Outdoors With Mat Taylor
Frontier Texas definitely worth the trip

On a recent warm day, my wife and I decided to drive to Abilene to visit Frontier Texas. I can say, with reservation, that it was worth the several hours' drive and the price of gasoline.

In a previous column, I wrote about the famous buffalo hunter, J. Wright Mooar of Snyder. Later over the phone, I visited with Mooar's great-grandson, and he mentioned that he donated Mooar's Sharp "Big Fifty" rifle to Frontier Texas. The hunter used the rifle to kill a rare white buffalo near Snyder. The greatgrandson encouraged me to visit the museum, as it is an excellent facility and worth a special trip, he said.

Frontier Texas is a visitor's center for the city of Abilene and the Texas Forts Trail. It is also home to the "Center of Adventure," a multi-media experience that showcases the 1780-1880 Texas frontier.

To reach the center, we drove north on U.S. Highway 84 to Abilene, then exited on U.S. 83 and drove to North First Street, turned left, and we were there. The center covers several acres and includes a nine-foot-tall buffalo sculpture on the grounds. The sculpture depicts a buffalo standing in the West Texas wind surrounded by waving prairie grass. The buffalo served as the primary economic resource for this region for thousands of years.

As we entered the visitor's center building, we viewed another large sculpture called "Crossing Catclaw Creek." The 16-foot-long piece depicts Anglo, Hispanic and Black cowboys driving 11 longhorn steers. A fountain simulates the creek. The sculpture emphasizes the importance of the longhorn cattle on Texas and represents the many that were driven north to Dodge City for sale to eastern markets.

After a three-hour drive, naturally our first stop was the restroom. Even there we were surprised, as inside the facilities recordings played of three children -- Anglo, Comanche and Hispanic -- comparing the English, Comanche and Spanish words for animals, family, greetings, counting and other subjects.

After paying a fee, we entered the theater.

On screen, Buck Taylor (no relation) served as the trail guide. Taylor played Newly on the TV series "Gunsmoke" and has appeared in numerous movies and TV programs.

As you enter the theater, you step back in time to meet men and women who lived and died on the frontier. You also learn how this area of Texas was transformed from open prairie populated by buffalo and Indians, to the ranchlands and towns of pioneer Texas.

There are several stations along the trail, and the stories of eight pioneer individuals are told. These included Pedro Vial, the first non- Indian to explore the region and report it.

You also hear the story of Esihabitu, a visionary Comanche leader whose life went from fighting the white man to meeting the president in the White House.

Other featured pioneers are Cynthia Ann Parker, who was captured by the Comanches as a child, married Chief Peat Nocona and gave birth to the great chief Quanah Parker; and J. Wright Mooar, the great hunter and father of the buffalo hides business.

I was able to view Mooar's rifle and could tell it had been used many times to kill thousands of buffalo. Supposedly, Mooar was deadly with the rifle up to a halfmile or more, which caused one Indian to remark that the rifle could shoot today and kill tomorrow.

Frontier Texas also features the explorer Randolph Marcy, who mapped and assisted in selecting the sites of frontier forts for the U.S. Army, and George Reynolds, who helped drive the first herd of cattle on the Goodnight-Loving Trail and established very large ranching operations in Texas.

The story of Bret Johnson, who was born a slave, also is told. Johnson became a trusted ranch foreman and was granted freedom to search for his wife and daughters captured by Indians. How he finally found and rescued his family is a frontier legend.

Finally, you hear about Elizabeth Clifton, who lived an extraordinarily hard life, losing multiple husbands and being captured by the Indians.

Many other features and artifacts can be found in the unique museum.

For more information about Frontier Texas, visit the Web site at www.frontiertexas.com. If you are anywhere near Abilene, I would recommend a visit to the center.

Also near Abilene is the Buffalo Gap Historical Village and Abilene State Park. Texans do not have to go to another state to visit interesting sites.

Former Soil Conservation Service employee and longtime writer Mat Taylor offers his outdoors column for Dispatch Record readers. He can be contacted at (254) 518-2262 or via e-mail at mntaylor@agristar- .net.