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Range -lore
Ruby Mosley
San Angelo, Texas.
RANGE -LORE
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Ezekiel Paris and .if.,
Melinda Summarfoot Paris, came
from Ireland to Mississippi at
a very early age. This family
grew to be larger as three boys
and three girls were added; they
later moved near Macon, Georgia
whore Z. P. Paris entered the
circle in 1855. When Z. P. Paris
grew up he began to wonder what
the other part of the world looked
like and began to ramble. He had
hoard of the western country,
oattle and cowboys, then became
attracted in this direction. He
rode the range and rounded cattle
from the Rio Grande to the Red
River, fought with Indians and
helped to settle up these parts,
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at one time being a cattle and
land owner. At present he re-
sides alone in a little one
room shuck where he feels free
to cook, eat, sleep, and spit
tobacoo Juice where and when-
ever he pleases, reminiscing
of the olden days on the range,
his only income being his pen-
sion. He saw an over -grown boy
out in the street and remarked,
"It's a pity lightning don't
strike that thing, he ain't got
as much sense as a summer coon."
His main thought was of the wilds,
and he wished for the happiest
days of his life to return, when
people had money and could shoot
any time and place they wished. Mr.
Paris also remarked that his people
didn't think any more of him than
an old tin can that was in his front
door. This old fellow is still modern
in one respect and that concerns his
admiration for the feminine sex.
"If you get me started out on the wild and woolly
western parts I'll have you hung before we get started,"
says P. Paris of San Angelo, Texas.
"Confound you, why didn't you come at me right,
let me get a stick, I thought you was one of them pension
folks, (investigators).
"You know I'm the only one of my bunch left, old
Bob Owens Just stepped right off and left me; they put
him in the ground a while back. The old boys I used to
ride the hills and shoot Indiana with were Lee Corder,
Hill Kendriok, Charlie Price, Riley Trent and Finis Lind-
sey; they have every one gone on to glory land and left
me here by myself. I wish I could go over the same thing
again that the boys and I went through with, riding the
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range and shootin' Indians. Those were my best days.
We boys got a kick out of turning a "summer -set" over
our horse's head into a heap of cacti.
"IA the early 70's our gang was takin° some cattle
from Langtry, near the Rio Grande, to North Texas. When
we got out here close to the Twin Mountains near San
Angelo, I went on ahead to see if we could cross the creek
but when I got baok we were surrounded by Indians. Boy,
how we cut 'em down; them machine guns ain't nothing be-
side the gang we had. We killed about thirty-five Indians
and they threw some rocks on their own at the foot of the
mountains across the trail from the Twin Mountains.
"Out on the plains, Indians were chased by every-
body, when they were being sent to be civilized.
"I wish you could have seen a bunch of Indians we
got drunk. They would run over us, jump on us and they
didn't have a lick of sense.
"This side of Amarillo the Comanches, Cherokees,
and many whites all came up together in a big fight. I
could have picked up a wagon load of skulls if I'd had
a wagon.
"When those rough guys would come in to the ranch
we always sent the cowgirls back in to Fort Worth. The
cowboys were always pretty tough guys when they entered
the gang, for they were usually outlaws that had come
in from the East. We really had some two -gun cowgirls
that could really shoot and to kill; they could swing a
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rope and bring up what you asked for.
"One time we were going out and had a bunch of new
men on, so we went to a little town, took the guns from
the officers and gave them to the boys, we sure gave them
fits.
"I never did see Jessie, Frank and John James but
one time. They retti the Indians out of a cave up in Red
Canyon one time. tvery one thought Jessie put some
stolen miney in the cave.
"Good Lord, recon I have gone up the trail, I took
cattle from South Texas to the deepest water holes. you
have ever seen, up in Dallam County. (Then he sang
"Rumbling Cowboy"). used to start out yelling and
singing that old song so loud that we were heard for
many miles.
"te went through a little town on Red River, sing-
ing as loud as we could. The peace officer asked us
that we wanted for dinner, that he would have the gals
fix it. '44) yelled back, 'Fish and frogs', but we went
on our way. The girls all wanted a cowboy sweetheart.
"Old Booger Red once lived right by me. He stole
a lot of stuff out of a store and was sent to the pen,
but they soon let him go. Es said that they told him
to go back and rob a couple more stores."