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Index:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Maggie, Lillie, Nettie, and Maude.
Red River! Read on in this final installment of the Ragsdale's courageous journey.
The Red River Crossing to Oklahoma
All of the planning, all the months of getting information, scrimping, and saving that Cornelius and Viola had done was finally
going to pay off. They were so close to their destination now that they could smell it! A few more weeks of travel and they
would be there.
They turned more westerly after they left Wichita Falls. Their route would parallel the Red River and take them through
several settlements that connected with the railroad. The railroad lines also paralleled the Red River, so that the Ragsdales
would be accompanied by numerous trains that headed their way. By staying on the south side of the river as long as
possible, they would avoid most of the Indian tribes that were just across the river in Indian Territory. Of course, Indian
lands were being quickly divided and sold as "excess lands" by the United States Government's Dawes Commision and
many of those Indians would lose their rights to open land held in common. But for now, Texas was a safer route, protected
by the Texas Rangers and settled towns in the West.
The first town west of Wichita Falls was Iowa Park, formerly known as Daggett Switch. It had been more prosperous just a
few years before, when it was founded in 1888. The Texas Panhandle Company had organized an immigration train all the
way from Iowa to Texas, and a tent city had grown up there overnight. There were promises of quick wealth from cattle
ranching, and the railroad lines that went through there. By '91, Iowa Park was incorporated and growing rapidly. Then
disaster struck when most of the town burned to the ground. The townspeople persisted in their dream to make it a
marketing area for wheat, cotton and cattle shipped by rail to other parts of the country. They rebuilt. Then, the panic of 1893
turned their dreams into nightmares, and the town dwindled to about 800 people by 1900.
None of this mattered much to the Ragsdales. They were just happy that a town was less than ten miles from Wichita Falls
where they could stop for the night and rest their oxen. The next morning, they were pleased to see a Ft Worth and Denver
City Railway train leave just ahead of them.
Just ten miles and another day's ride beyond Iowa Park was Waggoner, later to be named Electra. Like Iowa Park, it was a
railroad town that interested farmers in bringing their goods to market and shipment to other parts of the country. It was
about the same size as Iowa park and provided the Ragsdales another stop for rest and supplies.
They had to ford Long Creek just west of Waggoner but the creek was shallow and sandy, making it relatively easy to cross.
But crossing any creek was risky and tricky. It was necessary to watch for swift water that could overturn the wagon, or
hide a deep hole that would break an axle. Cornelius always got out and walked or waded across the creek to check for
such things before crossing.
The next fourteen miles brought them to Oklaunion, a few miles south of Vernon. Vernon was just a mile from a narrow point
in the Red River known as Doan's Crossing. It was there that they would cross the river. Many cattlemen had used this
crossing for more than fifty years to move their cattle north to the markets in Kansas, and it had been a thriving community.
The old Chisholm Trail had gone through that area. Quanah Parker, the famous Comanche chief had crossed there many
times with his people to hunt for buffalo. But by 1900, the railroad had bypassed the crossing and the area was somewhat
abandoned. However, the crossing was still there and it was still used by people who crossed by wagon or horseback. It
was the best point for Cornelius and Viola to take their wagon across.
The land around the crossing was hilly and full of large bushes and fair-sized trees. And although the river was at a narrow
point there, the river was more than enough for Cornelius as he gazed across its banks. It was wide and deep. He would not
be able to walk across this river. He would not be able to swim across this river. How did others do it? It looked impossible.
The family stood by the wagon and stared at the river for a long time. No one spoke. Finally, Buddy said, "Where's the
bridge?" No one answered. Cornelius motioned for everyone to get back into the wagon. After a quiet moment by the river,
he crawled up onto the wagon seat. "We will have to build a raft," he said gloomily. He took up the reins and turned the
wagon toward a good place to camp near the river. It would be a long campout before they would be able to cross.
That night after dinner, Cornelius told Viola, "I'm going to have to fashion a raft to carry the wagon across, and that will take
a while. I'll have to find trees big enough to float the wagon, cut them, and tie them to the wagon. That's going to take some
time, so we might as well plan for making camp a good while.
"I figure I will swim the oxen and cows across, but the wagon will have to be floated across. We can put the little ones and
you in the wagon and I will use the oxen to pull the wagon across once it has a floating device on it." Viola looked worried.
"Won't that be dangerous? Couldn't the wagon turn over?" Cornelius studied the ground for awhile. "Yes, it could. But I will
do my best to make sure it doesn't." They were silent for a long while after that, thinking about the task ahead.
Viola broke the silence and she called him her name of endearment, "Well, Neil. I know you will do it right and do it good. I'll
keep camp going and give you plenty of time to cut the wood." She stroked his hand and he kissed her lightly on the cheek
and smiled. They gazed at the evening stars before turning in for the night.
The next day, they began exploring the area. Cornelius surveyed the trees along the river bank and marked two of the
largest he could find for cutting and removal. He also surveyed the riverbank, looking at the shoreline and trying to test for
depth in the river. He could see the well-worn trail where people had entered the river and he tried to see across to the exit
area a little downstream, but it was too far across to see very well. He checked for quicksand areas and strong currents.
The river was very sandy and seemed to be rather shallow up to the central part of the bed. He found places where he could
walk closer to the deep part of the river and tested its depth with a rock tied to a small rope. It was definitely too deep to
ford anywhere along the river. It was not a swift river and that would help in crossing.
