Always for the Underdog: Leather Britches Smith and the Grabow War (Texas Folklore Society Extra Book)

241 Pages·2010·2.12 MB·English

by  Keagan LeJeune

Always
for the
Underdog

Always
for the
Underdog
Leather Britches s mith and the GraBow w ar
KeaGan L Jeune
e
texas Folklore society extra Book number 23
university of north texas Press
denton, texas
© 2010 Keagan LeJeune
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Permissions:
University of North Texas Press
1155 Union Circle #311336
Denton, TX 76203-5017
The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of the American National
Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, z39.48.1984.
Binding materials have been chosen for durability.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
LeJeune, Keagan, 1972–
Always for the underdog : Leather Britches Smith and the Grabow War /
Keagan LeJeune.—1st ed.
p. cm. — (Texas Folklore Society extra book ; no. 23)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-57441-288-8 (hardback : alk. paper)
1. Smith, Leather Britches, d. 1912. 2. Outlaws--Louisiana--Biography.
3. Outlaws in popular culture—Louisiana. 4. Grabow Riot, Grabow, La.,
1912. 5. Grabow (La.)—History. 6. Brotherhood of Timber
Workers—History—20th century. 7. Labor disputes—Louisiana—History—20th
century. 8. Lumber trade—Louisiana—History—20th century. 9. Neutral
Ground (La.—Social life and customs. 10. Folklore and history—Louisiana.
I. Title. II. Series: Texas Folklore Society extra book ; no. 23.
F375.S645L45 2010
976.3’061092—dc22
[B] 2010030471
Book design by Charles Sutherland
Always for the Underdog: Leather Britches Smith and the Grabow War
is Texas Folklore Society Extra Book Number 23.
For Melanie LeJeune and the Carmen Family

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvii
Texas Folklore Society Statement xix
Introduction 1
Chapter 1: The Sabine River Bottom Swamp 13
Chapter 2: Meanness, Just across the River 25
Chapter 3: No Man’s Land 45
Chapter 4: Shot a Chicken’s Head Clean Off 59
Chapter 5: Always for the Underdog 76
Chapter 6: The Grabow War 94
Chapter 7: They Didn’t Give the Man a Chance 118
Chapter 8: The Outlaw Applied 154
viii | contents
Appendix A 173
Appendix B 175
Notes 179
Bibliography 201
Index 219
List of Illustrations
Following page 138
1 Map of area
2 Louisiana longleaf pine
3 Carson logging camp
4 Felling trees near Lake Charles
5 Typical wood crew
6 John Henry Kirby speaking in DeRidder
7 Company office for mill at Carson
8 Co. K First Infantry
9 Union prisoners in Lake Charles jail
10 Portrait of Judge Overton
11 Union prisoners at the big dinner
12 Sketch of Ben Myatt
13 Leather Britches’s tombstone
14 Leather Britches’s tombstone with flowers
15 Burks House
16 Outlaw parade for Merryville Heritage Festival