October 27, 2005

Dorothy Brockett called me in response to the last article in The Town Charter. She remembered the old mare that the different young people rode at the Sam Bass Cave. The cave which is located at almost the top of Zilly Boy Mountain was considered a resort area for the young people back in the 1930's.

The cave was originally used by plains Indians as well as by Sam Bass back in the 1870's.

Dorothy Brockett was one of Tom Wilson’s daughters and she told me, "Not only do I remember the old gentle mare, but I have a picture of her, but I don’t remember the name we gave her." She said, "I remember the horse, I remember the cave, and I have a picture of both of them and many more pictures taken in the 1930's." She said, "We would leave Aubrey, not have to open gates, cross fences nor have any obstruction between Aubrey and the cave." The area was open county and free range.

Dorothy shared with me some of her photos that she made with a small box camera that was popular during this period. Some of the pictures she shared with me are of William Howard Wilson and his wife, Charlotte Tialitha Wilson (She was a Cherokee Indian).

To William Howard Wilson and Charlotte Tialitha Wilson were born Tom, John, Bill and Ben Wilson. Tom Wilson was Dorothy’s father.

Dorothy married Leon Brockett in the old Baptist Parsonage. Leon and Dorothy spent their honeymoon at the Zillly Boy Mountain resort, which had a very large swimming area. The Isle DeBois tributary flows into the Elm Fork just at the slope of Zilly Boy Mountain.

Young people of the area gathered frequently at this resort area. It was a real treat traveling to and from the hilly country

Dorothy shared a photo of her and her dog sitting in front of the entrance to the cave. The two photos in today’s paper are courtesy of Dorothy. She has shared an additional 12 photos with me that I will share with you in the future.

Dorothy’s husband Leon’s mother was Eliza Josephine (Close) Brockett.

Leon and Dorothy were the proud parents of H.L. Brockett, Marion Brockett, and Janice Brockett. The family of Leon and Dorothy have made a huge contribution to the community of Aubrey.

About forty years ago, I remember H.L. and Marion coming into the hardware store and talking about local politics. They were always reminding me of how we could improve the community. At that time there were only about 500 or 600 people in the town. I was mayor at this time, and was trying to organize a Boy Scout troop in the area, and these young men were trying to improve the athletic image of Aubrey.

I wish to thank Dorothy for calling me and adding to the story of the previous week. I am also grateful to her for sharing her valuable old photos with me. Thanks to Dorothy for sharing her experiences of the past with us.

While I offer my thanks to Dorothy for sharing her experiences of the past with us, I would like to thank all of the readers who have sent me comments via email and the phone this past week. The responses have been enlightening and it is very interesting to learn of other people’s experiences at the Sam Bass Cave or Zilly Boy Mountain. Thanks to our county commission for her gracious comments and thanks. I will eventually get around to recognizing others who have shared stories about the Sam Bass Cave.

The Cherokee word for thank you is "wado." So may I say wado, for certain this will not be the first time this word has been repeated in this area.

This area has become a village of great achievements from Zilly Boy Mountain all of the way to Sandtown. The area was called Onega which means white sandy soil.

On another note, there was more activity going on in the 1830's and 1840's in this Sandtown region, it is important to remember that the area was only a day’s drive by wagon to the famous Preston Crossing on the Red River. This area had been settled by plains tribes. The Cherokees purchased goods from the Coffee Trading Post and brought the goods to this area and swapped with the plains Indians for goods and friendship. Across the Red River, in 1842, they shipped 1000 bales of cotton down the Red River. They had ten blacksmith shops across the river and some people were living in mansions, as they were in 1842.