"Wild Ranch Horses and Boys", A family treasure.

Sabinal, Texas taken April 6, 2011

Sabinal photo taken in 1912

  

 Recently I took a trip to Sabinal, Texas with my father Don Norwood.  Dad and I had planned a day of fishing but mechanical problems on my boat forced us to make other plans.  I have always wanted to see the ranch lands that our ancestors settled on when they came to Texas and especially the ranch that my great grandfather Rollie grew up on.   Many of the stories that I have chronicled in this blog took place on that land.  I asked Dad if he would go with me to Sabinal and see if we could contact the present owners of the land and get permission to go on the property and see it.  When I was a high school boy back in the 70’s my grandmother Pearl Davenport and I went up there to try and see the property.  We were able to get right up to the gate but alas we could only look over to the land but not gain entry.  Grandmother’s memory at that time was not sharp so she was unsure if we were truly at the right location.  Dad only had a vague idea of where the ranch was supposed to be so we had to do some investigation work when we arrived at Sabinal. He knew the name of the present owners of the Land, which was a great help, and after a little investigation work we were able to get a name and a phone number. I called the number, left a message on a voice mail and the rest I will leave to my next Blog entry, which will tell about that day I finally set foot on the old Davenport Ranch.

In 1975 Florence Fenley published a book called Heart Full of Horses. She passed away while the book was still in manuscript form but her daughter Belle Fenley Edwards completed the book in her honor.  The book was a compilation of old Stories from old timers that had been ranchers and pioneers of the southwest.  One of the interviews that she conducted in gathering material for her writings was an interview with my great grandfather Rollie Davenport.  The result was a chapter in her book that she Entitled “Wild Ranch Horses and Boys”.  I so value this book because it is like sitting down and listening to my grandfather tell of his days growing up on the Davenport Ranch in a time before Texas was fenced. A time before millionaire playboy “ranchers” buy land, fence it up and use it for a playground.  It recalls a time in Texas when ranching was about cattle instead of hunting exotic African antelope.

I have reproduced for your enjoyment “Wild Ranch Horses and Boys”.  Take a moment and let your mind go back to a time in Texas when the land was open and free and young boys found excitement in catching wild Mustangs instead of playing with computers , cell phones, and video games.

       Note: each page is an image. Click on the page and it will open in a separate window for easier viewing. Don't forget to hit the back button to return to this page.

Rollie on the left riding old Tobe and on the right is his father
John William Davenport 

Rollie on the right mounted on Majesty

God is Bigger Than The Boogie Man!

Jennifer holding Cy's little brother Case Michael Tolbert

Being a grandpa is so much fun. One of the great delights of growing older is watching seeds planted long ago begin to take root and sprout and flourish in the lives of your children. I have watched each of my children begin their journey of faith and it is my hearts delight to see each of them growing daily in their walk with God. My first born daughter Jennifer is now a mother of two little boys and I have been so proud to see her grow and mature in her faith. She married a fine young man , Quinn Tolbert, who  is  growing strong and teaching his children. He serves as a deacon in the Woodlands Church of Christ. Recently they were visiting on the occasion of my wife's birthday and I was treated to hearing my grandson Cy's new favorite song. It comes from a veggie tales video. Just for grins I decided to share it here on the blog. He likes to sing it loud but when I began to  record it on my phone he got a little shy and momma had to coax a little. I love you Cy and Case. You are one of the reasons I decided to start this blog.

God is bigger than the boogie man.
He's bigger than Godzilla,
or the monsters on TV.
Oh, God is bigger than the boogie man.
And He's watching out for you and me.

"ALL THAT GLITTERS"

       Recently I received an email from a relative that simply described herself as a “cousin of some sort”. 

She wrote me about memories of uncle Rollie and aunt Pearl coming to visit her grandfather on many occasions.  She said she had many memories of going to the old house in Sabinal , Texas and playing

 there with my uncles and mother in childhood days. She requested a story that lives in legend in my

family and have been intending to tell but have delayed pending an opportunity to hear my father retell

the story so that I could be sure of my facts as I put it here in print.  It is a long tale and almost incredible to believe but what I am about to relate is fact not fiction.

         I am withholding the name or changing the names of the actual people my intent being to protect anyone from embarrassment and to be careful not to liable anyone deceased or living. In the days after the Carranza revolution during the 1930s when Grandpa Rollie was again living and ranching on the Davenport ranch northwest of Sabinal , an old man that I’ll simply call Juan lived and worked as a ranch hand on the Davenport ranch. Grandpa and Juan spent a lot of time riding together on the ranch and one day while they were out working cattle old man Juan told Grandpa, “Rollie you know I know how you could get rich real quick if you can retrieve it, because I know where there is a bunch of gold”. It’s in Mexico just across the Rio Grande and you would have to get it and do something with it, but I can tell you where it is.” Of coarse such a statement would perk any one’s ears and so Grandpa listened as old man Juan related this tale. 

