Document text
;miords
Won Y. C. by
Wks. Oussie Hale P.W.
Pioneer Experiences and
whey Tales of
lt 1)ays.
EDITORIAL FIELD COPY Page 1
by 232
Mrs. Florence Angermiller P.W.
UVALDE COUNTY, DITRICT #10
A. G. ANDERSON
Uvalde, TOXIMe
Mr.prid Mrs. A. G. Anderson who live one -Ale west of town on the old
"'tort Clark road, fe both active physiomlly and mentally. Mr. Anderson
ties retired frcm ranch life but enjoys talking over old ties with his
friends and acquaintances. Spending many years of their earlier life in the
..11Psooe country, they are discontent with Uvalde County, and would willingly
-sp.back to ':A)et Texas if they could sell their home. Asking him about sons
HOC his cowboy experiences, he told incidents of his life in the Following
breezy 1,7aner:
"I wms so small they floated me across the Mississii Aver in a
*amble. I as about 14 years old when I °acme a ranch hand. My fr,ther
bought a small place and of course the country was all open end we had
.11 the territory we wanted for ranching. The country wasn't settled at
Ill just a few houses scattered here and yonder.
"1 was 18 years old when I started out to work for myself, working
for vor brother-in-law on his ranch. I worked first one place then another,
Orid when I would get out of work I would buy a wild horse and break him.
at was just an amusing job for me. In 1864 I went to Bastrop county
Sad Worked one year for sears and Walton. Sears was also our Congressman
Viva. This was about a 4,000 acre ranch and was fenced in. After Vint,
X left there and went to 1.).11),..: Aid went up the trail to North Texas,
Cowboy Tales A. G.. Anderson
Page 2
32
with m herd of 2,500 head of cattle for Jim Brown, Bill riilliamson and
fellow by the name of Hutcherson. It took UB about two months to make the
trip. We had ten or eleven men in the outfit. e had n good drive as
we never had m. run.
"Coming back west I went to Caldwell County and stayed there about
a month. You see I didn't stay nowhere long, I was just a r. co.413:v
then.
"In t90, I went to Edwards County and begin work on Dra-70o's ranch
and along about that time I met Miss Mettle Jackson. So on the 26th day
of December, 1893, we were married. We married eighteen miles north of
Rooksrings on the 'Wires' ranch, on the dry prong of south Lien°.
"No we didn't have any celebration," said his wife, "As soon as
the ceremony W9B over we got on our horses and rode twenty miles horse-
bac!.. to the lienderson ranch. 7e killed a rabbit on the way and when we
got home we hmd fried rabbit and a glass of milk for supper."
"No, we didn't either," Mr. Anderson put in, "but we did take that
twenty-Naile ride.
"After we were married I worked for Old Man Henderson for awhile.
13ut he, was the lest man I worked for; after I left him I went to work
for :ayself. I laughed one day at Old Man Henderson, after I had brought
the horses in and we had saddled and started out. As I galloped to catch
up with him, his horse swollered his heed. In a few jumps, off the old
man went. I managed to keep my face straight, and said, 'Are you hurt?'
He said, 'No by God, go catch my horse!' I had to run the horse about
two before I could catch him, but I laughed so hard I had to hold
to aly saddle horn to keep from felling off. I was never thrown from any
horse after I got into the saddle.
"Once out on the plains up in the Panhandle country, I went to get
Cowboy eales A. G. Anderson
Page 3
232
on a locoed horse, end me i went to eount and ceeght the cheek of the
bridle, he slung me full length of the bridle reins but reetn i got up,
I got on elm and rode elm. Oh, you tnke a had locoed horse, they are really
crazy. If you try to drive one over a wegon rut he won't go. eocto is
caused froma weed they stet, and the way they get started' to e ting it is
because it's the first weed to conie up in the spring arid tee steak are
hungry for something green and they eat it. I have seen bie patches of it.
it looks just like a pretty turnip patch. It has an effect un stock just
like morphine does on people
11.1. IMP
when they get started they cen't quit;
they juet eo -wild after it. Yes, they sty loco as long as they live.
The horses ai.o never any account after they once get -.Locoed. 1ten you
ride them two or three miles they Oto give out. S guess there were one
hundred mud fifty he' e of eorses out there on that reach thtt was booed.
