Primrose of the Prairie: Murder, Accident or Suicide. Part 2

*Some names have been changed or omitted to protect the descendants of those involved.

Livestock rustling in 1930’s west Texas was a serious offense, still is today. Being accused of it could ruin the character of a good man. That is why when rancher Eli Fletcher called the sheriff's office in Abilene on a Monday afternoon to report sheep theft, it raised some eyebrows. Eli ran the ranch just north of the Sayles Ranch in southwest Taylor County, neighbors to the Perry Ranch. He ran about 100 sheep and goats, same as the Perry operation. He also had a few run-ins with the Perry family over neighborly issues throughout the years. Seems like Eli had a bone to pick with someone in the Perry family.

The account of what happened next is according to a combination of testimonies recorded in the Abilene Reporter News in 1937.

Eli was looking for the sheriff that day but reached Deputy Sheriff Jim Chipley. Eli requested both men to kill some time and meet him at the restaurant in Buffalo Gap. Eli told them he had 70 head of ewes with the fire brand, earmarks, and wool brands changed and thought they were at the Perry Ranch. The sheriff and Deputy Chipley drove over to the Perry Ranch and found 74 head of ewes that had been recently earmarked and branded. The Sheriff and Deputy Chipley decide to come back the next day with two Texas Rangers. After further inspection of the sheep at the Perry Ranch, two lambs in the pin were freshly worked but the left nose brands had the “U” of Eli Fletcher and one looked to have been altered to a “P”, the Perry brand. E.P. said the “P” was much larger than the iron he used for branding. They all drove over to where his son lived to interview him and look for the irons. E.P. explained to his son what the situation was and his son said he branded 100 head of sheep a week before, which he had bought. He also had left the irons at his grandfather’s house where the sheep had been worked. They eventually were able to gather the irons and went back to the pins where the said sheep were. After further investigation the Texas Rangers said all there is to do is file a claim and let the grand jury sort it out. They were still looking for E.P.’s small wool brand though. The sheriff and Deputy Chipley drove to E.P.’s home in Divide to see if they were able to locate it. When they arrived the sheriff walked across the road to a store, and E.P. and Chipley looked around the garage. E.P. went in the house and told his wife that she needed to follow him outside because she would want to hear what he had to say to these men. She recalled that he told her the night before that if he told what he knew that "someone" would go to the pen. That "someone's" name is in a sealed record. Before she could put down what she was doing to go outside she heard a gun shot, looked out the window and saw a man standing at E.P.’s feet. A store clerk next door also heard the gun shot. He ran outside to see a man holding a pistol and standing over E.P’s dead body. He grabbed the pistol Chipley was holding. The store clerk examined the gun and could tell it had just been fired. He then lifted Chipley’s jacket and saw his gun and realized he was law.

“Call Grand Jury After Divide Man’s Death By Bullet During Sheep Loss Investigation”. This was the headline on the front page of the Abilene Reporter News on January 28, 1937. Seven days after E.P.’s death, the end of an inquest by a grand jury in Abilene ruled his death a suicide. The delay had been because of a lack of powder burns on E.P.'s head. The investigation in the sheep loss was dropped. E.P.'s wife, Willie, lost her husband and provider, and was left to raise their six-year-old daughter, Cleon, during a time that was difficult for a woman to make a living. Their two sons, Loyd and W.T., were grown with their own families to take care of but their father was gone at only 48. The accusations and wild-goose chase of those two days has left an unsettling feeling in the outcome for four generations. Stayed tuned for the conclusion....