| |
BARBARIANS
AT THE CITY LIMITS
Arnold is from
Austria -
Conan is from Cross
Plains, Texas
by Brewster Hudspeth |
Robert
the Reclusive
Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian
moved to Cross
Plains in 1919. It was while in Cross Plains he started writing for
pulp magazines for a penny a word. His first story was sold when he was 18 and
he died only 12 years later at the age of 30.
Robert was cursed with
an easily forgettable name. Even if he had been named something exotic, say "Conan"
for example - it wouldn't have helped him make friends since his strange behavior
prevented that. His neighbors never quite knew what to make of a handsome young
man who sometimes wore Mexican sombreros on his way to the store. This just wasn't
done in Cross
Plains. |
His father was a
doctor and his mother was devoted to her only child. Robert had the build and
look of a fighter but the melancholy loneliness of a poet. No one knows how this
tiny town so far from exotic places (unless you count Abilene)
inspired young Robert to write such vivid fantasy. It's possible that Cross
Plains didn't inspire him at all - that his drive came from the fact that
other boys his age were picking cotton.
After reading everything in the town's small library, Robert (allegedly)
entered the libraries of neighboring towns and took books without a valid library
card. This was done without regard to hours of operation and was frowned upon
by law enforcement; but since the books were always returned, no one pressed charges.
(Librarians in the old days used to like to hush things up).
The pennies
he earned for his words added up to a respectable income - when you consider how
hard times were. He made $2,000 in 1936 alone, which allowed him to pay cash for
his car - the nicest in town. The millions made on his characters were made by
people who never knew him. They were not even family members, but people who had
simply inherited the material.
After reaching adulthood, he had a romantic
interest in a former teacher. It was a mutual attraction, but Robert's mother
stood in the way - sometimes literally - by sending the woman away when she called.
Mrs. Howard discouraged any contact, although she was very supportive of Robert's
work.
The woman, Novalyne Price Ellis moved to Louisiana where
she taught school for many years. She wrote about Howard in her 1986 book
He Who Walks Alone. The book was made into the 1996 movie The
Whole Wide World. |
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from Amazon.com |
BOOK
The
Weird Works Of Robert E. Howard ... | |
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DVD
Conan
- The Complete Quest | |
Death
at 30
For all the killing and mayhem in his pulp adventures,
Robert was extremely sensitive. When his beloved dog was dying, Robert left town
- returning only after the animal had died. This inability to accept death contributed
to his suicide. After learning his mother had slipped into a coma, he went to
his car, got his gun from the glove compartment and shot himself in the head.
His mother died the following day and both were buried in nearby Brownwood.
The name Conan (after becoming an international household word) has
returned home to Cross
Plains. After many years, the old Howard home was bought, painted, furnished
with period furniture and put on display as the home of Conan's creator in 1991
- the same year the Howard Festival was started.
Cross
Plains has also instituted a Barbarian Festival held in Treadaway
Park each Labor Day weekend. 2001 will be their third.
© John Troesser
August
2001
Our thanks to Bobbye Hinkle of the Cross Plains Library for generously
sharing her knowledge of Cross Plains and details of Robert Howard's life |
Books
by Robert E. Howard - Order from Amazon.com |
| The
Coming of Conan the Cimmerian | |
|
| The
Savage Tales of Solomon Kane | |
More
on Conan's Father,
Gunsmoke's Sam the Bartender,
and life in Cross Cut
and Cross Plains, Texas |
Letter
from Norris Chambers, former citizen of Cross
Cut, Texas. Norris knew Robert Howard and typed many of the Conan stories.
He also wrote a few of his own. We were fortunate to have Mr. Chambers write us.
The following is Mr. Chamber's second letter:
"... I have had
interviews from several writers in the past few years. It is amazing how the interest
in Robert's stories continues. A writer from Paris, France came last week.
Dr. Howard, Robert's father, was a regular visitor at our house. Robert came
with him occasionally. My father was a doctor in the late 1800's and early 1900's
and was a friend of Dr. Howard. My father had a drug store in Cross
Cut and lived next door to Dr. Howard in that town. Later Dr. Howard moved
to Cross
Plains and my dad started farming. (After his drug store burned). This was
before my time - I was born in 1917.
We visited the Howards in Cross
Plains many times during the late 20's and early 30's. I stayed with Dr. Howard
for two weeks and helped him get Robert's things in order and write Robert's friends
and associates about the tragedy. My brother and sister, who were much older than
I, knew Robert as a boy. Robert was about ten years older than I. My mother and
Mrs. Howard were good friends.
John Limmer wrote a history of Cross
Cut and he quotes Louise Newton, wife of Ross Newton, saying this about Robert:
"Ross played with Robert Howard, Conan author. He told her Robert was weird even
then and he was a little afraid of him as he was making up queer stories - way
back then. Dr. Howard, Robert's father, wasn't happy about the stories his son
wrote. Dr. Howard delivered most of the babies in town." Ross Newton was the youngest
son of pioneer Jim Newton.
You have a very interesting site.... I happened
across it when looking for articles on Cross
Cut. Found some pretty interesting things about the old town. Its closest
call to fame, other than Robert, was Glen Strange and Curtis McPeters,
who left Cross
Cut in the late twenties and worked in the movies. They came back in about
1928 and did a program at the school. They had a band in Arizona and later got
in the movies. Glen was Sam the bartender in Gunsmoke in later years. He also
did a Frankenstein. McPeters was Cactus Mack and did 167 bit parts in old westerns.
They were cousins and were part of the Byrd family.
When Lake Brownwood
was built and it closed the road to Brownwood,
a new road was built farther west. It was not paved until after the war. The road
by-passed Cross
Cut and left it further isolated. The main road originally was the main street
of the little town. ..... - Norris Chambers
More
on
Robert E. Howard >
See
Also:
Peaster,
Texas - Robert E. Howard was born in Peaster before moving to his longtime
home of Cross Plains.Cross
Plains, Texas
Conan
in Texas -The Robert E. Howard Story
Related
Topics:
Texas
| People
| Texas Towns | TE
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