthy
of notice I will tell it to you. A good many years ago I lifted at the mouth
of Little Creek where the town of Thornfield now stands. A future town there
was not thought of then but Capt. William Piland sold goods here just after
the close of the war. One bright moonlit night during my residence here
I and Enoch Piland, a son of Capt. Piland, and a man of the name of Reid
visited a turkey roost and after shooting as many turkeys as we needed we
started on our way back home. It was 11 o’clock before we reached the
ford of Little North Fork at the mouth of Little Creek. Just before we reached
the creek our dog ran on in advance of us when all unexpectly he came dashing
back and ran on past us with his hair raised. He was growling and was bad
disturbed at something. We supposed that he had met a bunch of wolves that
had given him such a scare which put us on our guard. We walked on a few
steps further and watched careful for them, but none appeared. Then we went
on further and when about 30 paces from a large rock that lay near the water
just below the ford of the creek we met a panther which did not stop until
it was in ten feet of us when it raised up on its hind feet and growled
fiercely. I will admit that my feelings were not as healthy as they were
a few minutes before we met the beast. We had but little time to think for
the animal had taken us on surprise for we were looking for wolves. I was
just in front of the other two men and I aimed my gun at the panther’s
breast and fired and the long form of the beast fell backwards and lay quiet
for a moment, when with a loud cry it whirled over and jumped to its feet
and with two or three bounds sprang into the creek and plunged through the
water downstream. We followed and shot at it six times while it was in the
water. When it had got near 100 yards below the ford the beast left the
water and made toward Pond Fork. We took the precaution not to pursue the
panther further that night and went on home and on the following day we
trailed it three miles by the blood but did not succeed in following it
up. A day or two after this the Merritt boys Sack and Sam were out with
their dogs chasing a fox and the fox sought shelter in a cave and the two
hunters accompanied by their dogs went into the cavern to find Mr. Fox’s
hiding place and while the men were searching for this crafty animal they
were astonished at discovering a dead panther lying in the cave. The boys
said that the animal had died from the effects of a shot and we believed
it to be the same panther that introduced itself to us at the ford of the
creek. As to wolves they never gave me any trouble worthy of notice. But
I will give you a wolf story that you might like to hear, though I was not
present when the incident occured, but I can vouch for the truth of the
tale though I cannot remember all the details of it. There are two Caney
Creeks that flow into Beaver. The upper one which enters Beaver at Brown
Branch is called Dry Caney. One day many years ago three of the Lawrences—old
Billy, John and Randolph—and Steve Jack-son went up on Dry Caney on
a deer hunt. John Lawrence was a son of Randolph (Doctor) Lawrence and Randolph
was a son of Billy Lawrence. While the four hunters were on the north prong
of Dry Caney they separated temporarily, each man go his own way to find
and shoot deer. Soon after they had separated Jackson shot and killed a
deer and after ridding
the animal of its entrails he hung it up on the limb of a tree and passed
on. His clothes were stained with the deer’s blood, but he was a hunter
and cared nothing for that and walked on until arriving at a branch of Caney
known as Waterhole Hollow. Here his attention was suddenly aroused by an
attack from a bunch of wolves which came charging at him gnashing their
teeth. When they got in close rifle range of him he shot one of the vicious
beasts down. But this did
not check the others for with loud snarls they rushed up and surrounded
him and leaped at him to take him down. The terror stricken man kicked the
wolves with all the strength he could command and did some loud hallooing
and struck them with the barrel of his gun and succeeded in driving the
impudent beasts away long enough to draw his breath and gain a little time
and advantage, and dropping the empty gun he hurried up a tree. He was none
too soon for he was just out of reach of their teeth when they dashed back
and three of them leaped up to catch at his feet. Jackson did not stop climbing
until he knew he was safe. The excitement caused by the attack of the wolves
and climbing the tree in such haste nearly cut off the man’s breath
and strength and he rested until he grew calm before he began calling for
help for he believed that some of his companions were in hearing distance.
As it happened they all heard him and thinking a panther had leaped on him
they all went to give him aid as fast as they could go, but they did not
all get there at the same time. It was a great relief to the treed hunter
to see them coming. The three men expected to find a panther rending Jackson’s
flesh with its claws and teeth, but instead
they beheld the man sitting in a tree with a pack of wolves under it acting
as his bodyguard. Seeing that the man was safe the foremost man waited until
the other two advanced up to where he was and the vicious wolves allowed
them to get in shooting distance and the men shot three of the wolves and
killed them and the others slunk away out of sight. Jackson was overjoyed
at the appearance of his friends and retreating wolves and descended the
tree and thanked his companions for their timely interference for the wolves
might have kept him up the tree until he would have been forced to come
down on account of hunger and thirst when they probably would have went
for him again.
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