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Pancake Tales from the Texas Dust

© Virginia Marin

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Pancake, located between Turnersville and Jonesboro, in the northern part of Coryell County, Texas was once a thriving village with a large general store, a distillery, grist mill, post office, blacksmith shop, schoolhouse, two churches and a building which bore only the "you tell me what it is" initials of W.O.W. The village of Pancake, once known as Babbsville, was named for one William Babb who, after a mysterious happening, sold the land and all of the stores to his sister Margaret Jane and her husband John Pancake. Just how and why this sale materialized is the subject of this Pancake Tale from the Texas Dust...

On the clear moonlight night of May 8, 1878 Nickle Jake Vaughn was murdered and his store was looted. No one ever knew how much money the robbers and assassins secured but they made their escape and left the marred form of the merchant lying in the front door of his store. When he was found the next day, his face white and ghastly, was upturned to the morning sun. He had slept in the store and the robbers had come in apparently at the rear door, had murdered him and then had taken plenty of time to accomplish their purpose of plunder.

At that time, such murders as this were very rare. It was never unusual for men to be killed in Texas but in those early days they were killed in combat with each other. Men met face to face, drew their revolvers and shot it out as it was called and the trouble was over, whether one or two or a half dozen men lay dead. Murder, for the purpose of robbery, was almost unknown in Pancake.

But Vaughn was killed and robbed and the murderers made good their escape. Meanwhile, up in Coryell County there lived Bill Babb, one of the most picturesque characters West Texas had ever known. He had a store and ranch at a little village named for him and kept around him a small army of operatives of various kinds. His store at the little town of Babbsville was one of the largest general stores west of Waco. Not only that but he had extensive cattle and land interests and the men who companioned him were accounted the most courageous and daring citizens of the western plains. Among them were some of his more colorful relatives who wore considerable dust. They were all daring and possessed the impetuosity of youth coupled with marvelous courage and intrepidity.