Document text
Pt
I 0/
ords
From F. C. by
mrs. Gamete Hale, P.W.
Tales of Early
2,628•
EDITORIAL FIELD COPY Page 1
by 232
Mrs. Florence AngerMiller, P.W.
UVALDE 00UNIT. DISTRICT #10
0. T. CARDWELL
UValde, Texas.
O. T. Cardwell, who lives on 502 South Getty Street,
out near spofford is aotive and up and going inapite of his 77 years.
He seems to greatly enjoy being in the cattle business and is very capable.
His parents who were farmers, first lived in Caldwell County where he
was born in 1861, then they moved to Gonsales in 1861. The following
is in his own wordss
"At the outbreak of the Civil War, I was too young to remember
war times, of *Jure*, but soon after, feat the effeots of it. I was the
youngest of our family of four boys and two girls. There were thirteen
other children besides, that my mother oared for during the war. She
took care of them till they were old enough to make their own way in life.
Their fathers had been killed in the war and their mothers had died of
grief or hardships. It was necessary for my mother to take a oount on
the children of nights and I well remember the touch of her hand on my
forehead at night when she oame to our beds to take her count. I rem-
ember the old trundle bed that was pulled out from under my mother's bed
and three to five of us youngsters tucked in for the night.
"One night, the count was one short. Mother could not find him.
She roused the little army of kids and sent us out in search of the
lost one. We had been playing 'Hide and Seek,' and this one had hid
himself so well that he could not be found. The play had gone on with-
out him and he alms forgotten but not by mother when she took the count.
When we found him, he was sovered up in the corner of the fence with some
rubbish he had pulled over himself to hide him and he was dead to the
and ranches
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world in slumberland.
"However, every night was not a night of play for the children.
The older ones were usually kept busy That was in the day before
we had gins and we smaller children would sit up many a night nick-
ing seed out of the cotton, while the others would be carding bats
or running the spinning wheel or throwing the shuttle for mother as she
sat at the old loom making clothing for us children. Why, if the
proud
girls could get a calico dress, they were far ,more/; f it than
they would be today of their silks and satins.
"A woman's work in those days was never done. They never had
many conveniences and it is marvelous how much work they could
turn off. Soap had to be made. Cheeses were made, besides the
butter and curds and other things they fixed. That soap -making
was lots of trouble. My father had made a hopper out of a log by
holl6wing it out. There was a trough underneath to catch the drip-
ninga to make lye. Many a bucket of water I've carcied and poured
in that hopper. She would take that lye, then, that dripped through
the ashes and make soap out of IA.
"Ibly oldest brother would sit at the sewing maohine when he
cams from the field at noon till dinner was ready. Then after we
ate, he would go back to the machine and sew till the others were
ready to i„lo to the field. The rest of us was cutting wood or 'tend-
ing to the horses or shucking corn.
"I never had any Indian experiences myself, but I remember hear-
ing my mother tell about an incident that hapoened in their community
on time that I thought was rather exciting. The Indians had made a
raid in the neighborhood. All the men had gone scouting and the women
folks had been left in a log cabin. Well, along in the night, the
women heard a strange noise in one side of the cabin which was built
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with a small window just large enough for an ordinary man to get
th ough. Old Grandmother MoCurley opened the door and as she did,
she saw an Indian about half -way through the window trying to pull
his way inside. A pair of scissors was the nlost convenient weapon
she could find, so she took them and run and caught him by his long
heir and stabbed him three times in the back and killed him. ide fell
backward outside. The other Indians outside took him off about two
hundred yards from the house end buried him. Someone later found
his carcass and they knew it was the one she had killed with the
scissors.
"I looked after my father's stock, for he never liked to work with
stook but turned his time and attention to farming. I worked with
his stook till I was seventeen years old end he said to me one day,
'son, I am in debt so you get out now and make a little money far
yourself, so you can finish your education.' So I spent three years
trying to get an education and also sent my two sisters to school.
"In my younpr days, I had a lawsuit testing the rights of some
horses I had taken a mortgage on. The case was decided in my favor.
