Document text
Phipps, loody
Nangelore
Terrent Co., 77)ist, 77
:lege 71
Fd
spews Hardie, 53, was born in New Orleans,
La.,His family moved to Dallas, then to an
18,000 acre ranch which they leased in 1979,
and was located in Montague Co., -ex. Spews
leanned to ride at an early age, and worked as
a regular cowhand by the time he was eight Yrs.
old. A.F.-Hardie, Spence's father, quit the
ranching business to return to the banking
businesa in Dallas to allow Spence and his bro.
to go to school at Austin College in Sherman.
'The boys worked their way thraugh college by
working on the Gunter Ranch near the college.
,fter leaving the Gunter ranch, be spent the
rest of his life in the banking business but
returned to the range at every opportunity.
He was Justine of the Peace from 1906 to 1910,
in Vaughn, N.11., a city he and his brother,
started. Gov. Pat Neff appointed him* Tex.
Ranger in 1922. Ho served in Central Texas
,Ilor 9 Pos. _then resigned to organize a bank
,1 at(0i4amill4i0ife The failure of his heelth and
0/ fortune'forced Urn to retire to the Home For
Aged Masons, located 12 Hi. N. of Ft. lorth
Tex. His story:
"I spent my youth on the range, worked my way through the
Austin College at Sherman Texas by playing nurse to old Colonel Jot
Gunter's cattle and busting hosses for him. "is place was about 20
miles from Sherman but loll take that up later.
-First, I was born in new Orleans,. Louisiana, on January
the 30th, 1875. In December of that year, my father came to Dallas
7exes, where he was made president of the City National Bank. The
bank went bankrupt in 1879, and my father then leased 18,000 acres
in !Iontague county, where he established a ranch. I was t31 young
at the time to know who he bought his Gattie from but he bought
(1,000 cattle and branded them with the Bar H brand. You make it by
burning the middle line longer than the two vertioel lines in the
He and it will.look like this: -H.
"men I vas five years old In 1880, 1 had already banned
Phipna,
Rangelore
Tarrant Co.,
Page 12
to ride n horse fairly well and my brother Al?., who was 16 months
older than I, were saving my father from, having to hire to more cow
hands by riding the fence and repairing the breaks where ever we
found them.
"Irode the fence line 'til in 1882, when my father brought
a herd of sheep home that he had foreclosed on. My father then gas
me the saddest task I've ever been called on to do then, when he
told me to ride herd on that bunch of sheep. Thile there weren't
many in the flock, about 500, I felt like the grown cowhands, that
it was* come -down for me to have to herd sheep. Since sheep will
hunt the shade on a hot summer's day, I'd do the same. One day,
when I was sound asleep under a tree end the flock was the same,
was suddenly awakened by the sound of a shot. The next thing I
knew, an eagle that was so large it's tel us were as big as ay hands,
fell into my lap. My father, who was a very good rifle shot, had
spied it in the tree top where it was waiting for the fllok to move
out into the open so it could pounce on one and carry it off.
"Father sold the sheep with the Fall market roundup beef
in the ma of 1883. Single the hay crop on the farm section of the
ranch was so prolific that he had more then he could possibly use,
he contracted with the Spur Ranch, in Dickens oounty, and the 'JO'
Ranch, another large ranch to the North of the Spur, to winter 500
head of saddle stook from each ranch. These ranches comprised
millions of sores but I couldn't tell you anymore than that they
were looatea on the Llano Nstaoado, or, 'The staked Aetna', due
East of the Caprook section of Nixes.
