“The Bowie Secret”

By Bob Balch

This seventh book The Bowie Secret is a murder mystery couched as a work of historical fiction. The murder of Baylor County farmer and rancher, Jones Bowie, by an unknown assailant using a bow and arrow as the murder weapon, is an intriguing story which leads Sheriff Bob Elliotts investigation into the distant past to uncover the motive for this crime of retribution. Bob hopes you learn some history as you read this book and enjoy the story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491812471

Bob Balch

Bob is a native of Seymour, Baylor County, Texas, where he was born in 1947. Being a baby boomer and growing up in the post World War II era, he enjoyed the slow pace of small town America. He spent many leisurely days roaming the areas around his hometown with his friends. This included frequent trips to the Brazos River to hike, swim, seine for minnows, hunt, and trap game. Lake Kemp was another favorite spot for boating, swimming, water skiing, fishing, duck hunting, camping, and for just hanging out with friends. Between Seymour and Lake Kemp he enjoyed outings with his scouting buddies, and two of their favorite spots were the Craddock Ranch and the old George Place. It was on the Craddock Ranch that the famous Permian era bone bed was first discovered in the late 1800s which has attracted much attention from the scientific community down through the years. As a Boy Scout, Bob learned about these discoveries and even did some fossil hunting himself. He earned the Eagle Scout award along side his friends, Bill Whitley and Ken George, the current owners of the Craddock Ranch and the George Place, respectively. Bob graduated from Seymour High School in 1965 and went on to Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he earned a BBA and JD degrees in 1971. He took a geology course as an undergraduate, and the field trips during that course brought back memories of his experiences on the Craddock Ranch and the old George Place. Now over forty years later serving as a director of the Whiteside Museum of Natural History in Seymour, his interest in this bone bed has been renewed. This eighth book, D-Don Lives! is his tribute to his hometown and the people who have made this story come to life. Bob has lived in Wichita Falls, Texas, since 1974 with his wife, Deborah Ann, where they raised two sons, Trey and Josh, both of whom are doctors who practice medicine in both Texas and Alaska in the fields of physiatry (physical medicine and rehabilitation) and interventional pain management. Bob practices law in Wichita Falls but maintains close contacts with his hometown about an hour away where his mother still resides at the age of 97. He hopes the readers of this book learn some history of the area and enjoy this tale of dimetrodons. A lot has transpired since I first started writing this book in 2014 and completing in 2015 with revisions through 2017. Many new specimens have been found and assembled for research, education of the public and study. New dig sites are opening up for study including the Ross Place owned by Joe Clay Ross. We appreciate the opportunities provided by all of the landowners in allowing us access to these sites. The future is bright for the Whiteside Museum of Natural History that has become a world class museum in the City of Seymour, Baylor County, Texas, my hometown which I am proud to say I grew up in and continue to visit regularly.

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2013 by Bob Balch. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 09/10/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-1246-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-1247-1 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Disclaimer

Dedication

Acknowledgments

I.   The Discovery

II.   The Background

III.   The Journey

IV.   The Sojourn In Seymour

V.   The Lipan Apache Creed

VI.   Quest To Locate The Silver

VII.   The Altercation

VIII.   The Return To The Tribe

IX.   Solving The Mystery

X.   The Resolution/Justice Is Done

About The Author

DISCLAIMER

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, institutions, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual events or locales or institutions or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental. Various people who had actual lives in history appear through this fictional story, and their fates in this story are entirely invented.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all the County Sheriffs of Texas and other local law enforcement officers like Sheriff Bob Elliott, the Baylor County Sheriff who solves the crime in this story, who put their lives on the line every day for us and never complaining about being understaffed, underpaid, or underequipped for the job. Thank you for all you do to make our lives safer. Your service to the public and your dedication to the job is much appreciated, and for this I thank you. God bless you and your families and keep you and protect you from harm.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to thank my sons, Trey and Josh, and my nephew, Brian Harvey, for allowing me to write much of this book on our annual fishing trip to Colorado. I would also like to thank my friends, Gary Southard and Charles E. Perry, for traveling to Menard, Texas, to do some research for this book and for their support and insight into what I was trying to do with this book. I enjoyed my visit with my old friend, Bob Elliott, the Baylor County Sheriff, who consented to my use of him and his name in this book, and who provided some important information to me about his family. I also want to thank Carleton Kothmann, who consented to my use of him and his name in this book, John Winslow, and their friends in Menard, Texas, including all those folks at the coffee shop we met for breakfast, the Kniffins, and Walter Rayburn, for their hospitality and for educating us on all of the historical sites that I have referenced in this book and for taking us to these sites for our observations. It was most enjoyable and provided a wealth of information for me to use in this book.

I

THE DISCOVERY

It was a cold morning in early November when Sheriff Bob Elliott received the call that something wasn’t right out at the old Bowie farm east of Seymour, Texas. A neighbor had noticed the open gate which was very unusual, and also something else.

The Sheriff was finishing his coffee as he turned off Highway 114 to the south onto the cemetery road. The old Bowie farm was located not too far south of the cemeteries, and the old wooden framed house was on a high point overlooking the Brazos River as it meandered in a southeast direction in its bed below the hill.

As he approached the gate, Sheriff Elliott noticed what had alarmed the neighbor. An arrow was protruding from the gate post. The Sheriff pulled slowly thru the gate and into the graveled drive leading to the house some two hundred yards to the west. He knew that old man Jones Bowie loved to hunt but didn’t remember him as an archer. He examined the arrow but did not remove it form the gate post. It looked like something from out of the past not anything like the modern arrows used by bow hunters who stalked their prey during bow season for deer in Baylor County. It more resembled an old style Indian arrow. He had a hunch about this arrow but would follow it up later.

The Sheriff looked around then began the walk along the drive to the house. He noticed that the front door was open. He began to yell Jonesy, the old man’s nickname.

No answer. He walked around the house to the big porch facing the river yelling his name. It was eerily quiet. No dogs barking. No movement about the place. He checked the barn. Nothing noted there. The old man’s pickup was parked near the barn. He noted nothing unusual. The Sheriff then headed back to the house. He walked through the front door and looked to his right. There against the wall lay the body of Jones Bowie an arrow lodged through his heart. The Sheriff drew his pistol and checked every room.

He ran back to his truck and radioed for help.

When the investigator/criminologist arrived on the scene from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office later that day to pick up the body for an autopsy, having been requested by the Sheriff, the scene was a bee-hive of activity. Local DPS, Baylor