FORT SILL, Okla., March 3, 2016 -- When retired Sgt. Maj. Wallace C. Moore Sr. steps in front of a crowd dressed in 1870s western garb, he takes on a persona transporting listeners to another time, another place. A master storyteller, Wallace's latest portrayal was that of Britt Johnson, a former slave who lost his family, and eventually his life, to Indians.
The presentation was part of the Lawton Public Library's 6th Annual Soulful Story initiative, at the Lawton City Hall, Feb. 25. The Soulful Story is a program developed by the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department to promote the stories of African-Americans who played a part in Oklahoma history. February was also Black History Month.
The event began with a dinner, but the presentation following was open to everyone.
Britt Johnson, an Indian scout and orderly at Fort Belknap in the 1850s, lost his son Jim as one of the 12 people killed in the Elm Creek Indian raid in 1864. His wife Mary and their two children were among six people captured. Moore told the story in third person, bringing to life a man who had tried desperately to find and eventually recover his captured family while grieving for a dead son.
A historic plaque is dedicated to Johnson on Farm to Market Road 1769 in Graham, Texas, south of Wichita Falls. It reads, in part, "Johnson traced his family and by stealth took them from Indian Territory. But the Indians took vengeance. On Jan. 24, 1871, Johnson's camp near here was attacked by Kiowas." He and two companions were killed and scalped, and buried by U. S. Cavalrymen.
Kenneth Reece, who sang two songs about Britt Johnson, is Moore's sidekick at many of the presentations. He was dressed in colorful Old West costume which he said makes him "a teamster or a regular cowhand. This is what we call a colorful cowboy." In real life he is a building maintenance technician. He said he thinks young people today are losing a sense of their own history, and that's why he enjoys being a re-enactor-- to keep that history alive.
The Lawton-Fort Sill Chapter of 9th and 10th Horse Cavalry Association re-enactors presented the colors. The 9th Cavalry of "colored" Soldiers was formed in New Orleans in 1866, and the men were later called "Buffalo Soldiers" by the Native Americans who likened their curly hair to the shaggy mane on a buffalo's head. The 10th Cavalry of African-Americans was formed the same year at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and they, too, became known as Buffalo Soldiers.
At the conclusion of his story of Britt Johnson's valiant stand against the Indians, Moore said, "When I die, I pray to the Master that he will allow me to go out in a blaze of glory. I don't want to die in a nursing home with wires and cables hooked up to me."
He said he visited Johnson's grave site, and he felt his spirit there. "You can kill a man, but you can't kill his spirit."
After the presentation, Moore autographed copies of his book of short stories, "Ebony Shadows of the Trail." One of the people getting his book signed was Myers Wahnee, Jr. of Mountainview, who said one of the people captured was his great- grandmother Millie Durgin (or Durkin -- he said the spelling was uncertain.)
Moore has entertained and educated thousands of school children on the history of African-Americans in the West. He also performs for many groups and museums, including the Fort Sill National Historic Landmark Museum.
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