When court adJourned for dinner, my contestant said,'Well, you won
the case.' I said, 'Yes.' Then he said, 12y swearing a lie:'
I knocked him down and he rose with his six-shooter drawn but he was
overpowered by others and disarmed. The next day, I wne in town and
rather hurriedly galloped up in front of a drug store. I threw my
bridle reins over the hitching oast and ran on into the store. My
men W6S in there. He told me afterwards that When he saw me come
running and lump off of my horse and come on into the store, he
thought I wne after him. lie jerked his gun. I caught it before he
leveled it on me just above the cylinder. It was an old-time cap
and ball oistol. Three shots were fired but the ohly damage that
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was done was a bad powder burn on my wrist and a badly -soared
drug -store man. I had taken the gun from the fellow Just as the
sheriff came in. He laid a heavy hand on me, marched me across the
street, opened the jail door and snoved me inside. When he closed
the door and started off, I said, *Wait a minute. Are you going to
keep me in here all night?' lie said, 'Do you think I would turn a
man loose when he has attempted to commit murder?* He turned to go
again and I said, 'Captain, you had better hear What I have to say
before you go, or you may not live to hear it after I get out of
here.' He sbid, 'Tell it d--- quick!' I told him he had the wrong
man but he said he heard three shots and took the -9istol away from
me. I said, 'It was the other man's gun.' He asked me if I could
prove it and I told hta I could if I had a chance so he unlocked
me
the door and gave/my freedom. He interviewed the drug store prop-
)ietor then told me to go hooe, but to appear at 9 o'clock
next morning. They fined the other fellow for disturbing the peace
and let me go.
"Three years later, this fellow and I met in a lonely by -way.
!4, both began to slow up but never stooped untIl we got in arms'
length of each other. I seiG, ';am, I heard you were tired of
carrying this trouble between us.' iTe said, 'I am.' Our hands
met in a friendly clasp and we laid our guns away.
"When I was about twenty-three years old, I was married to Miss
Frenkie Lowry. This was in '84. we settled down on a 1,500 acre
farm close to Gonzales and i also traded in the cattle buiiness for
five years. But the boll weevils was so bad and cotton went down to
three and five cents a lound. I didn't give up. I turned my whole
attention to the stock business and I managed to pay off the lease on
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the lend that way.
"When I was about twenty years old, a man hamed MoCullogh
told my brother four years older than me, that if he would move him
west he mould give him a:ioe of white oxen he had. Well, my brother
was married and had a family, and didn't want to make the trip. He
asked me if I would like to go. I told him I would. It was a pleasure
to me to get out and see the country. McCullogh was moving to the
Thompson ranch out near Eagle Pass which was a big sheep ranch. When
we reached the ranch whet interested me most was, when the boys came
in at night to the ranch house, there was a big table in the living
room and they would unbuckle their six-shooters end throw them on
this table. And the whole table would be covered with six-shooters.
It was different to anyt:litg 1' had been used to. I thought, 'My Lord,
I've got into a regular outlaw den.' But they were all very nice.
"As we came through Uvalde, the Southern 2ecific Railroad was
just being built here. There had never been a passenger train here
at the time. The Mexican teamsters were pegging through with freight
heeded forthe west. So when they went to drive their wagons across
the railroad ties they hit it sideways with the wagon wheels and stalled
their team. well, they tried and tried and could not get across.
They had the road so I had to wait till they got out so I could go on.
I got out of my wagon and watched them and wondered why they didn't
get out and cut some of that mesquite brush and build up to the top
of the ties so the wegun would roll on. They had eighteen mules to the
front of the wagon so they hitched sixteen to the beck and this way
they nulled the wagon beck and forth for an hour and couldn't get it
across. They finally took the lead mules off and pulled the wagon
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back thirty or forty yards and made a Dull and hit it straight and went
over. I liked the country so much that I said if I ever camm west,
Uvalde would be my home, and I always kept it in mind.
"Ilion we reached Old an Thomoson's he told us we would have to
go seventeen miles un the river where t.!x*. FcCullogh was located.
But while I was talking to Mr. Thompson I learned that wagons were in
demand for hauling wool from San Feline to San Antonio. You know there
wasn't any Del Rio then; it was before there was ever any Del Rio there.