"ence out on the plains bought a big black aurae. His mane end
tail wns long and wavy just lie it had been platted. He wesn't e bid
horse and didn't pitch much when I rode hinejust re -red up and almost
fell over backwards with me. He made one of the beet saddle horses I ever
rode.
eebout as bad a pitching horse as I ever owned was als a big black
horse. He was sure a herd -pitching hones. He pitched about two -hundred
yards with me once and when he quit pitching, my hat was off and my heels
were in my boot tops. 'en he quit pitching, my eire says, 'flow get off
that horee end don't you ever get on him egnin; let Am .e with the wild
bunch.' But I told her no I wee going to ride him to cow clamp. Alen I
gut to cep, the boys all knew whet a bed horse he was aid one of them said
I didn't ride him. I Bei t'ell right I'll eet you five -hundred dollars
I cen ride him slick.' But he wouldn't call 1117 bet. I rode him all (ley
end worked cattle on him. But I sold him next day, for when he was pitching
Cowboy Tales A. G. Anderson
Page 4
232
I frInd of lost (ay eye sight. Ever, thinv, :ot dark just like it does when
it coos a blue norther. The man I sold him to said he never did pitch with
him.
"hen I ranched out on the Pecos, I only owned about three sections of
land end used about fifty sections. The Pecos River country wr,s fine grazing
and that old river never was up high enough to cause any terrible floods
while I was there but after rises in the river, we always had to ride the
river bed to get cattle out of the quicksand. This was usually after the river
had gone down and we would have to dig them out. If there was water and
sand both we could tromp them out. But when we had to dig them out they had
the longest legs you ever saw. One thing about the water in the Pecos River
if you get wet in it, it won't give you a cold. I steyed wet one time
for eight or ten days, crossing a bunch of sheep and it never made me the
least bit sick.
"I had m little) bay pony once when we lived out on the Pecos that was
my favorite horse, he didn't have any other name -I just called him 'Pony.'
Be was a good cow horse and would stand a lot of hard riding. I told my
wife when we first married she could lend any thing on the ranch except
three things that was my saddle horse, my gun and my saddle. So one
morning I was gone and a man came riding up to the house on n horse that wee
give out. He said a man had got shot a short distance from there and he
wanted a fresh horse to go get the doctor in Sheffield, n distance of ten
miles. Xy wife told him that I had always told her not to lan.
saddle horse, Put under these circumstances she would. But she warned him
not to ride him too fast. So he took Pony and as beck in thirty minutes.
My wife sew how hard the horse had been rode, so she made the man put a
rope on him and she walked him for an hour so he wouldn't be stiff trom the
ride.
"ellicome to find out, this man had shot the other man hiniself.
Cowboy Tales A. G Anderson
Page 5
232
Another elan had gone for the doctor and this man wanted eony to meet the
doctor on so he could kill him. The doctor hed out ecroee the lountein
end this man went around the road so he missed him. The shooting took
aleoe at a della° neer eheffield on the Pecos. He thought the fellow knew
too much on him was why he shot him.
"Once eut on the Pecos, there were two men who WI)TO ranching together.
One as m Dutchman. I don't remember his name, but the other wm.a Henry
Green. Greeu claimed he had bought the Dutchman out and was weering his
watch and chain and riding his horses. The old Dutcheeen never would let
any one ride his horses. Green claimed he had a bill of sale to the
Dutchman's nteek and he had gone back to Germany. I euese he had. eeVeral
yeere inter, some boys were hunting with dogs and they chased a fix up a
tree end the boys ran over i skeleton. This was ue in e cenyon on the
Pecos right close to old Fort Lancester. A dentist ieentified his teeth.
He knee he had done the work and when he dine it. It was the old Dutchman.
"In the meantime, Green had gone out to New :eexico and eent to work on
a renoh. The next day he had some words witl: his boss, and the boss
emptied his pistol into Green. Before he died he sr.id, You've killed
me but if I had my gun, I would get you.' Then he died.
"Up near San Angelo once, a oowboy rode up on en old Dutch sheep
herder herding his sheep on the oowboy's re. He told the Dutchman to
leave, but the next day when the cowboy caNe beoe he was still there. so
the cowboy geve him a good whipping. eeveral yeers leter tey met one day
in San Angelo and the cowboy said, 'I whipped you one time.' The old
Dutchman said, 'Yes, but while you was whipeing me, my sheep was eating
your veeds (weeds).*
"Another time this same old Dutchman drove his sheee herd into a
cattlemen's territory and took one of his wagon wheels off of the wagon
c)riboy Tales k. G. And rson
Page 5
232
it undcr t-ixrie thick brush. So when the rrulchian cnitie along the
flnd told nitd to move he said, Yell, one of iy won wheels brke down
and
iaove lie next day, the r!)nonmen OFIA0 beck rad it; i:es still thore.
x,ovrt to be fixed and as au -n
The r,11.chman snid, 91 thought I told you to got
PS t Ot3 'Ire, iL vill
of flY ;int the
Dutchman still Insisted his wr144)n was broken down. o the r-nciier decided
to ti,[ce r locA- for himself and found the Whel in the c171.!
kir
thick brush.
