Lexington Character, James HcHugh
(January 2007)
From our files of interesting Lexington people……
From The Pantagraph Saturday, July 2, 1938
As Indian Fighter He’d Rather Talk of Killing Spider
James McHugh Heeded Greeley’s Advice
By Paul Mustard
LEXINGTON -- James McHugh, 83, is a story-telling “Indian Fighter,” who felt the urge of Greeley to “Go west, young man, go west” in his younger days.
“Yes sir,” said Mr. McHugh when interviewed at his home here. “I fought the Indians back in 1875 after I joined the army out in California.”
But Mr. McHugh’s stories hardly deal with Indian fighting. “I’d like to forget it,” he said. “Those days are gone, so why try to bring them back? It’s bad enough for a civilized man to join a civilized army in a civilized country to kill a fellow-man.” He gestured as if he was holding a gun and made a slight grimace.
But Mr. McHugh would tell of the time he was in the movies.
“Oh yes,” he stated. “I was in the movies, can’t remember the year, but it was when I was in California. Why, do you know Paramount gave me $75 for one week’s work, back in the early twenties? And all I had to do was sit at a banquet table! And they served real food, too!”
And Mr. McHugh was willing to tell of his “two big killings” while he was in the army. It seems while doing guard duty, “commanding the guard” he saw a tarantula, a deadly spider, crawl from under the guard house. Stealthy he stalked the critter, gun poised, then smashed it flat with the butt of his musket.
In the other of his “two big killings” he came out with marks of battle. “We were in the Rockies,” he said. “I saw a mountain hawk and picked him off. When I went to claim my trophy, he sunk his talons in my hand. It took two of us to loosen his grip.”
Mr. McHugh was born in Ohio, “the Buckeye state,” June 2, 1855. He came to Illinois when he was 10 years old, in a covered wagon. He attended Illinois Normal University, left to go out west in February, 1875, “when I got the cowboy and Injun fever so bad,” to put it in his own words.
“Interview?” he queried. “Why, no! I won’t talk to a newspaper man. Newspapers, well…” he shrugged his shoulders. “Besides, I’m not educated.” But we stood in the doorway of the McHugh summer home in Lexington (they spend their winters in California) and talked and talked--but not about Indian fighting. “When I arrived in California, I drove a bus in San Francisco and knocked around the ranches for two or three years. But with the drought of ‘77, I went up into Oregon. In California everything was as dry as a bone. The cattle were dying off by the hundreds. Things were pretty bad.”
“And when I got to Oregon things were just as bad. There was mud up to my neck. I worked on a dairy for three months and only saw the sun three times. It was so wet everything was covered in moss.”
“Mr. McHugh joined the national army in 1877 in San Diego, California. He was discharged in San Bernardino, California, after five year’s service at $13 per month.
“Why I’m living in luxury now. I worked mighty hard for that $13 every month in those days. Now Uncle Sam gives me $72 a month pension for nothing at all. I guess it’s like being on relief.”
“You could have your choice of divisions at that time, so I asked to be stationed at Fort Grant, Arizona, the heart of the Apache country. They were supposed to be the most deadly Indians in the United States at that time.”
“But I didn’t see much happen there. Not until the Bannacks had an uprising did I see any action.
“We walked 200 miles through the burning Arizona desert to Yuma where we caught a train. That was before the railroad went so many places. Then we rode 900 miles and walked 95 more before we saw fighting.”
Mr. McHugh referred to the rising of Shahaptlan stock of Indians about the time of the famous retreat of Chief Joseph in 1877. But he refused to go into detail of the battles with them. “I just want to forget,” was his explanation.
“I had a good time when I was in the army,” he said. “I just wanted to knock around. But I don’t like to talk about it.
“Now, when I was in the movies……”
From obituary of September, 1939
JAMES McHUGH WAS CALLED SUNDAY A.M.
FUNERAL WEDNESDAY
James McHugh died at his home in Lexington at 3:50 A.M. Sunday, September 24th, 1939, after an illness of several weeks.
He was born in Monroe County, Ohio, June 2nd 1854, son of James and Anna McHugh. He lived in Mechanicsburg, Indiana when he was a child. In the fall of 1864, he came with his parents, four brothers and a sister, by covered wagon, to Lexington. In 1878, he enlisted in company D, Eighth Regiment of the United States Infantry, at San Francisco, and served five years. He was actively engaged in the Bannock Indian Wars in Nevada, having been stationed at Fort Grant, Arizona.
On October 20th 1887, he married Mollie M. Schaefer. She survives, together with their daughter, Elsie. Their son, Walter, died in 1931.
Brief funeral services were held from the residence at 2:30 P.M. Wednesday, conducted by the Rev. N. C. Shirley, pastor of the Presbyterian Church. Pall bearers were Glen Kemp, Charles Beach, George Stichter, Wm. Goddard, Clayton Ballinger and Leonard Birlingmair. Burial was in the Pleasant Hill cemetery.
A note from your editors:
The story above leads us to believe that this gentleman had quite an interesting and colorful life. But there was lots of information not disclosed in this article. When we do research on our families, many of us eventually find out that things are not always as we think they are. Stories get handed down, over generations, and through the years the information gets changed, enhanced, or blown out of proportion. As good researchers, we must not only go from stories we have heard, but also from reliable sources: county and state birth and death records, obituaries, census records, marriage and divorce papers, and many other forms of information in the files. Yet, sometimes, even those bits of historical data contradict each other. We are very fortunate to have wonderful sources locally so you can try to confirm your record of the past. The Fort, the Lexington Public Library, funeral homes, cemetery records, or government offices might be a source of local help. Beyond Lexington you will find more record keepers like the county, state, and even some churches. Now there are more helps available at the click of your mouse button on the computer. Be sure to begin your check with all the help that is available locally to assist you with your individual research. Happy hunting!
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