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Tlhipps, 400dly
flangelore
'arrant Co" -Dist.
H.P. galker, 70, was born in Leon co.,
ex. His father moved the family to
uood co.,in 18/1, where he established
a stook farm. Walker learned to ride a
horse et an early age in attending to
the many chores that fell to him on the
farm. Rio ambition to be a cowboy was
realized in 1083 when a Mr, Loving of
the rt. Worth Standard, a newspaper,
purchased 3,000 cattle from mi.. Burk
Burnett and Mr. waggoner, who had assembled
the herd at Wiehita Fells, TeX., for sale.
Among others, mr. Welker was employed as a
cowboy to trail drive the herd to the
Yellow Rouse Canyon in M.W. Tex. After
five rs on the range, Walker quit and
entered the horse and mule business on the
?t* dorth Stock Yards, *kers he has since
remained active and now resides at 2423
Iarket_Ave. R. Ft. worth, Tex. His story:
"Now, if you're looking for a story book (lowboy, that lets
me out because after I read about a sRootins, tootin' coyboy's two
or three times, I lay the story down and find me something worth
while to read. I believe I know something of the real coybay's
life too, because I spent about five yeFrs in the work when a man
WAS 8 man nnd women weren't governors.
"I'll begin at the first. I was born in Leon county, Texas,
on *pril the 17th, 1867. I don't remember much about the nleoe of
my birth because my father moved us to Hood county when I wns about
four years old and established.a farm. Tie also had t few heed of.
milk cows 'Jul two teams of mules, along with a couple of saddle
horses. T had to help do the work as soon as I was strong enough
to do anything, so T could tell you something n. lut the farm wzrk
too.
"You know how a kid is, he naturally wants to ride a horse
as soon as the folks will let him so bargained with dad to do more
of the farm work if he'd let s O ride one of the horses so I could,
Phinps, cIoody
Rangelore
:arrant Co., Dist*
page 12
handle it. I mentioned that I could bring the cows in, go get the
mail, bring in wood, and do lot* of things* -ell, mother was against
it because she had a couple of ,brothers that were cowboys and she was
afraid I'd get pitched off and hurt. well, dad figured that if I
cr)uld do those thing!, that would r.ive him more time with the crops
so he taught me to ride.
'Irrom that time on, I was either ridding a horse, or astraddle
a yearling. I don't have enough finoors and toes to count the times
I got a hard whipning for riding those yearlings. Foy, daded lay it
on good and heavy every time he caught me.
"Dad was getting along pretty well on the place, and had to
go a good many places on business. !then I got to be 12 and 13, he'd
take me along for company. e took a trip to Aohita ralls in 1683,
to look over some stook he intended to buy, and let me string along.
I had already seen in lot of *Little by this time, but I saw my first
big herd when we reached vriohita ?ells.
-Mr. Burk Burnett had a big herd on the -eat side of the
city, and r Iagroner had another big herd sort of Northwest of town.
Dad and T 1 )oked both herds over and 1 met a "r. Tioving, who was in
the market for some cattle. "'his fellow was a friend of my dad's,
and was connected with the Standard, a Fort 'Torth Newspaper of that
time. :lie upshot of this trip was that r. Loving bought 3,000 heed
out of both herds and hired me and some more cowboys to trail drive
the critters.out to est Texas.
:4311, you know how it was. I'd always wante,: to be e cow
boy. I'd always day dreamed a lot and read quite a bit about the
cow boys and I just thought it was the most romentio thing I could.
Phinps, oody Page 15
Wngalore
Tarrant Co., Ast. 7FC
do. rive years with it took all the romantic stuff out of me beosuse
T found out that it was lust another job. '‘nother wny to earn a
living and there's loft* better ways of meking money even if it is the
healthiest life e man can live.
my dad signed a paper about my age, and bought me
some cow puncher clothes so I'd be in line with the rest of them. I
don't exactly know just how much he spent on them but I guess the hat
cost about J0.00, the boots about A8,00, leather wrist gauntlets
and gloves, several shirt*, and some Levi cow puncher pants with the
seam ends bradded down. I had three lasos because I was given a
lasso on my three previous birthdays, and had kept all 'three of them
in good shape. It just hapoened that I had all three of them with me
so I was the best equipned oowboy to take the trail with that herd.
he saddle was an old one that dad gave me after he bought a new one
in the rail of '82. Of course, we had horses but they were furnished
b7 ”r. Loving, who biught over a dozen of them from a livery stable
in 'A.ohita.