Anyway when I rerched Snn Felipe I was disappointed for there was no
wool there. They told me to go to a ranch about forty miles from there
And I would find plenty of wool. But I had gone far enough. I didn't
care to go any farther and turned back.
"On my way bpok I had staked out my horses one niajit and sometime
in the night, they broke loose. I thought sure they were gone for good
that someone h. d stolen than in the night. You can imagine about how
a kid would feel away out there in that lone country with a wagon and
no way to get sway. But the horses came into camp next morning while
I was eating breakfast. I sure felt good when I saw them coming in.
"Old an ::ca„ullogh had furnished me provisions to fet home on and
I only had 454 in my pocket and when I reached the Gaudaluoe River I
had to be crossed dmi a ferry boat and that cost me thirty-five cents.
So I had a dime in my pock'et to get home one But I reached home all
right; you didn't have to have so much money those days to travel.
"Sometime after that trip, I took *Wargo of my father's fern. We
had open rPnge then and I had to gather cattle for Cantein George
Littlefield. He was a big stockman and was laoving his stuff to Brady,
Texas. and in connection with my farm and ranch business, I bought
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cattle for the Union Meat Company of San Antonio.
"In my early experience of cow driving I felt like had to have
a big outfit and nut on a big show, and handle cattle just as everyone
else did. But experience has taught me later that fewer men end a
smaller outfit could be more successfully handled than such a big outfit.
And inter in life, I learned that one slan could do the work of an outfit,
do it just ns successfully with a very little expense. On one occasion
had gathered without the aid of anyone six -hundred and seventy-five
heed of Texico steers in one of the brushiest pastures in southwest Texas
in less than a week's tiise. Now some people won't believe that but i have
living witnesses and cpn prove it.
have had lots of experience in the clttle business and of course
have sesn quite a few runs in my life. I remember once one. of our
neighbors back in east Texas had come west and bought six -hundred heed of
big steers and was taking them back east to feed out. So about the sixth
day, the (settle began to get drngsy and the men were all getting tired.
and
Mr. 'Sells had an old Negro working for h'skwis name was 7,RM Price/he was
a greet favorite of Mr. Wells. 'sell, this Negro and myself was behind
bringing up the cattle and we nssed an old five -gallon can on the side of
the road and this Negro roped it and tossed it over in the herd. Some of
them kicked it and it began to rattle and of course se had a run. ',fe
rounded them ipp five sines from there in the forks of the Gaudaldpe and
Son Marcos livers. After weiot them to going again the boss came around
and asked the reason of the stsmaede. 7hen he came to Sam and asked him
he said, 9: done it, boss.' now did you do it,Snm?' 'I roped an old
tin can Pnd thrawed it In the siddle of them.' Mr. sells said, 'You black
devil you, if it had been any other man in the outfit I would have fired
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him.' And turned and rode off.
"Once bpi:* in Seguin,a man named Thad Miller was feeding six
hundred head of big steers in pens and every night they would stamnede.
He phoned me at Gonzales to come up there and I went and he told me what
wee happening and said he couldn't stop them. That he had even hung a
bunch of lanterns around on the pens and that didn't do any good. I
told him all I knew for him to do was to get out and buy up two or
three carloads of bulls and put them in the pens with the steers. The
bulls were of a restless nature and some of thee would go walking around
the pen all night bellowing and that seemed to quiet the herd. So he did
that and never had any isore trouble.
"Once two other boys and myself were moving some cattle from one
pasture to another. We had gotten over near one corner of the pasture
where another herd was 'nzing when we noticed a cloud that had suddenly
come up. So I told the boys to ride over there and turn them the other
way so if we did have a run, they wouldn't all get started and run togeth-
er. That left me there with about two -hundred steers to drive by myself.
Well, after they left, there came a loud crash of thunder and they began
to run. I managed to stay with them till the other boys got there but
tley had run two or three riles already.
"Not so very long ago, I was feeding out a bunch of calves and had
gone down to the pens to fe,:d one evening and all of a sudden those calves
stampeded and run over me and knocked me down and broke a lot of wire
and fence posts down. When I got and looked around to see what in
the world had happened, I saw a polecat trotting across the pen. I
said well, I didn't blame them much.