"One of the men in charge of the Spur horses was a great
Phipps, 'Ioody
Pangelore
2arrant Co., Dist. 7
tHlker, so much SD that the boys all tolled him, *G.Pbby', and didn't
believe a word he said. I was too young at the time to remember the
things he told about but his talk was mostly about stage coach and
train robberies, and bank holdups. P stragger came out to visit
the ranch one night, intending to ride over the place the next day
and be introduced to the riders on the place. Gabby disappeared
that night, and the stregger turned out to be a Texas Rpnger and
Gabby was a badly wanted desperado. Its was the kind of a man that
gave the (lowboy a blPok eye by pulling off those stunts., The reel
cowboy was a law abiding man that feared nothing that walked. Afte
meanest things he ever did was in the nature of a practical joke
played on themselves but mostly on green horns out on the range for
the first time in their life:
"I spike of having a part of the plates in cultivation, it
was really about 300 *ores and in charge of an old men whose mami
I've forgotten. He stayed drunk most of the time and his 32 year
old daughter worked the place, oared for his children, and did all
the housework. A widower over in the Territory heard about her
and came over to court her. He needed someone to oars for his
three children. After he von her agreement to a marriage, he vent
to her father who was than half drunk, and sitting just in front
of the house, and leaning beak on the front door. When he was told
that his daughter and the widower wanted to merry, he refused. The
widower then told him that they had already decided and would any-
way, so the best thing he could do was to agree. The old man then
renohed behind him and got his double barreled sh-)t gun out, and
shot the fellow from his hoes. I heard the shot, saw him fall from
Phipps, aoody
5.figelore
Zarrant Co., List. #7
rage 14
FC
his saddle, then saw the old man run to the hems, mount and ride
into the Territory. ater two years in the Territory, he eons back,
was captured, tried, and acquitted.
"I spoke of the real cowboy 13ving to play practical jokes
so I'll tell you about one that was a joke to the player but not to
my dad. 71 brother, Alva, and I were just about to dismount and go
into the house when two shots hit the house not two feet from us.
Two drunken cowboys who used our lane to got to their place had
dedided to seers us. "y father heard the shots end rush* 0 out to
see what had happened. "le saw the men responsible, grPbbed Alva's
horse and hurriedly rode to where they were. /hen he reached them,
he said, *You low down dogel If you ever come through this lane
again, I'll kill gout If I had anything to do it with, I'd do it
noel' Although they had two six shooters apiece, and a 31nohester
in their saddle holster, my father's nerve overawed than and they
never used that lane again.
"The winters of '83 and *84 were the same in that both
were so cold that Red River froze over. My father, who as I said,
was en unusual man, had his hands build a log house in a place on
the river that would be the coolest the year around. Then, he went
to Montague and bought all the saw -dust the saloon had, which he
brought to this house. /hen he came beck, he brought an ice saw
end we all sawed out blocks of ice which we stored in this house.
Since the re wee about nine inches of saw -dust between the ice and
the walls, this ice lasted throughout the next owners and we had
ice ell surer.
"I'll never forget the hardships we hands went through in
Phipps, Aroldy
Rrmgelore
Torrent Co.,. Dist. !7
Pegs #5
rc
'tending to the work on the ranch those winters. No would simply
freeze right through to the marrow it seamed. It WO so cold that
grown men cried and never thought anything about it. Now, when a
herd bitten range hand cries, you onn well believe it was tough.
If one of happened to be caught away f-om the ranch headquarters
at night, we'd build two fires, one on each side of us. When we
laid down, we'd move one fire over and lay down on the hot spot the
fire wee on. ,741 didn't dere to go to sleep for it might be the last
sleep we'd ever have. Instead, we'd stay awake and move the fire
around no the place we were on grew cold.
"Years later, my mother and a neighboring lady were tilking
and some way or other, this winter came up. Mother said, 'Oh, you'll
never know how I suffere6 those winters. !very step was torture,
and I was constantly saying, 'Oh, I wonder if my boys are alright
or frozen, or laying somewhere with a broken leg and unable to get
help or build themselves s fire'.' You know, that was the first
time I'd ever thought about what she had had to go through because
not one word of complaint ever came from her.
"T often hear of stampedes end rustlers on e good many of
the ranches but we never had any trouble with either. The nearest
we ever came to a stampede Was When we had the of '84 market
beef rounded up nnd was herding it on the Northern side of the
place, intending to trail them to Kansas. A thunderstorm came up
with lots of lightning and the steers, about 1,000 of them, were
very restless. never forgot bow anxious we were to kefp them
from stampeding. -7e sang and rode around them all night 1)ng for
it meant the loan of a great nu,ber of them if they stampeded.
