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Ronge-lore
Annie Lc.Luley
:,bverick, Texus
77:t.
RANGE -LORE
R. Perry was born in Travis County, Texas, January 5,
187'7.
r. Perry says: "he moved with our household furniture, a
few plow tools and two hundred head of cattle, to Runnels County
in 1890. Lucia of the country was still open range then.
father leased fourteen sections of land at five cents per acre.
lie liked the looks of the country around howena, which was just
a flag station on the Junta Fe then, and he purchased enough
lend neur the station for u little farm and ranch.'
"1 learned to ride in Travis County. lverybody rode horse-
back then of course. My father always kept several saddle horses
and a bunch of cattle so I learned to punch cattle while just a
kid.
Pogo two
"After I was about grown I rot a job from 12erry Goy. I
learned to ride bronco and the harder they bucked end the more
devilish they was the more I enjoyed conquering them for the
coddle.
"1 workea i mos County for the 3C a for a few years.
It wet' u big outfit. '.'hey always kept late of horses. The
best bran° buster I ever knet was alt 4ears, broke horses
all over this country, and later rode titi rodeos. They never
got too Lad for to try, and he generelly rode ,em, too.
"i knot a woman rider, a _re. Ley. or husband was a
raneh foreman. ,he rode lote and always helped uith the round -ups.
.4he moue a real good cowhand.
"Then :1.. Lummusr• a rancher I worked for had a couple of
daughters that were good riders. They could ride and rope as
good as any hand on the place end better than some I've seen.
"I remember a stampede over near :Iusgaret in Coke: County.
feller named Nurry woe bossinr the drives.
1,(3 was movin' a
herd from the 3C's at Pecos to Ft. Worth. bam Neff, a brother of'
ex -Governor„ at ::eft, was with us. 1*.e had camped for the nicht
in Lum Kudsonis six -section pasture.
V,e had just got the cattle
bedded down for the night and feeling safe and sound. e didn't
intend to even keep a watch that night, so sure were we that the
cattle couldn't get very for. ell, it began lichtninr and thund-
erinc and soon a heavy cloud made up and looked very threatening.
Thi; cattle cot restless._ ';e tried to hold them tor -ether for a
while, but aJon they broke into a run. The boss told us to let
Page three
'em go. v.e just knew they couldn't get very far. but they
broke the fence, in fact they tore down a string of fence two
miles long. It was some frightened herd. Next morning, to
our surprise and sorrow, we couldn't find hair nor hide of any
of them. They was clean gone. It took us three weeks to get
'am together again and then I think we lost a few.
"When I worked for Ii1r. Gay, he had a pasture that extended
from the Colorado river to the Conch°. When he got ready to
work the pasture or to have a round -up, we'd usually begin at
the Conch° and work north, rounding up on the bank of the Colorado.
But at Pecos where I worked it wee all open oountry and we'd work
only a small area at the time. They'd always have a rene boss
and maybe several outfits and some
orders from the range boss end cut
rounded up and hold them until all
"They used to deal out misery
they'd hold Xangaroo Court, and of
nesters. And they'd all take
their cattle es they were
the territory had been covered.
to the green hands. 6ometines
course find the accused one
guilty of some made.wup crime. Then he had to take his punishment.
Often they'd whip him with leggins, or make him ride a buckint
horse. Llaybe they'd have him do some onery job -for some of the
boys just to embarrass him. or oourse it was all in fun and he
didn't get mad. He had to take it.
"I still keep a little bunch of cattle and sheep, just for
company, and to keep me from getting lonesome for the old ranoh-
ing days."
BETatTCE
R. A. Perry, Miles, Texas. Interviewed May 19, 1938.