"I don't recall the trail boss's name but his nick name was,
'Utah'. If I remember aright, he was suplosed to have ben a Northern
cow trincher down in this country on a trip and took the job over
because he had to have a job after his money played out. T'e must
have known the trail alright beoause he certainly knew his business
and was about the best man I could have wanted to be broke in to the
business by. I never saw him ask a man one thing. Ttp was about the
quitest man I ever knew, yet the most active when action was needed.
In a pinch, he never even called on anybody to fill a breech. He
just jumped in and delivere the goods. :Imre,* many a tight spot
comes up on the drive. Stampedes, long drives between water holes,
Phipps, -/oody 'lags '4
Rnvgelore
arrant Co., %at. 17 PC
nnd all sorts of things can hapnen.
"I was so young when this trip 'oak place, and was kept stb
clay that I don't recall much more than the beginning and thd end of
the drive. I do recall that we were about six weeks on the drive 'til
we reached Yellow House 3eayon. Chat was because we stop-3ed in places
to let the critters grrze or water, and the foreman was trying to
rzeke thl job last. :le finally located in the North end of the canyon
whore there was plenty of grnzing and water.
"Now, I don't know what begins'se arrangements were made but
I do now that the Yellow House cattle were all over that c,untry and
they mixed into our herd. 2hree of us fellows were told to stay with
the herd, and the trail boss along with the rest of the men were let
go. 3uck 3tewart wns one of the fellows that stayed with the herd,
and he and I became the best of pals. That was easy to do because
we were together ell the time, ate together, slept together in a dug-
out, wet nursed the critters, and everything we did was done together.
oon*t know why, but we never saw one rustler, nor missed
any cattle. Because we were on Yellow House Range, we never caught
any wild horses. I believe now that it would have been alright but
we didn't want anybody to think we were taking ything in those days.
Chat* s the way everybody was then. Of course, the older trril hands
7:ould have 1..ssoed them a horse any tine they wanted one but we were
young ourselves and didn't know just how to conduct ourselves. The
only thing we knew was to stay with the herd and keep it in good
shape. -e had plenty of horses to do it with since we had ell of
them that were bought At -ictita.
"After I'd been with the Tioving herd -bout el year, 7 got
the travel itch and decided to see some more country. The upshot
Phipps, cody Page g5
Rengelore
:larrant 1(7 PC
of it wf-,s, tly,t ?uck and I both quit when Mr. Loving came out to see
how we were ,;ettin along. It was the thing to do anyway, since he
had decided to sell the herd and take a profit. After we left, we
heard thet he hired some of the Yellow ouse toys to trail drive the
herd back to 7iohite.
"Buck and I drifted South to the 'Half Circle S' outfit on
the North Conch° riiver. To make their brand, you burn a lazy 5, then
burn a hell' moon over It. I, lazy S is one medc in a la7ing down
position. I reckon there were about 8,000 heed on the Iralf Circle S.
Some way or other, I wasn't satisfied with this place either. It
seemed like a fellow was all the time working et one thing or another.
You had to be always Ou'ling critters out of e bog, hunting out strays
,in the brakes, branding, driving, or something or other. I guess T
was still looking for romance or aomething because I decided to make
another ohfnge and found that Buck felt the same, although he hadn't
mentioned it.
-We dcideci to go over into New Mexico, en e the owner of
'85 found us on the way. hen we got to seven ivere, New
we heard talk of a big trail herd going UOrth later on in the all.
Ima we got all the details, we found that the dattle would be taken
fro :.1 the A.11iams and l'Alson cattle oompany range with headquarters
on the Black Fiver.
—,Then we got to the ranch, we found thrit e orge ill tame
was the ram rod, and that Ulson was a wealthy Dallas man that just
bank rolled the spread. i'liams out us on, and we went *ight to
won. Of course, the work was the other work all over again. The
only difference there was to it was that tborre were more brekes for
Phipps, 'oody
Raagelore
7arzant Co" Dist. /7
Page *3
the critters to get lost in, more bogs for them to get caught in,
but there was more water for them and we didn't have to be always
driving some of them away from the water to the graving land.. You
know, critters are more like human beings than you'd think they were.