The wagon itself was made of wood and would float to some extent but it would need to be buoyed to keep it high in the
water. It appeared to be about thirty yards that the wagon would have to be floated. If he lashed a rather large log to each
wheel, it might be enough to keep the wagon high enough out of the water. The wheels wouldn't be able to turn but the wet
sand would be slick enough for the oxen to pull it into the water. Once they pulled the wagon to more shallow water, he could
cut loose the logs from the wheels and the oxen could continue to pull the wagon completely out of the water. He would
use the oxen on the opposite bank to pull the wagon across by rope once he got them over there. He would simply swim
them across first.
Cornelius spent several days studying the entire project and then he began cutting the two trees in earnest. That took some
time because they were fair sized trees and all he had was an axe and a tree saw. Viola helped man one end of the tree saw
when he got to that point but she wasn't very strong and had to rest frequently. Besides, she was pretty sure she was
pregnant again. Once they were cut and felled, h e used the oxen to pull the logs to a spot on the bank, near the water where
he could begin to attach them to the wheels of the wagon.
It was early June then, and getting rather hot. One encouraging sign was that the river was dropping its water level which
would make it easier to cross. He hitched the oxen to the wagon and moved it next to the two logs as close to the river bed
as he dared.
He spotted a large tree across the river that he thought he could tie one end of a rope to the tree and then secure the other
end to the wagon while he prepared the oxen for pulling the wagon. It would take a lot of rope but he would be able to keep
the wagon from floating downstream if anything went wrong
Viola and the children kept the camp in good shape. They milked the cows for fresh milk and grazed them. They hunted for
berries and kept the camp clean. They helped their father any way they could but they were all so small that they didn't have
much strength for heavy duties.
As the day approached for the launching, excitement grew in the camp. The wagon was ready with a log lashed to each
wheel. He had the oxen pull it as close to the deep water as he dared, then unhitched them. He rounded up the cows and
the oxen with his quirt and shooed them into the water, where they began to swim across. He grabbed hold of one of the
oxen's tail and hung on as the ox pulled him across. In his spare hand, Cornelius held the ends of two ropes. Buddy and
Viola reeled the ropes out across the water as Cornelius was pulled across.
Once across, Cornelius tied one rope to the large tree at the water's edge, then hobbled the cows and oxen. The second
rope he tied to a smaller tree nearby. Viola had tied the other end of the rope to the wagon tongue. Cornelius tested it for
security from the other bank. It seemed strong and held. It was then that he attached the rope to the oxen's harness,
unhobbled them, and waved to Viola and the children to get into the wagon.
Viola had been instructed to stay inside the wagon with the children and to stay calm. The children and Viola were tied
together so that if the wagon tipped, Cornelius would pull them to safety with the second rope. They got into the wagon and
Viola waved back to Cornelius that all was ready.
Cornelius turned the oxen and whistled them forward. The slack in the rope tightened and the wagon on the other side
slowly moved into the water. For a moment, it looked like the wagon might tip as its front wheels dipped into the water. But
then, the logs that were lashed to the wheels caught the water and the wagon bobbed. Cornelius carefully, moved the oxen
forward until the wagon was fully in the water. He moved the oxen on forward, and the wagon floated across to the shallow
side. Then, it was on the sandy part and being pulled to the bank.
Cornelius quickly secured the rope to the large tree, hobbled the oxen and waded out into the water to the wagon. He untied
the ropes on each side with some effort since water was still flowing around the wagon, but he finally got the rope off and
pushed the logs out into the stream bed where they slowly floated away. Then he returned to the oxen, unhobbled them and
finished pulling the wagon out of the stream bed onto dry land.
On the other side, they all squealed with delight and hopped out of the wagon. Cornelius hugged Viola and she laughed with
him. Lillie tumbled onto the ground and giggled with delight. "I guess I can untie the children now," Viola said.
Cornelius pulled his little family together into a circle and said a prayer of thanks for their safety. He looked at Viola and said
happily, "We are in Oklahoma territory! Let's go find our new home!"
Two more days of travel along the Red River shoreline on the Oklahoma side and they were in Greer County. Cornelius filed
his claim and received the deed to 160 acres of land near a town that would be named Hollis. At first they lived in a dugout
since there was so little wood in the area, and they needed something to live in. Eventually, they built a two-room house and
they lived in that for awhile. Finally, they added onto the front and back of the house to its final size.
The Ragsdales donated land for the first school, church and cemetery in the area. The children all went to school there
through the eighth grade. Three more children were born: Floyd in 1901, Ivy in 1905, and Grace in 1908. In 1916, Chester
"Buddy" Ragsdale was called to serve in The Great War. He served as bugler and drove an army ambulance. He died in
Germany in 1918 of an infected carbuncle on his neck. His mother died of influenza that same year. Later, Buddy's body
was returned to the Bitter Creek Cemetery where he was buried by his mother. Much later, his father and two of Maude's
infant children were buried there. The Ragsdale children all grew up, married and had large families. The pictures below
are of the family around 1910 in the original farm house, and again in 1940 with the extended family. Cornelius died in May of
1940.
The Ragsdale family was courageous in many ways. They set out on their journey not knowing what lay ahead but they were
determined to find new land for a farm of their very own. They were deeply religious Baptists and taught their family to be
kind and loving to all people. They loved God, their family and their land. They were true Americans in every sense of the
word.
out in two other beguiling essays by Martha Giles,
Maude's Youth and Maude's Wedding!
