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Range -lore
Nellie B. Cox
San Angelo, Texas.
(77;r —Z -to°
RANGE-LOU
Page one
#111I father and family came from Mississippi to
Dallis when I was one year olds" says Tam Wissey.
"There was a very small settlement around one store*
I've heard my parents tell' of their hardships in
traveling by'wegon train. I can remember that in
those years we -didn't have a great variety to eat
but we were happier than people are now and we didn't
ask "Mr* Government" for no help either.
"In 1873 we moved to Lampasas County, That trip
was a great experience. my father had several hundred
head of horses and driving them and moving the family
was a big Job. Hunters used to come in from the west
eage two
of us with gxet wagon loads of buffalo reet and pe
Cried the nest, enough for a winter supply.
father's people came to the Concho Country
in 1884 but I didn't come until tle next yecr. I
worked first on the Lmerick Ranch on Little Lipan Creek.
This was. the prettiest country that anyone ever sew.
Crses was knee high. A) could put down 8 saddle Llenle-
et te elcep or nt nirht one the cress wa so thick that
it seemed like we were on a eattrese. ;Aran A.at at one
tiee wee covered with emelt mesquite. trees, but a prairie
fire swept over it one. eueust then the moon was rieht
are killec the trees. ec old stumps were there when
the ferms were put in.
here won't a fence in the eholc country. ',Joy
boys rode all the time to keep stock from driftine too
far. eur horses would go as far ae Erady Creek. every
eerch, ranch men maid start out on their vork of round-
in- up. A) would orgcnize I suppose you'd say- decide
who would be boss, wagon boss, and all t,e others that
would be needed for good eork. Lometimes as many as
sixty men would start out. (11c1 work toward eaint
Fock, then across toward Lrady, throueh the enardville
and old Port reYevett Country. After we had covered
the country, each fellow would tave his own horse end
go ie home. In -ay we Leese the cattle eork.
Cowboys eere the nerviest fellows that ever were
Pep7e three
in the country. Then they went to brin,7 in a now or
horse, they stayed until theybrowtt in what they were
sent for. One Thnday morning, old mon Erir:Ilit and his
boy George, started out from their piece near,ullin
Crossing (on Veribest-Liles Road) together. :r. Eright.
had herd of some of his cattle down in the Lden Country
and George was going to the Loomis ranch to work at a
round -up. Olen George reached the Loomis Ranch they
were not ready to start work but he had seen about twenty
head of their i.e. horses and he thoucht he would throw
them beck toward the home ranch. While he was running
the horses, his saddle horse stepped in a holea.fell and
broke George's right leg in two places and knocked _him
unconscious. When he came to, his horse had run off
with the loose bunch and George was left. He took off
his.boots.and left them and his quirt on the gound. Be
took his knife, out splints of mesquite sticks, tore up
his undershirt end bound up his broken bones. The near
eat human being was four miles away so he started out
crawling to this house. The first night, a thunderstorm
came up and the next morning George found that he had
traveled in a circle and was just about one hundred
yards from where his horse had fallen with him. He then
crawled down into the bed of Lipan Creek, crawling along
the creek until he came to Dry Lipan and followed it to-
ward the dwelling of some people by the name of Frame.
Page four
As he crawled down the creek, he would. pack mud on his
broken leg, that kept down the inflemmition. He lost
his hat, his clothes were torn to shreds, and he was.
.covered with blisters as big as a dollar. On Friday
morning, a rider heard a dog from the Frame ranch bark.*
ins \down the creek and 'went to investigate and. found
George. It was a long time before he got well but he
lived to be an. old man. We.,fotmd the boots and quirt
where he said he had left them and his horse with the
loose bunch, still with the saddle end bridle on.
"I lived in the rook house built by Ike Mullins
who came to this country in 1868. The house used to
halve .port holes for shooting at Indians*, This old
house is still in use. Beleir,thit Mullin-,plece,.'11.
Tankersley (father. of .Wash, Fayette, Mrs. Fran,. Mrs.
Lewis and Mrs. :Fmerick), had built a reek' house and dug
a great ditch from the river in order to irrigate a
:sawn, tract of land. Parts of the old ditch are still
there.
:"There were plenty antelope but buffaloes Were
scarce. One. time 'I was looking for some' 'horses. About
night I came to Bird and hertz's Bench where I stayed
all night Mr hertz had just killad a buffalo and the
meat was fine.
"In the; fell of 1888, Ab Sleeker -brought ,tiou.ib
herds of cattle- tp here and wintered -them around
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Kiln Crossing. The next spring he trailed them to
Kansas.
"One spring then we were working cattle, we had
3,000 head in one bunch. We got them bedded down but
a big cloud was coming up so none of the fifteen men
with the herd turned in for any sleep. The cattle
were restless and with the first hard clap of thunder
they were off. They ran all night and until nearly dark
the next day. We boys rode with them through the dark
and rain. We could see the lightning on their horns
and on the tips of our horses' ears. We tried every
way to get them milling, fired our six-shooter in front
of them and beat them with our slickers. When they did
begin to mill, the ones in the center were crushed to
death.
"A. lone robber held up two stage coaches at a
stage stand between Ballinger and where the town of
Miles is now. W. J. Ellis was driver of one stage but
I don't know the name of the other driver. Each had
seven passengers and each passenger handed over his
money, ,Harry Bennett, a saloon keeper, was going some-
where to buy liquor. He had 0700.00 with him and when
he saw what was happening he stuffed his money down his
shirt collar. The robber gave each passenger 50f/ to
buy dinner. A preacher on the stage only had 35V and his
daughteriiho rps with him didn't have any money but any-
Pogo six
how, the robber rove each of them 50V. 'Haven't you
been in ny congregation when I preached?' inquired the
preacher of the ratter, if this is tho effect
your sermons hove,' said Lllis, the driver, 'I don't
think much of it.' The robber laughed but the preach-
er didn't like it much. The robber left on horseback.
ES rode to the north, stopped and put sacks on his
horse's feet, rode 'east awhile, then changed directions
again. They.. picked up his trail twice but in the thick
grace, he was hurd to follow. They arrested a fellow
who used to work on a ranch down the river named Jim
Lrant (maybe I don't remember the. name exactly) and
sentenced him to twenty-five years in the pen. The
only evidence that they had wee that Jim bed several
large, bills which amounted to a hundred dollars.
"Jim stayed in the pen about tvo years, then tar.
'Ellis end o man at Ballinger cot him e pardon.. Years
loter a man in Chicago confessed to that robbery' and
other things of like nature.
ilW. J. Ellis drove stages all over this country.
Et vies never scared of anything cod woo e ual to any
emergency.
"This country has never been the Same since it
has tem cut up into so many pastures and forms, r;0
old follows used to have lots of fun in our early days.
ioncee were our great pleasure. Ve'd ride for miles
to attend one.",
Bango-lore
Nellie B. Cox
San Angelo, Texas.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Toni Massey, San Angelo, Texas, interviewed,
Zanuary 24, 1938.