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PhiAms, woody
Rangelore
Tarrant Go., Dist: 47
page 4/1
FG
L.E. Smith, 81, was born on a farm in New
Tommy. Hip uncle reared him as his parents
died in his infancy. n. ran away from home
at 18, gradually working hde way. South until
he reaWed !Nixes in 1883. !le was employed
as a cowboy on the 101 Ranch in San Saba Co.
The next Yr., he was employed on the Bonner
Ranch in San Saba, then the next five Yrs.
by C.A. 0:Keefe, a Pt. Worth cattleman dao
operated a ranch in Davison Co. Tex. He was
then employed ion yawroAl11,13knallep by ';infield
Scott, Ft. Worth cattleman who dealt in ranches
and cattle. After 10 Us. with Scott, Smith
retirad from the range and now resides in
Silverton, Texas Ris story:
Sure, I rode the renge. Rode it when a man-wai -a cow
puncher and not a ranch hand. These cowboys today, they've got the
name but they never went through the Dough.. In my day, when we
wanted hosses, we went to the hills and caught tem. Didn't have
no pen to run 'em around in, either. The way we'd do, ma to have
the gang close in, one 9r two to, lasso the hose we thought was best
if we had more than one, then the one that needed the hoes 'got off.,
slapned his hull on the wild Ale and rode him. If you didn't stay
with him, you more than likely let him get away, and you wcre out a
hose. ire generally: stayed with them once we got into the hull, 'til
they pitched plum out and were so tuckered out they could hardly
stand.
I wasn't what they call, barn to the range,' but I 08MA
to it as a young man and gave the best pert of my life to it. You
see, I was born on my Zled's farm in New Jersey, but both my parents
shoved off while I was still a little shaver, and my uncle took me
over. I didn't take to being bound over to him, and just as soon's
I was 18, I lit out for the wide open spaces.
I done my first riding for the Great Western Cattle Co.
Phipps, ftody Page #2
Rangelore
Tarrant Co., Dist. 17 PC
in Kansas. They didn't ruu,a brand of their own but bought from
ranchers all over the country, then fed 'es out in winter feed lots
and grazed gem on their astern Kansas cattle range, where the
grazing was bounteous.
Artor some time, I quit the Great Western and rode on
South on my own hoes and saddle.. By the say, I won that hoes and
saddle in a roping contest a Toi.tle over a year after. saw my first
lasso and cow pony. You see, ,I had to have a job, and the closest
job was with the Greet Western If I could ride, so I bargained with
them if they'd feed me 0%11 I learnt, wouldn't be long in leemning
and I'd maks 'em a good hand. Yep, that's the way of it.
Well, I reckon 'ties elOng in the Sumer of '85 when I
crossed over tato Texas and lit on the 101 Ranch in San Saba county.
The Murray Brothers owned the spread and ran a bank and a big
mercantile store in Ban Sabo. They both ram rodded the spread, and
ran between four and 5,0G0 head in the 101 iron.
I never did really cotton tO the spread after I went to
work there. seemed to me like some body wanted to make a lot of
money on a little time and effort. The grass was arfUl short, and
the cattle skittish and half starved, so you Gould ezpebt a stomp
most anytime you had over 10 of gem rounded up in a herd. They'd
sure stampede. I made the Fall round up, then worked through the
winter hut by spring mind up, I'd left the 101 and went to work
for old Captain Bonner.'
Cap ran more to bosses then he did to cattle, buying,
selling, trapping and trading them all the time. Re did have about
300 heed of stockers, though, and about 300 head of ?tosses. All in
Phipps, 400dy Page #3
Rengelore
Tarrant co., Dist. 1,1 rc
.his OM I iron. I done fin,avfal lot of brows busting in the short
time I was there, taking over where his regular hoes buster Wrimm2
'em loose for a little more breaking. Many's the time I'd ride 'en
'til I bad the nose bleed 90 bad I'd get weak, an' my gute'd seem
to be about ready to bust out, 'fy shins, too, they'd be plum raw
all the time I worked with them hosses. ,Yousee, where you ride
them wild ones, you had to grip as hard as you could with your knees
and your olothes would wrinlae up. Every where you'd have a wrinkle
in your pants, you had the skin rubbed off'n your leg. po real brono
buster ever rode' the weld ones with chaps on. Those things were to
proteot your legs when you rode through the chaparral.
That seemed to be a little too hard a way to go through
life, so I ohuoked the spread and lit out for rort Iorth after the
Fall roundup. Mile in here, I hired to old man C.A. 0:Keefe, who
was a big °tittle buyer and owned the Fish Ranch.' I calelate
he run 4,000 head in the Fish iron, made like this: CC5 Read
quarters for the ranoh stlod right where Lames* Texas, in Dawson
Co., stands right this day.
Henry !aeon was the ram rod and wagon boss too, and a
better rider,roper, or shot, I never saw in my life, and I've seen
a many -a one and been in a couple of squeezes where`herwould have
come in handy. I didn't stay on the spread myself, but went with
0:Keefe to handle the shipping end of his buying.
