Hallie C. Stillwell, a Rancher And Texas Legend, Dies at 99

[SHANEA]

Hallie C. Stillwell, a Rancher And Texas Legend, Dies at 99

[chisos_muse]

Ummm, just wondering why you would put this headline up in the regional news section when it's from almost 10 years ago?

[SHANEA]

To give you something to wonder about...   

[mbent]

She's my 2 older sons' great-grandmother....quite a woman! I was going to post a story on here about her where someone called someone 'stupid' for getting caught on the 'other side of some water'....will do it later.....Hallie was so strong, smart and funny and hey! She was the original chili cook-off queen at terlingua and kept that crown for a long time! We sure miss Hallie.

[mule ears]

She's my 2 older sons' great-grandmother....quite a woman! I was going to post a story on here about her where someone called someone 'stupid' for getting caught on the 'other side of some water'....will do it later.....Hallie was so strong, smart and funny and hey! She was the original chili cook-off queen at terlingua and kept that crown for a long time! We sure miss Hallie.

Welcome to the board and we would love to hear/read any and all stories you have about Hallie and your extensive experience in the bend.  You are a lucky individual to have so many long contacts with the area.

[mbent]

I know...thanks. I love the bigbend and not a day goes by that i don't think about it and wish i was there. The border has changed so much and it's just so sad but the country and the people are the same. I was just thinking about flashflooding out there. I've been caught on the 'wrong' side of some serious flash floods before as anyone has who has been out there w/the luck to have some good rains. We were kept from returning to the ranch house one time bc the Maravillas flooded and it was the only time I ever saw water in the Maravillas. It flooded from bank to bank and it was unbelievable...I was just thinking of the time Hallie came home from being down south with Dadie and some grandkids and she came in looking scared and wet as a drowned rat. You'd never see Hallie w/out her hair and nails done but this night she came in all cold and wet  w/her hair and clothes all matted down...her lips were trembling...her hands kind of shaking and wringing...we said, 'gee hallie, what happened?? someone die??' She kept shaking and she could hardly talk but she finally got her story out. They had driven into some running water and gotten into a fix. She knew she shouldn't have..."please, don't say a word, don't ever tell ANYone! Especially Son and Guy!" Turns out, their car had started floating and, luckily, bumped into one of those 4X4" posts that measures water depths. Some locals had stopped and were standing around waiting for the water to go down. Some man saw Hallie and Dadie's dilema and waded out to help them. One by one he pulled them out of the car and carried them to safety. Hallie insisted that he get the kids and Dadie out first. She sat there as the water crept up to her chin until the others had been put on dry ground before she let the man help her 'ashore'. She never wanted anyone to know about it but of course she had a great sense of humor and the ability to laugh at herself and she ended up writing about it in her weekly column. She was so smart and funny.  I sure wish she was here today. I have a million questions for her. And she would be able to answer them all!

[Vince T]

Good story Shane...thanks for sharing.
Have you seen that tape that was available years ago with her telling a number of her stories?
I have it somewhere and it is a classic.  Reading that is going to inspire me to find it.

Just got back last night from 3 days in the park.
My friend took all the pics so I will give a trip report when he burns them for me tomorrow.

Great trip with a few new things.
Vince

[Peach]

I know...thanks. I love the bigbend and not a day goes by that i don't think about it and wish i was there. The border has changed so much and it's just so sad but the country and the people are the same. I was just thinking about flashflooding out there. I've been caught on the 'wrong' side of some serious flash floods before as anyone has who has been out there w/the luck to have some good rains. We were kept from returning to the ranch house one time bc the Maravillas flooded and it was the only time I ever saw water in the Maravillas. It flooded from bank to bank and it was unbelievable...I was just thinking of the time Hallie came home from being down south with Dadie and some grandkids and she came in looking scared and wet as a drowned rat. You'd never see Hallie w/out her hair and nails done but this night she came in all cold and wet  w/her hair and clothes all matted down...her lips were trembling...her hands kind of shaking and wringing...we said, 'gee hallie, what happened?? someone die??' She kept shaking and she could hardly talk but she finally got her story out. They had driven into some running water and gotten into a fix. She knew she shouldn't have..."please, don't say a word, don't ever tell ANYone! Especially Son and Guy!" Turns out, their car had started floating and, luckily, bumped into one of those 4X4" posts that measures water depths. Some locals had stopped and were standing around waiting for the water to go down. Some man saw Hallie and Dadie's dilema and waded out to help them. One by one he pulled them out of the car and carried them to safety. Hallie insisted that he get the kids and Dadie out first. She sat there as the water crept up to her chin until the others had been put on dry ground before she let the man help her 'ashore'. She never wanted anyone to know about it but of course she had a great sense of humor and the ability to laugh at herself and she ended up writing about it in her weekly column. She was so smart and funny.  I sure wish she was here today. I have a million questions for her. And she would be able to answer them all!