Phipps, :oody
Rangelore
rnrrant Co., Dist. '7
'lags
FC
net me tell you one of the most comical things that ever
hn--)ened to me. I will lead up to it by first tolling one on dad
thnt gave me the ides. Our branding was done in n °Oran:, and the
corral wee built in a way that we'd have a tree in the middle for a
snub.,ing poet. in the '84 Fell roundup, a new hand had tied a wild
(low up so loose that it got away in the pen before dad could get
out of it's way. Its had to run to the snubbing post rnd got around
on the opposite.side from the cow when it charged. They did that
way for awhile, and dad got madder all the time. Finally, he stood
to one side of the post, and waited for the cow to charge. "'hen the
got so aloes, dad took good aim and kicked her right in the noel'.
You know, that kick made that cow a pet. Actually, she was such a
pet that we didn't sell her but kept her 'til the next selb.
."Now, about me. I was visiting some friends in Dallas
county in '88. Their name was Parker, and they ran the Parker Ranch
which was located about three miles South. of Grand Prairie. I don't
think they ran over 300 head but I know their brand was the 'PIM'.
I happened in on them when they were in their 3pring maverick branding
roundup. In the herd was a young heifer that belonged to somebody
else but she wouldn't seperate from the herd. While they were trying
to get her out, she ran against welter Parker's hoes and nearly
upset then both so they deold-d to let her go and take her out in The
corral.
"Now, their barn was one that opened on both ends into a
corral.at eaoh end. :his wns called a 'iVuble corral'. I was in on
the fun and saw the boys run her into the corral on the opposite
side trot. where I was. Maly were all afraid of the critter and
wanted to do a little grandstanding so I grabbed a stick about five
Phipns, *:oady Page #7
Rengelore
Tarrant :;(1., Dist. '7 FC
long, crawled over the corral tome and hollered, 'Where is that
oretter? I'll beat it to death.' By this time, all the cow hands
were on the tense and lolking at me. All at a sudden, there was a
hush, and everybody seemed to be terrified. Somebody bawled out,
'look out's I looked around and the cow vas coming at as as fast
as she could go. I realized I didn't have time to get behind come
thing or get on the fence so I waited. At the right time, I broke
that stick across her nose. It had the was reaction dad's act did
and I was saved from a goring. All the hands came down in.o the
corral and slapped me on the beak. Mater came through the binch
and said, 'That was too close.. You'd better not try that any =re'.
"After the Fall roundup in 986 was over, dad dfold d to
visit my uncle, Robert Harvey, who ran a big plantation at Union
Town, Alabama. Dad had been making plenty of money but he always
tried not to make a move unless he could make money by it so we
rounded up about three ear loads of hos:;es. These bosses were then
loaded into the oars and shipped to Union "own. The hoses were
sold from the plantation to the different farmers and all that were
in the market for a hoes.
"Dad came back from town one day and told my brother Alves
to roundup sixteen head, that he had sold them to a livery stable
in town. ry uncle didn't believe that he was big enough to do it
but dad said, Ire make cow punchers out of kids in Texas'. In less
time than an ordinary cow hand would take, Alva came book with ell
10 of them tied one behind the other to eaah other's tails. He had
started out without a Beadle on his hos!.:, and came back that way.
70 boys were always trying to do stunts like that. I'll tell one
Phipps, *oody
Rtngelore
Tarrant c)., :1st, !,47
on Iva.
?age 18
"The merchants put on a contest at Union Town, and the best
boy rider was to get 7'!*5.00. Now, !',45.00 in those days was a whale at
a sight bigger in a boy's eyes than nowadays. tiva thought Shay
meant a Nal rough rider would win, and pinked out the worst hose in
our remade. Alen he went out on that raise traok, he went around it
in almost nething flat, pitching and bucking, and gave them a real
rodeo performanoe but Chia surpritie„ they gave the prize to a' boy
who had ridden in a very gentlemanly manner.
"There wasn't much about the plantation that interested we
boys after we looked around at all the buildings and saw how they
oarried on the plantation business. To wanted to get beak to the
cattle country but didn't get to go back beoause dad decided it was
high time we started into school. He became interested in the
D,11as cotton mills, and later made a real fortune out of them, but
that's another story.