"When I inoved to Uvalde, I was running from the boll weevil and got
caught in n western drought and have not been able to get away. When I
first came here, I worked with Crowley Perrian Commission Company and
Tales of Early Days O.T. Cardwell Page 9
the Commercial National Bank employed me to gather cattle for the
A.B. Dockery estate. On one occasion, we pitched camp near Batesville.
I had Billy Lewis, Jim Dockery, Frank Parsons, Alvin Blalock and others
with me. There was an outlaw bull that had outwitted us on our former
workings and he came bellowing near the camp. Billy Lewis said to
Jim Dockery, /If you will let me have old Jack, I'll get that bull.'
Zack was a famous roping horse of W.H. l'arsons, Jim's father-in-law,
and Jim had the horse in his mount. Jim gave his consent and Billy
saddled un and rode out for the fun. lly was sucoessful in his oast,
but caught too dead a hold around the neck, instead of the horns. The
hold
neck/is much harder to handle on a bull than a girl. So when the bull
hit the end of the rope, the off -strap of Billy's saddle broke and Billy
and saddle went up in the air. Billy was all arms and legs as he went
over but the bull went to the brush like a kite in the air with Billy's
saddle holding the string. The boys trailed a short distance and found
the saddle where the rope had hooked over a snag on a tree. The rope
was broken so the saddle was brought back to camp and dropped down a short
way from the camp fire. Everything got quiet toward night and the boys
made down for a night's rest. A neighboring dog raised a howl and a
mad wolf was suggested. One of the boys declared he could smell him, fin-
ally all of them could smell him. Then they could see him. A gun was
called for but none in camp had one. They could see him moving wound
and the last one of them rolled up in their tarps, head and ears, waiting
for further action.
"I hat fitted myself out with a hammock and had it well swung be-
tween two trees so I took it on myself to stand watch for the boys. I
kept my eyes on what I thought they had mistaken for a mad wolf. It was
in the glimmer of a campfire, but never did liove. I finally called to
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the boys and told them it was a false alarm. Two of them summoned
courage enouoll to venture out to the thing and drug Billy's saddle in
to caw,.
"1 worked seven years soliciting loans and ;1-nspeeting cattle for
Dover's Nntional Bank of Kansas City, Missouri, and during that time,
never lost a loan. I don't ',mow if I likeserved the credit or the cowman.
"1 believe I have served my county in the ce7)acity as a juror as
faithfully as any mnn living todny. I served as foreman in Gonzales
county before I was thirty yer,rs old; later, as foreman of the Federal
Grand Jury in 3en Intonio. And I served as foreman of the rand jury in
Uvalde County too many times to remember, also foremrn of the Federal
grand jury in 7)el Rio three times. ,Yt another time I was summonsed as
fl grand juror. I had had my foot broken by the fall of a horse, but
answered the summons on crutches. The judge sent e r note asking rie to
lunch with him. He asked me why I was there on crutches? nidn't I know
thnt was n legnl excuse. I told him I did but I WPS so tired of lying
around home r really wanted to at out, lie said, 'ell those crutches
saved you from being forerlan pgrin.7
"On another occasion, I tiins sumoonsed to serye on the grand jury,
but I had said a big bunch of ,:,1-,mers to 7o to Kansas grnss and had set the
time to deliver them. Later, the same day, I as sumrlonsed to appear for
jury service. 1 rendered my excuse tothe sheriff but the judge would
not ecceut it, and fined me. I refused to opy the fine and was cited
to appenr before the next term of court, to show the reason why, if any,
the fine should not be made final.
w..9han the next term of court net, I was there. 1.1_y case was called
and the judee asked me if I had a reason to offer to the court why
did not appear as 1 was summonsed. I told him I had. Then he said,
Tales Of iLnrly Days O.T. Cardwell
-)age 1/
'Yon and Judge tiarris who was district attorney nt the time) ;4il have
to fight it out8' Judge Harris being a good friend of mine, ieased out
of the court room, found Judge Harris nnd stated my case to him. He said
he would be unstairs in e few minutes and get the judge to remit it. I
went beck to the court room and Judge Benny saw me and asked if I had
seen Judge derria. Of course, I dtd not dere to let him know I had but
told him yes. Lie said, 'lint did )e say?' I told him. Then he said,
'I told you you bud this fine to pay.' He snid Joe Davennort -)aid his
and t had line to pay. I told him, 'Joe Davenport is one man and O. T.