I've read both the Hallie Stillwell books.  She was an amazing woman!     And welcome to the site!

[mbent]

Yeah, the books are great! If you're interested in the history of women in the area, I found a diary that had been kept by Roy Stillwell's oldest sister Lizzie (Pickey) in a geneological society newsletter that is really interesting. She wrote about their times in Tx when she was a very young girl. She was born in 1860 in Kemper's Bluff, Texas. Roy (Hallie's husband) was born in 1878 in Lagarto, tx so, being that much older than Roy, she was able to record much of the early family history. Her childhood adventures are what I guess was the 'norm' for that time and place, however, still almost unbelievable. By the time the Stillwells came out to ranch in west texas and Mexico, she was already a young widow w/a young child. Even though she was left with a ranch of her own to run, she came out to visit and some of her visits are recorded in her diary. She lead a long, productive and fascinating life and had several marriages, one to a Texas ranger named Wood Saunders. She did not elaborate much on that marriage and I was able to find some info on wood saunders and his tx ranger career, however, not any information about their marriage.

Her sister Alice was close in age to Roy. She married a William (Billie) Henderson and after meeting somehow down south while working cattle together or merging herds or something, they married in their early 20's on Christmas day in Alpine.  They ended up ranching up around Fort Davis....I can't find out much about them either, however, beyond the early stories from Lizzie's diary and what Hallie wrote about. I wonder if there are still some Hendersons living in the area. Alice was fascinating because she (and Nellie-but Nellie died young) was the sister who worked cattle back and forth across the border in the late 1800's when the Stillwells had a land grant somewhere in the mountains of Coahuila, Mexico supposedly given to them by Maximillian during his short reign in Mexico. Lizzie's sister Lola was born in Matamoras in 1864 so it kind of makes sense. The ranch was called Piedra Blanca. I had been doing some of this research last fall but got sidetracked. Nellie was a younger sister who died from typhoid while nursing Roy back from same. She is supposed to be buried somewhere down by the river around the stillwell crossing on US side. I got some copies of photos of her and Alice (beautiful!) when i was at Hallie's museum this summer. I was just wondering though if anyone out there on this website has ever seen this marked grave and/or knows anything about the Hendersons of the area. I kind of got stumped w/Alice since she died at a relatively young age and the only stories I have are from Lizzie's diary...and some things in some of Hallie's books. See, Hallie had an interesting life and 'roughed' it quite a bit out there but Roy's sisters lived through some crazy adventures.

[homerboy2u]

Mbent;

  I could probably help out, with the stories on the Mexican ranching operations,if you can elaborate some more. The information,is somewhat vague: I don't know where Piedra Blanca is, it could well be an ejido by now or completely dissapeared, believe me. There is information out there ,if you know where to look for it.

  Now, this has nothing to do with this , but for general information 1878, the year Roy Stillwell was born , was the same year Doroteo Arango a.k.a Francisco Villa, a.k.a Pancho Villa was born in the State of Durango.Just to relate to the year itself....all hell broke loose , in Mexico, after he was born...