"In the year of 1801, I and my brother Alva, went to Austin
College which le in Sherman, Texas. I got a pert time job on old
7ot C4,unter's ranch, which was laosted out about 20 miles from
Sherman, and worked full time while on my vacation from the college.
'he Colonel ran about 8,000 head on about 25,000 sores with the
'Anchor T' brand. You make it by first making a T, then making the
hook end of an anchor on the bottom of the T.
"Pert of the ranch was fenced off and known as 'The Hose
Ranch'. lake Miller and his son, Jake, ran that part with the help
of a multatt3 niAger by the name of 'Pups'. One of the funniest
things I ever sew, happened to Tups and Jake. Jake was the boss
-hippo, o dy "age ig
-Thngelore
arrant Co., Dist. WC
buster (A !'_oss le never e brocc after it has bern ridden once
by c !)Ister) rn4 he went to mount his wild horn while pi
mounted the hoes oalled, Runner', to herd for Jake. Well,
here comes Jtike on the sup-osedly 'Wild' one,. end Tndian Runner
broke for the brush, pitching wildly and put ing on a good show.
"One day, Tups nnd I were coming beck from town and be hod
five boxes of matches in his saddle pockets. ":1011, the heat of the
day or friction, set the matches off and put his bronc to pitching
wildly. :the fire seared him pretty bad and he was trying to get
sway from it because it wen making his side hot too. well, that
was as pretty an exhibition of riding as I ever saw. Tups stayed
on the hoes and got those burning matches from the pooket at the
same time. Re said that wee the worst ride he'd ever gotten.
"TO show you the way the cattlemen of those days did, the
Colonel bought 500 heed of wild losses from the Fennedy Ranch, a
part ot the famous rinp. Renoh in South Texas. These losses were
sired by a Cleveland Bay end Mustang ?tares. ''hen they got to Howe,
nesse, about 15 miles from the ranch, they were sided to some
unloading chutes. They were so wild thet they'd seen only fl few
men on horse back, end never a man on foot. f men on foot put them
to pinching in earnest and trying to climb the corral walls. They
just lapped up petting 'til they sew you. I'd sneak up to the
chute, and rub their back. !a long as they didn't see you, they'd
just take it fine 'til they looked up and sew it was a man, then
they'd orluch down. Tf they were in the corral, they'd go to pitch-
ing.
"All the hoes busters were called out for the occasion.
It happened to be Sunday but there was no Sunday School in Howe that
hinno. foody
,Thngelore
:1110 ant o., Ast.
t)f ge 1.0
day battense everybody turned out to see the show. Some of the
good riders thrt day were, l ogers, Charley Ethridge, Charlie
Brewer, a fellow named Wylie, Jake, Zeke, and myself. Of comae,
it took several weeks to get them all to the moll because they had
to be broke a little to herd. At that, qbaut 20 of them got away
end we were over a week roanding them up. Two of them we never got.
I guess they're still running.
"While on the Ahohor To I had a femude of from six to
eight hosses. itaoh rider broke his personal mounts in as, he needed
them. Sinoe T needed one, I broke in a hoes I named, *Blue'. Old.
Blue made a good herd hoes but was leery of the branding work. I
led to give my string up when T left, and old Blue made au outlaw
before he'd let another man mount him.
One of the things that happened on the finchor 7 will give
you an iden of the true Westerner. As I said before, they were
real men and law abiding. This fellow's anne was notte, and hI
was oalled, 'The Yerd Boss', because he took care of the headquarter
properties, the corrals and so on. 13eoeuse,the boys out rabbit
hunting would use dogs, and the dogs would soars the cattle, causing
them to run off A.,000.00 wotth of fat in a little while in a stomp,
Colonel Jot posted the ranch and notified all the neighboring farms.
The Anchor T was the last big renob in that seotion and mac entirely
surrounded by tams. 3inoe the ranch bought all their stuff from
wholeorle houses and traded mighty little in the various oommunities,
the cow punchers had to hold up for themselves or be badly treated.