O'Keefe and I rode several 100 miles 'down into Mexioo
after beef, but he bought the most of if from old Uncle Tom Snyder,
eho,ran'a ranch about 100 Vi. S. of the line, and from old man
Caufield, who ran a sprepd about 90 Mi. S. of Bisbee, Arizona, in
Phipps, woody
RangelOre
Tarrant Co. Diet. #7
PEW 44
FC
Now, I don't recoil Just how big their spreads were, nor
how many cattle they mil. The only thing I can tell, you clear
enough about, is that we bought the °tittle range delivery,' and
their man drove them to the rail roads. I handled the rail road
end of it, and always had the -oars spotted when I could get them.
rhon n'Keefe'd have the mitre rootlet, to one of his feeder spots,
and he had a number of them in "loxes, New motto°, and tritons.
He'd feed them out, then ship to market.. That was the
way he dome business. One of the New Memloo feeder spots was next
to the Hitteon Ranch. Zook and Della Hittson owned it, she being
Zaok's wife. They were both good riders, and handled wild bosses I
all the time. She'd ride bosses I couldn't even look at, and I
was considered some shakes when it come to riding the wild ones.
The ones I never liked to mess around with, were those you'd come
aorost once in awhile, that wouldn't tame. rhino's. 'lhat's what
we °ailed them ornery soo-ofe-g ZS. They'd finally tame if they
never kire4 anybody in the meantime, and maybe even then they'd
tame. I've seen, any -number of wild bosses that were never tamed,
and killed from one to three or four men before somebody out down
on them with a six shooter.
Della is still living, run ing a hotel in Amarillo.
Jack ,got killed while penning a bunch of wild hose's. You see,
that was 414111 bee) wire first Gam* WS New Motto°, and neither
Jack nor the boss were used to it being around, and the hoes ran
into the wire., :sok fell off and broke his neck.
Barb wire is a hard thing to get used to, and la hard to
see when you've got your mind on penning stock. In fact, if it
wasn't for the posts, you'd never think of Wire While working stock.
Phipps, ,m,:)ody
Rangelore
Tarrant Co., Dist. 7
Page PS
FC-
The Hittson spread was a mighty nice one, but didn't run entirely to
stock. They ran around 1 500 heed of stockers, 1 000 head of bosses,'
and around 10,000 sheep.
I reckon I worked with O'Keefe for five years before I
hired out to old Mall Anfiold Scott, a Fort Worth cattlemen that
dealt in cattle and ranches, too. He had at least three big ones
while I was with hist, and about 20 feeder spots in'N.M. and Texas.
Pe owned the Hat Ranch on the N.M. border. the OZ. Ranch which was
located Shoed Coke Co. Is now, and the Scott Ranch near Fprt Worth.
New, I never paid no attention to how many bead, or how
big these ranches were, because I kept on the road nigh onto all
the tine, buying up stock for Soott.
I bought from all the ranches I could get any beef frau.
Among the big deals I handled for Scott, were those with the
Yellow House Ranch, up in the Panhandle neer the Yellow House
Canyon, Old Dick Arnett ram rOdded that spread, and managed another
sailed the Henderbrook Honcho pet South of Colorado City. Texas.
STe wis one of the best pletol shots, riders and ropers that Texas
ever produoed. !inether thing, be had is mush sand in his srss as
ary other man I ever net. It be thought there might be a little
rustling going on somewhere, and he might not get there before he
could get scam hands to go with him, he'd light out alone, and fit
them rustlers to a fare ye well. He'd do it. Now, I can't recital
any certain time he done this, but he's done it a number of times,
and it was on the strength of his guts that old Bill Elwood give
him the ram rodtling job in the first place.
011 Dick done like the rest of us, though. He got too
Phipps, 13ody
Rangelore
'arrant Co., Dist. 17
Pairs fe
FC
old one day, and Dill put him out to pasture, and made my nephew,
0.0. Jones, or, Otto, to rain padding them spreads. After Bill
died, the Elwood Estate put him manager over it all, and he holds
the job today.
You know„when you're out buying up cattle, nothing muoholl
ever happen to you. It used to be mighty interesting whin we had
ran02,e delivery, where the rancher signed a contract to have so many
head at, such and such a spot for so much a head, and you always took
his word. What broke that up was when a few started to cutting short
a herd on range delivery, and when a man sold them, and had to tally
them to the man he sold to, he lost money so that knocked the old
range delivery in the head.
If I could recall all the ever, happened way back yonder
in my time, you'd have a -plenty to write about but you can bet your
boots that I've bden a cowboy with the best of them. This morning
here at the Stook Show, a young upstart with fancy boots, and the
rest of the finery these here drug store cowboys weer, happened to
natio. that I wore bootee_and he said, Hay/. pop. Did you over
straddle a cayuse?*
I didn't answer that one, but asked one instead. T said,
If a cow was running by you and her left side was io you, wholh
leg would you lasio?* Be studied a minute, and the gang ribbed him
so bad he walked off with Ahs face reti'as a beet. ,Be couldn't
answer thnt one, and its a natural to anyone that's over roped as
much as a month. niet*W why I said they had the tome but didh*t
go through the roughs. And I've got the name, and I've been there.
I.donit know, and there's no way of checking, but ',reckon I've sent
more °tittle to market than ary other man a -living,