FORM A Circumstances of Interview
NAME OF WORKER Ruby E. Wilson ADDRESS R#1 Box 10-B1W Front
DATE October 4, 1938. SUBJECT Folklore
1. Name and address of informant-- Pete Farrell E14 North Platte
2. Date and time of interview-- Oct. 2. 4:45- 7:00
3. Place of interview-- His shack, personal quarters
4. Name and address of person, if any, who put you in touch with informant-- Henry Ridinger, E. 16
5. Name and address of person, if any, accompanying you
6. Description of room, house, surroundings, etc., A bare and spaciously furnished shack not to clean although not filthy, drab and uncheerful [shaving?] evidence of poorly and of [afedness?] of owner. The shack is on a block or two of ground, alone and fenced. Only the open door showed any sign of habitation. Was impressed by the loneliness in which the shack by virtue of the fence and sparsity of settlement in that part of town, seems to sit. The loneliness of its owner is much the same. {Begin note}{Begin handwritten}[??]{End handwritten}{End note}
{Begin page}FORM B Personal History of Informant
NAME OF WORKER Ruby E. Wilson ADDRESS R#1 Box 10-B-1 W Front
DATE Oct. 4, 1938 Subject Folklore
NAME AND ADDRESS OF INFORMANT Pete Farrell
1. Ancestry
2. Place and date of birth-- Born Providence Rhode Island, 1855
3. Family
4. Place lived in, with date
5. Education, with dates
6. Occupations and accomplishments, with dates
7. Special skills and interests-- Converses of the old times and places while he has been and incidents of his many travels.
8. Community and religious activities-- visits his old time friends.
9. Description of informant-- Has one bad eye due to accident, while a conductor on R. R. Is not large, though fairly fleshed, blue eyes, light complexion, walks considerable and has a jaunty air about him despite his age.
10. Other points gained in interview-- Was never married, has traveled this continent quite extensively and appears to have retained considerable alertness and youth.
NAME OF WORKER Ruby E. Wilson ADDRESS R#1 Box 10-B-1 W Front
DATE Oct. 4, 1938 SUBJECT Folklore
NAME AND ADDRESS OF INFORMANT Pete Farrell, E 14
I came to Nebraska in 84. Homesteaded about 4 or 5 miles north of McCook and I ran a train and worked on the Railroad. I relinquished my homestead and bought my brothers homestead at McCook and then in 1914 I bought a place at Haigler that I proved up on in 3 years, and sold right away for $12.50 and acre. That at McCook had been such poor ground and I couldn't work on a train and sleep every night on the homestead so I relinquished it. It seemed like when any one came from the east they thought they had to grab a piece of ground right away and they took the first thing they came to where if they had waited they'd been able to locate better. The place I took at Haigler was better, a better place in every way. The law has changed too so you only had to sleep one night a month on your claim and I could come in off the train and do that. I made money on that.
I was running a train out of Alpaso and Los Angeles when I got my eye injured. I was conductor, waiting for a train to start I was outside just as it started and a stake had broke on a certain kind of freight car and a sheet slipped a little way and caught my eye and thats all there was to it.
I've been all over the west and in Canada. I had a brother up there and I went up. I was in the furthest town in the North west at that time. If you went further you got off the train and went by stage
{Begin page no. 2}FORM C CON'T
coach or some way. I was in New Mexico and Old Mexico and we never seen such hard times as I have since, I came here to North Platte to live. I came here off the Oregon short line to go to work in 1890. I went over to Deadwood in 91 or the spring of 92 and I did'nt like it.
I saw Billy the kid, they called him when he was arrested down in New Mexico, between Roswell and the Capital of New Mexico. I cant think now it is. They had him chained between 2 deputies and a car seat. That was around 40 years ago. They unchained him, when they took him to dinner. I think the fellows name that caught him was Pat Roach, he was a short, heavy set fellow, the medium sized. He was a fellow that caught a lot of other bad men. I read a lot and when I'd see a piece about him I'd take note of it the same as I would of a piece in a paper any where about North Platte.
Used to be a fellow lived down there in that County, Cap. Lee we called him, had a daughter. Lee was one of the [Qniantrell's?] band. They were out laws raidin through the country, broke up after the rebellion.
I saw Frank James here at McCook. We had a fair and horse race and Frank had been pardoned and came there with a lot of his band. He had horses there. Thats been all of 40 years ago. Another one of that gang was a fellow by name of West at Haigler, he died only a few years ago. One lived at Culbertson and some fellow slapped him and his son pulled out a gun and shot him. He was cleared I think. As far as I can remember he came out clear and never even went to jail. I cant remember that name. Yes I know them as well as I know my own folks, but I cant remember that name just now.
{Begin page no. 3}(Foot note by Field Worker.)
It has been suggested that the name of that man was Hunter and that his son was John Hunter. John Hunter enjoyed a bad reputation though supposed to have been "big-hearted" and was known by their other informant to have killed a man and gotten out of the trouble though it almost "broke his dad" This other informant is a little less than 60 though having lived "abouts" 35 years.