    In the early days of the Carranza revolution Juan had lived in Mexico and had been a gunrunner and thief. He and two of his amigos had been involved in many escapades of banditry during those lawless days. One of these escapades, according to Juan, involved robbing a Mexican government gold train that was transporting government stamped gold through the mountains of central Mexico.  The robbery netted the trio 7 burros loaded down with small gold bars.  After robbing the train the trio made out for the border staying just ahead of the Mexican “rurales”, which is the Mexican home guard mounted police. When the band finally reached the Rio Grande, they realized that the rurales were breathing down their necks.  Instead of trying to cross the river with burros weighted down with Gold and risk being caught midstream in a firefight they hatched a quick plan to bury the gold at the base of a tree near the fork of a stream that flowed into the river.  They made a mark on the trunk of the tree and then covered over their tracks in the sand.  They then lead the burros out into the river and shot them, letting their bodies flow down the river in the swift current. The trio then swam the river with their horses and hid waiting to watch the rurales when they came to the place of their crossing. The rurales milled around and looked for sign but seemed not to find their track or find the burial sight as far as they could see.  The rurales then gave up the chase figuring that the trio had beaten them to the border and that was that.  The trio vowed to go their separate ways for a year until things cooled down and then planned to meet and go back to retrieve their prize at a more opportune time.  Such was their plan but as fate would have it two of the trio did not fare well in their new home in Texas. Old man Juan’s partners in crime did not live long, leaving Juan the only surviving member of the trio.  Juan decided that maybe the demise of his friends would await him if he did not quit the bandit business and reform his life.  He married a Mexican woman, settled down in the Sabinal area and tried to be a respectable citizen leaving his old life of crime behind him. He told grandpa that he did not want his children to ever know of his dark past and that he did not want any of his family to know about the gold because he considered it to be a curse that would come back to haunt members of his family if they ever tried to retrieve it.  He offered the story to grandpa and even drew a map to the place, hoping someone would get some good of the gold but warned it would be very risky to retrieve. He gave grandpa the exact location of the gold, the name of the stream, and the mark on the tree, everything that he would need if he wanted to make a stab at retrieving the treasure. For a time grandpa Rollie kept this story under his hat so to speak and no more was said.

      As time went on grandpa decided that maybe it would be worth his time to take a trip down to the border with the map and just see if any of the old man’s story checked out.  Sometime in the early 30’s grandpa followed the map to the place and looked for the sign. He stood across the river from the place that Juan said they had crossed and sure enough the tree, the creek, the markings on the tree were all just as the old man had described perfectly in line with the map. Rollie decided that he would make a try at exploring more on the other side but would wait until he had the manpower and plan to accomplish the task without arousing the Mexican authorities interest in his activities.  Sometimes during that time he shared the story with a friend who lived in Sabinal and the two spent several years planning and scheming and trying to figure out how that they might make a dig and confirm for sure if the gold was there under the tree or not.  They had even written to the Mexican government inquiring about what would be the law concerning retrieval of such gold if it were to be retrieved. The government of coarse assuring them that the only lawful coarse of action was to return it to the Mexican government.  As the years went by in 1954 when my uncle’s were teen boys grandpa took them and a friend, who was a Mexican general and some of his men went over the border to the marked tree and as nonchalantly as they could took a metal rod and poked around at the base of the tree to see if they could tell if their might be something buried there. Grandmother Pearl told me that they felt something hard under the sand but that without actually digging and uncovering a lot of sand they could not confirm for sure if it was gold or not.  Years of flooding of the river had dumped more silt at the base of the tree and it was obvious that it would require some substantial digging to really know. Dad said that grandpa had related to him that as he stood there looking at the tree and watching the men milling around it occurred to him that even if they dug and found gold there it could quickly turn into a dangerous situation with the people around there. Greed can turn men into murderous animals when much money is involved and as he stood there looking at his two grandson’s he decided it was not worth risking their lives for any amount of gold. I think grandpa just decided then and there to let ill gotten gain lay buried and then and there decided just to let it all go.  He told his general friend that the floods had changed everything around there and he couldn’t really tell anything for sure He said he actually could see the mark on the tree and even had uncle Ray pull a leaf from the tree but turned and decided he didn’t want Ray or Richard to ever go trying to find the gold on their own. 