Iome of them are so lazy that they wont hustle while others just get
everything thare is for them.
-Mile with the cow pokes on the ranch, we heard about VAN
drive that was made the year before. They said that a couple of
big co7nission men from 3aint :outs had bought the herd, and drove
it across a plain that nobody else had used heoeuse it lr-s such a
distance from one water hole to another.. "'hey said that all the old
timers around had advised them against using this route but they did
anyway, and hnd gotten through.
"7:e finally got into the midnle of the big 2011,4arket roundup
and this -unter and rvans showed up to inspect the herd. It turned
out, that the 'vans was the same one that was connected with the
repous 'Evans-3n7der-Buel' Commis ion company.out of Chicago.
they picked out 300 steers from the 10,000 heed we hnd rounded up in
three herds. The cow pokes had to out these steers out and road brand
them. If T reca'l it aright, we added a six to the old brand. I
can't recall what the other trend was either, now. T do recall one
thing thet I'd like to get straightened out though. rverybody thinks
because tese story writers had all the ranchers stenling from their
neighbors thnt that was what really herlaened. ell, let me tell you
that such was not the case. Instead, we were given very strict
orders to brand the calf 'with the same brand it's mother carried.
No mistakes could be made about the mother .either, because the oalf
always pillowed'it's mother right throught the crowd, or herd.
Phipps, -oody
Rangelore
Torrent Co., !Alit. 17-
FC
It was a very rare case and an unusual thing for a calf to p;et away
fro- it's mother.
"As we out these steers out, we ooralled them abodt a half
mile lorth of the headquarters buildings. After we were all through;
the ram rod told us that anybody with trail experience could go with
the herd. Ileuth of the matter was, that all the boys there hat' gone
up one trail or other at some time or other. Most of the boys didn't
want to go. Imck and I wee raring for the chance so we were taken
on with the pro-:ise of bonus if we stuck with the herd 'til it
reached Pontams.
"That was something that almost stumped us. :!ontanat
hadn't given the distance a thought and TTontana was a long way from
home. e took it up anyway, though, and the herd started out. The
first pop out of the box was a long drive with no water. 7/e left,
the Peoos River at Fort Sumpter, and drove 70 miles to the Canadian
Piver without a drop of water for the critters. Some peopk. wouldn't
understand the trouble we had but it wont take me long to explain.
Since cows traveled about 12 miles a day, and steers about 16 miles
a day, it took almost five days for the ste.rs to reach the C$nadian.
-0ave days without wateri
"Again the cattle acted like human beings. You can take
a dozen men with about the same physical appearance, and one or two
of them, or mr be more, will lag behind in most any contest. It was
the same with the herd. Some of the critters lagged behind. Sam
Lowryta :.exico man with a dubious reputation, was the trail boss and
he gave two orders at the same time. He said that the first man that
took or branded a critter other thfn it's right brand would be firee
on the spot. The reason for that was; that a fellow might be
Page 47
hip's, 7oody
rengelore
-'arrant Co., -1st. :77
Page 48
tented to adda fine steer to the herd to help the percentage along.
In other wortd, some men that paid for cattle drives paid a bonus
according to the number of c.:Atters thrt came through alright. The
other order was to let legging critters go. Now, that's something to
think about. Yu wouldn't think of doing that in this day and time.
People were so h'nest in those days that a fellow could lay his pants
down anywhere and have four or 1500.00 in them, pick them up again
in the morning and the money would still be there. e11, the *etas
brands were registered and when a man had three or four Strange
cettle brands in his roundup, he'd ship the herd, collect the money
end forwar it to the rightful owner without the owner doing anything
about it.
"Mat 70 miles from the
booger to cross. Then we got in
critters scented it and took out
Pecos fliver to the CFnadien was a
about 10 miles of the water, the
with their tails in the air. The
closer they got, the more anxious they seemed. 7!e boys on the horses
beet then to the water, and with pistol firing and hat wving along
with a little hollering, we got them not to bunch up and trample
scrle of theth. el cot them all scattered out along the banks to
drink. "yg, but thrt was a sight. You could see cattle for a half a
mileelong the bank and some of them in the water, some of them that
had swam across when the water got too deep for them and critters
kept on o,ishing from the back.
