OKGenWeb Notice: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Presentation here does not extend any permissions to the public. This material may not be included in any compilation, publication, collection, or other reproduction for profit without permission.
The creator copyrights ALL files on this site. The files may be linked to but may not be reproduced on another site without specific permission from the OKGenWeb Coordinator, [okgenweb@cox.net], and their creator. Although public information is not in and of itself copyrightable, the format in which they are presented, the notes and comments, etc. are. It is, however, permissible to print or save the files to a personal computer for personal use ONLY.


Indian Pioneer Papers - Index

Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma
Date: December 22, 1937
Name: E. L. DuBoise
Post Office: Cordell, Oklahoma
Residence Address: Northwest of Cordell
Date of Birth: March 1, 1887
Place of Birth: Mississippi
Father: J. W. C. DuBoise
Place of Birth: Mississippi
Information on father: Carpenter and Black Smith
Mother: Jessie Hill
Place of birth: Mississippi
Information on mother: Housewife
Field Worker:
Interview: #9504
 
 Interview with E. L. DuBoise, Cordell, Oklahoma

I came to Oklahoma in 1900 and homesteaded on a place in Greer County, eighteen miles west of Altus as it is now called but it was Leger in those days.

We built a half dugout: hauled the lumber from Quanah, Texas, in a wagon, which was thirty miles distant. We lived in this dugout for three years. In those days the prairie dogs and fleas were thick and we also had to be on the watch for rattlesnakes as there were almost as many snakes as there were fleas. We killed one of those snakes which was so large he couldn't crawl into a dog hole. He had fourteen rattles.

When Oklahoma was being settled we couldn't raise a crop on account of the cattle. If we raised any crop we had to guard the cattle because they would just go right through the fence. We hauled our posts thirty-six miles to fence our place. We cut the posts from a mountain. We lived on this place five years and proved our claim and got a deed to the one hundred and sixty acres.

While we were living out on our claim we cooked n a two-eyed bachelor stove. There were times when we couldn't get coal, so we burned cotton seed and cow chips for fuel. We used "gyp" water. I remember one bachelor who lived a few miles from us who told about trying to cook beans in this "gyp" water. He said he put them on early one morning to cook and he cooked them all day and they still were not done. When he put some out on his plate they rattled like rocks.

There were a few wells around that people would haul water from: this was called soft water but it would seem like very hard water to most people now. Some of the wells were several miles away but folks would haul well water to wash and cook in; although they still had to use lye to "break" it. Lots o9f folks had cisterns and they would haul this well water and put it in the cisterns.

End of Interview.
DuBoise, E.L. Volume 26-8 microfiche # 6016891 Indian Pioneer Papers Index.

[NOTE from submitter Donald L. DuBoise Grandson of Eddie Lee DuBoise, May 11, 2000 Sacramento, California 95825
E. L. DuBoise's full name was Eddie Lee DuBoise]

Submitted to OKGenWeb by Donald L. DuBoise <ddub476365@aol.com> 05-2000.