Interview # 9920
Field Worker's Name: Jasper H. MEAD
Date of report: February 9, 1938
Name: Mr. Fred ABERCROMBIE
Post Office Address: Chickasha, Oklahoma
Residence Address (or location): General Delivery
Date of Birth: February 5, 1893
Place of Birth: State of Texas
Name of Father: R. H. ABERCROMBIE, Place of Birth: Georgia
Other information about father: Died at the age of 73.
Name of Mother: Mary M. PETTERS, Place of Birth: Virginia
Other information about mother: Died at the age of 38.
An Interview with Mr. Fred ABERCROMBIE, Chickasha.
By - Jasper H. MEAD - Investigator.
Februrary 9, 1938
My name is Fred ABERCROMBIE; I was born February 5th, 1893, in the state of Texas, forty-five years ago, and I came to the Territory when I was five years old and have lived here ever since.
The first place my parents and I landed as at Cloud Chief about fifty miles Southeast of Cordell. Cloud Chief, when we first landed there, was a very small place. There were about fifty people in the town and there was two stores, a post office and a saloon in the town.
My father had about a hundred and twenty-five head of work stock and he helped to break out lots of the land around Cloud Chief.
There is no railroad going through Cloud Chief; it has always been an inland town. The main water supply comes from the Washita River. I have hauled and helped to haul many a barrel of water from the Washita River.
There were many Indians around Cloud Chief whom I knew. I knew three Indians who called themselves Chiefs; there names were TWO BABY, BIG TREE, and JACK BULL BEAR. I saw Chief TWO BABY take a sweat bath one day. There were three of four of us fellows who watched him. He had a big round hole dug in the ground about shoulder deep, then he had his tapee set over this hole, then he put some hot rocks down in the bottom of the hole and poured hot water over them, then he got down into the hole; he would grown and take on, and make some of the funniest rackets.
My father had lots of horses and when one of them would die he would trade its carcass to the Indians for wood for our cook stove.
The country around Cloud Chief was rather loamy and like prairie. Mack TEAL was a man who owned nearly all the country around Cloud Chief and Cordell; he was finally killed by a man of the name of Page NELSON. I forgot to mention when I was talking about the Indians, these three Indians, TWO BABY, BIG TREE, and JACK BULL BEAR, got their mail at a place called Segar, now called Colony. This place was just a small store and post office combined.
I have lived in and around Chickasha for twenty-five years and have made money almost every way but I have barbered for fifteen years.
Transcribed and submitted by Jacque HOPKINS, Aug 2000
Most of this interview was typed as it was typed back in 1937, but I did put all surnames mentioned in the interview all in capital letters for ease of viewing by the researcher. All spelling, grammar, punctuation, and typing mistakes you find are as they were on the actual interview.
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