"One day, Colonel Jot heard dogs yapping in a pasture over
the hill from headquarters and he grabbed him a gun, took out after
the hunters, and shot every dog. You talk about a eommotionS That
r!oody
i'crrant Co., _fist. '7
Wmgelore-
!15ge 711
T1C
ours raised one for you know how a boy loves his dog.
"well, sinoe I bunked with 'Potts, 1 alwrys kind of buddied
with him. L'he next morning, he says, /Spews, lets you end the old
man go to town in our glPd rags*.
"I was surprised but I agreed. Sines) I was first to get
dressed, he said, 'Get that old double barrel shot .gun down. We
might get e squirrel or two on our way*. 7011, I did that and he
gave me two buokshot bullets to load it with. "lle said, *Can't
never tell, we might meet a beer'
"I was again surprised when we went to !Tose instead of
Sherman. 'hen we got into town, we saw s orowd down the street in
front of the JP's o:floe. It turned out that the boys were on trial
for tresspescing that mor-Ang, and a real orowd had turned out to
see it. 7otts said, *You stay here. 7he Colonel sent me in to
resresent hiifl at the trial here sad those skunks sent ED word that
they'd kill me rod T just want to see if theyweill'.
"I said, ;c11, I'll go with you and siok you up'. e went
on down and he rough Shouldorec his way through the crowd. When he
got through, he turned around to me end seid,
'I knew them dam skunks didn t have the nerve to do what
they said they would'.
'I believe this is about the most interesting thins I
know about the Pnohor T. It was nine and a half miles across, and
Gunter, exalt, stands about where the ranch headquarters used to.
,fter left the nchor I went into the banking business but
kept my hand in with the range whenever I could.
"On e trtp from Tusoon, Arizona, to Mimeo, I met an old
friend I'd been introduced to In Dallas one time. He was Liajor
Phipps, :oody
Wmgelore
Tarrant Oo., j1st. /7
Page 711:
I:arris, and he WEifs te'ling a tale on himself to a bunch of us in
the smoker on the train. ia I recall it, Re said, 'I'd been going
over into Juarez (He owned a large ranch near 1Peso, Texas, but I
don't recall the brand nor location) to the Bull fights they held
every year and was getting tired of hearing people talk about those
breve matadors. You see, I knew that a bull will shut his eyes
when he charges and all you have to do is just step out of his way,
but a wild cow will follow you whore ever you step. I decided to
let the people know what those matadors were so I bed my boys
corral a herd of wild cows, then slip across in the night before
the bull fight was to be held the next day, take the bulls out and
nut the cows in their places.'
aU, this wasn't discovered before the time for the eat
and several of ay friends that I had let in on it, were with me.
,e were all set and when the time cane to release the bulls, in
charged the cows. Awe they only release two at a time for the
opener, and one at e time after that, we had a real show. It took
those cows about two minutes to clear that arena of OA:adore and
matadors. The matador is the fellow that waves the flag, end the
picador is the one that sticks the critters with a long, keen
sword. In the hullabelbo, we slipped out And back across.
Some way or another, it haopened that this we opening
day and the Governor of Chihuahua was in the arena to open the
doings. all, he was so rat,d that he found out who did it, end
issued a banishment against me from the State of Chit:maims. It
meant that I returned on pain of death. You know, I never did want
to go to a place as 1 wanted to go over there After that banish-
ment sae issued.,
ody
nangelore
Airrent !7
'age
"One day while walking eiriun4 in ElPaso, I saw the Governor
of 3hihuahua in a saloon so I walked in and said, 'Well, Governor,
you ismied the banishment on me in your State so I hereby is ue one
on you. The next time you come to ElPaso„ or the Ste** of Texas,
I'll kill you or my name's not Major UarrieW
''You know, he went right back and recalled the banishment
on me so I could go over there any -time I nante to..'
"Mile In Dallas, was invited by the 'milliner Brothers to
visit their ranch at Catolton, e few malts North. 7hey 4idn't run
a very large place there, manly thourough-bred cattle. I don't
recall the brand either but I want to tell you a story they told ma
hanpened al Ing in the tii0s. They were related to some English
people and one of their young fellows wanted to come over and see
ho, the Amerioan Gattie ranches looked. Sinee he lived in Winchester,
nglan4, he went to a -:enchlister tailor and ordered a clowbos suit.