  Now for that Land grant in the Mountains of Coahuila. as you may well know, from the trips I have posted so far i have not even scratched the surface of the land that is out there. There is so much history behind these lands , i don't know where to begin first. Believe me it is there for the taking. i know of history dating back all the way to 1679 whan Father Juan Larios settled in Muzquiz, then Presidio of Santa Rosa along with Marcos the Bahuane Indian leader of the Bahuane nation and so on. Nothing to do with Father Orozco...he is just another story to tell,

<a href="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=8566418509721874773" target="_blank">http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=8566418509721874773</a>

&nbsp; Now as far as Maximillian of Habsburg giving land grants. That could have happened,if it did i will be the first one to acknowledge of not knowing anything about it. The kings of land ownership were by far the Sanchez Navarro , they were the owners of more than half the state of Coahuila and if your forefather's sided with Maximillian...well mija, along with the Sanchez Navarro , they lost everything to president Benito Juarez...in the 1860's



 Which in turn, granted the land to General Blanco and General Treviño . Again, that is another story.

&nbsp; So Mbent...care to enlighten a little bit more, so i can help you out.?

[mbent]

Yes, I would LOVE some help w/this. I have to dig out my resources which are buried somewhere right now due to massive remodeling..-my house is upside down. Apparently, just from sketchy notes from somewhere (maybe Hallie's book) Cheesman (can't find anything on this guy on the 'internets') chased them out or had them chased out by the mexican govt after max was executed. The Box colonization? Does that ring a bell? That was another reference made to one of John Stillwell's first trips into Mexico which didn't turn out too well...Yes, John Stillwell was said to have gotten supplies to Max during a time of dire need...I'll have to dig this stuff out and then I can give you my sources. I heard a lecture this spring by a U of H professor and I talked to him about the Mexican land grants and he says there are records of them in Austin. I would love to find this land (it must exist-there are so many stories about it-) and take my kids there someday...are you the guy who posted the story and pics of the trip to the mines? I read a lof of that...also incredible...anothe r place I never got to see..but had always heard so much about..yes, all hell was breaking loose down there around the time they got to wtx..w/the indians on the decline and the mining and ranching coming around and the railroad...and all the cattle running back and forth across the border. Lost of stories there and I never made the connection of Poncho Villa being born that same year. Hey, did you ever go to that place in Chihuahua city in the '70's where they had the car that Poncho villa had allegedly been shot in? Did you ever meet that woman who claimed to have been married to him? I guess she could have been? Who was father Orozco? Yes, the dates w/the land grant aren't jiving...to be sure. Maybe they were just squatting....??

[homerboy2u]

Uuuuuh...so many questions, lets get to them: Presidio style.

Cheesman

 I'm sorry, i don't know who Cheeseman was.

The Box colonization? Does that ring a bell? That was another reference made to one of John Stillwell's first trips into Mexico which didn't turn out too well...

 Nope, i have never heard of the Box Colonization.... probably under another name?

I heard a lecture this spring by a U of H professor and I talked to him about the Mexican land grants and he says there are records of them in Austin.

 I don't doubt this for a second. Many of the records dating back to the Spaniards, actually the San Franciscans have been registered in the San Antonio & Austin record books. That could be very well true.

I would love to find this land (it must exist-there are so many stories about it-) and take my kids there someday

 Me too, along with you and your family. It takes a good long hard look to get to these places, but never impossible. Heck!!, our ancestors did it on horseback, to do this on a 4x4 should be no  sweat to it.Except in the summer.

...are you the guy who posted the story and pics of the trip to the mines? I read a lof of that...also incredible...anothe r place I never got to see..but had always heard so much about..

 Yes Maam , I am that numb nut who ventured over to the Cuatro Palmas and the Agua Chile Mines.

..yes, all hell was breaking loose down there around the time they got to wtx..w/the indians on the decline and the mining and ranching coming around and the railroad...and all the cattle running back and forth across the border. Lost of stories there and I never made the connection of Poncho Villa being born that same year. Hey, did you ever go to that place in Chihuahua city in the '70's where they had the car that Poncho villa had allegedly been shot in? Did you ever meet that woman who claimed to have been married to him? I guess she could have been?