"i crossed te ecos once veith 1,u00 heed of sheo) 1:e to ..k thou. across
•P
on w,,ion oedv 1,1th the use of !,eme extra lumber. I ot he .1.1,,bel from
3-ohn n. e .re takim: the sheen to
t -o rAnitha t. iuke the trip. This was in 1903. e didn't st-y in tow
exIcoout no onth. I didn't .iee IL .1h,) tcr w S mikr,11, ci
one n5,y i. drove my shee-a in to orink and wen tej d fUli44d up, they
1-1Ked out vienty-five of them lny down richt there -nb died.
hended tmez to Texas. After we crossed the ec us kiver, we to 'ied iia
labeduut the she 9 on the 0. T. )ord rnnch. 1.a.d two herders, ly ire
Pnd rjv sell', it to,Jk about a month and a t if to tei inbed out -nd
vie
i,!xle.J. It tok
cric down to -Awards County.
"I Arve wored a lot with Old ban i:enry nc:enhnm. Is r,,nch joined
mine out 0.1 the ;11006. lie hvC a big outfit. owned rr0ut 4,oU0 tied uf
cqttlo. .e used to coAe ridin UP to ay house it full s :eU ne tell my
ire, 'i. want to borrow 10,000.' Ale would tell hin all ri-ht to ,-et down.
nd a s hen h corie 1 7ould ny, -h, glass ,of t do just
o _n
n
rather ,nd _me e7ui'.ht ten lobo .0
S.
.ho lobos ero
ilLin-acksnhn:rit c-lves. lie said he w:)uld give us ten c.)11.rs a:)loce
for nil ,e crught. _1() we went Oown to his rrnch niht and a)ent the
rit._ler)t on our saddle blankets for oeds end .T,trted out the next
tiy at f-ytretik. ell, when we got to the to 01 the :L:ount,,in the
Cowboy Tales A. G. Anderson
Page 7
232
dogs s-A311ed the lobos and went after them. They were running with the
wind. They went down in the ()Rayon and bayed a lobo nun. I jumped off
my horse and went down after him. He was a little fellow nnd I killed
him with" stick. We vent on a little farther up the canyon nnd killed
nine more. They Were about the size of a bob cat. Art the big ones killed
a dog for me that same day. They were sure bed about killing dogs.
"Another time down on Independence (a tributnry of the Pecos), we
heard a paok of lobo wolves running a herd of two -year -old cattle. The
lobos would howl every now and then and that is how we knivi it was lobos
after the cattle. I have been told, before I rent t''7ere, that the lobos
were so bad thalt a pack of them would herd a hunch of cattle just like
cowboys. There would be four or five lobos and they would watch their
chance to run in and get a calf. Then one would run and drag the oalf out and
they'd be on it eating the calf before .they had it 1.T.illed.
1
've OnM ed on the Nueoes River one time and in the night I herd a
calf bawling. I knew a lobo had him him down and was eating him before
he ever killed it. They nearly always start eating on the hams, or in the
flank. I sure hated to lie there and let him kill that calf, but I
wouldn't get up and go down there for I didn't weut the other boys to know
I had a gun on.
"Once when I lived out in the Pecos country, I started out to buy
st ranch. I had been leasing :Lange and I wanted to buy a rrnoh of my own.
It Vies in January and the ground was froze. I Would ride all day long
and when niht would come ,I would ley down and sleep on my saddle blanket
and cover with my slicker. Of course I always built s fire but the ground
would freoze most every night. Well, I rods like tAis for about a week. I
Cowboy Tales A. G. Amderson
Page
232
looked the country over ;but, I didn't find a ranch that suited me so
I started bask home. Just before I rea0ed home ,I begin to feel bad.
EVerythinE; 7ot dark like it does when a sand storm comes up. when I get
home I was a siek man. my wife filled e tub with hot water and put me in
blankets. I sure warmed up. I eweated so much it rolled down the blanket
and on the floor. Then she gave me a sponge in cold water. It was what I
needed I guess for it felt good while I was taking it. But I almost fainted
when it was over. Anyway I guess she knoeked the pneumonia.