As the decade of the 50’s rolled on grandpa’s friend, the one whom he had originally shared the story with had a son in law whom I’ll just call Mr. Oreilly.  Mr. Oreilly kept coming to grandpa over a several year period asking him to give him the map to the gold and let him mount an expedition to recover it.  Grandpa kept telling him that he had no interest in going after it.  There was no way to even confirm that old man Juan’s story was true, except the circumstantial evidence of the clues to where he said he buried it.  The gold if it ever existed could have long ago been discovered and taken, washed up and lost in the many floods of the Rio Grande, and even if he discovered the gold bars there was no way he could legally keep it without being in danger of being sued by the Mexican government. In spite of all of grandpa’s assurances that the likelihood of ever finding any gold bars there was very slim at best, Mr. Oreilly kept on and on pestering grandpa about this map. Grandpa told my dad that he just wore him out almost weekly with constant pleas to let him have the map. Grandpa finally just decided that he was going to put an end to Mr. Oreilly’s nuisance visits and so out of irritation he said.  “Okay Oreilly , if you want that map I’ll sell it to you for ten thousand dollars.” Grandpa told my dad that he figured that Oreilly would just drop it then and leave him alone but much to his surprise in a few days the man came by and said . “ Mr . Davenport I want that map and I’ll be back in a few days with the money.” Grandpa said  “Well when you give me the money then I’ll give you the map.” he thought to himself well that will never happen and just forgot about it.  In a few days, wouldn’t you know, sure enough Mr. Oreilly came by with a “wad of money”,  nine thousand , nine hundred  dollars to be exact. Grandpa was of coarse amazed and once again reminded him that his chances of finding anything were very slim.  Oreilly was determined and not to be put off insisted that grandpa Rollie make good on the deal. Grandpa said okay and so they sat down and wrote out a receipt for the money and grandpa gave him the map.  So that was that or so grandpa thought.

Actual scanned image of the receipt in my grandmother's writing, name and actual signature photoshopped out.

In time Oreilly made a trip down to Mexico to try and find the gold and wouldn’t you know it was just as grandpa had warned. Over the years everything had changed, the tree was there , the markings on the tree were there,  but nothing else recognizable. The river had flooded and long story short no gold. Well Mr. Oreilly was of coarse upset and he started coming back to grandpa and telling him he wanted his money back that he didn’t find anything and saying that grandpa must have swindled him. Grandpa was getting pretty upset with Oreilly and said. “Look here Oreilly I told you straight up front that I didn’t know If there ever was any gold , that I never personally saw any gold and that the odds of you finding anything there were slim.  What you paid for was a map and that’s what I delivered and I never promised you anything beyond that map. Now you quit pestering me and leave me alone.” Oreilly began threatening grandpa and saying that he was going to take him to court as a swindler. In fact he filed a case in 1954 against grandpa and it went to the grand jury. When the grand jury heard the case they asked grandpa Mr. Davenport did you have any proof that you gave Mr. Oreilly the map in question and what money was paid for it? Grandpa gave them the receipt that had been written out the day he received the money from Mr. Oreilly. The grand jury looked at the receipt and immediately said well Mr. Oreilly is this your signature? Yes he said , Well then sir you don’t have a case. The case was dismissed that day.

In those days grandpa was already beginning to decline in health due to the emphysema , and was not well most days. Mr. Oreilly continued to come from time to time and threaten him and blacken his reputation as a swindler in the country around there. To this day there are some that still have only heard Oreilly’s side of the tale and consider my great-grandfather a real swindler.  I believe that most men that ever really knew my grandfather would never believe that.  He was a man of his word and as far as the gold map story is concerned he was as honest to Mr. Oreilly as he could be. The man got exactly what he paid for, which was in effect only a possibility of a treasure if he was willing to take the chance to hunt it down and go through the dangers of it’s recovery.  Oreilly, paid the money, took the chance and like many treasure hunters often do came up empty handed.

Scanned image of letter from Grandpa Rollie to" Mr. Oreilly" actual name photoshopped out.

The actual named price for the map of ten thousand dollars was never paid. In spite of promising to pay the last 100 dollars on the day of the transaction, Oreilly never made good on his promise.  After Oreilly failed to find the gold he refused to pay the balance of coarse and after failing to win in court he continued to threaten grandpa.  Later grandpa wrote him a typed letter demanding he pay the full amount. He never got it of coarse.

That map money was a godsend in those days to Granny and grandpa.  They were as poor as desert rats as the saying goes anyway. They were ten years into raising their grandchildren due to the death of their only daughter and grandpa was in poor health. Grandpa didn’t put it in a bank opting instead as many old timers did who lived through the great depression decided to put in their own bank.  The bank for them was an old dresser that had once belonged to John Nance Garner. In the back behind the mirror was a little secret compartment that grandpa put the money in. He invested some of it in some cattle, some of it in a new car, and the rest mom said granny would go to the little bank and pull out what she needed as they needed it. It evidently lasted for a while.

grandpa's bank which was behind the mirror to the right as reflected by a white door.

So there you have it, the story of Grandpa Rollie’s gold map. Who knows if there was ever any gold in the first place and old man Juan’s story was just a tall tale told by one old cowboy to another or if there somewhere in the murky mud of the Rio Grande lays a grand treasure buried undisturbed now for 91 years. Regardless of the truth one thing is for sure. Grandpa turning his back on the chance to find the gold unexpectedly reaped for him a little treasure that sustained him over hard times.  Old man’s Juan’s desire to have someone find the treasure actually in a way came true.

"Which Ever Side Does Right"

Things were not always fun and games at the Kennedy ranch during the Carranza Revolution. About 1920 the Revolutionaries themselves were beginning to fight among them selves in factions. Huerta’s supporters were skirmishing with loyal Carranza supporters and things were unraveling.

Carranza had been recognized as President of Mexico since 1916. “Although his intentions were good, Carranza was not able to stay in power long enough to enforce many of the reforms in the Constitution of 1917. There was greater decentralization of power because of his weakness. He had appointed General Obregón as Minister of War and of the Navy. In 1920, Obregón with other leading generals Plutarco Elías Calles and Adolfo de la Huerta led a revolt against Carranza under the Plan of Agua Prieta. Their forces assassinated Carranza on May 21, 1920.”

One day Rollie was riding the ranch and as he ambled along his way he looked up and saw a sizeable group of Mexican “warristas “as grandma called them riding toward him.  The leader of the group pulled along side him and greeted him in Spanish.  Grandpa greeted him in return and sat back in the saddle knowing full well what was on the man’s mind. These men were scavengers of the revolution looking for supplies for the army. They had a simple tactic to get those supplies. They would ask for your willing support and then ask you to donate saddles, blankets, bridles, guns any provisions they deemed useful. If you refused they would simply shoot you and take what they wanted anyway.  Grandmother told a story about an incident that took place during this same time of a neighboring rancher, an old gentleman who owned a sizeable place that was anticipating the arrival of these warristas.  He knew that when they came that they would clean him out of everything of value so he simply dug a big hole in the ground in the brush behind his barns and wrapped his saddles in their blankets and buried the lot of it in the hole.  In short order the warristas arrived and asked their customary donation of supplies from him. He insisted that he had nothing of value and declined to offer anything to them.  The warristas of coarse did not believe him and decided that he needed a little persuasion to remind him of his loyalty to the revolution.  They put him on a horse, threw a rope over a tree and threatened to hang him if he didn’t reveal what he had done with his tack. The old man was resolute and refused to speak preferring to die rather than to turn over the tack to these bandits.  The old man had a young son that could not stand to see them hang his father so he ran up to the leader and begged for his father’s life. “ I know where the tack is.  I will show you if you please just don’t hang my father.  He is an old man what value is it to you to hang him? He said.  The leader of the warristas agreed and added that if he tried any deception, if he held anything back that he would have his father hanged immediately.  The young boy agreed and led the men out to the place where his father had buried the supplies.  Fortunately the leader of the band was true to his word.  When they had recovered the buried treasure and scavenged the barns and house of everything of value they released the old man and warned him sternly that if he ever again withheld anything from the Presidente’s soldiers he would find the rope unmerciful the next time.

I’m sure this incident was fresh on Rollie’s mind as he casually conversed with this man who began turning the conversation around to probe grandpa’s views of the war. Sometime during the conversation the man asked grandpa point blank about which side he was on and where his loyalties would lie.  Grandpa not wanting to get backed into a corner he couldn’t retreat from simply answered. “ Which ever side does right I suppose.”  Sizing up grandpa’s answer the fellow smiled and informed grandpa that he would be along soon to the ranch house and that he would like to enjoy the hospitality of the rancho for a few days.  Grandpa tipped his hat, spurred his horse and headed back to the ranch.  Rollie knew that he was in a precarious position.  If he refused hospitality and held back supplies to these men then they would surely take whatever they wanted any way and probably kill him and perhaps Pearl and baby Helen as well.  He decided the better part of valor was to just play along and allow them to take what they needed in hopes they would just move along.  That is pretty much the way it played out.  True to his word the warristas showed up the next morning.  They camped there on the ranch for a day or so, cutting out some beeves for food, and going over the barns and ranch house with a fine tooth comb taking everything they thought was of value to them.  They did not harm grandma Pearl at all but were focused far more on the saddles and bridles than anything else.  After some time the men went their way and rode off into the countryside with their loot.  Grandpa now had a problem.  He couldn’t run the ranch without the things they had taken and so he had to go to Eagle Pass to get to a phone to try to call Mr. Kennedy to inform him of what had happened.  Finally getting Mr. Kennedy on the line Rollie told him what he had done and asked what he wanted him to do.  Kennedy told grandpa, don’t worry about it Rollie there was nothing else that could have been done.  Just go into the city and buy anything that you need to replace what was lost and sign for it and that he would make good on the bill.  Grandpa did as he was told and soon they were back in business on the ranch.  Not long after that incident grandmother told me that she and grandpa were sitting on the front porch of the ranch in the evening.  In the distance they could hear canon fire and rifles shots.  It was a good distance off but they knew that there was war all around them.  Rollie looked over to her and asked, “Pearl what do you think, are you scared, do you want to get out of here?” She said she just looked at him and said, “I think it’s time we get home. “ That night they loaded everything they owned in an old beat up car and headed out for the boarder.  They went back to the ranch in Sabinal and thus ended their adventure living in the midst of the Mexican Revolution.

