Excerpted from Breaks of the Balcones, by Allan A. Stoval
Published by Firm Foundation Publishing House, Austin, Texas 1967
— In “Early Settlers in the Frio Canyon”
“Ben Maples was killed by a local badman, one Jim Lafferty, for which crime Lafferty was given a seventy-five year prison sentence. Jim Lafferty’s brother, John, lived in one of Ben Maples’ houses and was a good citizen of the community. He tried without success to persuade his brother Jim to move out of the settlement, knowing that he was connected with a gang of outlaws and horse thieves, which gang was, later on, to be broken up by the sheriffs of Edwards, Uvalde, and Kimble counties, together with members of the Texas Rangers. Jim Lafferty killed Maples at the John Lafferty cabin and narrowly escaped being killed himself by one of Ben Maples’ sons.”
“Other men connected with this gang of rustlers were Alvin and Will Odle, Sarge C–, Lon and Jess Bass, and Bill Chisum. The red-headed detective mentioned in another part of this record (1), later identified as Ranger Jim Woods, became, under pretense, a member of this gang and how he was killed and his body hidden in a lonely cave on the Dry Frio, is also a part of this record.”
“Dan MacMillan, a bad man himself, married one of Ben Maples girls. After his marriage, he became a guard at the penitentiary where Jim Lafferty was being held. MacMillan took advantage of his authority as prison guard to avenge his father-in-law’s death by ending the career of Jim Lafferty with a charge from his double-barreled shotgun.”
- – It’s unclear what “record” Stovall is referring to. Perhaps the prison record or trial records of the Maples murder? These records, which may have been borrowed by Stovall to write the book, have disappeared from the Texas State Archives, according to Donely Brice.
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