1Prdwell is another. Then he sg411, he ought to fine 'oes for contemPt of
court. I arose and told him 1 didn't agree with him as had ben cited
to poleax' before the court and felt like 1 had e right to defend myself,
but if the court was fixed in it's o)inion and no evidence would change
him, then it was useless to tpke up any time ol the coUrte But if there
was no 1Pw by which citizen could protect his nrivate affairs it was
high time our lawmakers were enacting some. The good old judge smiled
and said, '1 %ill remit your flue.' I said, 'rnhrtik you.' and walked out
of the court room. Judge Benney was a bolitition and in a few days he
came to me ut his arm over my sh'older and said, '-e had some very
important matters to come before this grand jury and t dtd went you ns
foreman:
"I was sheriff of Ovelde tIlinty in 1910. othing exciting occurred
during that time, bit after serving that one tern 4- quit, for I saw that
I could not serve in n public office arid do my duty to the nublic rind
attend to iy )riente business. Mid .L couldn't give un the cattle business.
"",.s sheriff, I had one little interesting event cone un in the court
room. irnnk ,isher was on trial for bootlegging. qo Old ettemhted to
impe-ch me. le hs'zed me if certain things were not true. I told him no.
He twisted the question around two or threP times and then said, 'Ur.
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Cerdwell, it Is a feat, end why don't you edmit it?' I Asked him if
he knee it to be 8 feet. He seld, ,Yes..' I said, 'You knew a lie.'
so he picked up s big lew—boek end threw st Lee and t dogrged it and he
grabbed up a chair and I Jerked it frad him end fell across s table,
but I soon got to my feet end demanded order in the court room. Judge
Milam fined us both for contempt of court. Ec) sometime later, Judge
Miles told me he wes in a tight end whenI I asked him why, he told me
Judge eld heel not naid his fine tine he did not went to impose on ins to
oolleot it. I told him it w.euld be a pleAsure to me. Fbr Judge Old and
were the best of friends.
'nor the east 27 Jeers I have ranched at Snofford. I em 77 now and
if I can live 77 more years no telling how much knowledee I will hnve in
-rinc
regard r cettle. my fether lived to be 84 my grandfather 97
end my ereet-grnndfether 114 end if I can overlap him, it will be plenty.
"I have many a good friend here and elsewhere too. I lost one in
February. And I prized his friendshiP. He was J. C. Swift of the Lire
etockehnnee in -71111BPS City. 'et kind lots of denlings with them, borrowed
money, ship..d to them, eid it beck and borrowed it heck. He haS been
out here end visited as many e time. Here is e letter he wrote me in
December before he died&
Mr. 0. T. Cerdwell,
Veelde, Sere.
Deer rriend:
we treeel throueh the ceuntry there are plweys e few rugged
lAndmerke Viet tr,rd out, end. n I have trAveled alone throng's life I
have be .n privileged to '..no' quite a number of rugged cherpoters that
have 7eade en indelible impreeelon on me end have unoonecieusly served
to sti Ile ee to greeter eedenver.
You ere one of them. And you may have forgotten all about the time
Tiles tgr sarly Dar
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0. T. Cardwell
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railed peai4ent and broke your leg and 1 ems tc your house
jeet two or throat days afterwards, expeating to fin you in b'd,
amid they told op you were out in the pasture lookigg after the cattle,
thou after ,,,ale you came riding in, one foot ir the stirrup and
the broken log in sphints and just as useless as no leg at all; but
there *newt any moaning or whinaing, nor is for sympathy, and I
went saw from there saying that that was thfkind of men that helped
this arantry in its pioneer days and I am and I have been privileged
to 1120 you.
With beet *I -344g: for the holiday season -end the New Year,
j 'rims in
Youri
gl• 0.