The Resurrection

   A few years after they married , sometime in the early 1920’s, grandpa Rollie  was offered an opportunity to be a foreman for a large ranch over the border in Mexico.  Mr. Kennedy who was a neighboring rancher owned large land holdings on both sides of the border.  He offered Grandpa the opportunity to run one of his ranches about 80 miles over the border from Eagle Pass not far from a little town called Rosita.   Grandpa took up the offer and  they moved to Mexico .  Those days were treacherous days on the Mexican border.  Revolution had plagued the land since 1908 and Carranza and Zapata were battling for power along with Pancho Villa.  Bandits and gunrunners abounded in that country in those days but in spite of it all Grandpa was not going to be put off by a little Revolution.  Rollie spoke fluent Spanish and he had a large cadre of Mexican cowboys to work the stock.  One day he was riding the ranch with a dog trotting along side next to the horse, when suddenly the dog perked up and took out after a type of wildcat the Mexicans called a Tigeria.  The dog soon treed the cat and grandpa rode up and pulled his pistol and shot the cat right out of the tree.  He picked up the cat and slung him over the saddle horn and turned the horse to home, back to the ranch house.  Grandpa figured that an old couple that lived in a little jacal on the ranch might like to eat that old cat and so he rode up to the little mud hut and called out to the house.  The old woman walked out of the front door and greeted grandpa. Grandpa just asked her if she would like to have the tigeria and upon getting a hearty “si si,  senior”, he threw the cat down at the doorstep and then sat back in the saddle and began striking up a conversation with the lady. After a moment or two to the amazement of them both the old cat suddenly stood up, took one look at the two very surprised onlookers and immediately bolted into the little jacal hut running madly around the walls wailing and screaming like a banshee. The old woman got very excited, took up her broom and went in after the old cat doing plenty of screaming and howling herself as she tried to chase the frightened cat out of the house. Finally after tearing up the house the old cat found the door just in time to come muzzle to muzzle with grandpas old dog and then the chase really began. The old dog ran the cat up a tree in no time and this time grandpa rode up and dispatched the cat soundly with a shot from his pistol. That old cat caused quite a lot of excitement all right but grandpa always mused over what would have been the excitement if that old cat had come alive while he was draped over his saddle horn. I’m sure it would have been a lively resurrection.

"Many a Slip Between the Cup and the Lip"

In the year 1910 President William Howard Taft becomes the first president to throw out the first baseball on opening day.  In 1910 the Wright Brothers and Department Store owner Max Moorehouse undertook the first airfreight shipment from Dayton, Ohio to Columbus, Ohio. In 1910 Francisco I. Madero denounces President Porfirio Díaz, declares himself president, and calls for a revolution to overthrow the government of Mexico.  This was the year that our country was experiencing the first decade of the new century, and in a little town far far away in west texas our family history was being made on the day Great Grandpa Rollie Ambrose Davenport met and married Hattie Pearl Loman.

Hattie Pearl is center of picture with the broad brimmed hat above the little girl with the bonnet.