He didn't want to appear strange to the folks over here, ea he got
hilself all tricked ont according to the notions of this tailor.
Then he got off the train at Carolton, the wagon boss said, 'Max,
for goodness sakes, get that boy up an alley and get that outfit off
of him. Uell make us the laughing stock of the country'. He had
shown up in the most outlandish fashion you ever heard of.
"4bile I was there, two of them came bat not dressed like
the other. -ihey bad the idee- though, that they wanted to ride a
hoes like the rest of the boys because they rade back in the country
they came from. "Ilhey borrowed things from the oow punchers to ride
with, end they nartioularly wanted some spurs after one of them
told the boys that they were to hold on *ith. "Noll, the boys were.
ThiDpa,-»dy
fl-nge/ora
?arrant Axt. J7
Page 12114.
.1X
elven a couple of bronot: about half broke, to ride. They were
helped on, and being nervous, the hosses sterted into pitching.
'fter one was thrown and was laying on the ground, looking up, he
horered„ 'Stick your holders into himi Stick your holders into
himit naoh he did and was immediately thrown.
"fillng bout the time I met the "arner Brothers, was
friendly with nose Clark, whose father owne.: extensive ranch proper-
ties all over Texas. Toss told me that be knew a stage wash,
driver who operated into San Saba, where they had the W Cross ranch.
To make the brand, yJu first make a W, then make a cross after the
W. 4011, he said he happened to be along the road about the time
the coach was due, so he decided to give the passengers a thrill.
re waited behind a rook, then stepped out into the road at the
right moment, threw his six shooters on the driver, and hol:ered,
'Stick 'em upte to his amazement, his friend was off thet day and
a new driver was on duty. Ross said h* spoligized but the Postal
:uthosities kept their eyes on him for a year after that.
"The last roundup I ever went to, was when I made a trip
to their place near Port LaVacs, in Calhoun county, -loxes.. I don't
recall the brand but there were tbout 5,000 sores in the pleas and
it had about the only prairie chickens left in that part of the
country. 'n interesting thing about this trip was that a neighboring
rancher by the name of b'sonner, had invited the hedd of the
Tenublican Party down for some prairie chicken shooting, and he
didn't have nny on his place so he asked Boss for permission to
hunt on his property. This wes bad because he never had to ask
anybody for anything and it humiliated him but he had no idea held
be turned down. Boss told him that he douldn't do it because heed
Phipp3,
ngelore
Crrant Co., Dist. "7
:3ege 15
FC
already invited some one down. O'Conner beil:ged him so hard that he
said his guest could hunt for two hours, but only two hours and no
body else could fire a gun on the place.
-When I say that O'Connor usually got his way, let me tell
you what he did once in Port LaVaea. He spent the night before in
a hotel but couldn't sleep. The first I knew about it was when I
heard the train whistle blowing. It seemed like the engineer had
tied the whistle down. I dressed and went down to see what had
happened, and found that the train orew was whistling to hurry the
man up but wouldn't go ot and leave him because he was such a heavy
shipper on the road. O'Connor had spent Ouch a restless night, that
he was late in getting up and was eating at the. time the train began
blowing. 0*Conner owned a yacht in the Gulf, too.
"well, we went hunting for the prairie chickens but I soon
tired of the sport because they sere defenoeless and didn't fight
much. bile we were riding around, we looked somata onto the next
ranch, they were fenced, and saw a roundup in progress. Pose said,
'Oh "as, I am supposed to help in that rAindup. ,l1 the neighbors
in this sewtion pitch in ,:nd help anybody in a roundup** I'didn't
went to h,ntuanymore so I asked him to let me go in his place.
After he agreed, and pioked me out his two ace roundup bosses, and
I borrowed some boots, spurs, chaps, stetson, from the different
hands, I lit out for the place to help.
