A. P. W. 
[ALEXANDER PERRY WHITE] 
Jan. 28th, 1932

The first winter I was out on Plum Creek, Taylor Co., I was camped near the creek. One morning. I rounded up my horses, roped out a frisky one ... ... ... saddled up and started off.  I hadn’t gone far until a pain hit me and I got off. I had on my spurs, boots, and leggings. I tied my rope around the horses neck for I didn’t want the ... ... to run off and squatted down.  I had the rope doubled up and was holding the other end when the horse got scared and started to run.  The rope got hung around my spur and I couldn’t kick loose.  I couldn’t get my boot off and that ... horse was running and dragging me ... ... going still faster. I had hold of my boot with my arms stretched before me kinda raring back but using ... ... for a slide. He was running up grade and I finally got my boot off. I did not have a six shooter or I would have killed him. That was one time I sure had a sore ... . Out where this happened in the brush, if he had killed me, nobody would have found me but the buzzards.

I enlisted in the Ranger Service at Lampasas, but was sworn in near where the present town of Zephyr now stands. I worked around where Angelo [San Angelo] now is. (There wasn’t no Angelo then) and Fort Chadbourne on the Colorado. Times were tuff [tough] then there was not cattle to speak of around there and one time twenty-three of us went for five days without a thing to eat but one antelope.

I was in one Indian fight, on Valley Creek in Runnels County on July 24th, 1874. We killed four Indians and captured one (Old Jape).

There was an old fellow at our Ranger’s Reunion at Eastland and he said to me these rangers are wearing their badges and talking about killing Indians. ... there hasn’t been any Indians with a bunch out here in Runnels County in 1874. He said, "I don’t give ... ... , they were tame Indians if you did."

2/8/1932

Babe Boykin went with cattle out to that Western County and where they made camp there was a spring on a hillside. And for fuel they used mesquite roots that were buried under the blow sand. I saw him in Hico and said, "Babe, I thought you were going to stay out there for three years. And he said, ."... ... I wouldn’t stay in no country for three years where they had to climb for water and dig for wood.

I went down in a saloon to whip a fellow and got to cussing and he said, "Perry if you will pull off that gun, I will whip ... out of you," and he did. He told some of the boys that he would have given me a good one if he hadn’t have been sorry for me. I told the Sheriff, "Well, I had another fight and got whipped as usual." When I was running for Weight, a fellow told me that Dave Snell had told him something against me. I told him that if a man knows me and knows Dave Snell, and wanted to believe Dave, I don’t want his ... ... vote.

I learned something new this morning. I was driving down the road and a car stopped and a pretty good looking Indian girl (Gypsy) got out and came over and said she wanted to tell my fortune. She looked at my hand and told me I was a man that thought lots of my friends and was honest, etc. She told me to put a penny in my hand and blow on it. I did. Then she told me to blow in my purse. I did, then she asked if I cared for her blowing in it. I told her no. She got in her car and drove on. I decided I had better look in my purse. I knew how much I had in it and when I looked I found ... ... that she had blowed 21 cents out of it.

One day I was coming thru the courthouse yard and Old man Bill Moore was talking to Capt. Barkley. Old Barkley was a tiresome old ..., and Mr. Moore said "Here comes Mr. White, I expect he knows." I said, "... ... Mr. White don’t know a ... thing about it and kept on going." Mr. Moore saw me later and asked why I didn’t stop. I told him that I knew he was trying to get loose himself.

The last time I saw Hal Williams he had come in from West Texas and told me, "Perry, did you know that we were going to have war with Mexico." I knew he was joshing. I said , "Why no, Hal, tell me about it." I was coming from the West and when I came thru Abilene I saw Sol Barron with a musket and Bill had a rifle and a gunny sack full of ammunition. Old Sol told me, "Hal, ... ... I am going down to Old Mexico and kill every ... ... Mexican living there." (Mexicans had rustled some of Sol’s stock.)

March 7th, 1932

I never did try to change my boy’s vote. One time Lewis Manning was running against somebody and I did not know anything about Lewis’ opponent. I told the boys that Lewis was an old timer here and if they could to vote for Lewis. They did and not long after that Dorsey said to me, "Pa, I think we made ... of ourselves voting for Lewis," and I said "... ... I think so too."

I think I will vote for Jake Lovelace, but its ... hard for him to beat a man for his second term. I don’t think Jake is worth a ... I like the fellow though. AI think might little of his daddy-in-law ... ... ... ... ... .... ... ... ... you don’t know anything about a man until you find him out.

I bought a load of lumber at Hico one time and Barrow said take it home and don’t pay me until you want to. ... .. ... I had hardly got home with it when I got a dun.

Bill Fuller told me one time that he endorsed a check for Loss Gentry for $15.00 because he knew George, and said ... .. I paid it too. I went to George and he would not pay it. If that had been my boy, Cad, I would have paid the check and then beat the ... ... out of the boy.

Somebody the other day told me, "I don’t know Dal." I said, "... ... I don’t either." I had a letter from one of Walker’s girls and she said we are not getting but 10 cents for our eggs, and .. .. We are not getting but 6 cents a dozen.

One Xmas George said they had a temperance speaking at the courthouse. They got an anvil and fired it. Dr. Perry ran out of his drug store with a little old six shooter and fired it. He said there was a light in Old Col. Freeman’s office and Johnnie Pierson got down on his knees to shoot the light out. When Tom said John didn’t do that, you might kill old... ...