Hattie Pearl was a young teenage girl growing up in the little town of Kennedy, Texas. Her father Upton Loman had a farm and was a cattleman working together with his brother. In 1889 He was encouraged by his brother –in-law to become a blacksmith there in Kennedy. Mr Loman continued blacksmithing there until he moved to Pettus , Texas and opened his own shop. Hattie Pearl was going to school in a little one-room schoolhouse, which was being taught by a young schoolmarm named Mrs. Koonce.  There were several young boys that were always trying to get Hattie Pearls attention in those days.  On one occasion one of the boys decided to offer her a gift to impress her.  Her father called her to the front door one morning and asked her to look on the front porch.  After going on the porch she discovered a watermelon, a fine specimen of the fruit, and on the side of the melon was carved the words, “I love pearl, she’s my girl.” The ploy didn’t engender any romantic inclination toward the young suitor but I would give the young man credit for imagination. She lived there happily with her brothers and sisters until one day a man came from Sabinal and told Mr. Loman that there was no blacksmith in that town and that one was badly needed there. So in 1907 Mr. Loman moved the family to Sabinal, Texas. In those days Sabinal was still very much a town in transition. It was a busy ranching and farming community and the little town was booming and growing.  The railroad like many little towns in texas was the economic engine that kept the little town growing. On the streets of Sabinal could be seen wagons loaded tall with cotton along with all kinds of other type of buggies, hacks and buckboards along with horses and dogs and people.  Mixed in this scene from the old world of the 1800’s was the new fangled horseless carriage the automobile. The streets were hot and dusty and smelly during the summer months from the horse manure, but in the rainy days it was a muddy, rutted quagmire of dirt and soupy sludge, difficult to walk across the street in some instances. 

taken in 1912

Some time during the years of 1907 to 1910 the rancher and cowboy Rollie Davenport fell in love with the black smiths daughter, Pearl Loman.  I do not know a lot of the details about how they met and what the courtship was like but my best guess is that they met at one of the many church socials that were often held there or perhaps they courted at many of the family dances or infares that were held in the community which were essentially a wedding reception highlighted by a barbeque and dance that would last sometimes several days.

I do not know many details of the courtship but I do know about the day Rollie took his sweetheart Pearl to be married.  It had rained in the country and Rollie picked up his sweetheart Pearl in a buggy at her home in town. They traveled the muddy streets of Sabinal until they rolled up in front of the Justice of the Peace. Rollie not wanting his new bride to soil her shoes in the muddy street decided to lift her out of the buggy intending to set her gently down on the board walk of the Justice’s office.  When he lifted Pearl up out of the buggy and turned to walk the few steps to the boardwalk he side shifted to miss a mud hole and to his surprise, he slipped backward feet flying flat out, he landed on his back in the mud puddle his bride to be tumbling in after.  I don’t know what words rolled out of Rollie’s mouth during that embarrassing moment but I would imagine it might have been. “Good gladness miss Agnes” a saying that granny Pearl often attributed to him. What an auspicious beginning as they picked themselves out of the street and continued in to the Justice of the Peace office to say their vows and begin a new chapter in the davenport history. One of the good friends of the family in that day was their neighboring rancher and friend John Nance Garner. Mr. Garner was later to gain fame as the Vice President serving under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Mr. Garner allowed young Rollie to take his new bride to honeymoon in a small log cabin on the banks of the frio river on his ranch.  That little cabin was located across the river from the present day swimming hole near the dam at what is now Garner State Park. Though a humble beginning it was a love affair that lasted six decades through all kinds of adventure and crisis. 

Its High Noon in America

Gary Cooper in High Noon

It’s high noon in America and I see two steely eyed, heavily armed cowboys walking out into the middle of the street ready to face each other down. You can almost hear the theme music from a Clint Eastwood movie as you stare into the eyes of the two warriors fixed in a laser- like gaze on each other as they slowly maneuver themselves closer and closer, hands on their revolvers ready to pull and draw at the slightest hint of the others move to clear leather and fire.  The threats and gauntlets have been laid down and now there is no way out they must duel to the death and there is only room for one to walk away from this deadly war of words.  Both claim to be the one in the white hat, the defender of truth. He sees himself as the brave knight defending all that is good and true. Each claims to be the true spokesman for no other than the greatest truth crusader, Jesus Christ. The words are no longer enough its time to let the hot lead fly and only one cowboy walk away the victor.

            There is another dark figure in this story.  He is the one that always wears the black hat.  He’s the one that has been silently slinking around in the background putting choice tidbits in each of the cowboys ear always pitting one against the other appealing to their pride and their fears and driving them to believe that they themselves are the only true hope, the only way that all things will turn out right. You must be the defender of truth he whispers, though this dark hat cowboy knows nothing of truth, only twisted lies masquerading as light.

