8 February 2010 ~ under a snowy sky

It is snowing in my world. There is no wind so the fat flakes are falling straight and thick and creating a blanket of soft rabbit fluff on every surface. Beautiful, peaceful scene out my window and the only sound is a muffled flock of geese barely visible as they wing their way to the field down the street. It is a pretty snow day.

The honking overhead reminded me of a couple of geese stories. Did I ever tell you that Jim’s Great Aunt Maggie used a flock of geese for watchdogs? It was a long time ago and Jim’s Mom tells us they had to call ahead when the children would cross the creek to visit Aunt Maggie’s house. She remembers the terror on the rare occasions when they found the honking mob loose in the yard. All the clatter would bring Aunt Maggie running and send kids screaming from the crazy snapping geese.

I understand that terror because I witnessed what happens when an angry goose catches up with an innocent victim and it’s nearly as scary as a guard dog attack. The girls and I were at a local historical park with a group of homeschooled children and the guide was just instructing the mothers about the nesting areas around the park. One little boy apparently got too close to Mother Goose and Father Goose raced after the screaming child and snapped a huge welt on the little guy’s arm before anyone could help him. Fortunately, the goose was satisfied to leave one warning bite before he marched back to guard duty. SCARY!

My Grandpa dug a swimmin’ hole in front of their home in southern Colorado so my Mom was familiar with geese from the time she was a child which makes my last story so remarkable to me. A family group was camping near Flathead Lake in Montana one hot summer afternoon. Mom and my sister, Sandy took their shoes off and went wading in the shallows and were quickly joined by a flock of geese floating all around them. The geese had been making the rounds begging for handouts from any human beings on shore so Mom started shooing them away. The geese must have thought all the hand flailing meant she was throwing bread so they paddled up close to the waders. Mom was complaining loudly at the pesky birds and suddenly her hand shot out and grabbed the closest goose by his long neck! Sandy was so shocked she started laughing and all the other geese took to the air in surprise. Our little, bitty mother was surprised by the strength of the bird that almost outweighed her. The goose was splashing wildly and it took a couple seconds for Mom’s brain to get the message to her hand that she’d better let go or there would be hell to pay. To this day she can’t tell us what impulse grabbed her and made her grab the goose but she does say that she was glad he didn’t come after her when she finally released her grip. Sandy was doubled over with laughter when Mom said, “That will teach him!” Sandy says the flock was back in the water a few minutes later and they left a wide berth around those crazy human beings.

I didn’t set out to tell you goose stories today because I was really thinking about a horse. A thirty five dollar horse and a seventeen year old horse thief back in 1911. I didn’t know the horse but I’d sure like to find more information about the horse thief because he’s been the brick wall in my genealogy research for the last several years.

My Grandpa didn’t talk much about his family. We knew a lot about Grandma’s family when I first started researching my roots but Grandpa’s family was a mystery and Grandpa was gone before I was old enough to ask him any questions. When I first started my research on Grandpa’s side of the family I was captivated by the story of his brother Ray and the dark rumors that circulated about the man. Some of my Dad’s oldest siblings remembered hearing that Uncle Ray might have killed a man. My grandparents didn’t talk about it much but the kids remembered whispered stories about a manhunt when one police officer got close enough to the murder suspect to grab his coat and Uncle Ray twisted out of the coat and got away.

If you are a genealogist or family historian you know it is those whispered stories that make your research especially fun. I love digging out the truths behind the family folklore and putting flesh on the skeletons in the closet. So I have been following up on this story for the last couple years and wondering if my Grandpa’s brother Ray was a man or a myth.

I do know that my Great Uncle Ray really existed because I found his prisoner’s record in the Colorado State Archives. The record and the mug shot leave me with more questions than answers because I’m wondering about the horrific burn scars on this young man’s body and I’m recognizing my Grandpa in his brother’s young face. I’m still looking for evidence that this boy grew up to be a killer but I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt until I find that evidence. In the meantime, I have removed identifying marks and transcribed this fascinating old record from the Colorado State Reformatory to share with you. I hope you’ll enjoy this peek into my family closet from a time when the west was pretty wild. Oh, wait! If you count the goose assault on Flathead Lake I guess the west is still a little wild…..sigh….or maybe it’s just my family.

Transcribed from
Corrections Reformatory Prisoner’s Records 1887-1939 Volume 0000

PRISONER’S RECORD

NAME   Ray S.   PRISONER’S NO.   0000
CRIME   Larceny of Livestock   DATE OF SENTENCE   Jan. 4, 1911
COUNTY   Otero   COURT    District

DESCRIPTION, MARKS, ETC.

1 mole on lobe of left ear, 3 small moles under left ear, left hand burn on back in two small spots. Scar at base of thumb where he was burnt, right hand several small scars on back of right hand

RIGHT SIDE
Scar 1 ½ in. long, ½ in. wide. Scar on knee cap ½ x ¼

 
LEFT SIDE
Left arm burnt all the way to the other side 5 inches in width. Scar on pit of arm 4x2 ½ in. burnt from back to breastbone 4 in. Cannot loose him.

AGE   17
WEIGHT   137
HEIGHT   5 ft. 5 ½ in.
COMPLEXION   Med. Brown
EYES   Brown
HAIR   Dk Brown
SIZE OF HAT   7 1/8
SIZE OF SHOE   7
READ   Yes
WRITE   Yes
LENGTH OF TIME IN SCHOOL   11 years
GRADE STANDING IN SCHOOL   8th
TRADE   Farmer
LENGTH OF TIME AT TRADE   10 years
USE TOBACCO   Yes
USE INTOXICANTS   No
RELIGION   Protestant
USE DOPE   No
SMOKE CIGARETTES   No

RELATIVES
Father Step I. M. Mc.   La Junta, Colo.
Mother Mrs. Emma Mc.   same address
Sister Clara N.   La Junta, Colo.
Bro. Lewis S.   La Junta, Colo.
        Oscar S.   Brush, Colo.
CONJUGAL RELATION   Single
PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS   None
NATIVITY Kansas 9 mos. in state

PRISONER’S STORY OF CRIME: Stole horse worth $35.00 & sold it for $35.00. Returned horse to owner & refunded the money

Plead Guilty

I hereby authorize the warden to open and read all my mail.   Signed Ray S.

Paroled May 5th 1911