By the age of 21, William H., (Black Bill, Bill Lee), had escaped from jails in La Junta, Colorado and Mexico, both late at night.  He was probably not guilty of the La Junta shooting and definitely innocent of breaking any Mexican law.

Back at the Slaughter’s San Bernardino Ranch  ( mid 1880’s),  the ranch was beginning to prosper with the herds now safe from any danger of Geronimo Apache raids.   Bill Lee and the other cowboys had made his spread immune from Geronimo, who had led many Apache raids.    After Geronimo was  captured, he was made a prisoner at Fort Sill, Oklahoma Territory.  While there he was visited by Mrs. Nancy Tubert, the niece of John Slaughter.  The exiled chief looked at her  glumly and said that there were only two things he would like to do before he went to his heavenly hunting grounds ………… “kill John Slaughter and die in Arizona”.  As a pacifier of the great Southwest, John Slaughter needed no further tribute.

Sometime around 1890,  Bill had left Arizona and was working on Texas ranches, perhaps making his way back to Colorado.  The 1890 Census did not find  him?  Once again his nickname was Black Bill,  and it remained so until his death.  We assume his next few years were spent as a cowboy, perhaps moving his dad’s  Mustang horses down the Chisholm Trail to Texas.    This famous trail was created in a time of our history when there were no highways, only wagon and cattle trails.  During the Civil  War it had been impossible to send cattle from the state of Texas, as it was part of the Confederacy and their cattle could not be sent to the states in the possession of the Federal Army.  During the Civil War, these cattle multiplied until the statistics show a the end of the war there were 3,000,000 head according to the CHISHOLM TRAIL, by Samuel Ridings.  These cattle sold for $4. a head in Texas and would bring $40. in the North.  At the end of the Civil War the need to market these cattle in the North created the Chisholm Trail.  After moving his dad’s horses down the Chisholm Trail to Texas, we would assume the return trip home he would earn some money driving longhorn  cattle up the trail to Abilene, Kansas.  Wages ran around $30. a month, plus food, they slept on the prairie ground.  To move the longhorn cattle around 400 miles up the Chisholm Trail, it would take the cowboys about 2 months.

On one of Black Bill’s trip down the Chisholm Trail he attended a square dance in Quannah, Texas.  As he and the cowboy crew walked into the dance hall,  Tommie Lee Boles spotted him and immediately told her girlfriends, “OLE GIRLS, THAT’S MY MAN”.   They danced together most all of the Friday evening.  The following Sunday afternoon, bill rode out to meet Tommie’s folks and have a visit before departing Quannah.  They did not see each other for three years but they  corresponded regularly during this time (1891-4).  By mail they decided to meet and be married on April fools day,  April 1,  1893.  This love at first sight story was related to me by his daughters.

The next blog will tell the story of how Black Bill went from being an outlaw to being appointed a Deputy sheriff.

Until next time,

Jim Lee