"When I got there, the man in charge told me that he didn't
need anymore help. I askedhhim if it was alright if I stuck around
,while. While I -stood and watched *hem, I noticed a 'ex' eyeing
me. since I was tricked out in the ranch's best, I was a dude for
sure and my flashy dress kept his eyes glued on se.
Phipos, -oody
Rangelore
Thrrant Co., n1st.
Page -16
FC
"After a little /0111e, the roundup bass came over and said,
'You 1)ok like you're ridince mighty good hoes. I wish you'd cut
for me because r have nott,ing but plow basses to try to out with.'
'ell, I was riding ,R,wdy', one of the finest hoses I'd ever got
astride. nhey'd point out a two-yeer old, I'd show -'owdy, and he'd
bring it out. "he next day When I returned to work, I was astride
the other, whose name wase3immons% Gni he repeated Rowdy's perfor-
mance. Thy, it wiss a reel pleasure to me to ride those two. 'he
Rosses specialized in fine hose flesh end had a good many more just
aa good.
"In 101, my dad bought the residue of the old Mahoney
ranch down near Waco, and I bought a plantation about 12 miles
•-louth a( Aoo, 7exas. Vy place had about 1,500 acres in it. I
only bought it for speculation because ded advised me to. He would
hove token it but he vs all spread out already and oouldn't right
then.
"I went out to the ranch to see what had to be done to
condition it for fine stook raising. 4hen I ot there, I found about
115 heed of range cattle, just starving to death. They had alreudy
eaten the mesquite down and wes beginning to strip the bark from the
'1.m trees. I loaded them into five oars, sent two to the plantetiln,
and the other three to dad's Hunt county place. He had several
thousand ?wren of bottom land there. f'e finally kept about 700
prize wining, fine bred 7oletein cuttle on that alnoe.
"Pbout the next thing or trinortenoe thft 3 did was to
organize r bank at Guymen, in,BeeVer County, Oklahoma. It wee in
the strip of territory between ?ems and Oklahoee that was once
Phipps, body Page 417
Pangelore
:arrant o., Dist. 47 FC
known as, 'No Man's Lend'.
"When I was there, I heard one of the old timers tell how
the strip got it's name. He said that a Kansas political faction
came down to 'Wild Hoes Lake to fish and hunt, mid that the rival
faction heard about it, same down and almost massaereed the entire
bunch. The title of the place same about because the states of
Colorado, Texas, and Kansas refused to claim the territory in order
to *soap* filing charges against the murderers and having the huge
court costs in prosecuting the oases. The United States •gave the
strip to the State of Oklahoma when that State was organized. Of
course, that might have been a tell tale but it's probable.
"Among the backers of the bank was Bud Steele, a true
l'estern character that nobody knew where he came from, nor where he
got his money. tll that w!s known about him was that he was a good
hossman, a good shot, ,nd a good roper. He was a bachelor, but was
fairly wealthy and was the one that pushed the organization of the
bank.
"Huff Wright was *legatee president. He lived in Hansford
county, Texas, about 40 miles South of Guymon. You know, I once
met his wife, and she looked as if she had spent a life of ease
with never a worry in her life. Her complexion was just beautiful.
Vire seen other women but none so beautiful. The reason I mentioned'
this was because Huff used to freight from Liberal, Kansas, and be
gone for a month at a time. -t thit time, the Indians wiuld go on
the war path and scalp peoplt. ame Territory wus full of oiltlows,
rustlers, and hard oharacters of oil types. She had to live in a
dugout, rustle her own wood, do ill the boueework, wash her clothes
with lye soap that she made right there, hunt and kill her own meet,
Phinps, :?oody
Rangelore
2 'rant Jo., :Agit. P7
Page 18
Fe
and take the place of a man where might was right and the man that
shot first and truest was the best man. It was harder on e woman
then it was on a man because a man would think first before he shot
another but he w)uldn't think e women would be able to fight back.
You just try and visualize the life she must have had to live there
while her husband was Oise then wonder with me how she oould escape
looking hard as nails. Of course, Most of the frontier women lived
a life like that but very, very few of them were very far tram
their people at a time like Yrs. ,.7right was for weeks at a ties.
