Cherokee Bill Babb

Bill Babb left his family in the care of his neighbors to fight in the war between the states. Upon returning, he found his family nearly destitute. The same neighbors he had counted on to watch out for his wife and children had taken advantage of them. After great effort and several years, he created one of the largest cattle ranches in Coryell County and owned over 5000 acres of land that stretched into Bosque County. At some point, Bill attended a circus in Waco and purchased a sick bear that he brought back to his ranch. Tying the animal to a tree, he nursed it back to health and then started burying his money under the tree, letting the bear guard his gold and silver for him. A murder occurred at a trading post near Osage and deputy U.S. Marshall openly accused Bill Babb of the crime. Others died over the following weeks, including the deputy. Babb was arrested and charged with his murder. Addressing the grand jury, Babb said that if they pursued the charges, his men would come to his rescue and many citizens would die. If the grand jury agreed to release him, he said he would sell his ranch and move his cattle and enterprise to Pecos, Texas. The following day, Babb was released. When he got home, his men convinced him that he didn’t really need to leave. So he stayed. A few weeks later, in the middle of the night, a small army of Civil War veterans arrived on a hilltop overlooking his house and convinced Cherokee Bill that he should honor his side of the agreement. It was a convincing argument. He left, taking the bear with him. Bill sold his ranch to his sister’s husband Pat Pancake and went west, which is how Babbville became Pancake, Texas. The legend in Coryell County is that Babb sold the trained circus bear to Judge Roy Bean.