            I hope the reader will indulge my lame attempt at humor but in reality the scenario I am describing is not a laughing matter. I am talking about the ongoing battle of political speak between conservative media celebrities such as Glenn Beck and a few well known evangelical televangelists who are speaking out in support of Glenn’s attack on churches promoting the social or economic justice gospel.  Glenn has repeatedly appealed to churches in America to unite and speak up against these social justice perversions of the Gospel. He is warning loud and clear to Christians in America that the phrase social justice or economic justice inserted or preached in pulpits are in fact “code words” for a political ideology that denies salvation through the propitiation of the blood of Christ and replaces it with a salvation based on a collective redistribution of wealth. Glenn believes that the political left is in fact actively trying to turn churches in America into community organizations that are not about Christ and personal salvation through faith in Christ’s deity and his sacrifice of atonement, but rather a collective type of salvation through actively lobbying for social reform.

            I do not know if one could truthfully make the case that all churches that are teaching about social reform and economic reform can be charged with completely supplanting the Gospel’s message of redemption through the blood of Christ. I do not know if one could say that anyone who uses those terms are part of some great conspiratorial ring that are in truth are only fronts for left wing radical socialist or communist agendas. Undoubtedly there are some that are very much perverting the Gospel and twisting it into a means for a socio-political end. This is not a new thing but something that has been going on since the beginning. Paul warned young Timothy in 1st timothy 6:3-7 “If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” (NIV)

Indeed men that miss the meaning of the Gospel and twist it into some method through which we attain worldy fleshly gain have as Paul states been “robbed of the Truth”.

Financial gain in this passage means so much more than just the silver coin or the printed money.  It is referring to all the things of this flesh that men pine for such as power , prestige , influence , property or anything that is the currency of the love of this world.

            One such opponent of Glenn’s would be the very vociferous editor in chief of the Sojourners organization, Jim Wallis. There has been some sparing in the media from these two lately. Wallis has been compared to Jerry Falwell in his outspoken belief in merging his religious beliefs with his politics. In an article written four months ago entitled “Glenn Beck, Jim Wallis, and Falwell-esque Dangers of Mixing Politics and Faith” columnist Peter Wehner wrote; “In many respects he is, ironically enough, the mirror image of the late Jerry Falwell. Like Falwell, Wallis is drawn to power and attention like a moth to a flame on a dark summer night. Like the former founder of the Moral Majority, Wallis takes biblical principles and simplistically connects the dots to public policies he supports. He has, as the Reverend Falwell had, enormous confidence that he knows the mind of God on matters of politics. And Wallis says harsh and irresponsible things about those who hold views different than his. It is reasonable to say, I think, that there is little evidence of a spirit of grace and reconciliation in the words of Wallis.” Wallis is a very outspoken political activist that believes that using political means to achieve his spiritual goals is an integral part of the work of the church. He believes that the whole meaning of the incarnation of Christ was as much to right social wrongs and bring justice to the deprived than to offer himself as a sacrifice of atonement for sin. Consider these quotes from the Sojourner’s web site. The mission statement: “Our mission is to articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church, and the world,” the Web site Quotes William Stringfellow, an early activist civil rights lawyer who was an early supporter of the sojourner community, an Episcopal church clergyman, also heavily involved with the World Council of Churches. “The politics of the cross delivers a message to the nations, to all regimes and powers, and even unto the ends of the earth, marked by the cry of Jesus which invokes the psalm: kingly power belongs to the Lord, and dominion over the nations is his (Psalm 22:28). That is truly what the Incarnation is all about.” Jim Wallis also writes about the role of the state in an article entitled All Hands on Deck. “There is a biblical role for the state, just as there is for the church. And they are not the same. According to Romans 13, the state is supposed to uphold the rule of law by protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty. It suggests a clear role for the government in ensuring the common good. And when the state fulfills its role properly, it allows the church to do its work in the world. The church must become "bilingual" in speaking the evangelistic message of the kingdom of God to all that will hear and also speaking to the state about its role and responsibilities. Justice, equity, and fairness are biblical concerns for the Christian community and standards to which the government should be held to account.”

" Le Martyr de Saint Pierre " par Michel-Ange"

            I wonder what the apostle Peter and Paul might make of these two opposing views. The one vocalized by Glenn Beck that the role of the church is to unite in a political battle against the social justice churches to save the true gospel and to save the true form of Government, the democratic republic, which he believes is the “inspired” form of Government given by God to the founders. Would they espouse The role vocalized by Jim Wallis that the role of the Church is to right the social wrongs in our society by preaching a gospel of social economic justice and uniting every faith based organizations into political pacs that teams up with the state or alternatively pressures the state into playing it’s role as protector of the innocent and punisher of the guilty. It would seem to me that according to Mr. Wallis the church cannot play it’s proper role unless the state is properly playing it’s role. He seems to advocate that the church is woefully deficient in resources and ability to accomplish it’s purpose unless the government plays it’s proper role along side it.