",ge stays. there on the banks of the Canadian for a day,
then pushed on for the Colorado State line. .:',fter we passed over
hills, through oanyon outs and valleys, we finally got to ileinidad
colored°, where we discovered that the state had a quarantine on
Texas cattle. This stopped us foci driving the cattle anywhere.
'oldy
nangelore
TPrrant Co., Ast. :7
l'age 49
The only out to get the cattle moved was to trke the railroad, which
r. owry did. !fter we got the oritters all lorded, there were two
train londs. Telt of the boys were given a caboose on on* train, and t
the other half were Elven one on the other train. had to go all
over the trein ever so Often to see if eny of the critters hod fallen
down. You know, 1 I, one gets down, it don't take long for the others
to trample him to death, or cripple him up so he'll never be any
gcvld my more.
-I can remember now how I'd walk along the cat yolk over
the oat .le oars with the brakie, and I'd take the worst kind of a
chance with my life when I'd climb down the end to look in the oar
so T could see whether or not any of them were down. ';attle cars in
those days weren't near so good es they are today. ?hey'd dtvelop
n ft tire in.no time, and it'd be just as bad es a art tire on a onr
but you couldn't stop the train like you could a oar. They'd take
the trrin on to e swithh, or some place where they could trade oars
and the critters in the c,r would catch the mischief on the way.
"Then we cot to 0heyenne, Wymming, we were side tracked,
and the boys unloaded the critters. e pastured them -for a couple
of days near the town, and preceeded to take the town in. Now,
here's another place I want to sey 6 word about the cowboy. Very
few of the cowboys drank enough soie you cJuld tell it any way but
by smelling it on his breath. Out of the gang, the foreman was the
only one to get drunk. He got real drunk and did slot of things he
wns sorry for after he sobered up but thet's the way with a drunk.
-74e finallf v..ot the herd on the drift again, nild went on
'til we crossed the ':ellowstone A.ver at iles 2,ity, Montane. That
Phip-4,1 'oody Page 10
angelore
-arrant Co. 71st.
was the destination of the oaLtle, and Mr. Hunter met us, paid us off,
then offered a job to some of u. to drive the herd on to his ranch.
Buck and I took him up but he had to get some waddles from Miles :3ity
beoause the rest of then had enJugh of that cold.rontana weather in
their systems. :an But it was oold there. :;hen we got the herd
on the drift again, we didn't have fnr to go because the ranch
he-dquarters weren't but 100 miles from riles City. The ranch turned
out to be owned ty: Funter and F:vane, and was oalled the '110 Bar',
after the brand whioh was made like this: HO—
"tfter Buck and I got our money and turned down the offer of
a job there, we lit out for Texas. 74 heard later that the rest of
the boys went bank to .1heyenne and stayed there they blowed their
wap:ei in,
"-Ake first place Buck and 1 stopned at afte: we got into
-exalt again was the'Peecook outfit' with headquarters on the Main
O'oncho jver. They run about 6,000 cattle with the 'LT' brand.
his was the first (low punohin job I'd gotten thF,t the boys didn't
have to sleep in dugouts or outside i the weather. Sleeping out
wasn't so bed, though. Id there was anything to P man, he'd have
hi a rel goad bed roll with quilts and blankets, besides e good
tarp to oover with. You now, a tarpaulin aint like canvass. it'll
really turn water and you can put something up against it without
it leaking like 8 sieve. Atli, y,u take when a punoher fixes his
bed on a small rise, digs small trenches leading off from the bed,
and fixes his bedding real god, why he could stay there for two days
without moving and it cd rain as hard as it wonted to without
getting him wet.
"Wall, the end of my range career was in sight al)ng about
nhipps, Toady
,!angelore
Perrant Co. 7,ist. 7
-140 11
the rAcilos of the su- er of '88. I got to thinking how much better
life would be in some oiti where there were more people and a °hence
to mike betier wages. -Then the Fall.!.1arket beef was rounded up, I
left the range for good. I came to Fort orth, and entered the horse
ond =Ai business here on the Stook Yards. Of courses I've been in
other bus:nesses in my time but the most part of it ims right here.
on the Stook Yards.