"1 knew a good woman roper up on the Nueees. Her name was saute
Vovel and she later married Will MeBee. She and her sister were in the
govt ten roninfi: kids by the fore feet. Me came alone with ;A herd -of
cattle, nnd one of the men went to roe a calf rnd missed. The girl
came out and says, Met me get Aim for you." f,o she ()•t the elf's fore-
feet the firet throw. He took the calf and turned and said, 'I've been
e cowboy all rly life but that girl sure did out -rope me.
"Of course you know that most anything ean estompedes e herd little
thins or big thing*. I was in e little run once over on Paint Creek.-
nelt morning we had the cattle penned and a rooster flew up on the few*,
flopped his wings and crowed, and out they came, bringing half the side
of the in with them. But we soon got gem checked.
"Another time it rained all night and we had a run. lrou never want
to make your bed down elope to a herd. But this night the ground was
so wet I had made my bed on a big flat rook close to the hard. About
four o'clock in the mrning they tstompeded.' It was lucky for me they
went Vte oPnoaite direction from where I w -s cleaning. re didn't save
a sow but the next day we got most of themLbeek. If you were never near
a run of ft big herd, you can't imagine the noise they make. In day time
when they get to running their old eyes just bug out like a crawfish's eyes.
6owboy Tales A. G. Anderson
Hags 9
232
"We ranched out on Devil's River fifty miles north of Oel Rio for
ten years. We had about 5,003 head of goats my wife nnd iyelf did all
the 'tending to these goats. 40 did all the sherring snd the packing
of the wool into the sacks. She would turn thu shenring 7iachine and I
did the shearing. sometimes we would work till twelve o'olock at
"e later moved into town and lived there in Del Rio Pbout twelve
years. Air house burned down and I bought another ranch about four miles
out of town. A fellow cams along one day and wanted t Aorse than 1 did
r,nd I sold it to him. So we :cloyed to Uvalde. No, I didn't buy no ranch
here, i don't like this country for ranchin."
000000
Mx. Anderson's wife LIrs Mettle Anderson tells the following incident
which happened in her girlhood days when she was on s o ttle drive:
"I came to .4iwards County in about 991, with my sister and brother-
in-law. e came from IIELmilton County and brci'h. herd of cattle. I was
the biggest cowboy they had. It was so dry cominG out the oPttle almost
st!,rved to. death.
"I had to ride all day. I would start at sunu-) Jf before pad ride
all thy leilthout a bite of dinner. The first frijoles i. ever et, one of
the cowboys Pad MB started to supper one evening when e EMW a smoke out
to one side. e rode out to it and it was a sheep camp. ks we rode up,
they had two barrels of water sitting out in front of the tent. Our horses
htd not hnd water since the day before. Ais horse drank out of one barrel
and mine the other. We had not had anything t- ent since the c, before,
leorf:,e went into the tent and found some of these beans. I says, 'what
401044 Toles
kiLm of boons ,Arr. t,eyYT ie t3n1d, 'hoid ,fo.r
hood tall of Uenas itfi out Avirw tie t. t- e ,41 y
stayed right tAar -)zii, at rme ,rold rul ri-t 'itT ,otc tt..1 e at
(Jxicvul tv,c 0,oke r Lg.
'Viso 4attio, 1 tIIAN
ovary oao thet •-)Jor 01,
SO!q6 are,' (A ad ne or•
I triod ono bit Lt; jUbt 3.111'0 otte!r_sKin t
"101111 fie got on our torswgi Pnti ty:ktud
brOther.iaraftw. The ,v4ct rLeulsi v -t 1
rod* up to op fell uff
to tooth?' i. teiti uuIto, ,!1.1
titikki0,
:t a 10,,,
hay* ao,00troc. n e it in y .forz.“41
"Hort de: e .ont :;)t till found r
to had to no. ti
mare strung oltt
aaaaalt hold /wa.
down, t asked ;eurl-.31 wAlet WAS kr,
t
Arith gator. enid It 1048
Wer WIN 1UOL
boons aad he WIRIJ It
wouldn't et
,uen
,d to r
to t (4) tnr
t wc-,5 te
t
vnd
's vie
t ;•t/-rii
ord.
"Le 4 t r. olive
‘t —hny
V I.
exitun
t nor: