Appendix A: A Letter from Townsend to the Mangum Sun-Monitor on September 2, 1902.

Fort Worth, Texas, Sept. 2-

Dear Star: Excited much after the fashion of the small boy who expects to take his first hunt, a party of Mangumite's left the hub of Greer County, and incidentally the world this morning to take a cruise south on the tail end of the iron horse, bound for Mexico. The party consisted of Geo. E. Blalock, captain; W.T. Dodson, 1st lieut: Rob't Derr, commissary, sergeant; Will Cleary, chief forager; G. B. Townsend, chaplain; and J.T. Young, sole private.

The purpose of the invasion, as you well know, is to catch fish, kill snakes, fight mesquitoes (sic.) and raise Cain.

We left Mangum in great glee with 15 cents in each pocket and 1000 mile trip ahead of us. We thought we were entitled to reduced rates - seeing that we were rendering grand old Greer such a favor in leaving, but Agent Harrington couldn't see it that way, unless we would go labeled in the sanctimonious garb of a missionary society or plumed in the bright colors of a base ball team.

We took a vote upon which role we should assume and as the vote resulted in a tie we determined to proceed as plain ordinary American citizens, pay first-class fare and ride the blind baggage if necessary.

The conductor yelled "all aboard" at 8:30 and we climbed in a coach bound for Granite. Now, lest you many forget where Granite is, I will say that it is the first station on the great Rock Island, as you go from Mangum to Lone Wolf; it owns the only oil well in Oklahoma; the finest beds of red granite in the world, and a white sulphur spring that lays in the shade anything of the kind on earth.

Passing up Lone Wolf we came to Hobart and there we took aboard our old friend and once fellow townsman "Stive" of Stevenson & Browne Lumber Co. There too we took aboard E.C. Moore, Jno. Trippet and Frank Miller. Frank and Steve left us at Mt. View.

At Ft. Cobb we met the genial, wholesouled and only "Parson" Tabor, who showed us his home and explained the beauties of frontier life. He went with us to Chickasha on his way to begin a meeting soon.