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@wildblue.net. In last week’s column, I wrote about our recent trip to Canyon, Texas, to visit my son, Matthew. I mentioned the tornado scare we had, and about the thousands of windmills on the windy plains generating electricity. I noted several other observations on our trip.

The first thing that caught my eye was a new football stadium at Zephyr, a small community east of Brownwood. Zephyr High School plays six-man football, but their new stadium looks to be large enough for a 2A school. I wondered how such a small school with a limited tax base could afford a new stadium with seating on both sides of the field, new dressing rooms, concession stand, and a nice lighted scoreboard.

I then noticed a sign that read “Thank You Bob and Alice Smith” (not their real names). Evidently someone donated the money for the new football field.

Mat Taylor stares up at “Tex Randall, Texas’ Biggest Texan” as he passes through Canyon. The statue is 47 feet tall. From Kempner all the way to Canyon and north, Texas has been blessed with good rains. The grass and wheat fields were all very green. Unless something unexpected happens, there will be a good wheat crop in Texas this year.

On the high plains, all of the playa lakes were full. These natural wet-weather lakes are the winter home for thousands of geese, ducks and sand hill cranes.

By this time of year, most of the waterfowl have migrated north into Canada to their spring nesting grounds. I did notice two greater Canadian geese fly over us in Canyon. For some reason, they were getting a late start to their spring and summer home.

I always like to explore new territory, and on our second day, we drove into some country I had never seen before. We drove northeast to the city of Panhandle, then north to Borger. From Borger, we went further north and crossed the Canadian River.

We stopped at a roadside park. Matthew showed me where an Indian camp was located near the river. He said there were numerous Indian campsites along the Canadian.

There was a historical marker at the roadside park about the first Battle of Adobe Walls. The marker read “15 miles east was the site of the first Battle of Adobe Walls Nov. 25, 1864 between Kiowa and Comanche Indians and U.S. Cavalry commanded by Col. Kit Carson. This was Carson’s last fight.”

The battle was between about 300 soldiers and 1,000 Indians. Due to overwhelming odds, the Cavalry was forced to withdraw. The second Battle of Adobe Walls is better known, and it took place June 27, 1874, between Indians and buffalo hunters. Abode Walls was a trading post on the Canadian River that sold supplies to area buffalo hunters.

Several hundred Indians attacked about 28 people inside the trading post. After several days the Indians withdrew. The legend is that buffalo hunter Billy Dixon shot an Indian off his horse with a 50-90 Sharps rifle at a range of 1,538 yards. There is some dispute whether this really happened or not.

We returned to Canyon by way of Lake Meredith. The National Park Service administers Lake Meredith National Recreational Area. The lake is very low, and some locals say the reason is that New Mexico is not releasing the allotted amount of water from two lakes on the Canadian in that state.

Matthew has fished in the lake several times and has caught a number of white bass. The lake also holds largemouth and smallmouth bass, and walleyes.

The Canadian River breaks is very interesting country from both a scenic and historical standpoint. In the breaks west of Amarillo, there is a variety of wildlife including white-tailed and mule deer, some elk and even an occasional black bear.

In Canyon there is a 47-foot-tall statue of a cowboy called “Tex Randall, Texas’ Biggest Texan.” Canyon is the county seat of Randall County. The seven-ton statue was made from steel, concrete and stucco. The owner of a western curio store originally built it. The store is no longer in business, but the statue remains.

Over time it deteriorated until several volunteers restored it in 1989. The statue has fallen into disrepair again. The problem is that it is estimated to cost about $50,000 to restore or move. The city says it does not have the funds, and no private entity has come up with the money.

Despite its poor condition, the tall statue is one of Canyon’s most noted landmarks, and I hope someday it will be restored.

For additional information about the Battles of Adobe Walls and to see a photo of Tex Randall, do an Internet search.