"While in this bank, T met a good many cattlemen but I
can't tell enough about them to make it interesting sio I'll skip to
where my brother Alva, and I built a town. I became interested in
the Pomero Lumber Company in 1903, end went to their mills in Now
-oxioo. I saw that if I established a lumber yard in a spot not so
far from the mills, 1 might start a good business so I asked Alva to
come out andhelp me.
-We *sleeted a good place, built the sheds with Mexican
labor, trades people were attracted to the laborers, and began to
build a few stores. Fro* that start, Vaughn, Now Maxie°, wee made
a city. Other interests were attracted there, and finally the men
came who ruin **try decent place there is to live. "he liquor
palaces and bawdy houses began to stum up. I was elected Justice
of the Peso. In 1908, and serve& 'til 1910.
"While I was Justice of the Peace, I had a tremendously
111,
big Men' on tria4 for white slavery out of Mexico. re must have
weighed around 300 pounds and went around with his hairy chest
exposed all the time. lord got to me that he meant to beet me to
death right in front of the witnesses that were to testify against
Phipps, 4coody
fl.ngelore
'41rrent co., ist.
hi.
peg* 11.9
re
"when I opened the °our% the next day, I lcid a pistol on
the desk in front of me, pnd had it pointed toward the aisle he has
to travel to renoh me. Whrn he came ir the door, he looked at me
and said, 'Ah hni You're horst
to stick your nose
into other people's business' Then, he pr000ded to walk down the
aisle toward me. Mile I wasn't scared of old *Hairy' himself, I
still didn't think I would have e physisel *hence in those muscles
of his so I lust olosed my *yea and preyed the tort to stop him.
I said,
"Ob. God* Don't let me have to kill html', then I opened
my eyes end picked up the pistol and pointed it right at him. He
stv; this, tore his shirt front open, and said Mal You Willa me
Nowt Shoot riAat here where you can abet' ?hen, he started a stiff
lezr3ged walk on down toward me. When be got about seven feet in
front of me, I said, 'God, if he takes one more step, I'll have to
kill him*. veil, I know there's a good many people in this world
who wouldn't believe this but he didn't take another stop toward me.
Instead, he turned around, want baok to his place and the trial
prooeded. He was found guilty, end sentenced without any more
trouble.
'bout the next most important thing thrt happened was when
Governor 'at ?left appointed me a Texas Ranger, and I was assigned to
Central Texas to serve. I rrested many men but I never even triad
to take a man unless I first had the drop on him. nal, I wPa on the
force about nine months, I heard a rumor that the higher-ups were
going to send me to the border beoause of my efficiency in getting
my man. 'Nell, I didn't want to go because I Imew that neaut I'd
pps, :Dody
el ore
rant 0o., Dist. j7
e to kill somebody. I always had a 41:sed ofsams day bsvims
I somebody, then finding out later that they bad loved me*:
re. I quit and returned to the banking busidiees iber0
"I feel sure thet ft isn't a question Of nerve booties
't want to kill a man. Then I was a boy on the old mesh I*
tague county, in abut 'SS, I was riding the fence with my
a we just about to stop and build a fire to warm by when wb 0010.41
b smoke over the hill from uss It came from On arm of Pest
t s that extended down on our property, and wee the pled. likOriv
bosses liked to hang out bemuse of the *had.. 1,nytime $014
ted to catch a hoes to bust, all you bed to SO was to go is
s end you'd find them there.
-We mounted our bosses, he rode for help, and I rods eat"
t fire. I lobked and looked but couldn't see them. I pietunled
t, up against the fence, trying to jump over bOt oouldn't„ *AO:
rig to escape the fire but not knowing how soiT just rod. aft_144041
tj flame. I for the fence right on throu*h, and when I um
o on the other aide, there they were, wild eyed but safe end
a.
"The failure of the bank where I had my money invested'
me inencially, and e few years later, I was forded to come bore
row, went you to know' that I wouldn't went to live lee
er place for they treat you as nice as t ey know how here* MO
"rom for fged ,7:nsons, and is about 1 miles or so from Fort weal%
s.on the rallps Pike.
be
th