 Yes, I agree ther are many stories i have read over the years all based upon the history books registerd in Muzquiz where you will have your delights of many tales around that area, how they are connected to the ones across the Rio grande with folks from the States and how, back then all was much simpler to live and move about. You would be surprised how many folks from around the world have called the Muzquiz area home for many hundreds of years and how their descendants continue to call it home, and most with out knowing much about their past. So it applies to many places in the world, but i always say the more you know about your past, the more you love the area, and i am passsionate about that area in specific, mainly because i got 2 and 2 together and found out that my grandfather and his whole family on my father's side is from Pico Etereo, also registered in my trip to the mines.

 By the way the lady who use to say she was the first wife of Pancho , not Poncho Villa was true and the car riddled with bullets was the original car where Pancho Villa was murdered in Parral, Chihuahuha in 1923, to be exact.An infamous man, for infamous times.
   No i never met the lady (She's dead by now), nor have i been to the Museum in Chihuahua, Chihuahua yet.

Who was father Orozco?

 I thought you would never ask.....an urban legend, created from a member here: Pyramidblaster, for Big Bend Chat. Not exactly.... , but i have adopted the story and use it here a lot. I get a kick from it, everytime and i don't know why but somehow Father Orozco seems to blend in any story told from the past of Mexico and Big Bend...   It never existed, to be honest.......

[Peach]

Yeah, the books are great! If you're interested in the history of women in the area, I found a diary that had been kept by Roy Stillwell's oldest sister Lizzie (Pickey) in a geneological society newsletter that is really interesting. She wrote about their times in Tx when she was a very young girl. She was born in 1860 in Kemper's Bluff, Texas. Roy (Hallie's husband) was born in 1878 in Lagarto, tx so, being that much older than Roy, she was able to record much of the early family history. Her childhood adventures are what I guess was the 'norm' for that time and place, however, still almost unbelievable. By the time the Stillwells came out to ranch in west texas and Mexico, she was already a young widow w/a young child. Even though she was left with a ranch of her own to run, she came out to visit and some of her visits are recorded in her diary. She lead a long, productive and fascinating life and had several marriages, one to a Texas ranger named Wood Saunders. She did not elaborate much on that marriage and I was able to find some info on wood saunders and his tx ranger career, however, not any information about their marriage. 

 

I am very interested in the history of women in the area and would love to be able to read a copy of that diary if you can point me in the right direction.

[mbent]

you would love it. They have copies at geneological libraries in houston and san antonio. If you can't get there, I'd be glad to shoot you a copy..snail mail or something....i would like to hear some feedback to see if anyone else thinks these stories might have merit as juvie bio material since i've been told there needs to be more 'strong' female juvie character books out there...and these stories are so awesome...I dove into it a little but got torn betw which sister to focus on.....the one w/more info or the one who spent more time in bb...or course...the one who spent more time in bibe was winning out but I ran out of info on her....cause....she was TOO BUSY TO SIT DOWN and write anything DOWN and literally worked herself to death! So.....i guess that's where the imagination would have to come in to play. The stories would be GREAT material for teaching as you won't find such tales on tv or movies...you know...video games........hahaha ...i can get a copy to you or give you the journal name and # as soon as I find my own copy.........i really would love the input. See, I met one of Lizzie's grandkids (gread-grandkids??) many times at Hallie's and she would tell me about this diary. She died in the late '90s, however, she always stayed in touch and I never forgot about the diary...just took me this long and, again, if only I'd found it way back then....she could have answered all my questions....many of them..i spose...

[mbent]

  I thought everyone in Presidio had lost their senses of humor?? What is presidio style??
ahh....hahaha....fa ther Orozco...that was scarey......I'll have to be watching out for him next time I'm out there...or on here...I want to check out all of your pics and the story of going to the mines. I didn't get to finish reading it. I'll sort out the cheesman/box colonization thing too. I wondered if Glenn justice might know. I just bought his book and am reading it..he seems to know some history of the area too....did you just recently learn about your ancestors from that area or did you go down there knowing that??? also, the woman who charged us to look at the car and to look at her claimed she was the 'last' wife....not the first..that one would've been really old....but you think this was some woman simply married to some man named pancho but not poncho villa.....the real poncho?? well, she did take a few pesos from us every time we went there bc it was so bizarre.....anyway, i would like to read some stories about musquiz and all the people that came and went...way back then.