Old West Legends

By Robert F. (Bob) Turpin

Old West Legends tells about three legends: 1) The Legends of Standing Rock - Standing Rock, a famous landmark, is related to buried gold and silver stashed there by travelers, outlaws, and Indians. 2) The Greatest Stagecoach Driver That Ever Lived - “One-eyed Charlie Parkhurst” or "Six-Horse Charlie" was a legendary stagecoach driver. At his death a most fascinating aspect of his life was discovered. 3) J. Simon Lovely, Legendary Detective - Murder cases were usually handled by posses, six-guns, and ropes in the old west. This murder was solved in a different way by J. Simon Lovely, the Nero Wolf of the 1880's.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 26, 2013
• ISBN: 9781304173782

Book preview

Old West Legends

Old West Legends

Copyright

© 2013 by Bob Turpin

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be copied or reproduced

in any form without permission in writing

from the publisher, except by a reviewer

who may quote brief passages

for review purposes.

Dedication

To the folks who like to read

about the Old West.

The Legends of Standing Rock

As old as the wind and time itself are the rolling plains, boulder-strewn hillsides, and narrow brush-choked canyons of Oklahoma. Like many of its ageless landmarks, Standing Rock remained through history. Tales of hidden treasure, lost gold mines, and outlaw loot never cease to stir the blood of adventurous people. Treasure hunters from all over the United States have been lured to Oklahoma in search of various buried treasures. Many seek out Standing Rock during their stay, and evidence of their searching can be found by the hundreds of holes dug into the surrounding hills.

Standing Rock was located in McIntosh County near Eufaula in eastern Oklahoma. The waters of Lake Eufaula now cover the historic landmark which was referred to by early travelers through the area as Mary's Rock. The huge upright slab of sandstone was believed to have broken away from a nearby cliff and skidded into the South Canadian River’s bed where it stood over 60 feet above the river bank.

Not only was it a landmark for the Indians, but also for traders and prospectors traveling through Indian territory on their way to the gold fields of California. Probably one of the first white men to see the legendary landmark was Captain Bonneville when he led an expedition from Fort Gibson through the area in 1830. He made note of it in his report. Bonneville also warned of the dangers involved when traveling the partially dry river bed. There were endless quicksand bogs and many flash floods. Even though the muddy waters of Lake Eufaula now cover the famous rock, many old timers in the area remember seeing the carvings of Spanish origin in the rock. The markings that supposedly