            I suppose that Jesus in saying Matthew 16:18 “Upon this rock I shall build my Church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it,” must have meant only if the government cooperates and helps provide the environment by which it can fulfill it’s mission. That mission being to bring justice to this corrupt world as defined by Mr. Wallis.

            To both of these men who would be the protectors of truth I would humbly submit that the Church will and has for more than 2000 years been fulfilling it’s role. That role as defined by Christ is multifaceted but uniform in its goal. The church is to be the “pillar and foundation of the truth” according to Ephesians 3:10,11 “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” What is the purpose of the Church? To preach the Gospel which means good news, to the world. The good news is that we can be reconciled to God through the blood of Christ as a propitiation for our sins. Romans 3:21-25.  How can we approach God with freedom and confidence? The Hebrew writer explains,  Hebrews10:20,22 “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

            The apostle Paul outlined the basic elements of the Gospel of Christ in 1^st Corinthians 15:1-9. Paul says that “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken

your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I

preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” Paul continues spelling out the basic elements of the message which is the eye witnessed fact of the death , burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He goes on to refute those who would deny the resurrection and argues that, vs 17, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”

Paul also warns sternly in his letter to the Galatians that perverting that gospel or preaching any other gospel would result in condemnation and loss of salvation. Ga. 1:6 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the

2  Cor.11:14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!”

2Co. 2:11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not

unaware of his schemes. 

            Perverting the gospel of Christ is a serious matter. The apostle Paul holds both men and angels responsible for the way in which the gospel of Christ is preached. Galatians 1:12 “ I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” It is so important that men who profess to know the gospel accurately profess it because of its holy origin.

 Paul warned Christians in Colossians 2:6-10, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the Head over every power and authority.”

            It is a troubling thing to me to see these two culture warriors bringing their respective political and philosophical ideas into the limelight both claiming to be the spokesman for the true will of God for America’s political future.  It occurs to me that both the apostle Paul and the apostle Peter both died as martyr’s testifying to the truth of the gospel under the heavy hand of tyrannical Roman emperors, who were being used by satan to try to stamp out Christianity in it’s infancy. The blood of countless Christians still stains the hands of rulers of every kind throughout the centuries. Kings and monarchies of every kind, communism, socialism, democracy, republics, empires it matters not. The kingdom of Christ exists and flourishes no matter what the form of government or who might be its power. When Christ stood before Pilate and asked if he was a king he answered. John 8:36 “My kingdom is not of this world.” Christ’s kingdom, his church exists to testify to the deity of Christ and to his gracious purpose in coming to this world to save sinners. They do not use the weapons of this world, such as promoting  divisive political parties, lying, slandering , demonizing , propagandizing and pitting one segment of society against another to achieve a political agenda. These tactics are the common currency of that black hat shadowy stranger that wants to destroy Christ and his church. Paul wrote, 2Corinthians 10:3 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

            As Peter was about to be hung upside down on a cross because of his testimony about Christ he wrote to Christians. 1Peter 2:17 “Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.”

The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 13:1-7 “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has

established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”

           

            Glenn I appreciate the history lessons and the fact that you have warned all of America of the hidden and nefarious ways in which a political movement has gained power. I appreciate that you love your country and the form of government that has long been a blessing to our country, but be careful friend. Do not let the black hated stranger twist your zeal for country and truth into a backdoor attack on the church through an appeal to preserve our nation. I too love this country and it’s form of government but I love the Lord and his church more. I look to a heavenly country whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:16.  I believe the founders humbly prayed to the Lord and asked for wisdom as to how to form a government that would provide as much freedom and opportunity as possible to it’s citizens. I believe the Lord answered there prayer and blessed this country abundantly.  I believe he did that for his own purposes.  The church, however, is his own special people set apart for a special purpose, and that purpose must remain pure and not mingled with lesser purposes such as the preservation of democracy.  Let the preservation of our nation be done If the Lord wills.  A Christian can speak and write and vote as any other citizen to help preserve our freedoms but be careful oh Christian. Do not leave a holy calling in order to pursue a temporal one.

To Jim and all who long to see justice done and society more equal and harmonious I say be careful that your longing to reform this corrupt world not become a tool by the black hat deceiver to twist the message of the gospel of peace into a gospel of health and wealth and redistribution of this worlds goods.

            The church belongs to Christ and is a kingdom unto itself. A monarch, king Jesus Christ, rules it.  Its purpose is to glorify Him and reveal Him to the world. Its supreme law is His word and it is a kingdom that shall never end. It is comprised of men and women from every nation, from every period of time, and will survive every attempt from Satan to destroy it.

May God bless our nation and heal the land.

Psalms 60:2 Thou hast made the land to tremble; thou hast rent it: Heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.